Help with Toyota Camry

[AlabamaDan]

I know I know, this is a Nissan Infiniti place and I'm really a nissan/infiniti guy, but I'm helping a friend. Before I can talk him into selling his 2002 Toyota Camry and buying an M45, we have to get it cranked! I need some help from y'all. It had a couple of slow starts then nothing. We replaced the battery to no avail. You can turn the key, lights come on, things click (like relays and such), it sounds like the fuel pumps hums, but it doesn't try and crank. It doesn't even kick the starter off. I'm pretty good at "fixing" things, but not "diagnosing" problems. Can someone give me a checklist of things to check?

Car Info:

2002 Toyota Camry
V6
Brand New Batter.

[Alfador]

Check all the power lines for corrosion, from the battery clamp all the way down to starter and the spark plug wires. Camrys are relatively sturdy but they seem to be prone to electrical corrosion. The battery clamp specifically could be corroded enough to limit power draw, while not completely cutting off. It's weird and I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it happen to my sister's car.

[IanS]

Check all the power lines for corrosion, from the battery clamp all the way down to starter and the spark plug wires. Camrys are relatively sturdy but they seem to be prone to electrical corrosion. The battery clamp specifically could be corroded enough to limit power draw, while not completely cutting off. It's weird and I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it happen to my sister's car.

^ This

Also, have checked all the connections on the starter?

Its also possible the starter itself is just toast.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Check all the power lines for corrosion, from the battery clamp all the way down to starter and the spark plug wires. Camrys are relatively sturdy but they seem to be prone to electrical corrosion. The battery clamp specifically could be corroded enough to limit power draw, while not completely cutting off. It's weird and I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it happen to my sister's car.

My thoughts exactly. I scored a maxima for $100 for this very reason. Drove it out of the lady's yard after 15 minutes of quick and dirty repairs. Giggidy.

Have you tried jumping it as well? Sometimes new batteries don't come fully charged...

[574-240sx]

Sounds like it maybe the starter. If you can get to it, give it a few taps then try to crank it.

[AlabamaDan]

If it were the starter, wouldn't it try and do something like that spine chilling whirrrrllll that starters make?

[Dattebayo]

No. When the starter dies, it just doesn't work at all. I thought that was common knowledge!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

It had a couple of slow starts then nothing.

This is key. When a starter goes, it pretty much just goes (like Dave said). The slow starts/slow turns indicate something else. Could your starter also be blown? Yes, but it could be coincidence.

[Jesda]

Get a hammer and hit the starter a couple times.

[Dattebayo]

Get a hammer and hit the starter a couple times.

lol

Hit the end cap, not the casing. Then try it again.

[Jesda]

Hammers are also good for fixing fuel injectors, brakes, catalytic converters, CD players, and windshields. Ask me how I know.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Hey Jesda... how do you know?

[IanS]

No. When the starter dies, it just doesn't work at all. I thought that was common knowledge!

It had a couple of slow starts then nothing.

This is key. When a starter goes, it pretty much just goes (like Dave said). The slow starts/slow turns indicate something else. Could your starter also be blown? Yes, but it could be coincidence.

Just because you havn't seen it, does not mean it doesn't happen.

I have replaced a handful of starters at work that were causing slow or no crank issues. What can happen, is the main power terminal on the starter can partially fail. Whether from over torquing, poor design, or just plain bad luck. It causes high resistance in the starting system, which leads to very slow cranking.

True, more often then not, a corroded power cable, or battery terminal will be the cause of a slow crank, but a bad starter should never be ruled out so quickly.

The most definitive way to test any starting system issue like this, is to voltage drop test each lead individually, starting at the battery.

PS, to the OP, make sure you try resetting the security system. It could be out of whack from the battery swap.

[Dattebayo]

What Ian said about the power cable got me thinking.

The oddest starting issue I had with the Sentra was because of the black cable. It ran from the battery to the chassis and then was mounted to the block right near the distributor, but the cable fell out of the connector. A simple run of new cable fixed that issue (after a bunch of missed guesses and misguided troubleshooting)
Nothing ran right without it, because as I found out later that it was pretty much the main power supply for all the sensors AS WELL AS the main power for the starter. lol (don't let me confuse you, but the black wire is the power wire)

BUT-
What we're saying is that 99% of the time, it's gonna be the starter. We aren't trying to justify throwing parts at your problem, but it is an easy way to find out if you have the money or the lack of tools for proper troubleshooting.