Hi

I have been having starting problems with my Rav4. I'll try and summarise what's happened and hopefully someone has some ideas on what it might be.

I noticed the car was a little sluggish starting and this got worse to the point where it started great when cold but couldn't start when hot (symptoms just like a dead battery - sluggish turning over and not firing). If I left the car to cool down it would start no problem.

I bought a new battery with more oomph and fitted a new 2.2KW starter instead of the 1.6KW starter.

At first the starting was better but within a couple of weeks it was cranking slightly longer when hot starting (cold was perfect).

Another month or two passed and then one day I went to restart from hot and when I turned the key nothing happened - no cranking at all. All the lights were fine etc. I waited 30mins with the bonnet up and the car started just fine.

It has been ok for a month or so since (starts but it sluggish when hot), but yesterday I went to start it from cold and I got the same issue where the engine wouldn't crank at all. I sometimes heard a slight clicking but not the clicking I know you get with a dead battery, I also noticed the rev counter jumped up a bit even though the engine didn't crank. I left the car for a day and tired it again and it fired straight up.

Thinking is may be linked to the solenoid (there's no starter relay on the car) I tried cleaning all the battery clamps/earth cables. Before I did this the car fired up, but since cleaning it's gone back to no starting. What I do notice is that the starter seems to click quietly sometimes and sometimes I can hear it spin (I sit turning the key to start and sometimes I hear the starter and sometimes I don't - but the engine never cranks). Also, I have noticed the revs on the the rev counter jump to 3000rpm but the engine isn't cranking.

So in summary at present it sometimes cranks the engine for a split second but doesn't start, but mainly I get either no noise, the spinning sound of the starter or a single click from the starter.

I'm inclined to believe it's power related but wanted some opinions, so if you have any questions or ideas please shout them out - I appreciate any help!

Edited by 206Hdi on 27/06/2019 at 00:45