Problem !!!!

[Warduke]

Good morning to my fellow surf nuts !!!!!,I seem to be having a little trouble with my surf ????.
It has happend a couple of times now when i start it from very cold like first thing in the morning or when i have left it all day at work i turn the key and i get all the dashboard lights flashing on and a clicking noise that happens as well !!!!!.
I had a cat 2 imobileser fitted about 2 months ago it is a clifford smart key 2 !!!!!.
The car does eventually start though !!!!.
I havent yet had the battery checked yet or checked the terminals will be doing that today.
So ant help would be gratefully received thx in advanced !!!!

[rich]

If it is all of the instrument cluster that is flashing then this would point to the supply side of things. This can be on the battery supply side or the ground.

You lightly touched on the starting - Do you get a reduced starting power or is it as normal? If the starting is also worse then look to the battery (One or two??) The cold weather will always show up any battery prob's so probably worth getting them load tested properly.

Worth looking over the guys shoulder if you can, when I had mine done they were both breaking down to 11volts but because they didn't drop significantly matey reckoned they were OK - which they weren't! They should hold 12volts during the test.

A quick way of checking this without going somewhere to test it is to look at the battery voltage gauge on the dash. The centre line is 12volts (well it is on mine) when you turn the ignition on the pre-heaters draw about 50amps so if the needle drops below the middle then the battery isn't looking good. If it stays there then start the engine while watching the gauge and look for the same thing.

If the battery looks OK and the engine starts then look at the instrument supply side of things - dodgy / loose fuse is a good place to start then it's down to the connections I am afraid.

Hope this helps

Rich.

[da SLUG man]

a good battery should sit at around 13.8 volts when there's no drain.

[Warduke]

Once the car is warm it is ok yes i do get a reduced crank sometimes ????.
Would it be the imoboliser draining the battery ??? i dont have volts on dash to look at i have a 3rd gen no needle ???.
If it is the same battery in the car from new then i thnk it could be the battery ???.I only have 1 battery ???
Dont no what one to get ???.

[da SLUG man]

Once the car is warm it is ok yes i do get a reduced crank sometimes ????.
Would it be the imoboliser draining the battery ??? i dont have volts on dash to look at i have a 3rd gen no needle ???.
If it is the same battery in the car from new then i thnk it could be the battery ???.I only have 1 battery ???
Dont no what one to get ???.

look on the battery there should be a sticker with the rating.
in AH (amp hours) or CCA (cold cranking amps) (i think)
or go in halfords and look on their reference card for a 3.0 diesel toyota abttery, then go somwhere cheaper to buy one!
it's easy to fit a second if you want, the holes for the bracket and space for a tray are there, should be enough slack on the cable to splice it and then all you need is an earth strap.

[rusty]

Good morning to my fellow surf nuts !!!!!,I seem to be having a little trouble with my surf ????.
It has happend a couple of times now when i start it from very cold like first thing in the morning or when i have left it all day at work i turn the key and i get all the dashboard lights flashing on and a clicking noise that happens as well !!!!!.
I had a cat 2 imobileser fitted about 2 months ago it is a clifford smart key 2 !!!!!.
The car does eventually start though !!!!.
I havent yet had the battery checked yet or checked the terminals will be doing that today.
So ant help would be gratefully received thx in advanced !!!!

sounds like the starter solenoid's on the way out.....

[Koi]

sounds like the starter solenoid's on the way out.....

Hmmm tend to agree with Rusty, as you say it eventually starts, if it were a duff battery to start with it probably wouldn't have enough guts to start it eventually after several attempts it would be dead?????

[rich]

Hmmm tend to agree with Rusty, as you say it eventually starts, if it were a duff battery to start with it probably wouldn't have enough guts to start it eventually after several attempts it would be dead?????

Depends how duff it is.....also why would the dashboard be flashing?

[da SLUG man]

if the battery's flat then you will hear the solenoid clicking in in and out and the lights will flash as the motor takes power from the battery to try and turn the engine... this drains the battery so the solenoid disengages.... but there is enough power to engage the solenoid without the starter turning, so it clicks again... the starter tries to turn, drains the battery, lights go out and solenoid clicks off.... and so on

[Paul S]

I had the same trouble with my starter motor, I replaced the solinoid
contacts part from toyota part no 28226-72010 starter repair kit
cost £4.75 +vat about an hours fitting time cured my problem

[birdy]

Sounds to me like a bad conection on one of the batteries. Having said that my cat one alarm/immobiliser switches off all my ignition and dash warning lights after a while if left to long before starting so maybe that has a fault.