Toyota Land Cruiser starter motor problems
This starter motor story may well save you a lot of time, effort and money - it's a dificult startermotor problem to diagnose. The info you find here is not only related to a Toyota Landcruiser, but may well relate to many other pre-owned cars & trucks.
You'll find how a simple Starter Relay can leave you standing once in a while with a hard to reproduce sporadic cause.
Toyota Starter problem background
After having changed a Startermotor with worn starter contacts, a New Battery and checked wiring and mass cables for corrosion - one problem remained.
An occasional no-start - totally random - caused us to left stranded in remote places. Not good - after many tries the engine usually started again. (5-10 ignition attempts)
In 2-3 weeks time the problem got more frequent at awkward places - also to get the engine started took many more tries.
In all cases there was a no-start, the engine started after all. The last time after 15 miuntes of trying!
The first thought is Battery, Startermotor, Key contacts or a heavily oxidised mass / earth cable.
Even the rare Tooth to Tooth starter motor problem was looked at, but the startermotor didn't move / engage at all.
This problem is where the startermotor gear bounces - dead straight - against the starter wheel teeth.
This particular No-Start is usually resolved when the engine is slighly turned - root cause is worn flywheel teeth.
But none of all that - read on.
The Toyota starter relay - Denso 28300-17030
It's all about a single 12 Volt Starter relay operated by the starter key driving the startermotor.
Although hard to see, the damage was there as this video shows.
Opening the relay housing - which is quite easy - seemingly shows a relay coil with contacts in a good state.
But first impressions can be so wrong, the relay contacts under a magnifying glass showed signs of wear.
The video was made after trapping the occasional random problem at home! A perfect oppertunity to document the problem.
Fixing the Toyota starter relay
DO NOTE that the starter relay for the Toyota Landcruiser LJ70 is ALWAYS powered even with the Ignition key removed.
Although the engine won't start, the Starter Motor engages when the relay is powered.
Be carefull as manually pressing relay contacts may lead to a surprise.
After disconnecting the relay from the wiring, the problem was resolved with a bit of fiddling.
A larger contact area was created between the relais contacts in the following way;
Manually push the relay contacts and slightly move / grind the contacts against each other left and right.
Although it's not a great solution, it creates a better contact area.
Prices of Toyota Starter Relais
A few inquiries at Toyota;
Greece: € 155 EURO - Delivery in 2 months
Netherlands : € 204 EURO - Delivery next day
Germany : € 136 EURO - Delivery within few working days
It's an expensive part, though the special waterproof - dust proof connectors may well push the price up.
The relay itself looks like a very common 12V relay with small sized contacts.