Starter Won't Turn When Hot

[orthotomeo]

Specs:

Model: Camry wagon

Year: 1989

Engine: 2.5 L V6

Problem:

Starter won't turn when hot. You get the usually engaging 'tick', but it won't turn.

I've fought with this thing for a while now. I took apart the old starter in the fall/winter and replaced the contacts (and cleaned up any corosion). This worked for a few months and then it started not starting when hot and then eventually sometimes when cold. I took apart the starter again and cleaned up the contacts again (didn't replace) but the problem started a week or two later. I ended up getting a remanufactured started (2 year warranty) and put it in.

The next day after I'd parked it and left it for 5 minutes I tried to start it again and it wouldn't go. I waited for a while for it to cool, but eventually pulled out a rock and tapped the starter while my wife turned the key (my usual way of getting the old one started in the same situation) and it worked sure-fire.

What's the problem? It should be working!

[Mick24]

Check your Battery is fully charged and terminals greased and tight.

Check all earth leads (Battery and engine earth leads)

Next time it wont crank over - turn your headlights on and try and crank it over.

If the headlights dim right down when cranking,then either your Battery is shot or the starter motor is drawing too many Amps and is faulty.

You can also try rocking the Gearshift lever gently when cranking - it may be a faulty( or corroded terminals) Inhibitor Switch on the transmission.

Hope some of this will help you track down the fault.

[orthotomeo]

Update:

I got the new Battery (toyota with a 2 year replacement and then prorated). I took the car to Toyota and they did a free Battery test. The Battery was only putting out about 345 CCA instead of the rated 550.

When it's hot it still has trouble. It usually takes about 5-10 times when the engine is hot to actually get the starter to turn instead of "tick" as it tries to engage. The tapping works as well.

My next step will be to return the remanufactured starter in case it is faulty.

[Mick24]

Yep - sounds like the Recon. starter is faulty - take it back under Warranty and get them to change it :ffs:

[azhang]

My 1989 Camry had the same problem and replacing the starter fixed it.

My 1990 Camry has had the same problem but, after replacing the starter twice and the Battery once, the problem persists.

I carry a bucket of tap water with me and most of the time pouring water on the starter for a while will help; however, when it happened again three days ago at home, cooling the starter off with a water hose did not even help. The car started right up three hours later.

[orthotomeo]

Update:

As it was under warranty we took the car and starter to an Electric place in town. They proposed adjusting the plug connection. This apparently in some situations is the problem. By tightening the plug you can solve a bad connection.

The second visit to the shop (as the problem continued) finally resulted in a reproduction of the original problem. It was determined that the new starter (a month or two old) was faulty and so we returned it and received another one.

Having had much experience now with replacing starters I was able to replace the starter while my wife finished her Dairy Queen Blizzard (Georgia Mud Fudge). After tightening everything up I was relieved to hear it plunge to life with little effort. Hopefuilly this is the final resolution.

As an aside as I finished up I dropped a socket and after climbing under the car to get it I noticed I was leaking Tranny Fluid. Oy Vey!

So after replacing the contacts twice, getting a new starter, replacing the Battery and then replacing the starter (under warranty) I really hope that everything is done. except forthe Transmission that is.

[orthotomeo]

Well here we go again. Had problems starting. It was just ticking when I turned the key. The only way to get it fixed is to turn the ignition on and off repetitively and eventually it worked (10-15 seconds).

[azhang]

Well here we go again. Had problems starting. It was just ticking when I turned the key. The only way to get it fixed is to turn the ignition on and off repetitively and eventually it worked (10-15 seconds).

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I found a sure way to start mine: unplug the wire from the Starter Solenoid and briefly short circuit between the Battery possitive lead to the solenoid.

[j1s15n]

Well here we go again. Had problems starting. It was just ticking when I turned the key. The only way to get it fixed is to turn the ignition on and off repetitively and eventually it worked (10-15 seconds).

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When you pull your starter out, ensure that your connection to the case is clean.. You can use rubbing alcohol to clean it up.. Have you used an amp meter to find out how many amps your starter is drawing upon start? You could have a bad wire in the car somewhere.. Also, check your fuses for corrosion and moisture..

[MyV6Flys]

Well here we go again. Had problems starting. It was just ticking when I turned the key. The only way to get it fixed is to turn the ignition on and off repetitively and eventually it worked (10-15 seconds).

←

When you pull your starter out, ensure that your connection to the case is clean.. You can use rubbing alcohol to clean it up.. Have you used an amp meter to find out how many amps your starter is drawing upon start? You could have a bad wire in the car somewhere.. Also, check your fuses for corrosion and moisture..

←

Ok, the Battery has terminal ends that hook to the battey, from there, there are wires that run to places around the car. make sure were the Battery wires hook into the terminal ends is clean. The starter is ticking becuase not enough power is getting to it. You have a new Battery, so it shouldn't be a problem. But if the wires that hook to the terminals are dirty, you will never get enough power to spin the battery. Yes it did when they replaced the battery, but is becuase they moved the battery wires around switching out the batteries. Cleaning up the crap built up where the big Red wire hooks into the thing that goes on the battery. Of course it could be ground related. I had to buy new ends, cut the red wire, install it in new ends, then rehook to battery. Problem solved.

[orthotomeo]

Problem Solved!

I still believe it was because of the immobilizer. Regardless I have fixed it for $40 CDN.

I bought a generic slave solenoid (an electric switch) and installed it.

The slave solenoid takes the power from the ignition and instead of using it for to start the car, only uses it to turn on a switch. The switch connects a wire run from the Battery to another one running to the starter. This way you get full Battery power running to the starter when the ignition turns on.

Normally your power goes from the Battery through to an immobilizer (if you have one) to the ignition and then back to the starter. The power from the ignition starts the starter. If there is any substantial power loss across that route you may not have enough to turn the starter (as seems to have been the case with my car). Whether it is old wiring, extra power being sucked through the ignition connection, too much resistance when the starter is hot or whatever it doesn't matter, if you don't have enough by the time it reaches the starter it'll just tick. The power required to turn the switch on the solenoid is significantly less than that required to start the starter. Thus direct power from the battery start the starter and the weaker power from the ignition just flips a switch to allow the power from the battery to the starter.

Problem solved... for now.