Starting issue on a 2000 UZJ100 (1 Viewer)

[cbmontgo]

I've searched extensively and most every similar issue comes back as starter contacts being the issue, but I'm not 100% convinced yet.

My wife's Land Cruiser is a completely stock and babied 2000 model with 196,000 miles. I installed a new battery a year ago and a brand new OEM Toyota starter two years ago.

Most of the time, the car starts just fine. However, the issue is that the starter will sometimes only turn the engine about 3 revolutions before shutting off, almost like it loses juice due to a bad ground or battery terminal connection issue. Other times, it won't do anything at all on the first turn of the key. Lights on the dash come on normally; everything else seems normal.

Where do these starters ground? Any other ideas before I replace this d*** thing again?

 

[trdcorolla]

These 100's are sensitive to dirty battery connections. Even if they look good, disconnect and clean the posts/clamps and see if that fixes your problem. You can also have the battery tested to see if it's still good (I know it's a year old but you never know).

 

[willoCo]

Clean battery connections, there's also usually an engine ground cable that could use cleaning.
This seems like a good read:

"The Big Three" Electrical Upgrade

You might have recently seen in the photos thread that I upgraded my engine-ground wires. No I don't have an upgraded alternator at the moment but plans for one are in the near future so that is partly why I decided to do this mod now. I went with 1/0 pre-tinned copper lug terminals from Little...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[kruisinkid]

starter relay? i believe the starter ground to block connection is an inch away from the starter on the drivers side in the valley of the V. i just replaced mine. its also probably impossible you got a "brand new starter OEM" they only have had reman'd for several years and those have been reported on here to prematurely die. but is sounds more like cables, battery, or relay anyway.

 

[fooldall1]

If the starter contacts aren't the issue, check and make sure the TERMINAL itself isn't eaten away at the bolt. Mine was PAPER thin and would not start sometimes until I opened and closed the hood, the impact jarring the battery would "knock" it into place. That was a sure sign it was the terminal. That said, those starter contacts are right about the time you're at before they'll start giving you problems, and steering rack coming up ~200k-ish.

 

[cbmontgo]

I cleaned the battery terminals late last week and the problem seemed to go away, up until this morning. Back to having the same issue again. I am going to check that grounds that @willoCo referenced above, and then replace the starter if it's not the ground.

 

[gregnash]

I cleaned the battery terminals late last week and the problem seemed to go away, up until this morning. Back to having the same issue again. I am going to check that grounds that @willoCo referenced above, and then replace the starter if it's not the ground.

Take some good, close up pics of your battery connections. Maybe someone can see something you are missing. I know that I have had issues in other vehicles that were similar and while the battery connection itself seemed fine, there was corrosion that had crept down into the cable itself, through the sleeving and was corroding inside the cable housing just past the connection.

 

[cbmontgo]

Just as a follow up, it was the starter (or contacts). Replaced with OEM and it’s been trouble free since. Bummed that the last OEM only lasted a couple of years. I hope this one lasts like it should.

 

[gregnash]

Just as a follow up, it was the starter (or contacts). Replaced with OEM and it’s been trouble free since. Bummed that the last OEM only lasted a couple of years. I hope this one lasts like it should.

Did you keep the old one? If you did, I think most of the guys have said that a new brush kit is only like $40 and pretty easy to change out.

 

[fooldall1]

Just as a follow up, it was the starter (or contacts). Replaced with OEM and it’s been trouble free since. Bummed that the last OEM only lasted a couple of years. I hope this one lasts like it should.

I hed the same experience with an OEM axle, and rack. Not to say I don't learn toward Denso for all electronics, but I own a reman rack, bushings, axle, fan bracket, and rack them they've been trouble free for a couple years now. Not all OEM parts make financial sense. Just my experience. My OEM Denso 100 Amp Alternator failed in less than 1 year, so I decided to try the Autozone 100 amp Alternator and it's been solid. The AC gauge actually sits steadily at 14.4 ramps, and the OEM was 13.9 from day one.

 

[willoCo]

Glad you got it sorted! I'm going to add a spare starter to my inventory some time. Cheers!

 

[nissanh]

Denso is not oem. TOYOTA owns denso. Denso makes parts based on toyota specifications. A part made by denso for toyota is in high quality.