No/rough start after key in ignition but engine not running?

This issue is starting to get extremely annoying and I'm sure it's not easy on the engine. Here it goes:

Whenever I leave the key in the ignition in POS II with the engine off (listening to music for instance) for a prolonged period of time, the truck cranks over and either doesn't start or is really rough starting off. A few months back I was sitting in the truck and heard a relay inside the cab on the driver's side clicking without me doing anything while the truck wasn't running, but key in POS II. I took the relay out and put it back in when I was about to leave and this is when the problem began. Took 5-6 tries to start it ending with a puff of smoke out of the tailpipe. The relay hasn't acted up since but I still to this day have starting issues when leaving the key in. Has anyone got any clue as to what this may be, or a remedy?

Thanks!

 

My first guess is leaking injectors.

 

Is this a common issue on our trucks? I've never heard of this before (not to say I don't believe you).

 

Leaking injector kind of sounds like it. Maybe run some good injector cleaner in the gas. Use the hole bottle in 1 tank full. Then do it again.

 

I'm having a hard time seeing it being a leaking injector, because the truck starts completely fine hot or cold as long as I don't leave the key in POS II. And even in POS II, the fuel pump isn't (shouldn't be) running.

 

POS II is not a key position. OFF, ACC, ON or START. Which is it?

The Toyota repair manuals always say to not leave the key in the ON position without the engine running for a long period because this can burn out ignition components like coils.

If you're leaving it in the ON position then maybe a coil is heating up, then it's not creating a good spark. The coil could be going bad and being hot makes it worse.

As far as the injector theory, you would still have fuel pressure for a while, so the injector could leak. I'm not sure if it would leak enough to cause your symptoms.

 

A leaking injector will leak key on or off. Doesn't sound like that the problem. What is the ambient temperature when this happens? Does fuel level in tank change symptoms at all?

Try cycling key off wait 15 seconds then try to start. If that doesnt help it try this:

Next time you park with key on, unhook the vacuum lines that run from the EVAP canistor switches to intake. Located on drivers fender.The two VSV solinoids in pdf file i attached. One line go's to throttle body the other to air cleaner box/tube. Right before you start it hook lines back up.