1999 4Runner Won’t start when turning key to Start position (no noise at all)

1999 4Runner Limited

One of my passenger doors was left open with an interior light on for two days. I started my 4Runner and it struggled a little to start. I drove it for 10-15 minutes to charge up the battery. I parked and turned it off and then tried to start it again. It did not start when the key was turned to the Start position. No noise or anything. The key fob did not lock and unlock the doors. There was a low buzz from the engine area when the key fob buttons were pushed.

Tested and charged the battery. Battery was not dead (around 12.8 V). Battery charged to 100% in a short amount of time on the battery charger. Still would not start (no noise when the key was turned).

Left to charge for about an hour and then the key fob started working again to lock and unlock the doors. Turned the key and it started normally.

After running it for a while, turned it off and then it did not start again when the key was turned (no noise).

Got it going again. Now it starts fine.

Did a load test on battery and the battery is ok. Have not pulled any codes yet.

Any suggestions on what is wrong?

 

Sometimes a battery will take charge but cannot retain it. How old is the battery? My car batteries nowadays last around 6-8 years so that is the typical time for me to replace them. If the battery is not the culprit, measure the voltage across the terminals with the vehicle running. The voltage should be somewhere in the range of 13.8-14.5 volts. If not, the issue is with charging. After this check and see if there is a parasitic drain/short somewhere. With the vehicle off, disconnect one of the battery's terminals and use an amp meter to measure the amount of current drain. In all you should not see anything more than say 0.02 amps. If it is something like a fraction of an amps or higher, there is a short somewhere. One cautionary note. If the drain is too large, you may blow the fuse on your meter (assuming there is one) or destroy your meter.

 

The battery is from July 2020 (a Midas MT24F Interstate Battery)