1989 FJ62, dreaded no start (1 Viewer)

[martyjayFJ62]

I have looked around the forums and I've seen that this is a pretty common issue with the FJ62.

I still thought it might be best to start a thread, just in case my issue is more complicated than I'm thinking it is.

I have a 1989 FJ62, in average condition, trying to get ti reliable enough for long holiday trips.

While having it parked in my back yard and doing a bunch of small fixes on it, it suddenly stops wanting to start at all. One day it was turning over fine and starting up, the next it just would not power the starter motor. I had done a bunch of small wiring work on the stereo unit and a interior dome light, I had also sprayed some WD40 into the ignition keyhole, as I'd heard this helped with older ignitions being a bit worn.
Anyway now I turn the key and just hear a faint click from the passengers side somewhere near the glovebox. The dash lights come on and I can turn the headlights on etc.
I have used several different batteries to test and the starter motor is only a few months old.

Any advice is appreciated, from my understanding I am going to have to check a few things.

• check the wiring going from the battery to the ignition
• check the wiring from the battery to the starter
• check the neutral safety switch
• check my ignition switch
• check if the starter has somehow already gone bad

Just a few last questions is someone knows:

• are there any fuses or relays in the engine bay that could effect this?
• could I have messed up the ignition with the WD40?
• where is the neutral safety switch (i'm guessing under the car)?
• any way to easily check if the starter motor is bad/good?

Thanks in advance

 

[barefoot]

I would start with some percussive starter maintenance. (hit the starter) . I found the piece of pipe i use as a cheater bar particularly effective.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

As stated above, tap the starter. It is going out and you need a new one. You can also rebuild them using 80 series parts (copper plunger and contacts). If you are hearing a click then your ignition is doing its job and not at fault. You can buy factory cut keys from @RAGINGMATT which will help if your key is severely worn.

The neutral safety switch (NSS) is attached to the passenger side of the transmission and can be adjusted if needed. You shouldn't need to touch that unless your reverse lights don't come on. They normally don't have issues unless you swapped or played with your transmission.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

I have looked around the forums and I've seen that this is a pretty common issue with the FJ62.

I still thought it might be best to start a thread, just in case my issue is more complicated than I'm thinking it is.

I have a 1989 FJ62, in average condition, trying to get ti reliable enough for long holiday trips.

While having it parked in my back yard and doing a bunch of small fixes on it, it suddenly stops wanting to start at all. One day it was turning over fine and starting up, the next it just would not power the starter motor. I had done a bunch of small wiring work on the stereo unit and a interior dome light, I had also sprayed some WD40 into the ignition keyhole, as I'd heard this helped with older ignitions being a bit worn.
Anyway now I turn the key and just hear a faint click from the passengers side somewhere near the glovebox. The dash lights come on and I can turn the headlights on etc.
I have used several different batteries to test and the starter motor is only a few months old.

Any advice is appreciated, from my understanding I am going to have to check a few things.

• check the wiring going from the battery to the ignition
• check the wiring from the battery to the starter
• check the neutral safety switch
• check my ignition switch
• check if the starter has somehow already gone bad

Just a few last questions is someone knows:

• are there any fuses or relays in the engine bay that could effect this?
• could I have messed up the ignition with the WD40?
• where is the neutral safety switch (i'm guessing under the car)?
• any way to easily check if the starter motor is bad/good?

Thanks in advance

- I noticed u mention u have recently replaced your Starter ,

- I would " Start " there , make sure your B+ battery cable going to it is Solid and secured bolted on still securely via
the 12mm hex nut

- also , the Single Terminal Locking Electrical Connector that come from the Key switch has not come apart from age & Time etc.....

- It might sound barbaric , but @barefoot @Randy88FJ62 are spot on , when your Truck exhibits the NO-Start

clicking symptoms , have a MED. Size Ball Peen hammer sitting on your front seat Ready to go & give the Large Cylinder

top portion of the starter Motor a Swift hard Smack , with the Face of the The Hammer , NOT the Ball Peen side ,

Smack it one time only and see if this fixes it right away , if not Smack it 2-3 more times , try again

This method i use usually fixes a Sticking TOYOTA Gear reduction starter every time , but ONLY Temporarily


- if this Test does the job u have a bad starter , if Not your problem most likley lies elsewhere

- Finally , Where did you source your New Starter , & what brand is it ?



