Accidentally pressed remote start in Gear. Truck won’t start or crank

I goofed up yesterday. Accidentally pressed the aftermarket remote start on my manual transmission taco which was in gear with the e-brake on.

I was coming home from the store. The remote tried to start twice before I could stop it. When I used the key to start, the starter sounded like it was having a hard time turning the vehicle on.

I was able to get home. Decided to turn off and turn the truck back on, it made the same noise again but wouldn’t turn over and poof a white smoke came out from the driver fender. After that I tried it again and nothing happens. No crank. No start turn over noise.

Did I fried the starter or the alternator or did I goofed something else?


I’m leaning towards the starter but I want another suggestion before taking it to the dealer. I still have my factory warranty. Was wondering should I fix it myself or take the chance and bring it to them? It will need to be tow.

*I bought the truck from another state New. That dealer installed the remote start: Im afraid the dealerships here will void it.

Thanks in advance

 

Sounds like you fried the starter.

 

Yup.

Bump start it and take it to the dealer, save yourself the tow money.

 

starter or solenoid.

 

solenoid?

 

Will this actually work since it has a chip key?

 

I don’t know what happened.
But how were you in gear WITH the E-brake on and driving?
Definitely a case where multiple things happened at the same time, resulting in unintended actions.

Yikes Hopefully it’s just the starter and no damage was done to the flywheel.

 

No it was in gear and with the E-Brake on when parked. It was parked up hill. I didn’t drive with the E-Brake on

 

I would assume that if the starter engaged the flywheel at speed, it would overload the starter (as the electric motor in the starter is not designed to spin at those speeds). I'd say the damage is most certainly the starter if that is what occurred, and a replacement will be necessary.

If anyone is curious with how a starter works/engages:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFsl5r34lCI

As you can see, the starter gear engages the flywheel to spin the engine over. It sounds like OP engaged the starter at cruising speeds, which far exceed the duration and speed at start-up.

More here:
https://www.technology.org/2018/12/...ts-already-on-what-makes-that-terrible-noise/

 

If the car was not in motion, then it is possible you fried the starter motor (smoke is a telltale sign that it is the starter and not the solenoid, although any part of the electrical system could have been overloaded as well). The starter would have attempted to push the car forward, thereby overheating, as it was not designed for this task, paired with the fact that the driveline would refuse to move with the e-brake on.

 

A dealer should fix it if another dealer installed it. They reimburse each other.

Me. I would play dumb and take it to the dealer. At least to get the starter fixed.

 

100% this. The fact the starter was able to engage is on Toyota, but I would still play dumb. I'd have them flatbed tow it to the dealership and fix it under warranty.

 

Ah ok. Thanks for clearing that up.
Anyways, it seems there would be some redundancy safety features to prevent this?
I’m guessing OEM remote start uses the ECM to “know” when it’s safe to start?

 

Dumb is good

 

Most kits I've seen for manuals include a wire to tap into the neutral signal. Maybe the dealer installed one for an automatic or just didn't research it enough, or maybe the Taco's neutral is not a ground

 

It's the "switch" for the starter motor.

 

Sure the starter just turns the engine, you're using gravity to do that for you. Just make sure your key is on like it would be when the truck is running.

 

A 2021 Taco person that I recently met had an issue with the factory remote start. They remote started and opened a rear door first. They couldn't restart the engine until they did a battery disconnect.

Try that. Pull both terminals. Negative off first and on last. Touch them both together while disconnected to get a full system drain down of all of the capacitors.

Hopefully that helps.

 

That won't work, He let out the magic smoke.

 

Thanks!

I missed the smoke monster parts. Those angry pixies can turn real ugly.