Major electrical drain and no crank

[Godwin]

I've encountered a problem with the 80 (a '97) that I've not had before. Family and I spent a few days on a short trip and the Cruiser operated great. Upon arriving home and shutting it down I went to to move it and the starter only gave a series of rapid clicks. Ok, not unusual, as I've had to deal with starter issues like this in the past. I tried to crank the Cruiser a few more times, even tapping the starter, the clicking continued, but after a few times the electrical system went dead as if the battery had been drained. After a few minutes the battery revived but was easily pulled down. Both a jump start and swapping in a fresh battery had the same result.

Could a failed starter, fused contacts perhaps, cause a rapid drain on the battery? Should I also be looking for an issue within the electrical system? No matter what, the starter will be swapped out.

 

[Atoyot1031]

Without further information, my guess is a bad ground. I've had this cause the symptoms you are describing and worse on various vehicles.

Check all your grounds, or just go ahead and replace them. Make sure where they connect that you have clean metal on clean metal (battery to frame, engine to frame).

 

[ToyotaDon]

Could a failed starter, fused contacts perhaps, cause a rapid drain on the battery? Should I also be looking for an issue within the electrical system? No matter what, the starter will be swapped out.

Yes, a failed starter could cause a rapid drain. Anything that is a connection to ground with low resistance will draw large amounts of current from the battery. Usually, parasitic draw is tested with an ammeter between the negative cable & the negative terminal on the battery. It sounds like you have enough draw that it would be visible with a voltmeter. If so, then you can disconnect the starter, alternator, etc. until the draw goes away.

 

[atomicshawn]

wouldnt swap out the starter just yet. Don's advise is right on. If visual inspection reveals nothing obvious, I would suspect the alternator before anything else. Check the alt first, then go from there.

 

[Godwin]

It was the starter. Swapped it out and with a jump start it cranked. The defective starter is a remanned from Toyota and I need to dig around for the receipt to see if it's still under warranty.

 

[Kernal]

Maybe take the old starter to a one of the parts stores and get it checked to see what numbers you get??

 

[Godwin]

I've got a good local alternator/starter shop and was planning on taking it there to get it checked out. Out of curiosity I took a look at the plunger and contacts and all looked good there.

 

[Godwin]

I'm reviving this thread to wrap it up. What I thought was either a failed starter or failing battery was neither. I did swap out the starter and replaced the battery under warranty and for a month the Cruiser cranked and started every time. Just after Christmas we were on a trip to visit family and one morning I tried to start the Cruiser, dash lights lit normally, the starter made one crank then the electrical system went completely dead. My first thought was the battery, although it was only one month old. I checked the water level in the cells but they were good. A jump start did nothing, not even a faint glimmer of dash lights. I then checked all fuses and the fusible link and these were good. I had the battery checked, again good.

I then began checking the ground points in the engine bay and these appeared to be good. With everything else having checked out, and although the grounds looked ok, I suspected that this was a ground issue. To test this I attached a jumper cable from the - battery post to the frame, turned the key, and the Cruiser fired up. The ground problem lies in the main ground cable, and I think near the lug. One of the photos shows what may be corrosion within the main cable near the lug, which is also split.

My solution was to run a secondary ground from the battery to the frame. I sanded a bare spot on the frame, covered the exposed metal with dielectric grease, and sandwiched the cable between the bracket and frame. A 40" cable was just long enough to reach from the battery to the frame.