Start up and running problems, out of ideas

Okay, so I got a mkiv supra a couple months ago and just recently had some start up problems, when I turned the key it would click and that's it, so I jumped it and all was good. After a while I decided to finally fix the problem and bought a new battery, which did nothing so I replaced all the terminals and still nothing. Now when I jump it, it starts up fine but when I turn on the headlights the car cuts out. There's also been some clicking coming from the alternator so I checked that and all seems to be good (14 ish volts running). Anyone have any ideas what the problem could be? not too happy as the car is my every day driver and my brain hurts from trying to figure out whats wrong . Also the headlights work perfectly while I have a jump start battery connected, which I think rules out the possibility of a dead short (Correct me if I'm wrong)

If it helps the car is a manual na 1994 mkiv with about 170000ks on the odometer. Thanks in advance for any help.

Your starter motor contacts probably need refurbing. This is what happened to me: http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?70712-Car-reluctant-to-start

Edit:

Now when I jump it, it starts up fine but when I turn on the headlights the car cuts out

That's weird though. It's possible jump-starting it has caused some electrical issues (a loose answer I know). Some people do things like gun the engine of the donor car when they turn the key of the dead car, and that kind of thing's not a good idea IIRC.

Definitely haven't done anything like that to it I checked the fuses and they all seem to be fine as well. I think I got the only unreliable supra haha

Check all your earth Terminations, I have had some similar symptoms and it turned out to be the earth system, specifically the main battery to chassis earth

Check all your earth Terminations, I have had some similar symptoms and it turned out to be the earth system, specifically the main battery to chassis earth

Yeah I've had that same problem on an old land cruiser, already checked it though and everything's all g but still no start up

When you turn the key and get a click, do any other electrical things work (e.g. lights, heated rear screen, radio, etc etc)? Turn them all on: do they all work OK togeter? Are the lights bright? If they are, it suggests the battery itself is OK. Have you tried running another earth (with a jump lead) from the engine block or chassis to the negative battery terminal?

Give the starter motor a tap with a rubber mallet, if you can reach it.

When you turn the key and get a click, do any other electrical things work (e.g. lights, heated rear screen, radio, etc etc)? Turn them all on: do they all work OK togeter? Are the lights bright? If they are, it suggests the battery itself is OK. Have you tried running another earth (with a jump lead) from the engine block or chassis to the negative battery terminal?

 

Give the starter motor a tap with a rubber mallet, if you can reach it.

Just gave it a quick go, the dash lights were on but fairly dim (My battery is low/dead) In the past when I put the headlights on everything died completely and would not go back on (even accessories). I'm fairly sure it's not the battery as well because this is the second one that's gone. I feel like it's more of a charging problem but the voltage looks fine so I don't think it's the alternator either. Maybe I should try a third battery? I have a charged battery in my land cruiser that I know for a fact works so I'll get back to you with what happens when I hook that up.

EDIT I will try your idea about grounding the battery as well

It sounds like a battery/grounding issue to me. Try a known good working battery and see if that fixes the problem. Had the same problem on one of my clients cars, it would start and as soon as you would try to drive it over 2k revs, it would cut out. New battery fixed the problem. Your alternator may also be on its way out, but try a new batt first and let us know how you get on

--- Edit ---

Also make sure the terminal clamps are tightened down onto the actual battery, once I undid them and forgot to tighten up the 10mm nut, it ran like crap and cut out.

--- 2nd Edit ---

If you are going to be re-grounding stuff, you may as well Do "The Big 3"

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?TID=73496

With the third battery I still had the same start up problem (Which I assume can be fixed by stevie_bs solution) after a few turns it started up alright though. Problem is now it's gone into some kind of a limp mode where it's revving real low on idle and theres a delay when I give it a little bit of throttle. Also the headlights seem to be working fine now. The car cut out but only from the low rpm and not the lights it seems. Also I checked and rechecked the grounding and can't see any issues.

Thanks for the link by the way, should help me out if I decide on replacing the alternator

is the alternator working?

is the alternator working?

Yeah it's been tested.

EDIT There's about 14 volts at the battery

How long has the car been sitting and not started?

It's been sitting there for about a month or so now, but that is because of the problem.

It suggests that the two batteries used previously were on their way out or didn't have enough juice in them. This third one, im not sure...but if it started up after a few goes, it could be something like starter motor, plugs/leads. Clean it all out, full charge this battery and start the car again. If its been sitting for a while...it will need a bit of time to get going.

Mine was idling a little rough when I started it after being offroad for just over a month, I cleaned everything up, put it back together, started the engine - after a very small rev it almost stalled on me.

Give it time to warm up, let it idle on its own, then just slowly blip the accelerator, see what happens

Get the black jump lead. Connect one end to the battery negative terminal. Connect the other end to a good ground point on the engine (lifting hook on the head for example). See if your problem has gone. If so the earth wire is bad from the battery negative to the LH side of the block. It's a sod to get to, and often gets forgotten or not secured properly if the engine's been out. Sometimes it's easier to take the lead to somewhere more accessible. Do not leave things, if it decides to ground down the throttle cable or something daft it can do expensive damage or even jam the throttle open.

Get the black jump lead. Connect one end to the battery negative terminal. Connect the other end to a good ground point on the engine (lifting hook on the head for example). See if your problem has gone. If so the earth wire is bad from the battery negative to the LH side of the block. It's a sod to get to, and often gets forgotten or not secured properly if the engine's been out. Sometimes it's easier to take the lead to somewhere more accessible. Do not leave things, if it decides to ground down the throttle cable or something daft it can do expensive damage or even jam the throttle open.

This one Chris?

Yes, Toyota will fit the loom to the engine before putting the engine in, once in it's a sod to get at. I tend to move it higher up, say on an intake runner if I forget to bolt it on before fitting the engine, or if it needs replacing.