06frozone

Hello
I have a 2002 es300 with 110,xxx miles on it.

I am having a problem where the car does not want to start. The problem started about 2 weeks ago while leaving work. The car hesitated to turn over. Parked it that night and it would not start in the morning.

After these issues, I replaced the battery because it was 8 years old , and the starter, because I used to have to whack it with a hammer occasionally to get it to start. It still will not start.

The yellow add oil light is on, the battery light, check engine, and oil pressure lights are all on. The oil pressure light is OK because the car is not started but the others should go away, right?

I checked the oil level, and it is fine, but I added half a quart to see if the light turned off, it didn't. It has never been on before.

When I try to crank the engine sometimes it clicks, like the battery does not have enough charge, along with the lights dimming on the inside, and the cluster lights do not come on. The windshield wipers cycle once, even though the stalk switch is off. The front windshield defrost light comes on sometimes when the ignition is turned on, along with the CD changer going crazy.

Not sure if this is related, but within the past month, the sunroof has not gone back to closed tilt position; the one touch does not work. Have to manually hold and release the button to stop it in the correct position.

I put the battery on a trickle charger for 4 hours, and the charge percentage on the charger did not change. If I disconnect one of the battery leads it charges fine. I charged it to 75% this way and the car still would not start. However, if I jump it using another car it starts fine and all lights go off, except for rear bulb out, which is one of my brake lights I need to change.

I have read the codes and it has P0420 which I do not think is relevant; ordered a spacer for the back o2 sensor.

I have not used a DMM for parasitic load yet, nor tested the battery voltage or alternator output voltage.

I don't think its the alternator, because I charged the battery to 75% according to my trickle charger. But to be safe, I disconnected the alternator positive lead and the car still wouldn't start.

The under engine splash cover is missing, but I have not driven it in the rain recently.

I haven't changed the synthetic oil in 4200 miles. Sludge? Has not had a problem with it before though.

My question is do you think it could be the ECU somehow? The wipers cycle once after it cranks with the stalk in off position, and the sunroof one touch does not work right.
Or could sludge buildup be straining the starter? I checked for sludge when I bought the car, but it did not have any.

Is there any way someone can post the electrical diagrams?

Thanks!

Nick

EDIT: Also, I jumped it once and drove it about 50 miles, all warning lights off, stopped the engine, restarted the engine successfully, parked it over night, and it wouldn't start in the morning.

HomerJay

If the engine cranked OK with a boost it sounds like a bad battery. Have it load tested, a fully charged battery does not mean the battery is strong enough to crank the engine. Also check the terminals and cables for corrosion.

mmatheny

Make sure the negative cable has a good ground also.

Oro

Agree with checking ground. A fault here will give myriad seemingly unconnected symptoms like you describe. This is a big clue right here. I am assuming you mean you went out and bought a new battery from your narrative and the situation you describe is with a NEW battery, correct?

Also, are there any non-OE electrical accessories or modifications to the car?

06frozone

Stock except for all interior lights LEDs

The brand new AAP Autocraft Silver battery was the culprit. It would not hold a charge. Picked up a walmart everstart last night and it's working fine now.

Sanded both battery posts and terminals. Added three 8G grounding wires. One bonded to the tranny near the airbox, one on the block near the cam position sensor and one on the block near the alternator. Might add an 8G wire in parallel with the original to the engine fusebox.

The tranny seems to shift smoother with less gear hunting. But that may be my imagination.

Thanks for everyone's help!

HomerJay

Glad you found the problem. Why did you buy another battery? If the Autocraft was brand new it would have been exchanged for free if defective.

06frozone

It was late at night, and I was tired of driving my weekend car every day, with the salt on the roads.

Even with the $40 off $100 coupon for AAP the battery was still $40 more than the walmart one. Researched everstart batteries and apparently walmart will always exchange them for free. Some people reported that they haven't bought a battery in 12 years.

HomerJay

Sorry, I don't understand your logic. If the defective battery was brand-new the replacement would be free.You would not need to buy another battery.

Oro

Solid grounding is good, but you've still got a single-point failure system among the three you added. The engine is rubber isolated from all chassis mounting points, utilizing a single separate ground strap of its own.

06frozone

I will look adding another ground wire to the chassis. Thanks!

The lexus is my beater car. My other car received a 5mm chip on the bumper from a large piece of salt while the lexus was out of commission. Since it was 10 PM (AAP closes at 8 here in OH, which I didn't realize, since I just moved here from NY), I bought the another battery at walmart. Very recently I had the other car's bumper repainted. The paint is so fresh that my clear bra cannot be reapplied yet.

anil1225

My car is having similar issue but it wont start even with jump. ANd codes I'm getting is same P0430/P0420. Any suggestions?