The Cellar - View Single Post

glatt · 10-05-2020, 06:35 PM

Fixed the car.

This is the 25 year old one. It has had issues over the years, but was always reliable. Runs like a top.

Well, over the last week or two, it has simply not started. Intermittently. Sometimes it starts. Sometime it doesn't even crank. Just a single click. MOTHERFUCKER. And then a few tries later, it does start.

This is the kind of thing that can cost real money, and can be caused by a number of things.

The battery voltage seemed a little low, so I pulled it out and took it to Autozone. They tested is and said it was good. So not the battery. That was too bad. I figured a battery would be easy to do, and fairly cheap. Kudos to Autozone for not selling me a single thing.

I remembered after we got the automatic transmission cars, I would sometimes get into this Prizm and try to start it without pressing in the clutch, and it would make no noise, just a single click. So I kept thinking about the clutch. Maybe the car didn't think I was pressing down on the clutch.

So I did some research, and watched a few diagnosing videos on youtube. Everybody eventually mentions the starter, after discussing the battery and corrosion on cables. The starter on this car is buried in the hardest spot to reach. Under the intake manifold at the back of the engine, over the suspension, and catalytic converter. Really close to the fire wall. Basically impossible to see, test, or get at without taking everything apart. I so didn't want to deal with it, which means a mechanic would also charge two arms and a leg to do it too.

But that clutch pedal. I kept thinking about the clutch pedal. I've got the factory manual and the chilton's manual, and I looked up the location of the safety start override switch on the clutch pedal, and read about it. Looked at circuit diagrams. It could be the issue, but unlikely. The car doesn't want you to try to start it when it is already running, because you will cause major damage. So they have an override switch so it won't start if you don't press in on the clutch.

Then I went to ToyotaNation web forum to see if they had any insights. First I did I quick search, and somebody mentioned the clutch pedal as a possible problem when a car wouldn't start, and also mentioned bits of broken plastic on the drivers floor as an indicator.

How could I forget? I saw bits of plastic on the driver's floor the other day. I assumed it was just trash my son had left there. BUt there were definitely bits of plastic that I couldn't identify.

So I went out and crawled into the driver's side with a mirror and flashlight and looked up under the dash as I pressed the clutch in with my hand.

The clutch pedal normally has a cushioned bracket on the arm that pushes against the switch. My cushion is completely missing, and the funny thing is the hole in the metal bracket that holds the cushion lines up almost perfectly with the poky bit of the clutch pedal switch, so when you push the clutch all the way to the floor, the metal bracket on the clutch pedal goes around the switch, not depressing it. If you exert a little sideways pressure on the pedal, then the metal plate depresses the switch, and the switch engages.

That explains my intermittent start issue. Sometimes the metal bracket was pressing on the switch when I pressed on the pedal jut slightly differently. Often it didn't.

For what it's worth, My son was recently learning how to drive stick on this car, and he was really giving it a beating. I bet the 25 year old rubber/plastic cushion broke during that process.

So I ordered a replacement cushion from Toyota for $20 for a $1 part, but in the meantime I took a little electrical tape and a felt button and taped a makeshift cushion to the clutch pedal to engage the switch. I tried starting the car 15-20 times, and it started every single time.

So long story short is the car was unreliable for a week or so and had a major problem that would likely have cost more than the car was worth to fix, and I fixed it for free with crap I had lying around the house.

/Happy camper.

10-05-2020, 06:35 PM	#12747
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Fixed the car. This is the 25 year old one. It has had issues over the years, but was always reliable. Runs like a top. Well, over the last week or two, it has simply not started. Intermittently. Sometimes it starts. Sometime it doesn't even crank. Just a single click. MOTHERFUCKER. And then a few tries later, it does start. This is the kind of thing that can cost real money, and can be caused by a number of things. The battery voltage seemed a little low, so I pulled it out and took it to Autozone. They tested is and said it was good. So not the battery. That was too bad. I figured a battery would be easy to do, and fairly cheap. Kudos to Autozone for not selling me a single thing. I remembered after we got the automatic transmission cars, I would sometimes get into this Prizm and try to start it without pressing in the clutch, and it would make no noise, just a single click. So I kept thinking about the clutch. Maybe the car didn't think I was pressing down on the clutch. So I did some research, and watched a few diagnosing videos on youtube. Everybody eventually mentions the starter, after discussing the battery and corrosion on cables. The starter on this car is buried in the hardest spot to reach. Under the intake manifold at the back of the engine, over the suspension, and catalytic converter. Really close to the fire wall. Basically impossible to see, test, or get at without taking everything apart. I so didn't want to deal with it, which means a mechanic would also charge two arms and a leg to do it too. But that clutch pedal. I kept thinking about the clutch pedal. I've got the factory manual and the chilton's manual, and I looked up the location of the safety start override switch on the clutch pedal, and read about it. Looked at circuit diagrams. It could be the issue, but unlikely. The car doesn't want you to try to start it when it is already running, because you will cause major damage. So they have an override switch so it won't start if you don't press in on the clutch. Then I went to ToyotaNation web forum to see if they had any insights. First I did I quick search, and somebody mentioned the clutch pedal as a possible problem when a car wouldn't start, and also mentioned bits of broken plastic on the drivers floor as an indicator. How could I forget? I saw bits of plastic on the driver's floor the other day. I assumed it was just trash my son had left there. BUt there were definitely bits of plastic that I couldn't identify. So I went out and crawled into the driver's side with a mirror and flashlight and looked up under the dash as I pressed the clutch in with my hand. The clutch pedal normally has a cushioned bracket on the arm that pushes against the switch. My cushion is completely missing, and the funny thing is the hole in the metal bracket that holds the cushion lines up almost perfectly with the poky bit of the clutch pedal switch, so when you push the clutch all the way to the floor, the metal bracket on the clutch pedal goes around the switch, not depressing it. If you exert a little sideways pressure on the pedal, then the metal plate depresses the switch, and the switch engages. That explains my intermittent start issue. Sometimes the metal bracket was pressing on the switch when I pressed on the pedal jut slightly differently. Often it didn't. For what it's worth, My son was recently learning how to drive stick on this car, and he was really giving it a beating. I bet the 25 year old rubber/plastic cushion broke during that process. So I ordered a replacement cushion from Toyota for $20 for a $1 part, but in the meantime I took a little electrical tape and a felt button and taped a makeshift cushion to the clutch pedal to engage the switch. I tried starting the car 15-20 times, and it started every single time. So long story short is the car was unreliable for a week or so and had a major problem that would likely have cost more than the car was worth to fix, and I fixed it for free with crap I had lying around the house. /Happy camper.