INTERMITTENT NO START ISSUE (2 Viewers)

[2001LC]

Thank you for taking the time to respond, I'll look into that. While it's a 99, it only has 130k miles. I did try the neutral lock-off test, and that seemed to work in terms of it starting, and, I do shift into park rather gently because I'm in a very tight garage and just think "Oh, let's be careful while in this small space with this huge truck ..."

With neutral lock-off SW failure to start, we do not get a "click" at starter.

So try both shifting (1st) and tapping (2nd) each time it happens. Keep in mind shifting hard, does result in some vibration. Any vibration can move the starter contact, but usually takes direct steel to steel contact with starter. It can take a lot of vibration to move contact washer, so will not always work. Make sure when tapping on starter, you're not hitting plastic, rubber or wires. You'll come in between tubes of intake manifold, use a flashlight.

Here picture with intake off, to help know where to tap.

Intake manifold on the bench.

 

[peskywombats]

Awesome. Great to know, thank you. Now ... do I spend my weekend on this or sanding off the surface rust on my sliders?

 

[peskywombats]

Welp .... did it again. And again, it responded to being jumped. You know, with battery leads, not off a ramp

 

[Sean Karzai]

Hello ih8mud community, i know this probably is the 50th crank no start forum post but i really need help. 2000 Land Cruiser 100 Series - 297k miles. Since about 290k miles i’ve had the infamous crank no start issue. Happens a few times a week. Have scanned for codes multiple times/ None.

So far i’ve replaced
(All new from toyota)
ECU / New Key
Fuel Pump
Fuse Box assembly

At this point i’m ready to throw in the towel but figured i’d give the community a shout. Any ideas as to what may be left to troubleshoot.

Any help would be appreciated.

****SOLVED*** 11/14/23

IF YOU ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE, BEFORE THROWING RANDOM PARTS IN YOUR RIG, PLEASE CHECK THE FUEL PUMP WCONNECTOR LOCATED ON DRIVERS SIDE OF THE FRAME NEXT TO FUEL PUMP. OVER TIME THIS CONNECTOR MAY GET LOOSE / DIRTY. MINE WAS LOOSE AND BARELY MAKING A CONNECTION,UNPLUG AND PLUG BACK IN AND YOUR ISSUE SHOULD BE SOLVED UNLESS YOU HAVE A BURNT EFI FUSE

 

[Sean Karzai]

Welp .... did it again. And again, it responded to being jumped. You know, with battery leads, not off a ramp

Check fuel pump connector, located on passenger rear of frame between rocker panels and frame. Fixed my issue

 

[2000LandCruiser01]

Check fuel pump connector, located on passenger rear of frame between rocker panels and frame. Fixed my issue

Is the fuel pump connector on the "passenger rear of frame between rocker panels and frame" as you stated in this message, or is it "located on the drivers side of the frame next to fuel pump" as you stated in your previous message?

This sounds like it could be the culprit of my problem.

 

[Sean Karzai]

Is the fuel pump connector on the "passenger rear of frame between rocker panels and frame" as you stated in this message, or is it "located on the drivers side of the frame next to fuel pump" as you stated in your previous message?

This sounds like it could be the culprit of my problem.

Drivers rear, my apologies. I tried everything and was left stranded a few times. That ended up being the culprit. Good luck!

 

[2000LandCruiser01]

Drivers rear, my apologies. I tried everything and was left stranded a few times. That ended up being the culprit. Good luck!

no worries.

You sound pretty confident that the connector was the issue, and it wasn't one of the other things you replaced?

I have eyes on the connector and it feels pretty snug on there (admittedly it is unbelievably dirty)

 

[Sean Karzai]

no worries.

You sound pretty confident that the connector was the issue, and it wasn't one of the other things you replaced?

I have eyes on the connector and it feels pretty snug on there (admittedly it is unbelievably dirty)

Correct, after replacing endless parts, time and time again the issue would come back. Once left me stranded and had it towed to the shop. They discovered it was the connector and the cruiser started right up. Solved my issue, hopefully it solves yours as well.

 

[Exiled]

@peskywombats, I'm experiencing the exact same symptoms as you, 1999 UZJ100 with ~140K miles on it. Lights up, no crank, strong battery, wait a few minutes and then it might start just fine. At first, I dismissed a starter problem since I have another '99 with 260K miles and the original starter still going strong, but after checking and discarding other potential causes (and putting in a brand-new battery), I'm confident the issue is a starter. I'm planning on replacing it in the next few weeks and then rebuilding it to save for the other one.

Good luck!

 

[peskywombats]

@peskywombats, I'm experiencing the exact same symptoms as you, 1999 UZJ100 with ~140K miles on it. Lights up, no crank, strong battery, wait a few minutes and then it might start just fine. At first, I dismissed a starter problem since I have another '99 with 260K miles and the original starter still going strong, but after checking and discarding other potential causes (and putting in a brand-new battery), I'm confident the issue is a starter. I'm planning on replacing it in the next few weeks and then rebuilding it to save for the other one.

Good luck!

Yeah, thanks for responding. It was 100 percent the starter. I had it fixed. I had to tell them several times to start there, but they insisted on giving me a new battery at first. So now I have an extra battery.

 

[2000LandCruiser01]

@peskywombats / @Exiled (honestly @anyone at this point...) You sound confident it was the starter - what gave you that confidence?

I am at my wits' end. My problem seems to have morphed from the "intermittent crank-but-won't-start/loss of throttle" problem into a (car has trouble even cranking at this point). Below is what I'm dealing with - any help appreciated.

