I have a 2000 Toyota Tundra with a V8. It has an intermittent starting problem that seems to be related to how I turn the ignition key.
If I turn the key quickly immediately after inserting it, it starts about 80% of the time. If I turn the key to the ?ON? position, and then turn, it doesn?t start about 80% of the time.
The strange thing is that when it doesn?t start it acts like the battery is low. Either you hear the solenoid clicking, or the engine cranks slowly for a second and stops.
Last night I started it about 40 times (so I know the battery is not low). I could consistently reproduce good and bad starts by the way I turned the ignition switch.
It seems like a faulty ignition switch could cause the starter relay not to close, but not send low voltage to the starter.
By the way, the starter is in the V of the engine, and you have to remove the intake manifold to get to it, so I don?t want to replace it if I don?t have to.
Could there be some kind of theft deterrent wiring in the ignition switch that is faulty?
Any ideas? Thanks!
When the starter intermittently turns slowly it usually means that there is a bad battery connection to the starter. Clean the connections and see if that elininates the trouble. It is possible that the starter solenoid may have bad contacts also. A bad ignition switch won’t cause the starter to turn slowly since it isn’t directly in the current path like the other things mentioned are.