All power dies when attempting to start.

[jas89]

Picked up a new to me 1984 fj60. Fresh battery and starter. Bought the new starter because the previous owner had bypassed with a jump wire directly from the ignition wire on starter. I assumed it was bad.
When you turn the key to start, all power comes on, but when you go to crank, everything shuts off. Sometimes it will come on again only to have the same thing occur. If I put a jump box on the battery, it will fire right up???? I've done many searches for some expertise to no avail. Anyone with some ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[4runner2FJ60]

Is it a battery problem? You connect jump box like you normally would to the battery if jumping? I would test the battery if that was the case.
If you can post any pics that might be helpful. There might be a ground wire missing somewhere or your fusible link?

 

[3_puppies]

bad connection at battery? remove and clean
bad grounds? remove and clean to good metal

 

[OSS]

Yep!
If your jump battery can turn over the starter and start the engine when it’s connected to the vehicle battery terminals, (which are connected to the vehicle battery) the vehicle battery is either discharged or worn out.

Starter is fine if the jump battery can start the engine.

My guess: the vehicle battery is toast. Replace it.

 

[2mbb]

Picked up a new to me 1984 fj60. Fresh battery and starter. Bought the new starter because the previous owner had bypassed with a jump wire directly from the ignition wire on starter. I assumed it was bad.
When you turn the key to start, all power comes on, but when you go to crank, everything shuts off. Sometimes it will come on again only to have the same thing occur. If I put a jump box on the battery, it will fire right up???? I've done many searches for some expertise to no avail. Anyone with some ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Can you please confirm your terminology. The ignition key has four positions: Off, Acc, On, and Start. The start position is when the power goes to the starter motor. So I’m confused by your description “When you turn the key to start, all power comes on, but when you go to crank, everything shuts off.” Because turning the key to start and cranking happen simultaneously. My guess is you have power when they key is turned it On but lose power when the key turned to start. Because the OP bypassed the start wiring my guess is you have a short in the wiring.

 

[jas89]

Thanks for the replies.
Yes, the dash lights and everything will come on when key is turned to on. When I go to crank it over, everything goes dead. Like a dead battery, no lights, no nothing. Battery is new as shows 12.9 volts with a meter. Starter is brand new. I also put in a good ignition switch I had from another truck I know is good. Thinking it has some grounding issues. I've never had that issue so it's new to me.
Thanks all

 

[3_puppies]

you can have volts but now amps on a battery.

 

[Seth S]

Make sure battery clamps are clean and tight.

Thanks for the replies.
Yes, the dash lights and everything will come on when key is turned to on. When I go to crank it over, everything goes dead. Like a dead battery, no lights, no nothing. Battery is new as shows 12.9 volts with a meter. Starter is brand new. I also put in a good ignition switch I had from another truck I know is good. Thinking it has some grounding issues. I've never had that issue so it's new to me.
Thanks all

do you know it’s a new battery or are you saying it’s new because it reads 12.9v?

 

[g-man]

you can have volts but now amps on a battery.

I'll add to this. You can have voltage but you need to do a draw down test. Put a load tester on it and see if it passes. I had a neighbor with a riding lawn mower who was baffled by the fact in lawn mower kept dying. He'd put a charger on the battery and it would charge to 12v but a couple of cranks with the key and it would struggle to start. Yup, bad battery.

 

[jas89]

Make sure battery clamps are clean and tight.

do you know it’s a new battery or are you saying it’s new because it reads 12.9v?

It's new and reads 12.9.

 

[Seth S]

It's new and reads 12.9.

What does the voltage across the battery read when you are cranking?

 

[jas89]

At this point I can't get it to crank without a jump battery. Don't have another set of hands this week, so it's hard to get a cranking voltage.

 

[Seth S]

At this point I can't get it to crank without a jump battery. Don't have another set of hands this week, so it's hard to get a cranking voltage.

Actually it doesn't matter. Just read the voltage across the battery when you turn the key to try and start. If the voltage goes from 12.9 to 8 say then you have a battery problem. If the voltage hardly moves from 12.9 then you have a connection, ground, or other component issue.

 

[2mbb]

When you use the jump box do you still turn the key to the start position or is that somehow handled by the jump box? I’m still leaning towards a wiring problem from the ignition switch

 

[Seth S]

On my KTM 950 motorcycle I’ve had this problem before and every time it was because of a loose battery connection. Connection was good enough to light everything up but not handle the higher draw for starting. It’s quite a concerning moment when you experience it in the middle of the woods or desert miles from any help.

 

[jas89]

When you use the jump box do you still turn the key to the start position or is that somehow handled by the jump box? I’m still leaning towards a wiring problem from the ignition switch

Yeah, I connect the jump box and can go and crank it over at the key. So weird!

 

[jas89]

On my KTM 950 motorcycle I’ve had this problem before and every time it was because of a loose battery connection. Connection was good enough to light everything up but not handle the higher draw for starting. It’s quite a concerning moment when you experience it in the middle of the woods or desert miles from any help.

Nice bike! Yeah, I think I'm going to go through and change out and or clean all grounds and connections.
Today I also verified the voltage is consistent across the battery when trying to crank the engine. If I pull the trigger wire out of the starter and crank the key, it does not kill all power like it does when the trigger wire is connected to the starter. To me this means that power is being delivered to the starter from the ignition switch. Am I correct on theory here?
Thanks Seth

 

[Seth S]

Nice bike! Yeah, I think I'm going to go through and change out and or clean all grounds and connections.
Today I also verified the voltage is consistent across the battery when trying to crank the engine. If I pull the trigger wire out of the starter and crank the key, it does not kill all power like it does when the trigger wire is connected to the starter. To me this means that power is being delivered to the starter from the ignition switch. Am I correct on theory here?
Thanks Seth

I’m not sure that is actually telling you anything. You could pull the wire off the starter and then measure between it and ground when you turn the key to the start position to verify you have battery voltage.

You could also put the truck in neutral…put the transfer case in neutral, put the parking brake on….and then use a heavy wire to jump 12v from the battery to the solenoid trigger terminal on the starter. If the starter fired right up I have a suspicion as to what might be happening…or contributing. If the starter doesn’t react then you might have a starter issue.

Also did anyone recommend looking at the fusible link yet?

 

[jas89]

Yeah I thought about the fusible link and ordered a new one. I give the test you mentioned a try tomorrow.
I appreciate you man!

 

[Skellibert]

Fuseable link is a fuse.... so if it goes, it "should" just fail outright. (Note: SHOULD..... funny things happen...)

Whenever I have had these sorts of symptoms over the years, it turns out to be dirty or loose connections to the battery.
Remove your battery terminals from the battery, scrape or wire brush the inside of both terminals and battery posts, especially if there is any white stuff on the terminals.
Then make sure they are tight on the battery posts.
It is also possible that the battery terminals are the wrong size and won't clamp securely.