History of problem:

• (2023-11-06): (Likely unrelated but worth mentioning) Filled up with “suspiciously inexpensive” gas.
• (2023-11-06): Car started pulling out of gas station; no problems
• (2023-11-06): Next startup, not 20 min later, started fine, kinda “chugged” for a minute below normal RPMs (just sounded off in general) and engine stopped
• (2023-11-06): Wouldn’t restart —> towed to shop —> shop was able to start with gas pedal floored
• (2023-11-07): Took car from shop, everything seemed fine. Life is good.
• (2023-11-11): Driving a few days later, lost the throttle. Pulled to side of road, started up immediately/on first try, continued day.
• (roughly 2023-11-15): Some days later, car cranked but wouldn’t start at home. Stayed like that for a few days.
• CEL is on at this point.
• (2023-11-16): Pulled out/checked EFI and ECU fuse (both looked good), put back in and the car starts no problem.
• (2023-11-16): Car appears to be idling perfectly at ~1000 rpms, take a little drive around the neighborhood with not problems.
• (2023-11-16): Turn off car and try to start again. Doesn't start. Try the "pull out and put back in EFI/ECU fuses" move that worked previously and
• car still doesn't start and hasn't started since.
• ( 2023-11-30 ): Tried using starter fluid, sounded like it really wanted to turn over but still didn't start.
• ( 2023-11-30 ): Car now has trouble cranking, much less starting.

• with key in On position:
  • security light is **not** on
  • CEL is on.
• Cleaned the throttle body.
• Checked APPS - looks good.
• Checked Fuel Pump & Sender Gauge Connector - looks good.

 

[Fairgame]

@peskywombats / @Exiled (honestly @anyone at this point...) You sound confident it was the starter - what gave you that confidence?

I am at my wits' end. My problem seems to have morphed from the "intermittent crank-but-won't-start/loss of throttle" problem into a (car has trouble even cranking at this point). Below is what I'm dealing with - any help appreciated.

History of problem:

• (2023-11-06): (Likely unrelated but worth mentioning) Filled up with “suspiciously inexpensive” gas.
• (2023-11-06): Car started pulling out of gas station; no problems
• (2023-11-06): Next startup, not 20 min later, started fine, kinda “chugged” for a minute below normal RPMs (just sounded off in general) and engine stopped
• (2023-11-06): Wouldn’t restart —> towed to shop —> shop was able to start with gas pedal floored
• (2023-11-07): Took car from shop, everything seemed fine. Life is good.
• (2023-11-11): Driving a few days later, lost the throttle. Pulled to side of road, started up immediately/on first try, continued day.
• (roughly 2023-11-15): Some days later, car cranked but wouldn’t start at home. Stayed like that for a few days.
• CEL is on at this point.
• (2023-11-16): Pulled out/checked EFI and ECU fuse (both looked good), put back in and the car starts no problem.
• (2023-11-16): Car appears to be idling perfectly at ~1000 rpms, take a little drive around the neighborhood with not problems.
• (2023-11-16): Turn off car and try to start again. Doesn't start. Try the "pull out and put back in EFI/ECU fuses" move that worked previously and
• car still doesn't start and hasn't started since.
• ( 2023-11-30 ): Tried using starter fluid, sounded like it really wanted to turn over but still didn't start.
• ( 2023-11-30 ): Car now has trouble cranking, much less starting.

• with key in On position:
  • security light is **not** on
  • CEL is on.
• Cleaned the throttle body.
• Checked APPS - looks good.
• Checked Fuel Pump & Sender Gauge Connector - looks good.

Try draining some fuel and maybe the fuel is bad or has water in it which has contaminated your spark plugs. Slow crank is that you are now draining your battery.

 

[2001LC]

Key in IG SW. Security light off. Crank no start.

Read the codes. Correct any codes (DTC) found.

Still not starting.

With charged battery of ~12.5volts.

Disconnect fuel line at fuel pump. By pinching green clip, on down stream hose fitting attached to the fuel filter.
Note: If fuel pump working, building fuel pressure when cranking. Fuel will spray as you detach hose. Even up to a few hours or more after cranking engine.

Attach a hose to fuel filter, where fuel line removed from fuel filter. Run that hose from fuel filter to a catch can. See if fuel pumps into catch as engine cranking.

Note of caution: You likely know. Gasoline vapors are highly flammable. So be carful.

If no gas, comes out while cranking.

Check the fuel pump circuit.

Circuit okay, replace fuel pump & fuel filter.

 

[donco]

You can be fairly certain it's the starter contacts. It is a systemic problem with most Denso starters in a wide variety of Toyota models. My 2000 started doing that at 70k miles. I replaced them slightly before 100k miles and it still starts fine at 240k miles. The starter itself most likely does not need replacing at your mileage, just the contacts. I figure our previous owner must have done a lot of short in-town trips. The old contacts were badly worn. Each pulse of the solenoid mashes them together and ablates the copper as they arc and exasperates the pitting/wear. The repair is a bit of a pain since you must remove the intake manifold to get to the starter tucked in the valley but simple once you get it on the bench. It will be obvious looking at the old contacts compared to new why you were having problems. When installing new contacts, it's important for longevity to tighten them when they are perfectly aligned. Use a socket and large C-clamp to press the contacts on the same plane. Don't lose the little ball on the end of the tip of the plunger inside the solenoid. Put a little grease in the tip to hold the ball in place. Many recommend getting new intake gaskets. I cleaned mine and sprayed them with Copper Coat and re-used them.