Need some input on starter contacts

[slomatt]

I had some 4runner fun on the way home from work. My 4runner was parked outside all day where it was wet and cold. When I got in and started it to drive home the engine seemed to idle rough and it made a weird squealing sound. I ended up driving about a quarter of a mile and stopped at a gas station to see what the sound was from, after I stopped the engine I could hear the starter running continuously. Removing the key from the ignition had no effect and neither did attempting to start the car. In fact, I put it in gear and let out the clutch and was able to drive forward on "starter power". While I had the hood up and was trying to pull the starter relay in the dark it finally stopped running on its own, and hasn't acted up since.

My assumption is that the solenoid contacts are worn and locked the starter in the engaged position. The squealing noise was either grinding the ring gear (hopefully not) or the starter complaining since it was being driving by the engine.

So, two questions:

1. Does this theory make sense?
2. How much damage do you think I did to the ring gear?

Now the hunt for contacts begins so I can drive to Tahoe on Sunday.

Thanks for your input.

- Matt

[Crinale]

doesnt sound like contacts to me.. usually if the contacts are bad the starter wont turn the engine over at all, and if your starter had enough torque to move the truck, the contacts are likely fine. I would check the relay, and the power connection to the battery.

[MTL_4runner]

Hard to tell if it is starter contacts or not but at the very least I'd pull the starter and have it rebuilt at an auto electric shop near you. They will replace all the wear items to where the starter will function like new again (but alot cheaper than a new one!) While the starter is out you can also check the flywheel for damage but if the truck still starts, I'd say you were fine on that side. Do get that starter rebuilt to ensure it doesn't happen agaian though.

[04 Rocko Taco]

I would check the flywheel if you have a chance. We had an old 4runner that cracked a few teeth off of the flywheel gear and it would start 8 out of 10 times, but if the flywheel stopped spinning in that one spot where there were no teeth, the starter had nothing to engage, and it just wouldn't start. It was a PITA to diagnose and to fix.

[Robinhood4x4]

Roger Brown sells contacts if you can't find them at a dealer.

[4x4mike]

Matt, I have a write up here with part numbers for the contacts. After you remove the starter take a peek at the gear and see if it's bad. Ken had to do his contacts and after replacing them his starter would stick like you mentioned.

Had you had symptoms of worn starter contacts prior to this event?

[slomatt]

Thanks for everyone's input.

Mike, how did Ken eventually get his not to stick? This is the first time I've had any issues with the starter on the 4runner, so I was pretty surprised. I have seen some other posts where people had a similar issue and they thought the plunger was getting stuck on the contacts.

http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49294

Of course none of my local dealers have the contacts in stock, and I'm driving the truck up to go skiing tomorrow. :) My hope is that it is just starting to go bad and will be fine tomorrow, I'll bring a hammer and a pipe so I can hit the starter and try to knock the solenoid loose if it happens again. I'll definitely be ordering some new contacts, or else drive down to Roger's place and pick some up.

Great writeup by the way, thanks.
http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=6151.0

- Matt

[4x4mike]

Ken ended up buying a new starter from the dealer. It was right after he got out of the hospital and moved into his house so he was a little busy and a new starter was easier.

[MTL_4runner]

If you're considering getting one from a dealer at all, as I mentioned earlier it's definately worth getting a quote from an auto-electric shop for rebuilding it instead. I've had both my alternator and my starter rebuilt and they did an excellent job each time (remember that's all those guys do all day everyday). It also came out alot cheaper and with minimal effort. To me, if you're going to put in the time to R&R the starter, you might as well make sure you won't need to touch it again for a very long time.

[paddlenbike]

Ken ended up buying a new starter from the dealer. It was right after he got out of the hospital and moved into his house so he was a little busy and a new starter was easier.


Yup. I replaced the contacts but for whatever reason it didn't fix the problem. The plunger showed some wear too but not enough to be the root of the problem. After replacing the contacts I had two occasions where the starter kept running for a few seconds after turning off the key. Like Mike said, at the time I was in no shape to keep messing with it so I bought a remanufactured starter from Toyota and took the opportunity to upgrade from the 1.6 kw to the 1.8kw. It is physically larger and costs no more. I paid somewhere in the low-hundred range.

[slomatt]

Today I pulled out the starter and as suspected the contacts were heavily worn. As Mike warned in his instructions removing the plastic plug on the starter was a pain and ultimately it took me under the truck pushing the clip and a friend pulling the wire from the wheel well. The good news was that the two starter bolts were not corroded at all and were really easy to remove. The really weird thing was that the plastic cover over the terminal had broken down and turned in to a sticky goop which a pain to clean off.

I've read that all autos have the 1.8kw starter and manuals have the 1.4kw starter. My 2000 4runner 5spd has Toyota part number 28100-62050 which is the 1.4kw so this seems to be true.

Now it's time to buy some replacement parts...

- Matt

[paddlenbike]

The 1.8kw starter definitely turns the motor over faster and it sounds a little different, but definitely not worth the expense of upgrading if yours is rebuildable.

[Piett]

The really weird thing was that the plastic cover over the terminal had broken down and turned in to a sticky goop which a pain to clean off.


I swear it was like the boot melted and behaved like chewing gum. Super tacky.

[4x4mike]

Maybe it caught fire/got really hot and melted. Was the wire connection tight? If not maybe it arc'd or had a bunch of resistance and got hot.

[slomatt]

The connection was tight with no evidence of arcing. The only thing I can think of is that it is near the exhaust manifold and got melted? Perhaps the previous owner had a huge turbo setup on there or something. :)

- Matt

[slomatt]

After pulling the starter I determined that it was the 1.4kw unit that appears to be standard on 5spd 4Runners. The contacts are the part numbers listed in Mike's post, they cost about $25 for the pair. Unfortunately the dealership did not carry the plunger, so I just cleaned up the old one and re-used it. Installing the new contacts was easy, and re-installation of the starter was also easy EXCEPT for the hassle of getting the starter past the exhaust manifold and into place.

Thanks again to everyone for your input.

- Matt

[20005spd]

i replaced my starter contacts about 6 months ago. symptoms were occasionally not starting, just clicking, being a tech i said screw it, so i used to park on a hill and pop start it. then it got bad enough to where it would stay cranking :shake: i removed the starter and the contacts and brought them to the dealer and matched them up. they had tons of both types in stock. $5 each, i reused the plunger, cleaned it up with sand paper or lightly with an angle grinder. have been trouble free since :thumbup: