This question is not for a truck but for a car I have. I've got a 95 camry that won't start. When you try to start it, it does nothing. It acts like it doesn't have any power, the dash clock, radio, nothing gets power. I know its not the battery because I just put a new one in. But if you wait a while and try to start it again it will have power but won't turn over. After you turn the key the power goes off everything like the battery is dead. I figure there is probably a wiring problem of some kind. I bought it off a guy who tried to replace the engine but ended up with this problem. Decided to try to fix it sense he gave it to me for free! He said before he parked it, that it would start up and run but after it got warm if you turned it off it wouldn't start back. Any ideas on where to start?

Grab a volt meter and start testing voltages when it acts up and when it works fine. Start at the battery and work your way out from there trying to find where you see a big voltage drop at. Might be a loose connection or a power or ground cable that has corroded underneath the insulation at one end or the other.

Me thinks bad battery cable...

Make sure battery posts are clean as well.

It could very likely be corroded/dirty battery posts. Sometimes my chevy s10 will not start, and you wait a few seconds, turn the key on n off and it'll start, I'm just too lazy to clean the battery <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Is the starter getting any voltage when you try and start?

Do the radio and dashlights come on when you put the key into the start position but don't try and start it? or is that intermitent?

I worked on a 90 camry and it had the same problem, we've tried replacing the starter, the starter relay, and new battery too, that didn't help. I read online somewhere that someone replaced the wiring harness to it and it worked fine after that. We never figured out the problem because we sold the car.