Hi everyone

Has anyone had starter problems with a hilux Vigo j diesel 2.5 ?

I'm not a mechanic so I don't know the fault for certain but the symptoms are some times when I try to start it it tuns over very slow as though it's a flat battery. The problem is gradually getting worse .

If I have done a long run and stop the car it won't start again

until it has cooled down ( I can bump start it no problem ).

In the morning it starts ok although occasionally the starter will turn slowly before speeding up and spinning over normally. It's like there's a tight spot on the starter , especially when the engine is hot.

I've taken it to 3 garages in Nong Khai and asked them to check it and they all try to sell me a new battery !

Only one of them put a volt meter on it and that fluctuated around 13 volts ( which I think is normal ) , I wasn't happy to just buy a new battery as I didn't think that would solve the problem , however when I tried to leave the car wouldn't start !

In desperation I then said ok , put on a new battery ...... And guess what ? .. It still wouldn't start ! Ah you need a bigger battery they say . I'm now thinking yes a bigger battery might turn it over from the tight spot but that's not what I need. I let them try it and yes it started ! But I wasn't happy to pay a lot of money for a larger battery and asked them to put the old one back and if I had to I would bump start it.

It started no problem with the old battery back on so am I correct to think its the starter motor rather than the battery ?

If any of you are mechanics or had similar problems I'd be grateful for advice because even now when it'll the garages I think it's the starter they just say no it's the battery and don't even check anything

First check battery earth to body AND engine, unbolt and clean stuff.

Be sure to wear safety glasses whenever you work around your battery.

From your description, when they installed a new battery and the starting problem persisted, that indicates that the issue is more than just your battery.

Thats why Transam has already described the next step, which is to check all the battery cable connections to see if they are loose and/or if they have corrosion since each of these issues will result in a poor electrical contact. This will include following the cables from the battery posts all the way to their other ends. The black cable will bolt to a ground. The positive cable will be attached to the starter. Refer to the video--its not specific to your vehicle.)

How old is your Toyota? How old is the battery?

Although the issue is more than simply needing a new battery, it is possible that once you identify and repair the starting issue, the battery might require replacement. A good battery shop should have a "load" tester that they hook up to your old battery and the test will determine the condition of that battery. It does more than simply measure the voltage. Your vehicle has a specific model battery designed for it--there are several dimensions of car batteries and different locations for the battery posts. 12volt car batteries also come with different cranking capacities (often referred to as Cranking Amps or Cold Cranking Amps--CCA) and a diesel engine requires a battery with more CCA than a similar sized gas engine. But again, your vehicle calls for a specific model battery and that model will have been engineered specifically for your car & engine requirements.

I still don't understand why your car refuses to start when its already warmed up though--this could be the result of several different issues.

My Ranger did exactly that, wouldn't turn over when hot, fine from cold.

New battery improved it slightly, Ford finally fixed it with a new starter, but they also wire brushed every connection they could find.

Thanks guys for you're replys ,

The car and battery are nearly 4 years old so I know the battery will need replacing before to long but the car is used daily and still holding a good charge that's why I didn't let the garage change it when I saw 13 volt read out .

I understand about cranking amps etc and the standard battery as fitted by Toyota has been fine , so another reason not to let them fit a larger battery.

As I said I'm not a mechanic but when you think about it if it was an earthing or electrical problems it wouldn't only happen when hot .

That's why I was thinking maybe the bearings on the starter or drying out and sticking more when they get hot and causing tight spots , hence after starting with a larger battery the starter had moved to a not tight spot and restarted with the old battery.

I'll be honest I haven't taken off and cleaned all the contact ponts as the symptoms dont point to poor connections and visibly they look good with no corrosion.

Thanks guys for you're replys ,

The car and battery are nearly 4 years old so I know the battery will need replacing before to long but the car is used daily and still holding a good charge that's why I didn't let the garage change it when I saw 13 volt read out .

I understand about cranking amps etc and the standard battery as fitted by Toyota has been fine , so another reason not to let them fit a larger battery.

