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Odd problem with car not starting when cold O/T

O

old

Well-known Member
Location
Camdenton Missouri
Got a Toyota Corolla SR5 that when it is cold out like today it will not spin the engine over. It is a 5 speed with a clutch safety switch. I'm thinking the switch gets cold and then does not work like it should. Once it starts and gets warmed up it starts like it should. At first I was thinking a battery connection problem but now leaning towards thew safety switch. What do you guys think am I on the right track?? Thinking about putting a electric heater in the car about 30 minutes before I want to start it to see if that helps and maybe that would also tell me if it was that switch.
Thanks
 

Is your carpet wet?? May not be related but my floorboards are pretty soaked from snow on the feet. so much moisture in the car that things are going nuts. My auto door locks work on their own. locked me out with the car running the other day and had to climb my fat a$$ through the back hatch and over all the junk I had in the vehicle. I now leave the window down enough to get an arm in or take the keys with me. also inspired me to clean out the vehicle....
 
I would start with a thorough inspection and cleaning of battery connections and cables. Usually easy to do, and solves a bunch of problems, present and potential.
 

Possible problems: The battery is weak because it is going bad. Cold weather is bad on a weak battery. Or it could be weak because the alternator belt is loose and alternator is not giving a full charge. Have you tried jumping the car off?

Are you meaning the starter dosen't make a sound? Could well be a switch, but I don't understand cold affecting it. Have you tried jumping across the selenoid posts on the starter?
Have you located the safety switch and is it much trouble to replace? Possibly you could use jumper wires to bypass the safety switch so you can tell if it needs replacing. Possiby the trouble is in the ignition switch itself. If you have an electric heat gun you could warm up these places individually and find the problem.

That's about the end of my limited knowledge.

KEH
 
The solenoid on those starers is built onto the starter. I would pull off the 1/" spade connector and (in neutral) jump 12 volts directly to the solenoid. (when it is unstarted and cold in the morning) This will either crank it immediatly, or have that pause that causes irritable reflection to be wasted on thinking about it not starting. If it starts immediatly, reconnect the wire and try it from the inside normally. If it does not start, you know it is internal to the wiring.
Jim
 
how do you get it going when it doesnt start? My boy had a honda that wouldnt go when the temp was real hot outside and windows were rolled up,you could roll the windows down and let car cool off some inside and it would go.His was a board somewhere that had bad solder joints.your problem could be something of that nature ,he did a search on the net and found this was a common thing on these cars.So you may try that.Have you or can you bypass the switch when it does this?
 
If it is reluctant to start jumped. take the starter off and clean it, the solenoid is gummed up and stickie. Spray silicone spray into the sliding parts to keep it from gumming up again. Jim
 
All the clutch safety switch does is close the starter relay circuit when the pedal is depressed. If the starter turns at all it's not the relay circuit. If the starter turns slow or sort of turns and skips it's either weak battery or loose or dirty starter circuit connections. Some really far out troubles could be dirty starter relay contacts, bad starter brushes, heavy oil, a tight engine or a combination thereof.
 
When it does it you just keep trying it over and over again and sooner or later it will start. But since it is cold as in below 15 out and tere is snow all over not going to be easy to fix or even get to that switch
 
Wish the starter was easy to get to. It is up under and behind the engine so you have to jack the car up crawl under it and remove 2 or 3 other parts just to get to where you can see it and then from there you have to hold your mouth just right and add an elbow to get to the bolts let alone the wires LOL
 
Ya only when cold and yep no nothing from the starter no click no spin just nothing. Keep hitting the key and push the pedal 2 or 3 times and then maybe it will spin the engine over. It just started doing this so have not been able to try any thing but the battery cable but hope to be able to try maybe hooking the big charger to it the next time it does this. Once the car is warm and till it cools way down it starts like it should
 
I have a spare key made up for every vehicle and it is in my walet.Only have 2 on the go so it's not to heavey.
 
(quoted from post at 14:53:14 01/11/11) Starter does nothing at all. No click no spin not nothing that is why I am thinking the clutch safety switch
Click to expand...

Where is your ignition switch??? My ford pickup did that and the switch was loose and moving back and forth so it only started intermittantly. Switch was mounted down the steering column and activated by a rod from the key.

Dave
 
Hold the key in the start position and then push clutch pedal back and forth. If it then works you will have a pretty good chance it is the clutch safety switch. By moving both switchs at same time you can't determine which one if eiether is at fault.
 
rich, take a peek up at the top of the clutch pedal and see if you can spot the switch. some were adjustable to set the contact point to close the switch. it many need a little adjusting.
 
The designer had a sense of humour? Old.

Holding that mouth or tongue just right also can determine whether it is a boy or girl.be careful.
 
Yeah, I read that in the post all the way at the bottom of the thread.
There's a post someone suggested holding the starter switch and exercising the clutch. Test one thing at a time. Since it began with the cold I'd suspect a bit of greasy dirt on the switch stem.
Good luck.
Did you get much snow? After all the hub-bub we received about two inches just north of Joplin.
 
Got just under 3 inches but yesterday when it was coming down Hwy 54 was very bad and there where at least 10 cars/trucks off in the ditch and 4 where on there side or on there top
 
Lots of good advice and ideas as usual. One other thing to check is where the wiring harness passes through the firewall or at connectors along the way. I had a '93 Mazda doing the intermittent starting stuff, and it was a faulty connector in the firewall. It only took about three weeks to figure that one out after messing with everything else.
 
Hey Old, my '89 Toyota did that same thing for several months. It would start right up with a jump and be ok for a lot of starts. Finally put a new battery in and hasn't missed a beat in 3 months.My trade in battery did test bad. i would try a known good battery.
 
This is an almost new battery that I have used in/on many other machines since I got it a few months back. I know if it does not start like it should tomorrow I'll try my big boost type battery charger on it and see if that does any thing. If it does then yep maybe a bad new battery.
 
Hey, Old. This might sound dumb, but when my carpet gets wet and freezes, it will not compress enough to let the clutch peddle go all the way to the floor, not making contact with the switch. It"s ok when it is not cold enough to freeze the carpet. Could this be your problem. NorminN.B.
 
May well be the problem or close. The last couple times I have started it I make sure I stomp the pedal to the floor instead of just a easy push and it has started every time and that was even this morning when it was below 10 out
 
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