00 Toyota Yaris dead,----battery or starter motor??

paddy147

My mates 00 Yaris 1 litre will not start up.

He was sitting in the car,with the CD on for about an hour and now the car is DEAD.

The lights on the car work,as does the digital clocks,but the engine is dead,and it wont turn over on the key.

All you get is a little click noise and then nothing.:(

Tried jumping it off a VW Golf TDI and nothing,car still dead.

Is it as simple as a battery problem or could it be a starter motor problem.

And if it is a starter motor issue,is there any quick fixes for the starter motor,to get the car moving and back home again??

Many thanks.:)

puzzle factory

battery

Avns1s

Just try rocking the car in gear in case the starter is "jammed in mesh".

Failing that, have you tried push starting it??

Avns1s

puzzle factory wrote: »

battery

Should have been able to jump start it if it was the battery.

paddy147

Avns1s wrote: »

Just try rocking the car in gear in case the starter is "jammed in mesh".

Failing that, have you tried push starting it??

Car was put into 2nd gear and pushed,and let out the clutch.

Still nothing.:(

But that could have been may mates fault,where he may not have got it right.


Would rocking the car from side to side free up a stuck starter motor then?

Should my mate try to spray it with WD40 or something like that??

Thanks.

Avns1s

Avns1s wrote: »

Should have been able to jump start it if it was the battery.

I've twice had dead batteries and the cars wouldn't jumpstart with leads off a donor car.

Avns1s

paddy147 wrote: »

Car was put into 2nd gear and pushed,and let out the clutch.

Still nothing.:(


Would rocking the car from side to side free up a stuck starter motor then?

Should my mate try to spray it with WD40 or something like that??

Thanks.

I dont mean to be paronising but I am assuming that you have a reasonable bit of speed and that the ignition was on, when the clutch was let out sharply?

Rocking from side to side wouldn't free the starter, but doing what you did in 2nd gear should have. Just try sticking it in third and push it forward with the clutch out, then still in third, push back. Doubt this is the problem at this stage but worth a try.

Do the lights dim almost completely when you try to turn over the starter? Are the connections at the battery in good order?

Mech1

You were doing the jump lead bit wrong I recon, try again with good quality jump leads. Wiggle the clamps to insure good connection, run the donor car for 10 min with leads attached and then try to start the yaris, with the donor car still running.

Avns1s

RoverJames wrote: »

I've twice had dead batteries and the cars wouldn't jumpstart with leads off a donor car.

I did say "should" and most times this will be the case in my experience. I have often jump started cars and much bigger in fact, that have a battery with a duff cell.

Anan1

I think push starting might be safer in this case.:)

Pete67

You need fairly heavy duty jump leads to supply enough current to start the engine if the battery is completely flat - ie much better than 90% of the leads you can buy in shops. However, if you connect them up and leave them charging the flat battery for 20 to 30 min (with the donor car engine running) you should charge the battery enough to start the car.

Mech1

RoverJames wrote: »

I've twice had dead batteries and the cars wouldn't jumpstart with leads off a donor car.

If your using quality leads it will start same as having the donor battery in your car. Loss of current due to poor connections or poor leads being the only difference.

Anan1

Mech1 wrote: »

If your using quality leads it will start same as having the donor battery in your car. Loss of current due to poor connections or poor leads being the only difference.

That's potentially a big difference, though!

Avns1s

You'll need good leads to start a car where the battery has a dead cell because the dead battery won't actually accumulate any charge worth talking about regardless of how long you leave the donor car running.

Mech1

Anan1 wrote: »

That's potentially a big difference, though!

Sure is if your using the jump leads i see for sale nowadays:D

Avns1s

Avns1s wrote: »

You'll need good leads to start a car where the battery has a dead cell because the dead battery won't actually accumulate any charge worth talking about regardless of how long you leave the donor car running.

Indeed, dead cell means no potential difference across the poles and having another battery in parallel (regardless of how good the jump leads are) is not the same as replacing that dead celled battery with a good one

paddy147

Would my mate cause any damage to the 1 litre Yaris if he used the battery from the Golf TDI and used it to start the yaris up for a few minutes??

Just to see if it was a battery fault or not??

Oh and the jump leads are just the average 6 foot ones that you get in most shops/motor factors.

Avns1s

RoverJames wrote: »

Indeed, dead cell means no potential difference across the poles and having another battery in parallel (regardless of how good the jump leads are) is not the same as replacing that dead celled battery with a good one

Agreed but with decent leads, you should still be able to get the car started.

Avns1s

paddy147 wrote: »

Would my mate cause any damage to the 1 litre Yaris if he used the battery from the Golf TDI and used it to start the yaris up for a few minutes??

Just to see if it was a battery fault or not??

None whatever so long as it fits and is fitted correctly.

paddy147

paddy147 wrote: »

Would my mate cause any damage to the 1 litre Yaris if he used the battery from the Golf TDI and used it to start the yaris up for a few minutes??

Just to see if it was a battery fault or not??

Nope
Disconnect the Yaris battery and carefully connect the jump leads to the Yaris terminals (just to prove the dead cell theory :pac: )
Remove the VW battery from the VW though.

paddy147

Right,Ill inform my mate tomorrow morning.

So he can use the TDI battery directly,just to be sure.

Avns1s

RoverJames wrote: »

Nope
Disconnect the Yaris battery and carefully connect the jump leads to the Yaris terminals (just to prove the dead cell theory :pac: )
Remove the VW battery from the VW though.

You will only need to disconnect one to do what you're trying to do. Not a great idea though because if one of the leads drops off the terminal, you might be replacing your alternator at a minimum, hence I was suggesting fitting the battery to the car if possible.

