88 toyota p/u starting problem.

The Charge Light is supposed to come on, this is a test of the circuit, and the light comes on when the test is good. the light goes out after the engine starts, and if it comes on at any other time then there is a fault that needs attention.

When you turn the key to START, you hear and feel the starter relay energize to feed power to the starter.

I initially

Everything you describe tells me that the battery is dead. How old is the battery?

It will have a sticker on it that describes it as a 24-month, 36-month,

72-month, battery. If it is older than this number, it is dead, no matter what the tester might have reported.

If you can start the truck with jumper cables, this also says the battery is dead because all of the other things that can cause your symptom, starter, starter relay, burned wires on the alternator, etc. are all the same parts, only the electrical supply is different.

If you get the same behavior when you use jumper cables, then you can begin looking for other causes.

You're not alone! (Try a search with keywords "Toyota starting problem"...)

A common symptom is high resistance in the 12V circuit: from-the-battery-to-the-keyswitch-and-back-the-starter wire. The smaller of the two cables on the + battery, is the beginning of this circuit, and is often the culprit! (Ohm it out with your multimeter.)

The multimeter seems the tool of choice. "Bad" grounds, poor connectors, etc. beg to be discovered... My multimeter showed low voltage at the "small" starter connector; +4V instead of +12V...

I "solved" my problem by swapping in a solenoid (a typical automotive starter relay), activated by what had been the "small" wire to the starter, and switching +12V from the batt. to the starter, to the "small" connector. Fixed it!!

Good Luck!

Id start with the eartg wire from Battery to motor.

Greetings Russ, I think that your truck has two wires going to the starter. One is large and it comes directly from the battery. The other is smaller and it comes from the ignition switch. I'm not sure where in the circuit the clutch switch is but I'm pretty sure it is after the ignition switch. Anyway, the smaller wire at the starter energizes the solenoid on the starter motor which then switches on the power from the large wire from the battery to the starter motor itself. To test try using a wire to jump from the large wire terminal on the starter to the small wire terminal. If the starter works then the problem is in the circuit that supplies power to the small wire. If the solenoid on the starter works but the starter motor itself won't work the it's either a bad starter, bad battery, or bad connection. I'm betting on the bad connection because of the melted alternator connection. This connection will melt in some vehicles because the positive wire connection to the battery is bad. This increases the amperage and the duration of that high amperage that the alternator will put out because of the high resistance connection at the battery. If the solenoid doesn't work then try connecting a wire from the positive battery post to the small wire terminal at the starter. NOT to the positive wire battery clamp but directly to the post itself. Now, if the solenoid clicks but the starter motor doesn't work then this once again points to a bad connection at the battery or a bad starter motor. Have you removed both battery cables and cleaned both the posts and the inside of the clamps that connect to the battery? By cleaning I don't mean just wiping with a rag. The lead will oxidize and this oxide coating is both hard and has a high resistance. So if this coating has had a chance to get thick just tightening the clamps won't make a good connection. Try cleaning both the posts and the inside of the clamps with a wire brush. You can buy a tool for a couple bucks that has two wire brushes. One fits over and cleans the post and the other fits in and cleans the clamp. ERS

Thanks for the help...i appreciate it. I read Jeff Strickland's reply and decided to go back and look over the circuit but with the wiring diagram in hand. I found "fusible link" and by pure accident, I popped off the clear plastic top to the

80A fusible link and found it burned out! So now I'm trying to figure out how to get it out of the fuse box w/o tearing it apart. I don't know if this is the cause...but a thick wire connects that fuse to the positive side of the battery. This wire broke on me once before (because the battery was sliding around) awhile back and didn't start until i temporarily rigged it with some bailing wire.

That's where I'm at; trying to get the fuse out. I'll reply if I can get it replaced and let you know the results. Thanks for all of the help!

Russ

That particular fuse/link has screws attaching the wires to it. It will slide out from the bottom. You will have to unbolt the fuseblock from the fenderwell and snap the bottom cover off. Then you can remove the screws and replace the fuse. Good Luck

The 80 amp fusible link is screwed in from the sides. You have to release the tabs that hold the module and pop it down and out the bottom of the bracket. You will see several screws holding it in from each side that hold high current wires. Undo these and it pops right out.