Car Won't Start!--burning Smell/smoke Coming Out!

[marlon08901]

Ok...so, I have a 1990 LS400 with about 120k on it.....it has been running great since I got it about 2 yrs ago. The last time I drove the car was 2 days ago....it ran fine...I parked it and this morning the car just would not even crank...at frist I thought it was just a bad battery so I tested the battery with a volt meter and the reading was good. So, I cleaned the post a little bit a and tried again....this time the car seem like it was cranking over but then it didn't....instead there was a burning smell coming into the car from the engine compartment which was something that has never have happened before. At this point I asked my wife to turn the key and I opened the hood to take a better look at what was going on....there was a definately short circuit like smell and when my wife turned the key this time, it sounded like the started was trying to crank over but after about a 2 seconds it stopped and I saw smoke coming out from what it seemed to be the middle of the engine...but I guess since the starter is there somewhere that is what was causing the smoke and the smell but I am no mechanic so I need YOU help. I know there are a lot of posts here about cars not starting but most of them...the engine cranks over but just won't start....in my case it does not even go that far.....I am thinking I definately need a new starter..but I would love to get some feed back from you guys and see what kind of experiences you have had regarding bad starters or even if you have any suggestions on what I should do. Thanks!

[pondfisher]

I do know that you can't depend on checking a battery with a voltmeter. It is not the voltage it is the amount of cranking amps that turn the motor over. You can read 12 volts with a meter but that doesn't mean the battery is good.

[VRicherson]

I do know that you can't depend on checking a battery with a voltmeter. It is not the voltage it is the amount of cranking amps that turn the motor over. You can read 12 volts with a meter but that doesn't mean the battery is good.

I would guess that the battery is not the problem.