1988 toyota 4x4 v6 wont start after a few starts, sometimes.

Asked by jimv Sep 08, 2012 at 06:43 PM about the 1988 Toyota Pickup 2 Dr Deluxe 4WD Standard Cab LB

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

new interstate battery, new plunger & contacts in starter, alternator rebuilt. still doing same thing. voltmeter on battery shows over 14 volts charging.
example today, drive it to work & home ( 5kms one way) for 2 weeks straight. Go to run errands do 5 stop starts in apprx 2 hours. Go to do 6th start - just clicks. I am outside Canadian tire - they give me  one of those battery packs to boost it - try 5 or 6 times, just clicks , leave booster on for a few miuntes try again, just clicks, few minutes more same. Give the shop back their booster, try it again just clicks. I roll it down a little hill, bumpstart it, and it starts so I drive home, 3 kms max to get home. Turn it off. See if it will start and it starts 5 times! friend comes over a few minutes later, so I show him - it starts another 5 times!. it could not have recharged a dead battery in 3 kms enough to start the truck ten times, and it is probably still starting.  I have been fighting this problem all summer long and it is very frustrating. it seems to happen when I do these quick trips and turn it on & off 3 or 4 or 5 times in the period of an hour. I am baffled, spending way to much money on it and would really appreciate any clues on what the problem may be. Thanks in advance, very very much for any clues.

4 Answers
2,165

Rubie answered 12 years ago

The mechanic you are using is wrong for you. Find a good mechanic to identify the problem before you sink any more money into this vehicle. It sounds like the old battery, alternator, voltage regulator scam to me.

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145

Stephen answered 12 years ago

the alternator or the alternator connection are likely check your connection and if it does it late down the road try hitting your starter with a hammer or something hard it could be jamming up.

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645

John Patrick answered 12 years ago

my 1990 did the same thing i probly spent close to 1500 in parts i didnt need i never did find the problem but i went to auto parts store and purchased a 7 dollar push button and in stalled it and have not had a problem since

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3,935

Josh answered 11 years ago

I would go through the wiring, starting with the most obvious culprits first, battery cables. You can get a ~$30 multimeter from just about anywhere to test voltages and resistance, and a ~$30 book for your truck that will tell you what everything should be at. Then move to grounds, then charging cables. Heck, for all we know you might just be lucky have bad post clamps on the battery.

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