- If your Key's pulls out of your Ignition while Driving , that's Not good , Let me know if u Need some New Factory

Code Cut Keys made for u , I Ship International , so Australia / the Land of OZ is no problem

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, Check fuseable links and battery. Mike

 

[Gretsch]

Just went through this on my FJ60. Borrowed an aftermarket starter from a buddy and from the first start it never worked right (lots of grinding or motor spinning with no tooth engagement). Replaced with a Toyota/Denso reman'd unit and fires right up now. Curious to see what sort of starter you used for replacement.

Before replacing it I too used the tapping suggestions on the original starter. Works for a bit but I knew the starter was toast. Barley would turn the truck over and was not nearly fast enough to actually start the truck. I replaced the starter and the battery cables at the same time, and the combination of the two turns the truck over super fast.

One thing I did when testing mine was get a remote starter switch to test the starter in the truck. Now this is on an FJ60 so not sure if this is slightly different setup on the FJ62 or not. But on the 60 series I have, attached to the starter there is the positive battery cable, a ground cable, and a smaller trigger wire. I got a remote starter switch which has usually has two leads with alligator clips on them. With the battery and ground cables connected to the starter, I removed the trigger wire on the starter, and then took the remote starter switch and wired one end to the plus side of the battery, and then the other end to the trigger wire post on the starter (I had to use smaller alligator clip to get it on the post because the remote starter clip was too big. Ran a lead from the trigger post up to the larger alligator clip which I clamped on to that end of the bare lead). Then with the key off, I hit the remote starter switch. This will turn the engine over (if the starter works) when you hit the remote starter switch. This allows you to bypass the factory trigger wiring to perhaps rule out or confirm a possible issue with it. If the starter now works then you can see where the break is in the factory trigger wiring. If the starter reacts the same, then you can check grounds/battery cables going to the starter to make sure everything is still good and connected. If that checks out, you can rebuild/replace the starter. Again there might need to be some additional stuff to do on the FJ62 I am not aware of to test this, but @Randy88FJ62 will know if there is anything special that needs to be done on the 62 to test this as suggested. HTH.

 

[89BIGBLUE]

Double check battery is s go for launch!

 

[martyjayFJ62]

Thanks for all the advice, I went out this morning determined to find the fault.
It was the bloody starter solenoid.
My first clue was when I ran a small jumper wire from the positive terminal on the battery to the small starter solenoid ignition pin, instead of the starter spinning the pin just sucked current and made sparks.
After getting the starter off the car (actually pretty easy) I tested the faulty starter using a spare battery and I can get it to spin running 12v to the main big cable, but the solenoid is dead and does not push the teeth forward.
Rubbish quality for something less than 6 months old.
Luckily I had a spare starter I'd previously ordered off ebay as a backup, I threw that back onto the old girl and with a little starting fluid she was running in no time.
I'll keep in mind that these after market starters are rubbish, so if this current ebay one breaks, what do you guys recommend as the best quality for a FJ62 starter brand, I guess toyota right?
Thanks for all the info, I will be posting more threads on here in future, right now i need to move on to the massive exhaust manifold leak, I have no idea how to fix that at this point and it makes working under the hood loud and toxic!

Attached are images of the rubbish starter I took off, the starter was installed by some mechanic in Coffs Harbor NSW, I have no idea what brand it was, it was a rushed job as the starter before this one had failed (I think that one was a 20 year old starter).

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Thanks for all the advice, I went out this morning determined to find the fault.
It was the bloody starter solenoid.
My first clue was when I ran a small jumper wire from the positive terminal on the battery to the small starter solenoid ignition pin, instead of the starter spinning the pin just sucked current and made sparks.
After getting the starter off the car (actually pretty easy) I tested the faulty starter using a spare battery and I can get it to spin running 12v to the main big cable, but the solenoid is dead and does not push the teeth forward.
Rubbish quality for something less than 6 months old.
Luckily I had a spare starter I'd previously ordered off ebay as a backup, I threw that back onto the old girl and with a little starting fluid she was running in no time.
I'll keep in mind that these after market starters are rubbish, so if this current ebay one breaks, what do you guys recommend as the best quality for a FJ62 starter brand, I guess toyota right?
Thanks for all the info, I will be posting more threads on here in future, right now i need to move on to the massive exhaust manifold leak, I have no idea how to fix that at this point and it makes working under the hood loud and toxic!

