No start immediately after starting

First off, my wife's smart and she makes good decisions. This one probably comes down to her changing over to the early morning shift.

Weather: -19 C/-2.2 F
Issue: 2023 Tacoma started- it wasn't plugged in last night (we just finished up a spell of -30, and anything above -20 appears to be easy mode for this machine). She drove 25 feet, and shut it off because the windshield wipers weren't responding. I think she was thinking she could power cycle them. She tried to start the truck back up, and it wouldn't start- no crank or anything. She walked back to the house to get me.
I cleaned the snow out of the frozen windshield wipers. The truck fired up no problem. The charging system warning did show up on the display.

So, yeah, she made some weird decisions. Not super worried about that.
What I'm trying to figure out is this: does the truck cold startup consume so much power that it would make it hard for the truck to start again seconds later? Like, she didn't let it warm up or anything- hopefully this is the last time she does that, this probably scared her straight. This makes sense, but I'm not used to not having a battery gauge on the console in the truck for that quick troubleshooting.

Which brings up the second part: is there a way to view a battery gauge from the driver display? Yes, I can pull out a tester to check the battery, but it would be nice to be able to get that info from inside the cab.

 

I'm not aware of any battery voltage gage inside. Best best would be to install something like a scangage. What you describe about the battery and cold start sounds about right though.

 

The only way to monitor battery voltage without popping the hood is using a Bluetooth OBD Scanner with the car in Accessory mode. Inconvenient because the Radio and Air Conditioner comes on and the reading isn't 100% accurate.

Or, install a marine battery voltmeter in place of the cigarette lighter like I did with my wife's car. (Not optimal because the 12V plug is actually useful on the Tacoma.)

 

I'm a bit confuse what do you mean truck wasnt plug in? Also when the truck didnt turn did the cabin lights work or the dash or heater? If there is no power at all then the wiper power is triggering some kind of ground issue or loose wires. If you still have power but just didnt want to crank then it was too cold for the battery and it wasnt charged enough while on.

 

Was it still in D on the second start?

 

No, sorry, it was in Park. She tried starting it and it was cranking but wouldn't turn over. Once it sat for like 85 seconds I was able to start it. I think it was flooded from the cold start, but I'm not sure how this V6 works.

The bluetooth battery scanner? That sounds amazing.
Also the wipers were just frozen with ice, there was no power issue.

 

I have something similar to this. Works great.

$16 Quick Charge 3.0 Dual USB Charger Socket,with LED Digital Voltmeter & Wire Fuse DIY Kit,Aluminum Power Outlet Fast Charge, for 12V/24V Car, Golf Cart, Boat, RV, Motorcycle, Truck and More

Quick Charge 3.0 Dual USB Charger Socket,with LED Digital Voltmeter & Wire Fuse DIY Kit,Aluminum Power Outlet Fast Charge, for 12V/24V Car, Golf Cart, Boat, RV, Motorcycle, Truck and More

 

Ok then it sounds like your battery was weak from the cold temp and cold start. These stock battery are not that great.

 

Those temps and starting demands are hell on a battery, definitely don’t want to shut off the engine until it warms (making restart at easier) and recharging the battery some. Even if barely negative temps aren’t that bad to you, they’re still pretty cold, I’d plug it at those temps to make starts easier/less demanding.

 

Thanks! It seems like the battery was weak.
It definitely needs to be charged now, and the truck should have been plugged in.
I like how aggressively the truck starts, but it seems like it really consumes power to start. Shutting it off right away is not so good.
Does the cold start injector put more fuel than some other machines for cold starts?

 

OP: Can you clarify? Do you actually have an engine block heater on your (non-diesel) Taco? Is that what you mean by plugged in?

Or ... more likely ... do you mean connected to a battery trickle charger?

Thank you!

 

Yes, I have the block heater for the non-diesel V6. I live in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

No trickle charger.

 

These Tacoma's don't like being cold started then shutoff right away. My 2017 (v6) and my 2009 (4cly) acted very similar. If I cold started them (usually when its below freezing), then shut them off immediately, they do/did not like to be restated immediately again. Often they would crank x2 amount of times and run very rough for about 5-10 seconds before resuming normal idle. Nothing bad has ever come from it..

This happens to me sometimes because my automatic start feature shuts the truck off when the door is opened. Mine has never failed to crank over though..

 

Ah, thanks weeksz! It's good to hear- it makes sense this happened, I was mostly hoping to see if it's fuel or battery or a known issue.

It did start, so that's good at least. Fantastic machine so far. First real issue though