As I said I'm not a mechanic but when you think about it if it was an earthing or electrical problems it wouldn't only happen when hot .

That's why I was thinking maybe the bearings on the starter or drying out and sticking more when they get hot and causing tight spots , hence after starting with a larger battery the starter had moved to a not tight spot and restarted with the old battery.

I'll be honest I haven't taken off and cleaned all the contact ponts as the symptoms dont point to poor connections and visibly they look good with no corrosion.

4 years for a battery here is exceptional........I would buy a battery anyhooooooo and go from there..

Thanks guys for you're replys ,

The car and battery are nearly 4 years old so I know the battery will need replacing before to long but the car is used daily and still holding a good charge that's why I didn't let the garage change it when I saw 13 volt read out .

I understand about cranking amps etc and the standard battery as fitted by Toyota has been fine , so another reason not to let them fit a larger battery.

As I said I'm not a mechanic but when you think about it if it was an earthing or electrical problems it wouldn't only happen when hot .

That's why I was thinking maybe the bearings on the starter or drying out and sticking more when they get hot and causing tight spots , hence after starting with a larger battery the starter had moved to a not tight spot and restarted with the old battery.

I'll be honest I haven't taken off and cleaned all the contact ponts as the symptoms dont point to poor connections and visibly they look good with no corrosion.

4 years for a battery here is exceptional........I would buy a battery anyhooooooo and go from there..

I'm a tight sod and don't spend money unless I have to !!!

Thanks guys for you're replys ,

The car and battery are nearly 4 years old so I know the battery will need replacing before to long but the car is used daily and still holding a good charge that's why I didn't let the garage change it when I saw 13 volt read out .

I understand about cranking amps etc and the standard battery as fitted by Toyota has been fine , so another reason not to let them fit a larger battery.

As I said I'm not a mechanic but when you think about it if it was an earthing or electrical problems it wouldn't only happen when hot .

That's why I was thinking maybe the bearings on the starter or drying out and sticking more when they get hot and causing tight spots , hence after starting with a larger battery the starter had moved to a not tight spot and restarted with the old battery.

I'll be honest I haven't taken off and cleaned all the contact ponts as the symptoms dont point to poor connections and visibly they look good with no corrosion.

Sorry, I wasn't sure what kind of mechanical knowledge you had.

Only thing I will mention is looks can be deceiving. I was working on a 2010 Volvo XC70 with starting issues that were very hard to track down. It wound up being the negative battery cable, which had severe corrosion 'inside' (underneath) the insulation. We couldn't see it except I could feel it once it was off because that section of cable was not pliable at all. I sliced it open and peeled the insulation back to find major corrosion traveling throughout the strands for a few inches.

I am with you, I try to get maximum lifetime out of all my vehicles and components.

Cheers

You didn't say where you are.

Not relevant to the problem but relevant to any business referral.

If you are not going to DIY any advice on here although useful won't help if the mechanic doesn't want to do it. You need an auto electrical place where they have seen this before and not just someone who wants to sell you a new battery.

It is a series problem, you need a good battery,+good cables and earth strap+ clean connections+ good solenoid contacts + good brushes in the starter.

The key to your problem is "gradually getting worse" For me this rules out the battery as they usually simply fail. But an easy way to test is to turn on the headlights and see how dim they go when you try and start. More likely to be corrosion somewhere, a damaged or partially broken cable or sticking brushes in the starter itself.

Symptoms sound like a field coil problem in the starter motor.

Get the battery checked first to save wasting time.

Quite difficult to diagnose faults over the internet though!

OP,

Hope you will consider posting the solution to your issue.

Good luck.

Again thanks everyone and when I get the problem sorted I will update on here ( soon hopefully ! )

The problem sounds like the solenoid has dirty contacts inside, this contact is the plate that bridges across the two large terminals and sets the starter motor going, when they get partially eaten away they sometimes make an electrical connection and sometimes they don't, if you know what you are doing you can bridge across the two terminals with a large screwdriver or similar, you will get a lot of sparking but that's ok.

