id1 Posted December 1, 2003 Posted December 1, 2003 My 95 LS400 is having starting trouble for the past 3 days. When I turn the ignition on, I hear a click, but, the starter would not come on. When I turn the ignition back, after a few times, the starter whirs and the engine fires on. Some times this clicking goes on for 5-6 times and some times it is 1-2 times. It happened 2 months ago for 2 days and it came back now. The batter if fine when last checked a month ago. Any suggestions?
SKperformance Posted December 1, 2003 Posted December 1, 2003 How did you check the battery the last time? You battery is probably dead and is causing the starter to not turn properly.If you continue with this problem it will cause the switch in the starter to need more power to start and only compunds the issue with each turn of the key.So eventually you will need to change the starter.Most people blame the starter when it is only a problem of a low voltage situation in a high volatage cuircit which cause carbon trails and increased resistance to do work ( kind of like me after thanksgiving) . Get the battery check asap as it is colder now. The above is of course if the battery is bad,if not then your starter or pwoer wires are having an issue.
mejojo Posted December 1, 2003 Posted December 1, 2003 If you're running that '95 on your original battery, it could be a smart move to replace the battery anyway, even if it doesn't solve the problem (which it may well!). Batteries do wear out, and 8-9 years is a decent lifetime. Give it a new battery for the "second half of life"! Joe
VMF Posted December 1, 2003 Posted December 1, 2003 i dont think its the battery. i hada battery problem last winter and starter was still spinning the engine. it just didnt spin it fast enuff to start. what i think might be your problem is a starter clutch. talk to LS400er guy. he had this problem with his 95 ls and he had to change the starter after all.
LS400er Posted December 2, 2003 Posted December 2, 2003 looks like your car has the classic bad starter symptoms. My car just went through the same saga, I replaced the battery, same problem, finally, I had to get the starter replaced. good luck!
tds Posted December 2, 2003 Posted December 2, 2003 I had the same problem in my 1982 Toyota Supra GTS (I bought it brand new and kept it for 20 years) It turned out that I had to have the starter partially rebuilt. I believe the starter solenoid is integral with the starter. When you turn the key to start a magnetic field is created in the solenoid and a metal bar connects across two contacts. This metal bar and the contacts are worn so they may or may not work each time you try (i.e. intermittent contact like you are experiencing). Your symptoms are exactly the symptoms I experienced on my Supra. New contacts fixed the problem. Hope this helps. Dan
Supercat Posted December 18, 2003 Posted December 18, 2003 My 97, all of a sudden, is giving me problems starting after having sat for awhile (like over night). I have a jumper system so I've been able to get her started, but I have been trying to drive the car for at least 20mins on the highway, yet it doesn't seem to be sufficiently charging the battery. I want to take her in to Lexus to have the electrical system checked out, but damn if I'm going to pay $165 for a battery (with labor) when I can go to Autozone and get a great battery for half that and install it myself. So, what's the consensus folks? Did I give enough info for someone to give me an indepth analysis and diagnosis? Oh, btw, my name's Jorge, I'm from NY, own a PRISTINE 97 ES 300 which I purchase "pre-owned" from Lexus and am a HUGE fan of the brand now...never going back to Ford or Mercury lol.
99lsguy Posted December 18, 2003 Posted December 18, 2003 Supercat, When did you buy your CPO 97 ES? Give us your mileage too.. Assuming around fall of 2000, this means your battery is 3 yrs old. If they didn't replace it - it is now 6+ years old. I just replaced the battery on my 99 LS which was original with the car - so 4 years is about it for a battery of that caliper/ or one from any dealer! Colder weather usually hits a battery hard, and an elderly one usually bites the dust with a change in the seasons.... Let Autozone check it and buy one from them! If you have elec. problem then Lexus may cover it. Most batteries have 2 yr (100%) full replacement so you can't lose even if and elec. problem exists. Take it back in 1 yr, 11 months and get a full replacement if it really is failing!
silvermate Posted December 18, 2003 Posted December 18, 2003 my car did the same thing after i was changing my headlight bulbs.and putting on new battery cables and terminals. it just was clicking and wouldn't turn over. i went and got a new battery, and it fixed it. the battery just didn't have enough juice to turn it over. try your battery
99lsguy Posted December 18, 2003 Posted December 18, 2003 Supercat, Oh yeah, about that $165 battery You may get to go into the customer lounge and have some coffe, read the WSJ :D Some stuff - I believe - you can use the dealer. But this wouldn't be one of them. Give us a report!
