I would turn the key and hear one click and nothing happens.

Tiny
HWATSON1953
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 278,000 MILES
My 97 Camry LE, now with 278k miles still runs great, but over the past 2 years I would occasionally have trouble starting it. I would turn the key and hear one click and nothing happens. This usually happens every 4-6 weeks or so and only for 3 or 4 days then back to normal. I never took it to my mechanic because until today it was always easy to get it started. I would only need to pop the hood, jiggle the red battery cable which would set off the alarm, then press a button on the remote to kill the alarm and it would start right up... Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 tries.

Today this happened again but I could never get it started. I turn the key to the on position and the indicators on the dash are bright, the headlights are bright and the horn blows like normal. Then I try and crank it and hear one click, then nothing. Oddly, when I release the key the red indicator light on a button next to the steering wheel starts blinking, indicator lights on the dash blink faintly and I hear a recurring buzzing/humming noise coming from the fuse box. I removed the fuse box cover and unplugged each large fuse one by one and none looked bad. The buzzing noise continues so to keep from draining the battery I remove the positive cable from the battery terminal.

Whenever I decide to try it again to see if will start, each time I reconnect the positive cable to the battery terminal the alarm sounds. I kill the alarm with the remote, get in and turn the key and it does exactly the same as I stated earlier.

If anyone has had the same problem and/or knows what the problem may be and how to solve this, I am sincerely grateful for any helpful advice/suggestions on solving this problem.

Thanks!



Saturday, May 21st, 2011 AT 10:53 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
I wonder why you have been living with a problem that could be easily fixed but chose to ignore it.

Jiggling the battery terminals causing the alarm to be triggerred indicates the battery terminal connections are poor and can cause the symptoms described. Clean the battery terminals and retighten them securely and retest.

Check the battery condition.

If above does not show any irregularities, try knocking the starter a few times with a mallet and retest. If starter works, it is due for replacement.
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Thursday, February 25th, 2021 AT 3:58 PM

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