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Need help, very slow crank after reinstalling heads

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by ryleyvr6, Oct 6, 2017.

  1. Oct 6, 2017 at 5:48 PM
    #1
    ryleyvr6

    ryleyvr6 [OP] Member

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    im about at a loss and hope someone can help me through this. Recently went into my 1998 3.4 to replace the headgaskets. It’s all put together again now but for some reason the starter just cranks very very slowly. I’ve replaced the starter even though the old one tested good. New battery, checked all connections and grounds, replaced starter relay. Verified timing and even pulled the plugs back out and it still just cranks real slow...
     
  2. Oct 6, 2017 at 5:58 PM
    #2
    mwrohde

    mwrohde Well-Known Member

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    How did you test the old starter? Did you test the new one the same way?

    What I'm really getting at is, did you bench test the starter? With the same battery that's in the truck? It spun ok there?
     
    Dalandser likes this.
  3. Oct 6, 2017 at 6:20 PM
    #3
    ryleyvr6

    ryleyvr6 [OP] Member

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    Last week I took the old one to the auto part store, they tested it and it read fine. I put it back in then tried everything else. Today I went and bought a new one and put it in and does the same thing
     
  4. Oct 7, 2017 at 2:40 AM
    #4
    Wyoming09

    Wyoming09 Well-Known Member

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    I gotta think either poor grounds or corroded battery terminals.

    Remember the starting circuit grounds through the bell housing to the engine block back to the battery.

    Battery fully charged
     
  5. Oct 7, 2017 at 5:16 AM
    #5
    Dalandser

    Dalandser ¡Me Gustan Las Tacos-mas!

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    Go over all the connections and cables with a fine toothed comb and I can almost guarantee you'll find your answer. You can even remove the wiring harness for the starter and do it in a more comfortable place. I've read one guy lately found that the wires came loose from a connector or were corroded inside the crimp where he couldn't see, and that was causing a no crank / weak crank ticking sound. Gotta dissect that stuff sometimes.

    You might also want to change the name of your thread - I came on here with the intent of helping someone getting vehicle recovery services out to a stuck vehicle because of the title.
     
    tomwil, wilcam47 and mechanicjon like this.
  6. Oct 7, 2017 at 9:00 AM
    #6
    Glamisman

    Glamisman Well-Known Member

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    There are 3 grounds on the 3.4. The main one is on the engine block. Follow the negative lead down to it. The second ground is on the passenger side head rear, the third is off the negative cable and goes to the chassis by the battery.
    The issue you are having is high resistance in the ground circuit(s)... this IS NOT tested with an ohm meter. You need to preform a voltage drop on the affected circuits. An analog volt/ohm meter is the easiest to use. Set the scale to DC volts, depending on the meter the scale can be 0 to 3 volts or 0 to 100 volts or ??? depends on your meter. Put one lead on the positive battert post and the other on the post on the starter and crank it and look at the reading. If the meter swings the wrong way, reverse the leads. There should be no more than 2 volts showing omn the meter. If there is there is too much internal resistance in that circuit. Do the same on the ground connections.
     
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  7. Oct 7, 2017 at 11:15 AM
    #7
    ryleyvr6

    ryleyvr6 [OP] Member

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    Alright I’m going to go over all the connections again now and put a meter on it. Let you know if I have luck
     
  8. Oct 7, 2017 at 11:16 AM
    #8
    T4RFTMFW

    T4RFTMFW Well-Known Member

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  9. Oct 7, 2017 at 11:47 AM
    #9
    ryleyvr6

    ryleyvr6 [OP] Member

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    Just tested the leads, got .16 volts to the starter and no voltage reading from the grounds..
     
  10. Oct 7, 2017 at 11:54 AM
    #10
    Dalandser

    Dalandser ¡Me Gustan Las Tacos-mas!

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    There ya go :)

    You really gotta change the thread title to something like "Starter slow cranks after engine work" up in the thread tools option at the top of the thread - pretty sure that's why a moderator was tagged in this thread though.
     
    T4RFTMFW likes this.
  11. Oct 7, 2017 at 12:19 PM
    #11
    ryleyvr6

    ryleyvr6 [OP] Member

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    My bad, I changed the title. Should I have gotten some voltage reading between the grounds and the negative terminal when it’s being cranked?..
     
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  12. Oct 7, 2017 at 12:22 PM
    #12
    Styx586

    Styx586 Well-Known Member

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    You should not have voltage on the ground side... if you got 0 volts that's a good thing :thumbsup:
     
  13. Oct 7, 2017 at 12:23 PM
    #13
    Dalandser

    Dalandser ¡Me Gustan Las Tacos-mas!

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  14. Oct 7, 2017 at 4:34 PM
    #14
    Glamisman

    Glamisman Well-Known Member

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    damn... you guys are beating me to the answers....
     
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  15. Oct 7, 2017 at 6:48 PM
    #15
    ryleyvr6

    ryleyvr6 [OP] Member

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    Well the meter is showing good all around. As far as I understand the only thing that would keep a starter from spinning full speed is the electrical to and from the battery. Guess I’ll have to try running new power and new grounds
     
  16. Oct 7, 2017 at 7:20 PM
    #16
    10MGM

    10MGM Well-Known Member

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    What is the static battery voltage and the cranking voltage?
     
  17. Oct 7, 2017 at 7:29 PM
    #17
    Dalandser

    Dalandser ¡Me Gustan Las Tacos-mas!

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    Probably means you're being more productive than us today lol
     

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