I have an old Toyota forklift here (S/N: 405FGU25-78696) with the 4Y engine that has difficulty starting quite regularly:
Once every few months it refuses to crank and the operator is met with a loud click noise followed by silence; Presumably the starter gear hitting the ring gear face and not meshing with the teeth.
I have since taken to tapping the starter with a soft mallet or physically rotating the crank in order to get the starter to engage.
Battery voltage is good, and in fact the battery was replaced just in May of 2024.
I have ran an independent ground and positive cable from the battery directly to the starter.
At the time, I removed the starter (Brand new since July of 2024) and inspected all 360 degrees of the ring gear to ensure no broken or damaged teeth were present.
I tested the starter unmounted from the machine and found it worked flawlessly.
The forklift is *covered* in old service stickers telling a story from a previous mechanic that replaced the starter once every 4 months it seems.
I wound up following in his footsteps and replacing the starter in December of 2024 and it seemed to start fantastic for about 6 months. Now in June of 2025 it is suffering from the same issue.
The starters we get are directly from ARPAC ("Performance Advantage" P/N: A000005797), so I'm hoping they're of somewhat quality. Wondering if there is a better long term solution for this reoccurring headache.
Thanks in advance for just reading this wall of text!
UPDATE:
I've since installed a dedicated starter relay, replaced the starter with a better brand name, and have ensured good electrical connections throughout the circuit.
Works flawlessly now, hoping it does so for YEARS instead of months now.
Thanks to all who gave me information and advice!
Showing items 1 - 6 of 6 results.
Don't forget that the crank signal from the key switch doesn't just go straight to the starter. If I remember correctly, the signal goes through a neutral switch on top of the transmission (possibly more places than that even). If going bad, that can drop the voltage enough that the starter solenoid doesn't get what it needs to fully engage. A relay can help the issue, but eventually, it won't have the voltage to trigger the relay.
Lol I caught that too. Thankfully I've been playing with relays for enough years of my life to know the difference between NO/NC.
Thanks for the warning all the same! Hoping that anyone reading this in the future doesn't get stumped by that.
One thing in post said to attach wire to 87 or 87a does not matter it does if you attach to 87a the starter will crank with out turning the key to the crank position attach the wire to 87 that terminal is normally open.
Thanks to both of you for the advice and guidance! I've ordered a beefy starter relay and have changed the ignition switch.
Waiting on a more expensive "Denso" starter now and hopefully in six months time I'm not back on this forum lol.
hi you can use a relay at the starter so what you do is get a four or five pin 12volt relay remove start wire from start solenoid fit a 4mm wire straight from batt pos to terminal 30 then put another wire 4mm onto terminal 87 or 87a doesnt matter from there attach that wire to the solenoid on the starter
then the original wire that was removed from start solenoid is now attached to
terminal 85 and from terminal 86 addd a wire to ground so when you start unit the solenoid pulls in and gives the start solenoid direct battery power this eliminates any voltage loss in the wiring its a pretty simple thing to do and it may help your problem either that or you are getting crap starters and also change ignition barrel to see how you go
Put a 12v supply direct to the starter solenoid exciter wire an see what happens, may be getting a voltage drop from the ignition key to starter. Ive had this a few times on hyster trucks
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