well..I thought it was fixed...she took off to the store last night, but it died at every stopsign or redlight..I had to go exchange vehicles with her and drive it home..had to keep rpms up with brake on in gear, or it would die...kinda like mildly power braking it every time I stopped...got it home...

today I took out the airbox and tube...sprayed a little carb cleaner into the throttlebody...didnt help at all...I read somewhere online about this happening after replacing a battery or starter...computer had reset with battery disconnected...plus the A.I.C. needed to be cleaned within the trottlebody...so I read

On a 2002, you should never manually open the butterfly by hand(finger) with the key on...only with key off...

I actually had her (with key on/not started) hold the gas peddle to the floor..that automatically opened the butterfly all the way for easy cleaning...they said to use seafoam spray cleaner...as she held the pedal/butterfly open, I sprayed then brushed with a toothbrush...lot of crap in there...I then would have her start it and spray/rinse at the same time...repeated the process twice...after that put it all back together and it ran like a champ...EXCEPT the check engine light is now on????? Any thoughts on this would be great..thx

 

Finally got back to the Camry not cranking problem this weekend. Checked that we had 12 volts to the plug in terminal on the starter solenoid when the key was turned to the start position. Had 12 volts. This isolated the starter as the source of the problem. Starter was rebuilt for $70 in 3 hours. Additionally, bought a new positive battery cable clamp from the dealership @ $14.

The starter rebuild shop said when they opened it up there was a dead spot in the armature.

Installed rebuilt unit and problem was solved. Got a 2 year guarantee. Had the choice to buy a lifetime guaranteed starter thru Autozone ($119 plus tax) but choose not to go that route. Have experience with a '95 Cadillac that I have replced defective lifetime waranteed alternator on about 4 times in the past 2 years. What a pain that has been!

Thank you for all the help.

 

Timmernator:

If the battery power was disconnected the engine can idle badly until the computer "adjusts." How long?, but always gets back to normal.

There is no IAC valve on the engines with electric throttle.

Might be the excess seafoam caused a sensor to be off tripping the code. You will need a code reader to reset the system via the OBDII system port using a code reader.

In many states AutoZone or other parts outlets offers free code reading (or lending a reader) and maybe reset (depends on the code reader capabilities). The Toyota dealer will charge up to $100 to do this.

Get the codes read as they are very specific, then clear them. Wait to see if the light comes back on, or this was a one time event.

Dnablood:

Good fix!

Good idea on the rebuild instead of exchange! These days exchange rebuilt parts are often junk out of the box. Not worth the time, even with the warranty. I try to rebuild any factory part first before replacing it with a last resort "questionable" rebuilt part.

 

You said very clearly in detail.I got something from all of you .
thanks.!


Gemstone beads

 

thanks again for the help..and YES, I was one of those who shelled out $137.50 + tax for a starter yesterday...funny how many problems just diagnosing a starter problem can cause?!?!?!?!you wouldnt think disconnecting the battery would cause this much grief..I feel sorry for the pour little old widow woman or young college student...they must get screwed all the time..just take a dead battery, a cleaning of the battery terminals, or changing out a starter to set the gremlin wheels in motion..lol