Mech1

op states "listening to cd for an hour" I read between the lines cd on / ignition on / side lights on / foot planted on brake pedal (brake lights) / charging phone, etc.

Battery is probably fine just needs charged!

paddy147

Oh and 1 more quick question....


If it isnt the battery and he thinks its the starter motor.

Is it hard to take the starter motor off a yaris,with the car on the ground.

Can a sticking starter motor be fixed there and then on site??

Thanks for the help.

Avns1s

Starter motor is damn awkward on those without a pit or lift.

It's kinda strange that it didnt start with a push. The lights working would indicate that there should have been plenty of power to operate the ignition system and give a spark.

Avns1s

Mech1 wrote: »

op states "listening to cd for an hour" I read between the lines cd on / ignition on / side lights on / foot planted on brake pedal (brake lights) / charging phone, etc.

Battery is probably fine just needs charged!

That is very possible but should have started with the leads or a push.

Mech1

Avns1s wrote: »

That is very possible but should have started with the leads or a push.

yes if its done right.

paddy147

Avns1s wrote: »

Starter motor is damn awkward on those without a pit or lift.

It's kinda strange that it didnt start with a push. The lights working would indicate that there should have been plenty of power to operate the ignition system and give a spark.

Whats your thoughts then.

What do you think it could be?

Avns1s

Don't know but the first thing to do is to rule out the battery and I also defer to Mech1's post just above.

Are you sure (and again, I'm not being patronising) that the pushstarting was done sufficiently to get it started. Equally, the jump starting?

Mech1

Paddy, try jump starting it again after leaving the donor car running while connected for a while.
poor english!
after running the donor for 10 min at least.

paddy147

Mech1 wrote: »

op states "listening to cd for an hour" I read between the lines cd on / ignition on / side lights on / foot planted on brake pedal (brake lights) / charging phone, etc.

Battery is probably fine just needs charged!

All I know is that he was sitting in the car,ignition wasnt fully on,but was on as to allow the CD player to work.

He was sitting in the car for about an hour waiting on his wife to finish college for the day.

Went to start it,but all he got was what felt like a dead flat battery.

Head lights worked though and so too did the digi dash display.

paddy147

Mech1 wrote: »

Paddy, try jump starting it again after leaving the donor car running while connected for a while.

Define a while?

He left the Golf TDI running for about 5-10 minutes,and then tried to jump the Yaris,but not a single thing happened,battery dead flat.:(

Avns1s

paddy147 wrote: »

Define a while?

He left the Golf TDI running for about 5- 10 minutes,and then tried to jump the Yaris,but not a single thing happened,battery dead flat.:(

Normally 10 mins should be plenty with the donor car running at say 2-2500 rpm to have the alternator charging. Not much advantage if its just idling.

paddy147

Avns1s wrote: »

Normally 10 mins should be plenty with the donor car running at say 2-2500 rpm to have the alternator charging. Not much advantage if its just idling.

Thats probably the issue there then.

Just left idling for 5-10 minutes.

So rev up the Golf TDI to around 2.5k for a constant 10 minutes or so?

Would the Golf TDI left idling for 30 minutes or so be any use?? (doesnt want to pi55 off any college teachers or students with the revving)

Thanks.:)

Bruthal

RoverJames wrote: »

Nope
Disconnect the Yaris battery and carefully connect the jump leads to the Yaris terminals (just to prove the dead cell theory :pac: )
Remove the VW battery from the VW though.

It wont really prove its a dead cell as such. Simply removing and reclamping can lead to better results with the same jump leads when they dont work at first.

Car batteries are not good for deep discharging, and all cells are usually depleted in flat car bateries, although some cells will suffer more than others. The battery in this case is probably not in good condition now anyway.

Some sets of leads are horrendous though. I seen some recently that only had the lead connected to one jaw in each of the clamps, absolutely useless.

Avns1s

I'd say you'd get more charge with a rev for 3 mins than idling for 30.

If it's just the battery discharged from running the cd etc for an hour, it will probably start after a few mins with the other car running with a rev.

paddy147

I,ll let you know how it goes,and if my mate gets the car back home from the country tomorrow afternoon or not.

Bruthal

Avns1s wrote: »

Normally 10 mins should be plenty with the donor car running at say 2-2500 rpm to have the alternator charging. Not much advantage if its just idling.

Idling will still do almost as much as reving. The yaris battery will be well below normal charge. The golf battery will initially rapidly charge the yaris one due to the large difference in charge state between the batteries, and the golf idling will hold its own battery at a stable level. 10 minutes idling will help.

Avns1s

paddy147 wrote: »

I,ll let you know how it goes,and if my mate gets the car back home from the country tomorrow afternoon or not.

How did it work out Paddy?

paddy147

Well my mate found out why it wouldnt start up.


Car was towed to his meachnics garage and the mechanic inspected it.

Engine siezed.:eek:

RACHEL1976

the same thing happened to me today in a yaris that didnt belong to me! I was cleaning it to sell it for a friend to a friend and had the radio playing and hazzard lights on for over an hour while i was cleaning it and thought when it wouldnt start that the battery had been drained.... but after it failed a push start and jump start and searched the net and read reviews came across a thread on www.toyotaownersclub.com which seemed to be identical to mine and your friends, only difference being your friend didnt just clean his car? but the relevance being that the car wouldnt start while still displaying power. I suggest he has a look at the post on the site I mentioned as I dont think his engine has seized. When he gets onto the site just do a searc for 'toyota yaris wont start' and have a read, hopefully it will be of some use (if he hasn't already disposed of the yaris!)