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It takes turning the key 100-250 times but then the Tercel starts right up

Hi there,

If anyone can offer any advice on what problem my little Tercel is having I'd sure appreciate it.

The deal is that EVERY time I start the car I have to turn the key somewhere between 100 and 250 times. It didn't use to be this bad. When the problem began it initially only took a few times--that was about a year ago. Each time I turn the key the dashboard indicators light up but no sound is heard from the engine compartment... no starter sounds at all. So, I just keep turning the key back and forth until all at once the car starts right up--as if I hadn't even been trying the previous 99 turns of the key. A couple of friends who claim to have car technical skills believe it to be the ignition--but is it the ignition switch or the ignition coil? Can anyone provide an approximate estimate (range) of how much I'm looking at to get something like this fixed at the mechanic's? Are we talking roughly $150-$250? More? Less?

btw, I've tried using a new key and saying a prayer before turning the key. I've had some luck with the prayers, none with the new key.

Thanks for the help!

Regards,

Abe

Reply to
Abe
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Could be faulty "start" contacts in your ignition switch, could be faulty wiring between the ignition switch and the starter relay or between the starter relay and the starter solenoid, or could be a faulty starter. You don't mention what year your Tercel is, but if it uses a Nippondenso gear-reduction starter, which a vast number of Toyotas do, just about the only failure mode they experience with any regularity is with the solenoid contacts. When that happens the symptoms are as you describe. Sometimes you can hear a click, sometimes not. The fix in that case need not be expensive or difficult; the challenge is in finding a tech who's willing to fix the starter rather than replacing it.

Starter solenoid contact info for the Denso OSGR starter is here:

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Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Hey Daniel,

Thanks for the remarkably quick and helpful reply. Sounds like you're right on the money about the solenoid. I'll see if I can find a mechanic who'll give the starter some lov'in--not replacement (unless it absolutely needs it). The Tercel is an '87, two door.

Thanks again!

Regards,

Abe

Reply to
Abe

You could easily be describing dirty battery cable ends.

After trying it for a bit, I would go and feel the ends of the cables. If one is hot, that would be the bad connection. Don't forget, the cables have 2 ends, but I suspect the bad connection would be at the battery.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >
Reply to
Mike Romain

Next time it doesn't start, try tapping on the starter solenoid with something solid. If it starts then, that fact would likely confirm the solenoid theory.

Reply to
Al Bundy

Do the cluster lights turn off and on every turn of the ignition key?

Reply to
dnoyeB

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