Attached are images of the rubbish starter I took off, the starter was installed by some mechanic in Coffs Harbor NSW, I have no idea what brand it was, it was a rushed job as the starter before this one had failed (I think that one was a 20 year old starter).

View attachment 1909402

View attachment 1909403

Whats up MartyJay, WELCOME To MUD.......................!


Glad u sorted out your Rubbish Aftermarket Starter in short order , Never Buy a Mission Critical part like a Alternator , Starter or

Power Steering Pump off Ebay , 99% of them are All Rubbish before u even bolt them on your truck !


Go to your local TOYOTA Dealership in New South Whales and give the Parts Dept. Fella this part #

28100-60070 / 28100-60070-84

( the -84 in the 2nd part # simply refers to it being a Re-Manufactured Toyota Genuine part )

witch is A Good thing , this is exactly what u want !


- There is alot of Manifold Threads here on MUD , just Keyword search and u will find them

- Don't know if u have just a 3F or a 3FE ? , But try ( " 3FE exhaust Manifold Gasket Leak " ) , u should score a few hits using

those key words


- one last suggestion , Learn how to send a PM or private Message / start a conversation Feature here on MUD , send a PM

to Member @FJ40GURU , He Live's Down In OZ too , and can help u out sourcing parts etc. He is a Good Fella to know



good luck mate !



matt

​

 

[Gretsch]

Whats up MartyJay, WELCOME To MUD.......................!


Glad u sorted out your Rubbish Aftermarket Starter in short order , Never Buy a Mission Critical part like a Alternator , Starter or

Power Steering Pump off Ebay , 99% of them are All Rubbish before u even bolt them on your truck !


Go to your local TOYOTA Dealership in New South Whales and give the Parts Dept. Fella this part #

28100-60070 / 28100-60070-84

( the -84 in the 2nd part # simply refers to it being a Re-Manufactured Toyota Genuine part )

witch is A Good thing , this is exactly what u want !


- There is alot of Manifold Threads here on MUD , just Keyword search and u will find them

- Don't know if u have just a 3F or a 3FE ? , But try ( " 3FE exhaust Manifold Gasket Leak " ) , u should score a few hits using

those key words


- one last suggestion , Learn how to send a PM or private Message / start a conversation Feature here on MUD , send a PM

to Member @FJ40GURU , He Live's Down In OZ too , and can help u out sourcing parts etc. He is a Good Fella to know



good luck mate !



matt

View attachment 1909477

​

Whats up MartyJay, WELCOME To MUD.......................!


Glad u sorted out your Rubbish Aftermarket Starter in short order , Never Buy a Mission Critical part like a Alternator , Starter or

Power Steering Pump off Ebay , 99% of them are All Rubbish before u even bolt them on your truck !


Go to your local TOYOTA Dealership in New South Whales and give the Parts Dept. Fella this part #

28100-60070 / 28100-60070-84

( the -84 in the 2nd part # simply refers to it being a Re-Manufactured Toyota Genuine part )

witch is A Good thing , this is exactly what u want !


- There is alot of Manifold Threads here on MUD , just Keyword search and u will find them

- Don't know if u have just a 3F or a 3FE ? , But try ( " 3FE exhaust Manifold Gasket Leak " ) , u should score a few hits using

those key words


- one last suggestion , Learn how to send a PM or private Message / start a conversation Feature here on MUD , send a PM

to Member @FJ40GURU , He Live's Down In OZ too , and can help u out sourcing parts etc. He is a Good Fella to know



good luck mate !



matt

View attachment 1909477

​

X2 on the Toyota starter. If you like doing this job multiple times, then buy off Ebay or whatever. If you just want to skip the hassle, buy the Toyota/Denso reman'd as directed here. I went through the same exact thing as you and decided doing the same job over and over was not for me. Same issue with the solenoid/plunger setup as you. Teeth wouldn't engage properly. Did not work straight after being installed right out of the box. Total garbage. Went Toyota and never looked back. Comparing my aftermarket starter to the Toyota reman'd unit I ended up with, there is a marked difference in quality over the aftermarket part. Just a much better setup. In the States the part I got was right at $200 with counter discount and core exchange (core exchange is only available if the core you are exchanging is a Toyota part I believe). Can't imagine buying multiple starters could be much cheaper than that. Maybe for you the extra cost is not justified based on usage, but my truck is a daily driver so to me the Toyota starter is worth every penny. HTH.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

