I have a 1995 Toyota T100 about 187,000 miles. My battery is good I checked it with volt meter and even took it out and plugged it into my trickle charger and it says 95%. Volt meter read it at 12.83 volts. I drove it to my parents house and had no issues with it on the way there. But when I got in it to go home there was no crank and no lights. When my dad and I were jumping it it acted like the battery was dead and it slowly got up enough juice to crank and I drove it home. Immediately upon getting home I turned the engine off and tried turning it back on and it was the same no click, no dash/head lights. That is when I took the battery out completely and checked it. The terminals are clean and not corroded. Tomorrow when I have daylight to work with I am going to check the wiring for bad spots. But why would it crank with a jump and not from a fully charged batter?
What problems other than wiring could it be? I recently had the starter replaced and recently replaced a battery clamp. I think I have an electrical issue of some kind.
Load test your alternator & battery. If your headlights don’t turn on or your horn sounds meek, its a tell tale sign of a weak battery.
Check for any relays or loose connections of the battery terminals too.
There can't be a wiring issue if the car is starting when jumped. The battery is most likely bad now if it is not being able to charge from the alternator. When you jump started the car and drove home, it was most likely the alternator itself powering the car's electrical system while the battery wasn't able to charge, so when you shut off the car the battery was already dead again. It's most likely the battery...maybe try another person's battery and see if it works or not.
Sounds like you have a bad battery. The voltage you were seeing may have bee a surface charge. Take a volt meter and put it across the battery terminals when you try to crank it and see where the battery voltage is. If low replace the battery.