Hello again folks

Just an update to my starter problems, I took my car to another garage in Nong Khai as recommended by a friend and this time I was very happy with the service I received .

Initially they thought the battery but when I explained the problem in more details they began doing proper checks. First was volt meter on the battery and it read almost 13 volts so they agreed to check the starter. They took off the starter and stripped and gave it all a good clean. The brushes weren't making a good contact because of all the dirt and something was a bit loose allowing it not to spin perfectly true.

I watched them do all the work to make sure they did everything correct and I must say they were very good and used the correct tools. I also asked for an oil and filter change and to clean the air filter.

Total price 1500 baht for everything and it's starts perfect every time. I would highly recommend this garage to anyone in the Nong Khai area , oh and the boss also speaks quite good English .

I don't know the name of garage as its in Thai but it's about 2k outside nong khai on the way towards phon phaisi almost next to the fuel station with a 7-11 . Tel08274586923

Hello again folks

Just an update to my starter problems, I took my car to another garage in Nong Khai as recommended by a friend and this time I was very happy with the service I received .

Initially they thought the battery but when I explained the problem in more details they began doing proper checks. First was volt meter on the battery and it read almost 13 volts so they agreed to check the starter. They took off the starter and stripped and gave it all a good clean. The brushes weren't making a good contact because of all the dirt and something was a bit loose allowing it not to spin perfectly true.

I watched them do all the work to make sure they did everything correct and I must say they were very good and used the correct tools. I also asked for an oil and filter change and to clean the air filter.

Total price 1500 baht for everything and it's starts perfect every time. I would highly recommend this garage to anyone in the Nong Khai area , oh and the boss also speaks quite good English .

I don't know the name of garage as its in Thai but it's about 2k outside nong khai on the way towards phon phaisi almost next to the fuel station with a 7-11 . Tel08274586923

Rumbo !!!

Thats great news...finding a good mechanic is even harder than finding a good physician.

I am really glad it worked out and thanks for following up here.

Cheers

Hello again folks

Just an update to my starter problems, I took my car to another garage in Nong Khai as recommended by a friend and this time I was very happy with the service I received .

Initially they thought the battery but when I explained the problem in more details they began doing proper checks. First was volt meter on the battery and it read almost 13 volts so they agreed to check the starter. They took off the starter and stripped and gave it all a good clean. The brushes weren't making a good contact because of all the dirt and something was a bit loose allowing it not to spin perfectly true.

I watched them do all the work to make sure they did everything correct and I must say they were very good and used the correct tools. I also asked for an oil and filter change and to clean the air filter.

Total price 1500 baht for everything and it's starts perfect every time. I would highly recommend this garage to anyone in the Nong Khai area , oh and the boss also speaks quite good English .

I don't know the name of garage as its in Thai but it's about 2k outside nong khai on the way towards phon phaisi almost next to the fuel station with a 7-11 . Tel08274586923

Rumbo !!!

Thats great news...finding a good mechanic is even harder than finding a good physician.

I am really glad it worked out and thanks for following up here.

Cheers

Thanks clutch Clark , rumbo was my old dogs name !

It makes a nice change to be able to write a positive report on here instead of all the normal Thai bashing , and you're right it is hard to find a good garage.

Does this vehicle have a DMF? (dual mass flywheel). The starter symptoms described are what usually happen when a DMF starts to break up - the starter gets full of minute particles of metal. (the magnets in the motor attract it).

I'm not saying it IS in this instance, but if the problem reoccurs then that's your pointer.

Does this vehicle have a DMF? (dual mass flywheel). The starter symptoms described are what usually happen when a DMF starts to break up - the starter gets full of minute particles of metal. (the magnets in the motor attract it).

I'm not saying it IS in this instance, but if the problem reoccurs then that's your pointer.

Thanks Lancashirelad , I'm not a mechanic and only have a basic knowledge of engines so I'm not sure if it has dmf or not but if the problem quickly reoccurs I'll bear that in mind. So far it starts like a dream even with my 4 year old battery !