2001 Camry - Wont start and almost all electronics dont work

Asked by AParsh Aug 14, 2018 at 11:58 PM about the 2001 Toyota Camry LE

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hi Forum,
So i traded a laptop for a 2001 camry le 4cylinder - I have a friend that has
ran into a rough patch of bad luck (wife divorced him, job fired him, car
repo'd, etc etc) and i purchased this car to let him borrow so he can have
transportation to job interviews.

I bought it from a nice couple in what i would say is an expensive
neighborhood - the car was owned by a recently passed grandpa in the
family and they did not need the extra car for the most part - but drove it
sometimes. About 3-4 weeks ago it was their understanding that the fuel
pump died and it wouldnt start anymore. They didnt want to deal with paying
for a new fuel pump and put it up for sale on craigslist, which is where i came
in.  Also i am being told that at some point in the past few weeks someone
stole their car battery.

So we made the trade and first thing i did was buy a brand new battery at
costco and popped in a new fuel pump (extremely easy on these camrys!).  
Went to try to start it and no luck, did not even hear the fuel pump priming
either. Then tried spraying brake cleaner directly into the intake to see if I
could get it started that way to simulate fuel, no luck.  So started digging into
this more and then started realizing the large amount of electrical problems.

The only electrical components that I can find working are the headlights, the
door open light on the dash, and the door open chime sound when the key is
in the car but door is open.  Door locks, driver seat, windows, stereo, brake
lights, blinkers, climate control, and all gauges other than the door open one
do not work at all.

I then checked what i believe to be all the fuses, and they all seem fine.  I
traced the main harness from the engine bay, through the firewall, and into
the car where it comes through near the glove box and i dont see anything
unusual there either.

The next thing im planning to try is messing with the stereo head unit, i see
there is an aftermarket sony head unit and you never know with how people
mess up wiring when doing those.  But that being said, the previous owner
said all electronics, including the head unit, were working perfectly find a few
weeks and that it just wouldnt start because of the fuel pump.

I do not think the previous owner is some scammer or anything, he lives in
probably something like a $700,000 house and was only selling it for $600,
which is not even bad if it was just a parts car.

Does anyone have any ideas?

1 Answer

This is not an answer, but an update from me. I have tried replacing the ignition switch (no luck). I pulled the aftermarket car stereo and found a blown fuse in it. I inspected the wiring behind the stereo and it does look like the person that installed the stereo did a clean job on the install using an adapter harness to connect the sony head unit directly to the stock harness without cutting/splicing/electrical tape type of stuff. I did see one person online saying they replaced the integration relay on a different year camry to replace some symtoms that are similar to mine, so i might try to do that next, but if anyone has any help i'd really really really appreciate it. I just bought this hoping to help someone and now i've got it sitting in my garage collecting dust instead of with my buddy to help him get back on his feet. Thank you in advance.

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