Tundra Clicking but won't Start

Went to start my truck today after a few days of not driving it, and I cannot get it to start. It just clicks like this until you turn it off again (I haven't tried to leave it clicking more than ~10 seconds because I don't want to burn up the starter). The gauges flutter a bit while it's clicking and the lights flash once the ignition button is pressed again to turn it off, but other than that and the clicking there is nothing.

I'm guessing the starter is bad, but just wanted to get second opinions before bringing it to the shop again. Battery is maybe 6 months old (previously had the car alarm going off randomly, which was resolved by replacing the battery) and I feel like this truck has gremlins or I Just have incredibly bad luck. I can't even begin to put into words how frustrated I am right now.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jU9BFZg6N8Q

 

I've looked at a handful of other examples that have been posted to the forum, but haven't been able to find one containing footage. I just can't believe the starter is already bad in a 3 year old truck, so I'm hoping it's something more simple. I'm thinking I might get a new relay tomorrow to see if that helps?

 

I’d try to jump it to eliminate the possibility of a bad battery.

 

Ah, sorry, meant to mention that too - just tried jumping it from the wife's 4runner. I only had the cables connected for ~5 minutes; could that have been too short of a time?

Edit: should I just go buy a battery? At this point I just want to fix this and have it behind me.

 

I’ve never waited more than about 15 seconds. More important to rev the donor truck to about 2k RPM than wait a period of time IMO. Using quality cables matters - not saying that’s your issue.

 

Cool, I'll hook it up again and try that. Wish me luck...

 

No dice. Had the wife rev it between 2-3k and tried starting it. Got some clicking and turned it off. Now when I try to start it there's no clicking, but nothing happens and the battery symbol illuminates. I'm guessing I popped a fuse.

 

Going to try switching in the 4runner's battery and see if that does anything.

 

Most likely your starter? You already try to jump start it already?

 

It was the battery, just started

 

It should've started with a jumper cable for sure even if the battery was dead. That's confusing, but good news for sure.

 

Yeah, I really have no idea, but I'm not complaining! At this point I don't even want another one of these Toyota Truestart batteries. They've been nothing but a pain in the ass.

 

I bet you had a loose ground on your battery. When you swapped the batteries with your wife’s you reinstalled it and made sure the clamps were tight. That’s why it started. Did you put your battery back in and try it?

 

AGM Battery for the Win!

 

Interesting, I hadn't tried that, though I did check when I removed it and it was on quite tight. I suppose I can try the battery again in the morning before getting a new one. I'll let y'all know how that turns out

 

Yeah, will probably drop the extra $60 on an AGM just for the slightly added peace of mind.

 

Interstate from Costco here on all my cars, 4-5 years easy. My V12 BMW gets 2 x original Bosh batteries