Hello folks,
I have been driving my '88 FJ62 since 2016 without a major problem, but this one has me scratching my head (and stuck in a parking lot twelve miles from home). Your expertise is greatly appreciated.
The start has always been a bit weak, but about three months ago, it started getting weaker and weaker until it finally crapped out on me at the gas station, of all places. The starter would engage, but too weakly to start the engine. After a few attempts, I got nothing at all. Per advice on this forum, I tried giving the starter a good whack with a wrench and managed to get it going once, with some difficulty.
After that, I took the starter apart and found that the magnet switch contacts were badly worn. The two contacts on the side had rotated so that only a corner of each was contacting the circular contact on the plunger, and the plunger contact itself was worn about halfway through. I replaced the side contacts, straightened everything out, cleaned every contact I could find in the system, and reinstalled the starter. It worked like a charm for about a month before weakening and failing again.
I took the starter apart again and found pitting on both sides of the magnet switch contacts, which I don't believe was there before. From my limited knowledge, it seems to me that the plunger wasn't getting pulled down far enough, so the current was arcing across the gap between the contacts and causing the erosion. Maybe I'm way off the mark, though. I bought a new (non-OEM, which I now regret) magnet switch plunger, and once again, it worked fine for about a month.
Finally, yesterday, I tried to start the car and got nothing at all. I tried whacking the starter for a while and could occasionally get a little noise out of it, but not enough to do anything. I took apart the starter again and found pitting on the new magnet switch plunger contact, which was definitely not there before. I tried soldering little strips of copper onto the side contacts to reduce the distance the plunger has to travel, then reinstalled the starter. Still nothing. I could occasionally get it to make a little clicking sound after hitting it with a wrench, but most of the time, nothing at all. I also had it hooked up to a spare battery, since I thought I may have discharged the main battery in my many starting attempts previously.
It seems to me that the starter isn't getting enough voltage. I've inspected all the cables and connections I could find and encountered no obvious problems, but my knowledge of the electrical system is pretty elementary. Another relevant point is that the other electrical systems are working fine, so it seems to be confined to the starter. The dash voltmeter reads a little low, about 10-11 V, but it's been like that as long as I've had it.
I'd like to at least get it home today so I can tinker with it without getting towed. I'll be going back soon with a multimeter to run whatever diagnostics I can think of, but in the meantime, I'm hoping someone might have an idea that hasn't crossed my mind.
Thanks in advance.
I have been driving my '88 FJ62 since 2016 without a major problem, but this one has me scratching my head (and stuck in a parking lot twelve miles from home). Your expertise is greatly appreciated.
The start has always been a bit weak, but about three months ago, it started getting weaker and weaker until it finally crapped out on me at the gas station, of all places. The starter would engage, but too weakly to start the engine. After a few attempts, I got nothing at all. Per advice on this forum, I tried giving the starter a good whack with a wrench and managed to get it going once, with some difficulty.
After that, I took the starter apart and found that the magnet switch contacts were badly worn. The two contacts on the side had rotated so that only a corner of each was contacting the circular contact on the plunger, and the plunger contact itself was worn about halfway through. I replaced the side contacts, straightened everything out, cleaned every contact I could find in the system, and reinstalled the starter. It worked like a charm for about a month before weakening and failing again.
I took the starter apart again and found pitting on both sides of the magnet switch contacts, which I don't believe was there before. From my limited knowledge, it seems to me that the plunger wasn't getting pulled down far enough, so the current was arcing across the gap between the contacts and causing the erosion. Maybe I'm way off the mark, though. I bought a new (non-OEM, which I now regret) magnet switch plunger, and once again, it worked fine for about a month.
Finally, yesterday, I tried to start the car and got nothing at all. I tried whacking the starter for a while and could occasionally get a little noise out of it, but not enough to do anything. I took apart the starter again and found pitting on the new magnet switch plunger contact, which was definitely not there before. I tried soldering little strips of copper onto the side contacts to reduce the distance the plunger has to travel, then reinstalled the starter. Still nothing. I could occasionally get it to make a little clicking sound after hitting it with a wrench, but most of the time, nothing at all. I also had it hooked up to a spare battery, since I thought I may have discharged the main battery in my many starting attempts previously.
It seems to me that the starter isn't getting enough voltage. I've inspected all the cables and connections I could find and encountered no obvious problems, but my knowledge of the electrical system is pretty elementary. Another relevant point is that the other electrical systems are working fine, so it seems to be confined to the starter. The dash voltmeter reads a little low, about 10-11 V, but it's been like that as long as I've had it.
I'd like to at least get it home today so I can tinker with it without getting towed. I'll be going back soon with a multimeter to run whatever diagnostics I can think of, but in the meantime, I'm hoping someone might have an idea that hasn't crossed my mind.
Thanks in advance.
