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2012 Toyota Sienna - Starter (& Electrical?) Woes
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MACooke1969
New User
Mar 27, 2022, 8:43 AM
Post #1 of 3
(1723 views)
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2012 Toyota Sienna - Starter (& Electrical?) Woes
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Hi everyone.
We have a 2012 Toyota Sienna Sport, we got it new in 2012, and it has performed well for us until this past October (2021). One pertinent bit of info - the van was modified by a third party to have a "canyon" plus an electromechanical ramp for our adult son's wheelchair.
The starter won't fully engage the engine to start the vehicle. When we first noticed a problem, the electrical system was 100% dead - the electric locks wouldn't work, put the key in and turned it to "accessory", and absolutely nothing. We tried jumping it with my car (2019 Civic), but the starter made the initial click then just the light rapid clicking (as if gears had been stripped). Thinking that my tiny Civic wasn't providing the amps necessary, a neighbor tried to jump the van, as well - with this 3/4 ton Chevy pickup. Same result.
We let his truck idle for several minutes to see if it may put a bit of charge back in the van's battery. While his engine was running, I was showing 14V across the van's battery terminals. As soon as he shut his truck off, it went to zero.
The battery in the van was replaced less than 1 year ago - April of 2021. With the battery not holding a charge, and with the Chevy's engine supplying current, I'm thinking maybe there's an electric problem - perhaps a ground fault (short) that's preventing sufficient power from getting to the starter, and that would also drain the battery to zero.
Any thoughts, opinions, and suggestions are welcome. Also, how tricky is it to access the starter and it's electrical connections?
Thank you everyone!
MitchCincinnati, OH
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Mar 27, 2022, 9:50 AM
Post #2 of 3
(1719 views)
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Re: 2012 Toyota Sienna - Starter (& Electrical?) Woes
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You're really overthinking this. You have a bad connection somewhere in the car, likely one of the battery cables. It can be the cable itself or a connection at either end.
If you don't have any electrical background and understand how to perform voltage drop testing, then I suggest you just remove and clean (wire brush) all connections of all the cables.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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MACooke1969
New User
Mar 27, 2022, 10:34 AM
Post #3 of 3
(1714 views)
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Re: 2012 Toyota Sienna - Starter (& Electrical?) Woes
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Thank you - about to pop the hood and poke around, I'll try that first.
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