Toyota car and truck forums

Hi,
My wife drives a 1997 Land Cruiser.
Here lately, every time it rains, the engine will not crank.
It will fire, but not full engage and crank. The starter is working and the battery is fine.
Only when it rains. If the truck sits and the day is dry, it cranks right up.
Anybody know why this is happening or what I can do to correct this problem?

Many thanks, and my wife thanks you too!
Cameron

From this "It will fire, but not full engage and crank. The starter is working and the battery is fine", assuming you mean that twisting the ignition key to the start position - you get neither any "clicking noise" from the starter relay or any cranking of the starter at all. Anything else seems to be non-functional in wet weather - lights, indicator lamps, accessories, etc.?

This sounds like a classic class of short to ground or moisture causing a circuit to short/open.

Can be caused by a number of things - first thing to check are the battery connections at the battery itself and to the chassis/accessories. If those check out, then check the connection to the starter. Pay close attention to the wiring, connections, relays, mounting bolts of the starter, etc. If those look OK, check the starter for anything unusual - discolorations on the case, cracks, points of corrosion, etc.

Basically, you are looking for water entry points. Water/moisture is making its way into the circuit - either shorting to ground or opening the circuit. In both cases, no power will get to the starter.

Could also be not even related to the starter itself - check the ignition switch itself or even the ECM. If there is water pooling inside the car - this could cause a no-start condition as the relay for the starter will not even work - again, no power to the starter.

Agreed. I had similar problems on other cars and it was everything from a wet ignition computer to bad ignition cables to ...