[slither]

Hey guys, finally had my first problem with the supra :-( Actually, its been slowly getting worse and was there when I bought the car. Anyway here it goes
If I let the car sit for a while, the battery will go dead. I just charge the battery and the car starts. It slowly got to where anything like a week and I would have to charge the battery to get it started. I go out last sunday to start the car, and its dead. I charge it and drive it around for a while to recharge it and let it sit for about an hour. Its really sluggish again. I park it and go out today and the battery is dead again. I charge it once again and this time it will only hold enough charge to try to start it before going dead. I go to the parts store and pick up an Optima RedTop(900cranking amps) come home, modify the cables slightly(bent them strait, took the 90 out of them is all I done and am sure i didnt hurt them in anyway)
Try to start the car and all I get is a click. I also had them test the optima before I brought it home to make sure it was okay. Also, the battery is definatly not dead or anywhere close to it as I could turn on all my lights and my sterio wouldnt even fad the lights slightly so Im good on that end.
Now, normally I would check the cable going to the starter, but its a PITA to get under my car. Also, from what I gathered in a search, the contacts are prone to going bad. Its just kinda odd it seems for it go bad right after the battery died also. You would think if the contacts were dirty it would start better with a new battery vs worse.
Are there any fuses to the starter, if so where? What about relay's? It would be great if i found the problem w/out having to get under the car(ie:relay or fuse) if the problem is indeed uptop.

Cliff-notes
Car want start, battery WAS dead and needed replacing due to not holding a charge. Now, with a known good Optima 900cranking amp battery it just clicks. Thinking its kinda odd for the contacts to go out the same time the battery does. Wondering where/if there are any fuses or relays.
Thanks in advance guys!

 

[HmoobSUPRA]

Anyone with more definitely answer can chimed on the fuse (myself..I don't recall seeing any starter fuse on..you only have so many fuse boxes to look so if it's not there..). My advice is to clean the contacts and see if it will start (there is also a kit for it as well)..which beats paying for a full new or rebuilt unit. Also, once you can start the car measure the voltage just to be sure your alternator is also working (should be around 14V or so).

 

[slither]

I allready cleaned the terminals, good call, that was also my first thought(great minds do think alike??)
Im with you on the fuse also, I checked all of those before work today. I am only aware of the one fuse box under the hood(the one that holds the ecu fuses)
Funny thing is though, the ONLY spare part I have for the supra happens to be a new starter, LOL. A friend gave it to me since he now owns a 6 speed supra and he had bought it for his auto when he had it. I think he jynxed me, tha bastaad

 

[93 twintrbo]

I am starting to get the same thing happening to me. In cold weather around 50 degrese. When I turn the ignition to start I will just hear a click,click. no turning over or anything. I try it a few more times and then it works. It is steady getting worse, I think its the starter going bad.

Lawrence

 

[ReI86]

I had the same problem and all I did was the change the starter. With the change of the starter I dont have the problem anymore

 

[slither]

Ive got an extra starter. I went ahead and jacked the car up and cleaned all the connections, etc... and still nothing. I am going to go ahead and install the other starter to see if it fixes it or not. From what I have read, its best to just put in new contacts as thats the problem 99.99% of the time. I called the toyota dealership today, and they are only 18 bucks but you need two of them.
At this point, Im fairly sure its the starter.
If this doesnt fix it, Ill ohm out all wires and check the voltage at the starter. I know, I know, I should do that first, LOL

 

[Hua]

I've replaced 4 starters on a few of my cars in the past year, all of them would just do the dreaded "click" sound each time the key was turned. If it clicks one time whenever the key is in the start position, starter is dead. I got by for about 1.5 years on my Pathfinder, praying that it would eventually turn over each time I clicked it. Eventually it wouldn't even click anymore, had to get my truck towed home.

 

[mike91t]

sounds like starter selinoid shit the bed. A low battery will cause a high amp draw and cook the contacts therefore killing the starter which had probably already seen better days.

 

[slither]

Well damnit. I put in the starter I got from a friend(more info on that starter in a second) and it still does the same thing. If I turn the key it will click once, i can let the key go and turn it again and it doesnt do anything, no clicks or anything. If I cycle the key back off, it will click once more. At this point I am leaning towards a cable problem as since its clicking, atlleast its doing something. Posibly either a ground or power.
What happens if the theft system is keeping it from starting? Will it turn over and not start or not do anything? I ask this because if i hook the battery back up without the key in the acc position, the alarm goes off. Same thing if the key is in the off position. It has to be in the acc position to keep the alarm from going off. Also, when I hook the battery up, the doors lock, and I cant unlock them with the buttons, it want let me. I am wondering if I need to take the key out, shut the door, hook the battery back up and manually unlock the car. Wonder if that will do it. I really know jack shit about the toyota's alarm, just kinda odd it locks the doors when i hook the battery back up. Does this allways happen? Anyone know if theres does this anytime the battery is hooked back up?
Info on starter: my buddies car wouldnt start. He thought it may be the starter, so he ordered another one. That didnt fix it, so he left the new starter on anyway. Turned out to be the neutral safety switch, so this starter is good.

