jp03 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 So i came home and started (tried to ) start the car and it goes click, turn the key again click- this happend 4 times- i wait a few minutes , then it started up- I go to sears ( just bought a battery 3 weeks ago) they say the battery is good- alternator is good- the car did the click sound once while it was in the shop. they say "it may be the starter" take it to an electrican- 2 weeks ago i had it at eh dealer for the service and diagnostic- did the water pump, timing belt, oil , radiator fush, spark plugs , calbes etc.. said the car was in great shape, but needed to change my valve cover gaskets- What do i do, is it the starter? is it the solenoid, is something drainig my battery slowly, i did see some corrosion on the battery terminal, and today was the HOTTEST day in NY this year- 2000 gs300 TIA :cries: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2JayZ Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 How many miles on the car? Sounds like it could be the starter solenoid if the battery and charging system are OK. You should probably check the wiring to the solenoid before replacing anything - it may be loose or corroded. I know they use lots of road salt in NY during winter, so you may have a bad connection at the starter. Just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp03 Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 How many miles on the car? Sounds like it could be the starter solenoid if the battery and charging system are OK. You should probably check the wiring to the solenoid before replacing anything - it may be loose or corroded. I know they use lots of road salt in NY during winter, so you may have a bad connection at the starter. Just a thought... the car has 86k on it, this mornig the car started right up- what I am perplexed about , is if wiring were loose and /or corroded, why was it not noticed when i had it at lexus 2 weeks ago for the service? NOTE: I do have a remote starter installed , and I have read that sometimes those may drain the battery, or that may be casuing a conflict with the factory alarm, I'm going to disable my remote start to see if I notice a change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2JayZ Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 I'd be willing to bet the remote start mechanism has everything to do with your problem. If you don't have a really good reason for having that thing I'd recommend you remove it entirely and put the starting system back to stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcfish Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 So i came home and started (tried to ) start the car and it goes click, turn the key again click- this happend 4 times-i wait a few minutes , then it started up- I go to sears ( just bought a battery 3 weeks ago) they say the battery is good- alternator is good- the car did the click sound once while it was in the shop. they say "it may be the starter" take it to an electrican- 2 weeks ago i had it at eh dealer for the service and diagnostic- did the water pump, timing belt, oil , radiator fush, spark plugs , calbes etc.. said the car was in great shape, but needed to change my valve cover gaskets- What do i do, is it the starter? is it the solenoid, is something drainig my battery slowly, i did see some corrosion on the battery terminal, and today was the HOTTEST day in NY this year- 2000 gs300 TIA :cries: Were the starter contacts replaced ? If not, Replace them. Same thing happened to me a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenore Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Here is info on the starter contacts for these Toyota vehicles: http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/instructions.html by the way I am told these contacts are available at the dealerships. But I havent checked personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp03 Posted April 27, 2008 Author Share Posted April 27, 2008 Here is info on the starter contacts for these Toyota vehicles:http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/instructions.html by the way I am told these contacts are available at the dealerships. But I havent checked personally. So i go to my mechanic, he says the contacts maybe on its way- however he said my terminals were unusually corroded, i told him the battery was changed not more than a month ago- and I DO remember the terminals being srubbed , cleaned greased- he thought the corrosion on the terminals look like a heck of alot more than a month- I told him about replacing contacts , he suggested replacing the starter ( either way he said he would charge just for labor) i usually acquire my own parts- any opinion on that? BTW if anyone recalls my previos post about having the service doen at lexus, and them wanting 900+ dollars to do the valve cover gaskets, and the transmission fluid pan gasket- My mechanic told me to order the gaskets, he would pop them in for 250- He also said to look at the software they use (for estimates for auto shops) the work totalled 3.5 hours labor- when I told him what they wanted to charge me , he asked me if that included dinner with an escort-LOL So essentially Lexus wanted to charge about 600 dollars for for gaskets and tranny fluid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2JayZ Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Here is info on the starter contacts for these Toyota vehicles:http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/instructions.html by the way I am told these contacts are available at the dealerships. But I havent checked personally. ...So i go to my mechanic, he says the contacts maybe on its way- however he said my terminals were unusually corroded, i told him the battery was changed not more than a month ago- and I DO remember the terminals being srubbed , cleaned greased- he thought the corrosion on the terminals look like a heck of alot more than a month... Well, it sounds like you have a sub-standard battery there. My original Lexus (Panasonic) battery lasted for 10 YEARS, so when it was time to replace it you bet I went back to Lexus for one of their OEM batteries. Probably cost me about $40 more than a Wally World battery but it's worth it IMHO. The trouble you're having seems to support my opinion. BTW, after 10 years of service there wasn't one speck of corrosion on either of the Panasonic's terminals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp03 Posted April 28, 2008 Author Share Posted April 28, 2008 Here is info on the starter contacts for these Toyota vehicles:http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/instructions.html by the way I am told these contacts are available at the dealerships. But I havent checked personally. ...So i go to my mechanic, he says the contacts maybe on its way- however he said my terminals were unusually corroded, i told him the battery was changed not more than a month ago- and I DO remember the terminals being srubbed , cleaned greased- he thought the corrosion on the terminals look like a heck of alot more than a month... Well, it sounds like you have a sub-standard battery there. My original Lexus (Panasonic) battery lasted for 10 YEARS, so when it was time to replace it you bet I went back to Lexus for one of their OEM batteries. Probably cost me about $40 more than a Wally World battery but it's worth it IMHO. The trouble you're having seems to support my opinion. BTW, after 10 years of service there wasn't one speck of corrosion on either of the Panasonic's terminals. The reason I went to sears is because they always HAD a good rep for batteries , i paid over 100 with 8 year warranty, i didnt go low-end , can anything else be causing excess corrosion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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