Randomly engine does not start

good morning people ...

i have a 1999 basic 4runner
2.7 / V4 engine ...
4x2 ...
±250k miles ...

for more than a year i have been having a problem: whenever it pleases her, engine does not start, all the dash lights are on but no even a sound ...

after many attempts, sometimes a few seconds later, sometimes it has taken ±20 minutes, engine finally starts like nothing has happened ...

it does it randomly so unfortunately, no electromechanical diagnostic tester has been able to identify the problem ...

i changed the starter (it was the original), the battery (it was old anyways) ... the problem still ...

no one has any idea ...

all suggestions will be considered ...

thanks ...

jaime javier

 

My only thought is maybe your gear shifter isn't making it all the way into Park, or the identifier is wonky. Next time it happens, try holding the shifter forward.

 

thanks ... already checked that too ...
also disconected the "power cut" ...
a friend says it might be the ground wire which i am going to change tomorrow and lets' see ...

 

I bet it’s the ground wire.

 

Sounds like Battery cables. They can rot out from the inside. When they get to a certain point they act EXACTLY like you describe. I had a car, where it would randomly not start. But if I turned on my headlights for 30 seconds, it would magically start. It wound up being a negative battery cable that rotted from the inside out. The ends and cable looked fine but once off the car, it audibly "crackled" inside from the corrosion when you bent it. My 4Runner had a very similar issue and I finally cut 8" off the negative battery cable and soldered on a new section.

A bad ground will do something similar or even a faulty ignition cylinder.

Edit: The headlight magic actually makes some sense. When you run power through a corroded electrical connection...it REVERSES a small bit of the corrosion which allows the starter to start the car on the next attempt.

 

I had a 1999 tacoma with the 2.4. I had similar issue that would occasionally creep up. Large elevation changes would sometimes mess with the computer or something because usually it happened while camping. Try disconnecting the battery for about 10-15 minutes. It resets the computers. It would start right up after that every time.

 

He made it sound like he can't even get it to crank. Don't know how what you suggested will help.

 

But what ground wire

You might as well have said its not the tires.

 

LOL, indeed. Usually there is a big ground wire in the engine bay. Not sure about the runner, but I had the exact same issue with 2 other cars. Rust buildup between the chassis and the cable.