Supercat Posted December 18, 2003 Posted December 18, 2003 Supercat,When did you buy your CPO 97 ES? Give us your mileage too.. Assuming around fall of 2000, this means your battery is 3 yrs old. If they didn't replace it - it is now 6+ years old. I just replaced the battery on my 99 LS which was original with the car - so 4 years is about it for a battery of that caliper/ or one from any dealer! Colder weather usually hits a battery hard, and an elderly one usually bites the dust with a change in the seasons.... Let Autozone check it and buy one from them! If you have elec. problem then Lexus may cover it. Most batteries have 2 yr (100%) full replacement so you can't lose even if and elec. problem exists. Take it back in 1 yr, 11 months and get a full replacement if it really is failing! Ooops, sorry. I bought it at a CPO dealer, but the car was too old to qualify...I just purchased it in the Summer of this year (plus extended warranty)...the battery is definitely 6+ years old. I checked Auto Zone and found their duralast (duragold) battery for $69.99 which comes with a 3 year replacement warranty and has 640 cc amps which s.b. sufficient (spec = 575 cc amp) Oh, so mileage at time of purchase was approx 68k, mileage now is close to 78k...DAMN! Ok, so I LOVE driving this car...isn't that the point? lol Well, the last time I went in for service, I didn't hang around to read anything because I had to get to the office, but they did "lend" me a Seafoam Mist 03 ES 300 for the day...nice ;) Thanks for the feedback guys! I'll give a report...going to Autozone 2 NITE!
SW03ES Posted December 18, 2003 Posted December 18, 2003 The picture in your signature is of a 96 not a 97 ;) And as for batteries, no point in paying Lexus for the battery. Plenty of aftermarket ones that are as good or better.
Supercat Posted December 18, 2003 Posted December 18, 2003 The picture in your signature is of a 96 not a 97 ;)And as for batteries, no point in paying Lexus for the battery. Plenty of aftermarket ones that are as good or better. Ok Ok you got me :whistles: I got the pic off the Lexus website...it's close enough (colorwise) sheeeeeeesh! I don't have pix posted anywhere. I'll update as soon as I get one. (done)
Supercat Posted December 19, 2003 Posted December 19, 2003 MY REPORT: Went to Autozone last night and picked up the new battery, installed it, returned my old one. This morning, she started up perfectly. I hope this chapter can be closed. The counterperson at Autozone remaked how clean the old battery looked...I was surprised just how clean it was as well and how little grime I had on my hands after all was said and done. Thanks for the feedback everyone.
nigel Posted December 21, 2003 Posted December 21, 2003 id 1 My ES300 did exactly the same thing. It was the starter. I changed the starter myself. A rebuilt starter can be bought at an auto parts store for about $100. Before changing the starter: check your battery cable connections first and make sure they are clean and tight. You may also want to have your battery and alternator checked electrically. Call around and you can easilly find a battery store or shop that will check this for little or no cost. The Lexus dealer quoted me $520 to replace the starter. This is a simple replacement for anyone who has used a socket wrench or open end wrench. On the ES300 the starter was mounted on the upper right side facing the engine easily accessable working under the hood leaning over the engine. I had to remove the battery, battery tray and tie back a couple of other items. It took me less than an hour to complete the job. I could do it again in 1/2 that time. As a side note before installing the replacement starter, temporarily connect the wiring harness (female connection) to the male terminal connection on the starter to make sure that it connects (locks) properly. The first one I attempted to install looked identical, but it had a new terminal fitting on the starter that wouldn't mate with the OEM wiring on the car. Better to check that first than to discover it at the end of the job! Hope this posting helps someone. Nigel
VBdenny Posted December 23, 2003 Posted December 23, 2003 erhaps I jumped forums by mistake, but it sure would be nice if the LS had the starter accessable.
id1 Posted December 24, 2003 Author Posted December 24, 2003 Guys... some times we all get carried away, I think. The battery is fine.. it was checked by my mechanic about few weeks ago. The issue here is 'No Cranking' for the first few turns, when it is really cold... then it cranks perfect. When the weather is not too cold (above 20s), it is never a problem. I spoke to my mechanic, and he said it could be a solenoid problem and that when I find time he could look into it. Any way thanks for all the suggestions.
JPI Posted December 25, 2003 Posted December 25, 2003 What is the voltage of your batt? Did he do a load test ? Just a hint, the starter on the Ls400 goes out all the time. The starter located under the intake manifold. This job will take about 5-6 hrs, the hardest part is getting the two bolts out of the starter. Other than that it's a piece of cake(for me of course :P ). Oh yeah, Before replacing the new starter make sure you test the unit first. I got burn so many times by bad new starter. You don't want to two the job 2 times. One more thing, don't drop anything into the intake ports. Good luck. www.jpimportz.org
Lexus. Posted December 25, 2003 Posted December 25, 2003 Its the starter. They are pretty cheap to replace at the dealer, only about $1100. It sits underneath the intake manifold, beneath the plenium, locked in the V. You could get it done cheaper at import shops, it's not an advanced level repair
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