starter ground wire?

out of the blue my 2000 Toyota Tacoma would not start. it's the v6 4x4 manual transmission. All of my lights turned on but there was nothing coming from the starter. I checked the battery connections which all were fine and I replace the starter last year. I got back in the truck and it started just fine. The next time I went to start it the same problem nothing from the starter. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and then it started right up no problem. Trying to find the problem,I removed the battery to clean all of the connections and found this wire on the battery platform...attached photo. I took it to autozone and O'Reilly Auto Parts and neither technician could tell me what was the problem. Is this the ground wire to my starter? If so how is the starter ground wired? I cannot find the other end to the wire.

 

Looks like it could be the wire that runs from the negative cable to the body panel right by the battery. I don't believe that would impact the starter. Did you swap out the starter last year?

 

Yes I got a new starter last year. I can start it with the clutch cancel switch.

 

It does look like the ground wire from battery to fender...

So when its acting up does it work everytime when using the clutch start cancel??

 

well. your first problem is you went to oreilly and autozone . yes that's the ground wire that goes from your battery negative to the frame 8 inches away. no it shouldn't have anything to do with starting your vehicle. your real negative battery cable I believe routes around back behind the motor and again connects to the body there, then there's another cable from there to the engine. you should reconnect that lose cable.

but what do you mean,

?

 

If it starts with the clutch cancel button pressed .

Your switch at the pedal is loose and needs adjusted or your not pushing the clutch pedal far enough to the floor.

 

^^^THIS^^^

Yeah, if the clutch cancel button works everytime when you're having issues then the problem is surly gunna be found there @ the pedal switch.

 

That wire is unlikely to be your starting problem, but it may cause other issues so you should re-establish the ground it used to provide. The starter grounds itself to the block by its direct contact with the block/transmission, and the block connects itself to the negative post on the battery via the negative cable.

 

It is possible the switch has failed as well .

Rare but it could happen.

 

If the truck will start when your press the clutch cancel button, then I would say it is the switch that is located down on the clutch pedal itself in the cab. When you press in the clutch it depresses the switch allowing the truck to start. The clutch cancel button bypasses that switch which is why the truck will start when using the button.