SPhoto

So basically its sandwiched in between the manifold & everything else below it

selkirk

FWIW looking at the starter is not likely to be fruitful. These guys have given you some good advice about making sure that the problem isn't isolated to the battery - it's MUCH easier and cheaper to replace if it's the culprit (but test it first!), and batteries have a limited service life.

How old is your battery? The top may have some indication - like a 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/0 that could be punched out to indicate the year it was installed. And did anything else happen that seemed odd, before all of this started? For example, did the engine turn over more slowly when you tried to start the car?

BTW those little portable jumpers aren't the be-all and end-all of starting cars with dead batteries, especially for a car with a V-8 that takes a fair bit of power to start. I've personally seen a portable jumper fail on a car that was successfully jump-started by another car a few minutes later. If you attempt to jump-start it again, connect the cables with both cars turned off, then start the good car and let it run for 5-10 minutes, then try to start the LS. You are using (abusing, really, but I've done it too) the alternator in the good car to try to charge your dead battery.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

here is mine....

SPhoto

ok dig this, i got a BRAND NEW batter installed 3 months ago so that would be march 2011.

& earlier i was trying to see if i could take a peak atleast of the starter but dammit i can't find it then i rolled my windows down to see if they still worked but this time it rolled up & down hella slower than normal.

maybe something's grounding my battery?


**oh & to add on to this, before all of this started, my car actually did turn over slowly once then stopped after that.

^^hope that helps a little atleast

SPhoto

wow thanks man! now i know exactly where the damn thing is lol

deanshark

Dude, it sure sounds like a dead battery. That's not saying that your battery is no good, just dead. The best thing to do is charge it with a charger. If you don't have one bring it to Autozone or some other parts store, they charge it for free. If it then clicks, think starter. If it starts check the battery with a meter to see if it's charging. If not, your alternator is bad. Before it died, if it turned over slow and the windows were slower then normal, it sounds like your alternator isn't charging the battery. I highly doubt that it's a starter problem.
Don't start by thinking the worst. Go in order of cheapest and easiest, battery, alternator, starter.

SPhoto

man after all this trouble, i just got back from our local sams club & got my battery tested. results came out to be that the baterry is "****en dead" says the mechanic that was working lol
i also overheard the mechanic say to one of the coworkers that "this is the second battery already" so im assuming something was wrong with someone elses battery as well. good thing they give an 18 month free replacement warranty thing.

so im gonna go back & pick up a free battery. hopefully that being the problem. *crossing my fingers*

SPhoto

alright man thanks for the advice. i'll mos def keep this in mind for any problems i may encounter in the future, "Go in order of cheapest and easiest".

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

this thread is proof that listening to what people tell you WORKS

lol congrats on getting your problem solved OP

selkirk

"Second battery" for them, or second battery for your car in 3 months? It's not normal for a 3 month old battery to die.

Does your car leak power steering fluid? The old LS400's have an unfortunate tendency to leak power steering fluid such that it drips into the alternator and causes problems.

SPhoto

For them not me. But if my car starts this time & I'm hoping it will, I'm gonna get it checked!

trukn1

Glad you have isolated the problem. As someone else asked, do you have a power steering leak? The reservior sits directly over the alternator and has a tendency to leak right into the alternator, preventing it from working properly and keping your battery charged. IF you do have this leak, you may be finding yourself in this same situation again. If no leak, and this happens again look at you alternator to be culprit.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Yup, battery. Might also want to test the alternator for proper charging.

Sometimes we get lucky.

deanbrown

If you have a multimeter, measure the voltage and post it up here and we can advise you. Do this with the engine running and with the engine off. Should be just over 14 volts when charging, and just over 12 when not (can anyone remind me the exact figures?).

SPhoto

Guess what guys...bad news!! Me & 2 of my homies one of'em a mechanic and the other experienced with cars as well, checked out my car today. We did the 'ol tap on the starter thing by getting to the starter by removing the intake mani. Tapped it while trying to start it, but it didn't turn over. So starter is one of my problems. Then we found another culprit to the problems, while trying to start my car, the negative terminal/wire was smoking. It would even smoke with the key turned on "on" (where you can listen to the radio, roll down Windows, etc. That could've been how my battery drained.

This fix could cost me a lot. I might as well just get another car already! Or better yet, start fresh & get another ls400. Preferably 98+