Ccamp77099

Ok I have been having issues with my 04 Lexus ES330 for a few months about 4. I bought the car with a suspension of an oil leak because during the test drive I smelled a burning smell and saw some smoke coming from the hood (not much but faint) So I tell the salesman and he gives a story about possible spillage during oil change so we brushed it off come to find out its a power steering leak and then one day the car dies in the middle of the road. I got help from a mechanic that was riding by he gave me a jump but soon as he unhook the cables it died he stated it was the alternator. I had to turn the AC off and the radio off and the car drove perfect. So I took it in to get a new alternator. Car was fine for one month then I go to the car to run errands and the car wont turn. Lights come on radio everything but it wont turn ( there isnt a sound no clicking or anything) so I call the mechanic he sends a guy to see if jumping it would work and it didnt work the battery wouldnt charge. So they checked the batter said it was fine so they said I had a bad starter now...So I paid for that. Car worked fine for another month so 10/2/2015 1:40pm same thing happens again. I call the Mechanic and did the same lame thing he did the last time send a guy to try and jump it and that didnt work...I detached the battery myself and took it to Auto Zone and had them test it and its a great battery. So what is going on here? anyone had this issue?

surgeon0

First thoughts. Check fuses. As for regular occurrence, grounding or short. Bad relay? When I had such issues it was usually a quick fix or replace of part and then fine.

Someone with more knowledge is sure to help.

Ccamp77099

I was thinking a fuse so I checked the fuses they looked fine but I couldn't remove the relay and my dad said he heard a clicking coming from that fuse. Im going to go and check it now. Thank you

JetsonES

You may want to beef up the ground cable coming from your battery while you are at it due to your recurring electrical issues, the stock cable is woefully small. I did mine using 0 gauge wire but I think 4 or 8 gauge would also work. You should only need a couple of feet, sand down the area where it meets the chassis for good contact. It's cheap insurance against future issues.

Ccamp77099

Thank you I will try that as well. The start relay seems fine. I removed it shook it to listen for loose parts and blew out the port still nothing. I will try rewiring the ground wire. Monday the shop opens so hopefully I can figure out whats going on.

JetsonES

It's just a good idea, my 2003 lexus never got to 12 volts before I did this, it would idle funny and the a/c and gauges were acting up.

You will need a new battery terminal to accommodate the larger wire, the wire itself and a lug to secure it to the ground point. You can probably get it done for about 10 dollars.

funcrusher

What battery terminal did you use?

JetsonES

I just used some cheap crap from Walmart, I figured anything is an improvement and I don't need the fancy gold plated machined terminals as I don't plan on running any major additional load.