DosyBoy

iTrader: (1)

One click and a good battery and everything else looks good, I would have to agree and leans towards your starter man... A 98 with 51k miles wow......

Busha

Sound like the starter is dead that's what mine did when it died

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

You need to find that short to ground on the power side of the main relay. Its not easy to trace for broken wire cause you gotta break the harness up from point A to B. GL

joebor1776

I know this is an old thread, but rather than starting a new one, I'm hopping on. I am having this "one click-no start" issue, but intermittently. The first time it happened was during a very cold week (single digit temps) and I parked outside overnight. In the morning I tried to start the car, and got the single "click" sound and nothing else. Battery is new, all accessories work, etc. Then about an hour later, I tried again and the car started just fine. It's been starting fine for the last month, no issues, and I drive this car to work daily (this is why I suspect it isn't the starter--maybe I'm wrong though?).

Then, today (50 degrees outside), I had it happen again. One click, then nothing. I tried it four more times and it finally started.

Since the starter replacement is so expensive, and it sounds like that may not necessarily be the issue, I am hoping to get some armchair troubleshooting suggestions from anyone who may have had this issue and fixed it.

BTW, I did have the timing belt replaced a couple of months ago, but this issue didn't happen until at least a month after that was done. Also, I do have the parasitic drain issue from the ignition relay, but I've had that issue since I got the car back in October, and didn't have this no start issue until a little over a month ago.

Thanks!

FrankT

Are you asking a question?

Rebuild or replace your starter...
The repair is 2-3 hours; $30 for a DIY rebuild up to $700+ dealer turnkey with a loaner. You decide...

joebor1776

Yes, I was asking a question--was hoping there were other possible causes for this issue that were easier :-). Thanks for the fast reply, sounds like it's the starter...

FrankT

Copper contacts in Toyota starters are a wear items, similar to brake pads.

Once they start failing, you typically will get intermittent no-start at first, this can last weeks or months till it completely fails.
The starter can also fail where it does not stop turning the motor and will not stop until the battery gets disconnected. This is situation can cause fire.

Here is a link that might be useful...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-problems.html

joebor1776

Thank you, I appreciate the info. Looks like I'm going to be going DIY on this one.