94 4Runner, no start, no lights, no click

locks, power windows and A/C.

not start. I have no dash lights, no solenoid clicking and no power locks or windows. The battery is about 1 year old and there is no alarm system.

where should I look next?

and/or ALT fuses.

very hot weather. The 15 A DOME fuse has burned out on two previous occasions, the most recent was the day before not being able to start the car.

You need to verify the battery #1. And the connections too. You can have a good battery, and still not get power to the car if the connections are bad or corroded.

After that, it's using the voltmeter and moving down the chain. I don't see a dome fuse causing this. If a wire was grounding out on the dome line, it should blow that fuse, but everything else should still get power.

But unless you are plugging something into that line that draws a lot of current, a dome light that kept blowing fuses would indicate a problem that should be looked into. No way a simple dome light should blow fuses..

You should start with the assumption that the battery is not good, then let your diagnostic efforts flow outward from there.

Good point, and problem solved. + battery terminal came loose during off-road, and was also heavily corroded. Cleaned and reattached both terminals and the car starts right up.

Glad it was an easy, cheap fix. Now I'm off to investigate the DOME circuit problem.

Thanks again,

Anders

Related question [battery issues].

Two nights ago I raced in my own car to jump-start my wife's 2 year old RAV4 which suddenly refused to show any evidence of having a battery after a brief stop at the drug store. Looking under the hood I saw nothing amiss, but the jump-start was very difficult.

After driving it home, the dash lights were still flickering in rhythm to the engine's rev speed. It seemed the electrical system was running off the alternator alone. After shutting the engine down, the battery was still dead. An external charger supplied current for 2 seconds and shut down.

The next morning we jumped it again and took it to the dealer, who instantly replied that a battery plate must have come loose and caused an internal short. They replaced the battery under warranty without incident.

Looking online at some Toyota owners' forums, I saw a lot of complaints about OEM RAV4 batteries failing suddenly at _exactly_ 24 months too. Repeatedly (i.e. the replacement battery failed as well).

Manufacturing defect? Should I even _Trust_ the replacement battery and put in another brand empirically?