Rav 4.1 - More Electrical Woes

[Worlds End Stu]

I have an odd intermittent (though increasingly becoming more regular) electrical problem with the RAV.

Sometimes when I try to start the engine all the electrical power dies. The car is completely electrically dead.

Then I pop open the bonnet and give the fuse box a bash (Jeremy Clarkson style) and the power comes back and the alarm goes off (which I usually have to reset by disconnecting and reconnecting the Battery and only then using the key fob remote to disable).

It seems to me like there's a loose connection related to the fuse box and sometimes just the movement of the engine starting is enough to dislodge it?

I've never had a problem once the car is started with it cutting out, only intermittently when I try to start it, and it's total electrical power loss like someone's just pulled a Battery connector off.

This problem only seem to have occurred since the main 100amp fuse was replaced (Battery accidentally put in backwards - don't ask!).

Could something not have been screwed back in properly? Any idea specifically where to look?

Additionally, of far lesser importance, if I flash my lights to main beam it causes the radio to reboot. Not a major problem but I'd like to know why it's happening and fix it.

Ideas anyone?

[David McMahon]

Did you make any progress with this? Intreseted as just got a Rav4 and trying to learn about it if this is common.

[crofter]

Is not the main fuse soldered in? It sounds like you may have what as referred to as a "dry joint"

This is when the soldering is poor due to not being heated enough to stick properly to make a good joint but when you bash the box it makes contact

Del

[Worlds End Stu]

Finally sorted this out (or rather the Toyota garage did).

My car has decided in the last year or so to become a rust magnet and it is now rotting at an alarming rate.

Apparently the area around the fuse box connections has become rotten and the intermittent problems were caused by rotten bits causing lose connections.

Toyota fixed it and it's been working now for about a month without any problems.

However, the list of advisories from the recent MOT (which it just scraped through) makes scarey reading. It's going to cost far too much for me to be worth keeping.

So after 5 years of fun I think the time has come to move it on to someone who has the time and patience to sort it.

They're nearly classics

[crofter]

Buy a fresh RAV you know it makes sense, besides we don't want to lose you, you know

Del