Hey all,

I inherited an 86 Camry from a friend of mine because of it's constant problems that neither he nor his mechanic could diagnose.
When turning the key, the electrical system would turn on, but there would only be a click, no crank. Then I tried to jump it and it would crank, but not turn over. I got it to successfully turn over once while jumped but it quickly turned off. I got a new battery and that did not solve the problem. The car has a new alternator in it. I also replaced the fuel filter and that did not solve the problem. Now, after letting it sit for a few months, the brand new battery is dead. Any ideas?

Thanks much,
Victor

 

V-6 or 4-cylinder engine?

If you have a battery charger, recharge battery ASAP or battery will be damaged. If battery installed in car and your not working on car, disconnect negative battery terminal to prevent discharge.

Electrical system could have a parasite drain, or could have drained battery when cranking excessively.

Use a millimeter to check for current flow between battery and negative battery cable terminal, ign key and all other items off.

Check for a trunk light that does not turn off, if after market stereo installed a remote amp, after marker alarm or remote door lock that fails to turn off, etc.

So, last time engine started it turned off quickly.

Repair car to allow engine to crank. Clean battery terminals. Inspect battery cables and connections for damage or bad connections. Make sure the starter solenoid is working OK.

When cranking check for ign spark. Spark should be able to gap 1/2 inch of air and be white in color.

If spark OK, find a small box in engine compartment containing electrical terminals. Connect the FP and B+ terminals with wire. This will turn on fuel pump with ign key on.
Make sure cylinders are getting fuel.

Try to start engine. Without and with extra gas from gas pedal.

Sometimes the IAC valve sticks causing engine to quite. IAC controls idle RPM.

 

Thanks for the advice Joey. It's a 4cyl. There is an aftermarket stereo installed, which I think may have been put in poorly. I've noticed a loose wire, black in color, at the battery, though connecting it made no difference to the engine turning over. The battery terminals look old and beat up. I may just replace them completely and see if that helps.

 

You can also try using a wire brush to clean up those terminals.