Why did my Van Just Die?

[AKVanLady]

Hi All, so I'm sitting in my dead van here and am unsure of what just happened.

Last weekend the oil light came on, just had an oil change and fill in late November so that seemed strange. Regardless, we hightailed it over to o'rielly's.
Dipstick was at the low Mark, so we filled it to full (half a quart).

I drove it the next two days and this morning with no problem.

Now, after work, I pull out of the parking garage and the Van starts to lose power. I was driving downhill and she was fighting to stay running.

i swung in to the nearest parking lot and parked it and immediately searched TVT 😎 the van idled rough a bit until I felt so bad for it I turned it off. Now she won't start at all. But the strange thing is I have entirely lost power-well maybe it's not so strange, to me it seems strange- the rear door ajar dash light that is been on since we purchased the van is now off - as if the battery is dead (but it's not).

i'm thinking fusible link somewhere?? But why does it run rough and then just die? This is coming from a greenhorn. Any advice is appreciated. In the meantime, I'll walk home and look in a manual...
Happy new year!

[timsrv]

Does the starter crank the engine? What about other things like headlights, wipers, heater, etc?

[AKVanLady]

Does the starter crank the engine? What about other things like headlights, wipers, heater, etc?

Thanks, Tim.

Well, I got it running again after some minor troubleshooting. To answer your question, nothing was working. No headlights, wipers, heater, nada.

We ended up jiggling a bunch of wires in an around the battery. I think it may have been a loose connection somewhere.
Now I know the symptoms of power failure! We are pretty sure it was either a battery connection or something else in and around the battery.
Once jiggled, she started right up!

I may coat the terminals with dielectric grease and really wrench the leads down.

We also pulled and checked every fuse (don't know why, just did) so that may have helped. :no: Then checked the oil as well and, oddly, it is back down at low. I'm hoping it's just the cold weather? But I'll add some more just to be sure.

Thanks for your help!!!

[timsrv]

Yes, that sounds like a loose or corroded battery terminal. Glad to hear you got it going again. Keep an eye on the oil level. Once you determine how fast it goes (like a quart every 800 miles or whatever) you can set your trip odometer to zero every time you add oil. Then when it hits 800 (or whatever) you'll know to add a quart of oil. FWIW, being a quart low won't hurt anything, but I'd avoid letting it get lower than 1 1/2 quarts low. FYI the engine will start starving for oil at around 2 quarts low.........so don't go there. Tim

[AKVanLady]

Yes, that sounds like a loose or corroded battery terminal. Glad to hear you got it going again. Keep an eye on the oil level. Once you determine how fast it goes (like a quart every 800 miles or whatever) you can set your trip odometer to zero every time you add oil. Then when it hits 800 (or whatever) you'll know to add a quart of oil. FWIW, being a quart low won't hurt anything, but I'd avoid letting it get lower than 1 1/2 quarts low. FYI the engine will start starving for oil at around 2 quarts low.........so don't go there. Tim

Great advice, Tim. That's good to know it's perfectly reasonable for the van to be 1 quart low at around 800 miles (that sounds very close to what happened) I'll be sure to keep an eye on it from now on...
Thanks again!

[timsrv]

It would be better if it only used a quart every 3 or 4 thousand miles, but being older and likely high mileage, a quart every 800 miles isn't all that unusual. The point where it's too much oil consumption is a bit arbitrary, but it's generally accepted that a quart every 500 miles means it's time for major engine work. This is assuming the oil is being burned. If it's leaking then leaks should be dealt with 1st (most oil leaks are not that difficult to repair).

There have been some discussions on the forum recently regarding ways to improve oil consumption issues. Here's a good thread you may wish to review: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?2373-Replacing-piston-rings-on-87-Van-LE

[AKVanLady]

It would be better if it only used a quart every 3 or 4 thousand miles, but being older and likely high mileage, a quart every 800 miles isn't all that unusual. The point where it's too much oil consumption is a bit arbitrary, but it's generally accepted that a quart every 500 miles means it's time for major engine work. This is assuming the oil is being burned. If it's leaking then leaks should be dealt with 1st (most oil leaks are not that difficult to repair).

There have been some discussions on the forum recently regarding ways to improve oil consumption issues. Here's a good thread you may wish to review: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?2373-Replacing-piston-rings-on-87-Van-LE


Will do, thanks again and Happy New Year!!