Solved: Needed help - 30k spark plug change and truck will not start - 2014 V6

4.0L is on 30k mile rotation, where as 2.7L is 100k

 

I've seen that movie. The TrueStart batteries the dealers sell have all failed way too early for me. Could have been a bad batch, but I'll never buy another one.

 

I ended up buying a Sam's Club model after AutoZone sold me a half sized battery. I was at the grocery store with a full cart of food in AZ during summer. Turned the key and nothing. A couple of days before that I just had a inspection at the local Toyota dealer and battery readout was in the green.

 

i should have watched this as part of my research.

http://youtu.be/yuKAmaIkA-U

 

Not for nothing but dielectric grease seems like a bandaid for not making sure your electrical connections are solid. If you have arcing across the plug wires they need replacing anyways. Dirt isn't conductive and water shouldn't collect there so why bother with the stuff.

 

Did you look at the video above? It's very informative. Looks like OP had grease on the connection part. BTW, if the battery is 12V+ at rest and then 5.5V when cranking...best way to test your battery is get another car next to it... and use jumper cables and try to start another car with your battery. Your battery should be disconnected from your car. So if your battery starts the other car... you got a short somewhere and it's gonna kill that battery and something else.

If your battery didn't start the other car... take the other car's battery and see if you can start your truck with it...if it reads 5.5V again...you got a short on your truck. If you want to be really safe... take an ohm meter and measure the resistance and see if it makes any sense...if you by chance have another Tacoma in the neighborhood that you can measure the resistance and compare...also give you some more information.

 

I had a Ford battery go bad at 9 months. Fortunately I had boat with me and used one from boat. Unfortunately it was a Sunday and I had to get one that fit properly so I could not wait for dealer to open on Monday. Battery on my 2009 Prerunner took dump at less than 3 years.

 

I understand how it works, my point is if you have cracked boots or wires they need replacing anyways.

 

I use di-electric grease to lubricate the plug/boot. It makes the next removal easier. Not all greases are di-electric so I'd rather not risk an inadvertent short. YMMV.

 

Installed a new battery and the truck started up like it should.

I went to Batteries Plus down the street and ordered an X2 AGM. They gave me a Duracell to use for the week while the new X2 ships from Wisconsin.

Went by the dealer and they said they will replace the battery for free but I have to leave/wait (4-6 hours) on the truck/battery to go through a system check. There was a line out the door so I opted to not spend my whole day waiting on them. I may go back later this week and at least try to get a free one I can keep as a spare. I'm thinking they will balk when they see I have 12V power leads running off the positive terminal to a pop n lock, led dome light in the camper shell and a small stereo amp.

I did get grease on the connection of a couple plugs and it may have caused the OEM battery to crap out. IDK.

Either way I'm on the road and thank all you guys for educating me and supporting my issue. I'll update the OP as solved.

 

grease on your plugs had NOTHING to do with the OEM battery crapping out.

 

I have done hundreds of spark plug wire/ spark plug replacements on various makes and models using brand new parts (obviously). I don't waste my time with that shit. If the wires are going to arc, that tells me that either A. The wires are cheap, and their boots don't insulate worth a damn or B. The overall engine spark plug location design is garbage.

Never have I used, and after watching that video, I still am not going to. You don't tear the boot upon removal, you tear the wire terminal inside because it grips the plug too tight. Either way, most often it is repairable. If you don't want the boot to stick for next time you remove simply twist the boot at its baseleft and right to make sure it is free. If it is a cheap ass set of wires the terminal inside will tear anyways.

 

Only time I've ever used dielectric grease is actually on the metal threads of outdoor porch light bulbs, which were blowing out after a very short life. I thought it might be due to high humidity. Only applied a very thin coat, and bulb life was greatly increased. After reading the discussion and watching the video here, I assume threading the bulb "cut" thru the grease I applied. Have NOT had a problem with bulb life since, and have been doing this for at least 5 years.

 

Sorry for the delayed update but I finally got through the dealership process. Good news!

First visit the service rep said he needed the truck all day for a full diagnostic. He spoke to me like I was wasting his time. I wasn't prepared for this so I opted to return today 15 mins prior to the service shop opening and be first in line.

A new service tech said "No" to replacing the battery because "you already bought a new one". I stayed calm and was polite and said I had my tools onboard and could simply go out to his driveway and swap my new battery with old one, let the truck sit there and start the conversation over.

He looked me in the eye for a moment and then said he would talk to his manager. A couple more minutes went by (no manager got involved) and then he said he would put a new battery the the truck bed for me to take home. He became really friendly and actually was a really nice guy from then on.

Since I already have an X2 installed, I guess this new battery will make a good spare or help me recoup cost towards the X2.

Sucks that they tried to turn me away at first. Should not be that way. But they did make good on it. Really just depends on who you get and how you act at the service desk. Thanks again for all the help fellas.

 

I don't mean to hi-jack (and maybe a new thread is in order) but this whole dialectric grease thing has me going...I've used the stuff for years on automotive and atv electrical connections and never had any issues. Is it that big of a deal? Like my atv I use it to "waterproof" the connections for lights, etc. On my vehicles, I always shoot a dab into the plug wire boot before putting them on. Somebody somewhere told me it was a good idea to do it and I always have. Now I gotta rethink this.

 

I've never had any issues with dielectric grease, although the times I use it sparingly.

 

I'm confused. I have a 2014 DCLB and my owners manual doesn't state anything about changing the plugs at 30k. I've checked several times.

 

I have a 2014 DCLB and mine says the same.

 

Read the Manual closer, the V6 gets plug changes every 30K and the 4 goes 100K.

 

Ok all, So only having had this truck for a short time and just finishing up my last free oil change, I did go back and compare books that came with my truck. The "WARRANTY & MAINTENANCE GUIDE" vs the "Toyota Manual" that came with the truck are not the same when it comes to these recommendations. In fact the "WARRANTY & MAINTENANCE GUIDE"...DOES state the V6 4.0L gets spark plug changes at 30k; see page 41.