 

[ReI86]

Dude check your batt. connctions aswell and minds well bust out the money bag and buy a new starter. THe price isnt bad at all either.

 

[slither]

Well, I figured out the problem. The only way I could get it to start was to
Roll the window down(so when i reconnected the battery, when the doors lock I could reach in and get the key)
put the key in,
turn it to the acc position(first click)
re-connect the battery(doors lock at this point)
Try to start it once, so when I pulled the key out the alarm didnt go off
Take the key out, unlock the door using the key
Get it and start the car normally.

So, I was pretty close wondering about the alarm. I gotta admit though, it took me a while to figure out all those steps just to get by the alarm. Im guessing the dead battery caused the alarm to do what it did. Hope this info will help someone else out in the future!
Brian

 

[Suprafastmkiv]

Never heard of that....

I have never heard of the process you describe. Good for you to have figured that out....What a PIA! I would think that this will prove helpful to at least one person in the future, which is why I'm a part of this board.....For SHIT JUST LIKE THIS...that would make you want to curse the car and get rid of it, if you couldn't get to the bottom of it....


Later,

 

[Hua]

So basically it was your ignition kill from the alarm, nice.

 

[slither]

Suprafastmkiv, after ohming all the cables/wires out, etc.. I come to the conclusion that it must have had something to do with the alarm. I looked at the relay and N saftey switch, but they appeared to be in great shape. I also pulled the starter apart, and looked at the contacts, which looked to be good also.
Hua, on all the vehicles I have had, if the alarm overrides the igntion, the car will just crank and crank and never start, i tried to get info about the supra alarm but noone here said anything so I figured it owuld be the same as all the other cars I have had. Ive never had one that wouldnt even let the starter turn at all, LOL.
I bet there have been hundreds of parts swapped out when it was just the alarm. My bet is that a lot of times, someone would change a part and accidently go through the process that I did and swear it fixed there problem. After I changed the starter, had i done this process, I would have sent the starter off to have it rebuilt thinking it was the problem too, so I cant say anything, LOL
Just glad to have my dawg back is all I know. On a sidenote, I think it was her way of letting me know to get under the car as I found out my new tires(300 miles or so) are completly worn out on the very inside edge(down to the wire and cords). I would have never known had i not had to jack the car up, so Im glad it happened

 

[Hua]

The stock Supra alarm works just like my sister's old Lexus, and all the other aftermarket alarms I have had. I didn't notice if you mentioned anything about the alarm in your initial post, or that you triggered it, that may have jump started my mind.

Anyhow, glad you figured it out. Next time, just park it in a dark alley downtown, I am sure a thief would have started it in about 2 mins.

 

[ChBrAc16]

everyone knows that the supra has problems sitting for a few days and being able to start. obviously, i have that problem so i bought a new battery and a new alternator from curt a few months ago. how can i tell if the alternator or the starter is actually my problem? it seems like cleaning the contacts is hell of a lot cheaper than buying a new alternator. thanks guys

ryan

 

[slither]

Ryan, its really simple to clean your contacts. But first you should make sure that the starter is the problem. Even if your contacts are bad, they are only 18 bucks(but you need 2 of them).
I am doing a writeup on how to change/clean contacts as we speak.
Your local parts store(pepboys, advance auto, autozone, etc...) should be able to check your alt and starter for you for free, if after testing everything else you come to the conclusion it is the starter.

 

[mark94tt]

I'm willing to bet that the supra uses a similar starter to the one found in the camry, since it is all denso parts. Well the part in the starter that fails are the contacts, because of the current that is going through them, so over time they just wear down to a point where they dont make good contact. This happened to my dad's 95 camry, and he ordered the parts from a guy online (I'll get his name later), and we installed them and it worked just fine again.

 

[briguy453]

Anyone ever run into the problem of a griding sound from the starter on a cold start?

If I start the engine a 2nd time (after the engine is warm), I get no grinding sound. Could that be the contacts?

Any help would be appriciated!

Thanks
Brian

 

[gdiman]

^^ Yep, I'm starting to get that too. Very occasionally, but it happens nonetheless. More often, I get the click,click, click mentioned in this thread. Almost always it happens only on a cold start. I'm thinkng it's probably time to put in a new starter.