what would cause the radio to stop working and then 3 miles later the car dies. also their was alot of oil on 1 spark plug and 1 of hem had a little bit of oil on it

...first off, your battery is gonna be the root of all of your problems...corrosion robs the potential of the electric current and subsitutes it with "brown power"...so turn a hose loose power sprayin' both terminals, takin the ends off spray more water if you can keep the acid fumes from effluencing up get both terminals clean including the little lolipop loop for the accessories, the other end of the black wire where it goes into the chassis/frame and the 1/0 battery cable going to the engine block as well. when you're done with this we can talk about your leaky valve cover gasket and oil soaked wires~JRB

Go to: http://www.toyota.com/owners/web/pages/login..... and create an account. There are manuals and all sorts of information about your car. Have your VIN# ready, it will know so much about you and your car it's almost scary

like judge roy said clean the battery terminals -tho instead of high pressure hose I'd just get a bit of baking soda (check your refrigerator) put it in a can, cup, what ever add water and stur. then take an old paint, tooth, ?,brush and apply the solution to the terminals and the cable ends ( remove + first - second) scrubbing as much a needed to get the corrosion off. then CAREFULLY rub the top and sides of the battery with your solution (Watch out you don't get any solution into the battery caps)--this will remove residual battery acid from the case. before re-clamping the cables back on, apply some corrosion inhibitor (spray or paste) also you can get at Wal-Mart or a auto part store some felt washers that are made to prevent the corrosion from coming back. One will be red (+) and the other will be green.(-) You will find them in the automotive section around the batteries. Then your ready to recharge your battery and start the hunt for you oil leak problem HTH Good Luck

NO. not baking soda....you trying to neutralize the battery thru the vent caps? please no. not baking soda...just plain water and plenty of it. Your battery will thank you in the morning.

judge_roy_beans; You misread my advice, I said to "...watch out you don't get any into the battery caps..." Because you are certainly correct about getting baking soda INTO the cells So, should benoitw74 feel more comfortable using your idea of plain water, that would be a good choice too. Thanks for your response as others could have gotten the wrong idea as well.

hooray BURT100, have been misinterpreted frequently, and sometimes have to use the "report as abusive" button if they don't like me, oh well, their loss of course am just here to help people with their car problems and possibly learn a thing or two...it astounds me that none of my beloved co-horts decided you need ten points, just for being a part of our lives---you get all the points I can spare for coming to the call of the damsel in distress!

Understand your gingerly trying to treat the battery, but just as acid fumes off the battery can show up on your lips, bases can show up on the innards...yes I know you were careful and all that, but when it comes to electrochemstry is usually a touch-and-go situation, there are many repacements available- got a question myself about built-in hygrometers~

could it be a relay? My car has already shut off cus the battery dumped the cell, so I replaced the battery and alternator while I was at it, and when the battery shit itself the car died before the radio. I've replaced both however and my car JUST shut off again (also connections are good). I'm thinking it could be a blown relay so I'm going to try that first. It's just one that I see potential in I got it from someone who didn't treat it real well.