One click and no start: Starter has been rebuilt then replaced and still no go

Hi folks, so I'm getting the one-click no-start issue.
2000 Tacoma 4WD 2.7L 4 cyl

The click is followed by a very faint buzzing for as long as the key is held in the "start" position. Here's the saga thus far, any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. After a lot of reading previous threads, I tried rebuilding the starter contacts, installed, same deal. Said screw it and just ordered a brand new bosch starter, installed, same deal again.

2. Swapped the starter relay from my brother's '98 Tacoma, no difference.

3. Checked the connections to the battery, and one ground wire from the block to the firewall (if facing the truck, the one on the upper left of the firewall). Are there any more I should look at?

4. Tried to jump-start, just in case it was the battery after all (an optima red-top that seems to be putting out enough juice).​

I have a voltmeter, keen to figure out how to use it to help me here, but I'm still in the dark with a lot of electrical things. Any thoughts or ideas to try?
Thanks

 

Similar symptoms I had several months ago on my 2.7
At the end of the day it was just a bad starter.

I would also check your ground. I had to re route mine in the past straight to the frame.

 

Oh yeah! One more thing. 120A main fuse. Check that

 

Take a jumper wire from the small terminal on the starter (solenoid wire from the starter relay), and with the truck in neutral or park, touch the jumper to the positive battery terminal. If the battery, battery cables, and engine ground cable are good, the starter should crank the engine over. If it cranks, the problem is between the key switch and the starter. If it does not crank, something is up with the battery, cables, or starter.

On the older trucks (pre Taco) Toyota used a relay for the starter, but all the power ran through the key switch first, and a worn out switch could cause low voltage to the starter solonoid, and a no start. Don't know if a first gen Taco is the same.

 

I'd check for voltage drop in + and - leads.

Or just pull the starter and bench test it, then you'll know what you're dealing with.

 

I would not assume the battery is healthy even you can measure terminal voltage. In addition to the aforementioned suggestions about grounding. etc. Try substituting it with known good battery or taking the battery to a battery dealer and have it tested.

 

Wow, thanks for all the great responses and ideas.

So to just get it out of the way, I disconnected the battery neg and put the multimeter on it... getting 11.95 out of it. I've looked up some charts and that seems to be around 40% charge.

Is that low enough to keep the starter from turning over? Bear in mind, this is after I had the jumper's hooked up to my brother's car for a good 5 minutes last night.

 

Yes, that's too low. The voltage is going to drop dramatically under load with a low charge. But you should be able to jump start it.......

 

After 3 complete discharges, your battery is compromised. It should be replaced. 3-5 yrs of life for a properly maintained battery.

 

Okay... so I took the battery to Sears and had them throw it on their tester. It charged the battery for 15 minutes and determined it was good. So I brought it home, made a ham sandwich and threw it back in the truck, trying to figure out what I was going to try next.
Tried starting it for shits and giggles, turned over 3 times and started.

OKAY!
So if it was just a dead battery, is it my alternator not charging properly? I left it running right now, voltage is at 13.88 with it sitting there idling.

 

Don't assume that..the battery could have just given up. How long ago did you get the one you started having this issue with?

I figure most batteries are 5 yr, but reasonably can expect 4 yrs in cold climates. If your charging light isn't lit on the dash I'd figure your alternator is okay and not look for trouble further.

Re jumping it: Sometimes the battery will be so bad it won't even take a jump. Not as often that it happens but seen it more than once on my cars.

 

Buy a harbor freight volt meter and test everything.

 

Got one already

So it looks like the 13.88 volts under idle with no accessories is pretty standard charge as per some web articles I've found such as: http://www.aa1car.com/library/charging_checks.htm

One thing to note: when this problem first occurred, it was after a good 1.5 hour drive which is why I suspected the starter in the first place. So maybe the battery is still good, but not for long? Just keep jumper cables handy at all times?

I don't like it when it's working with no clear fix... maybe when I reconnected the battery I cinched it down better? Argh, well I'll see.

Edit: Maybe it originally was the starter, but over the intervening time (while fixing and replacing starter etc) the charge pooped out on the battery?

 

Perhaps you had corrosion on the terminals as well?

Either way I bet your alternator is fine..

 

All battery testers are not created equal. A load test is not a definitive indicator of battery health. A capacitive tester will point out failures far before it ever shows up in a load test.
Which test did they use on yours?

 

Went to try starting it this morning, and the battery is discharged/dead again. It has an aftermarket alarm which was not active, and I can't think of anything else that would be using up any juice while the vehicle is off.

The terminals actually look pretty squeaky clean, and they're cinched up real good now. I hope you're right!

The battery tester was the Diehard-branded version of this: http://www.psedealerequipment.com/node/201142

He put it on there and it automatically charged the battery for 15 minutes, then the "good" light came on. I asked him if it was ever wrong and he replied, "not that I know of"... but I'm starting to wonder.

 

Used the multimeter tool to test the draw on the battery (10-amp DC setting), disconnecting the neg and touching the post and the cable. Getting a draw of .01 amps, so that seems like pretty much nothing. Battery?

 

So you still have the same battery in it that was there when the problem started?

I used to work in an auto parts store, I've seen these charger/tester things be full of s@%t before, it wouldn't be the first time it's happened.

If you have tested for a current draw with the truck off, and still are having problems, I would say it's time to change the battery out.

When I worked in auto parts it was standard procedure to hook a battery up to the machine and test it before warrantying it out. If it didn't fail, we couldn't warranty it. If you take your battery in fully charged, and the machine still wants to charge it, that usually means the battery is bad. I used to hate that situation, because the customer would wait around for half an hour, the machine would pronounce the battery to be good, and the machine was WRONG! Awkward situation that Kragen would put us in, but that's a whole different story.....bastards.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. It definitely seems like the logical conclusion, so I did just that! New battery in, truck starts right up. Killer.

Leave it overnight, next day: "CLICK." dammiiiiiiiiiiiit. battery has been drained enough to keep it from starting apparently. I recharged the battery and put it back in with the negative disconnected, and checked the draw again. 0.05 amps. That seems totally reasonable and not something that would put any stress on the battery, especially after less than 24 hours...

 

Somethings draining that battery....has to be. 0.05 amps IS nothing. I am wondering if perhaps whatever is draining the battery just isn't getting turned on during the drain test. Try setting the alarm with your remote while the meter is hooked up inline. It's probably not going to be able to chirp the siren for you to know it's set, but might be able to set it and see the amp draw. I've seen alarms go bad and cause this kind of thing. Might also try a 12V test light instead of the meter. Maybe something's up with your meter? A normal draw with a test light will just barely make the filament glow a very dim orange color.

If you can get an indication that it does have a current draw (I don't get how it CAN'T have a draw!), then you start pulling fuses till the draw goes away.