X2 on the Toyota starter. If you like doing this job multiple times, then buy off Ebay or whatever. If you just want to skip the hassle, buy the Toyota/Denso reman'd as directed here. I went through the same exact thing as you and decided doing the same job over and over was not for me. Same issue with the solenoid/plunger setup as you. Teeth wouldn't engage properly. Did not work straight after being installed right out of the box. Total garbage. Went Toyota and never looked back. Comparing my aftermarket starter to the Toyota reman'd unit I ended up with, there is a marked difference in quality over the aftermarket part. Just a much better setup. In the States the part I got was right at $200 with counter discount and core exchange (core exchange is only available if the core you are exchanging is a Toyota part I believe). Can't imagine buying multiple starters could be much cheaper than that. Maybe for you the extra cost is not justified based on usage, but my truck is a daily driver so to me the Toyota starter is worth every penny. HTH.

The Main reason the OEM Toyota Re-Manufactured Starters simply Work ALL The Time like they should from the moment

u pull it out of the Box till................................................ I personally have never had a Re-Man Toyota genuine parts starter

fail on me , and i keep trucks for a while , like 5-10+ years , NipponDenso Installs a New STAR drive gear on every

one , the are also Re-Manufactured in JAPAN , ( this tells me everything i need to know right there )

Not in The USA by employees who have a ( I don't care about my Job Attitude )


part # 28100-60070-84

will direct bolt on 1964 - 1984 FJ40 1981 - 1987 FJ60 1988 -1990 FJ62


- Important NOTE : Make sure u order ALL New OEM Toyota Mounting Hardware , Some older trucks used a Bolt set up ,

and this simply sucks , or a PO installed some ACE Hardware Crap Rubbish etc .

You will need x 2 special course thread / fine thread studs , & qty x 2 special short shoulder Nuts

if u dismiss the needed hardware below , u will regret it , if u have 2 Nice Crisp sharp threaded studs pre-installed , u can

then simply lift up the 18lb Starter with 2 hands and in one Motion , push it on the 2 studs , then let it hang while u catch

your breath , it will stay in place and Not slide off using the 2 Studs method outlined above , Then apply a small amount

of BLUE Lochtite to the Special short shoulder Hex Nuts , Install the 2 New OEM TOYOTA LocK washers also behind the Hex

Nuts , Torque to FSM specified Value in sequence back and forth , Install the electric wire & battery cable

Your Now Turn Key & Trouble Free for the foreseeable future .......................



- Stud Part # 90116-12005


- Nut Part # 94130-61200

- u will also need a special updated OEM Locking tab single Terminal Electrical Connector & Positive grip Solid Brass Terminal

I carry these in-stock and have kits available , 1 black locking tab UV rated Nylon YAZAKI OEM Connector , 2 Solid Brass positive grip style terminals , Send me a PM if u need or want a kit

 

[martyjayFJ62]

X2 on the Toyota starter. If you like doing this job multiple times, then buy off Ebay or whatever. If you just want to skip the hassle, buy the Toyota/Denso reman'd as directed here. I went through the same exact thing as you and decided doing the same job over and over was not for me. Same issue with the solenoid/plunger setup as you. Teeth wouldn't engage properly. Did not work straight after being installed right out of the box. Total garbage. Went Toyota and never looked back. Comparing my aftermarket starter to the Toyota reman'd unit I ended up with, there is a marked difference in quality over the aftermarket part. Just a much better setup. In the States the part I got was right at $200 with counter discount and core exchange (core exchange is only available if the core you are exchanging is a Toyota part I believe). Can't imagine buying multiple starters could be much cheaper than that. Maybe for you the extra cost is not justified based on usage, but my truck is a daily driver so to me the Toyota starter is worth every penny. HTH.

Yeah I'm just learning all these pitfalls and I'm vowing to avoid "mechanics" shops as they only ever seem to install rubbish.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

@RAGINGMATT

Which lock washers are installed with the studs on the starter? Is there actually a P/N for them?

My starter mounting hardware is sub par and the studs I ordered off McMaster weren't the "special" ones that I actually need.