TFry

Hi folks,

I replaced my starter about 3 months ago, all has been peachy until a few days ago. My wife tried to start the RX and it eventually did start but, as she described it, it sounded "like the lawnmower does when you first start it." By that she meant before the choke lets itself out, which means it sounded a bit bogged down and slow.

This morning it wouldn't start at all. The starter works perfectly, and clicks happily away whenever I turn the key. The engine will not fire at all, however, or even turn over. Any ideas?

My thoughts are 1) maybe fuel pump/fuel filter problems won't allow it to fire or 2) there is a problem with the ignition system, i.e . the sparkplugs.

I'd be surprised, however, if either of these two ideas would have the sudden onset experienced. Could it just be a weak battery? I could use some help from the gurus...

Travis Fry

hypervish

Welcome to Club Lexus!

If the it only clicks, then it could be a dead battery, or a bad starter. Was the starter a rebuilt unit? I'd start by load checking the battery, as that's likely the case if the starter you installed is a good unit and hasn't failed.

salimshah

If the engine is spun by the starter at good speed [if you own the vehicle long enough you should be able to gauge the right spin speed] then you can eliminate the battery, terminals, cables and the starter.

If the engine does not catch then after couple of attempts the battery can become weak and the spin slows down. A good strong battery can sustain repeated start attempts.

Next is ... does the engine catch or not ,,,, air, fuel, spark and timing.

RX typically has the problem with the air-fuel amount .... managed by IACV to hold idle when you start. A quick override can be done by the driver by holding the gas pedal down a bit and that provides the extra air-fuel and the as soon as you lift the foot off the pedal the engine dies.

There are lot of other possibilities too. You can try getting a jump to eliminate bad battery.

Salim

TFry

Thanks for the quick feedback. Now for a little followup: the starter doesn't just click once, it clicks rapidly as if it is spinning and trying unsuccesfully to engage. It was rebuilt, but there were no symptoms of a problem other than as described. The engine does not turn over at all, though it turned over at what I would consider to be normal speed before this problem. Messing with the gas pedal as suggested (I tried that this morning) did nothing either.

I'll try to jump it when I get home in hopes that the battery is it, my concern is that I've not had a dead battery do this before. Of course, all of the one's I've had previously on many other vehicleseach did something different, so that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Thanks for the help so far, will update later.

Bobster999

try to jump it off. if it starts you know there is a power problem. make sure your terminal etc... connections are good and have your battery tested. with your limited info provided, my guess is you have a weak/bad batttery.

salimshah

So the starter is not spinning ...
The symptoms indicate that the solenoid is engaging and the current draw from the starter is dropping the battery voltage enough to release the solenoid.

That takes us back to bad/weak battery, loose-corroded terminals, bad connection at the starter and bad starter.

Check the voltage of the RX battery. if you see around 10v then do not jump and replace the battery.
Also try twisting the terminal. It should not budge.

When you jump (before turning the ignition) if you hear the rpm change in the vehicle giving the jump, that indicates a weak/discharged battery.

Salim

code58

That's battery or connections, not starter.

Francis

I would use voltmeter to check the battery. A good battery should have 12.25 or more. GL