kennedy759

just bought a 98 es300 and after sitting for 4 or so days the car will not start, put a charger on it and charge it for a few hours it starts fine, do I have a bad battery or is some thing pulling it down? I have radio and lights but will not turn over the engine, I am going to replace the battery, but is there anything I can check to see if its pulling the battery down?

zajac

iTrader: (1)

Either the battery is complete crap and not holding a charge....or your alternator is shot as is not charging the battery like it is supposed to. I would start with a new battery since it is the cheaper alternative. Best of luck!

GEORGE_JET

Go down to you local auto parts store and ask them to check your battery, they should have a tester that will tell you if the battery is ok. If it passes that test you need to find someone with a DVM (digital volt meter), you want to check the battery draw when everything is off. A typical draw should be 20 to 30 ma, much higher than that would indicate that something is not shutting down. If this is the case, start pulling fuses till the draw disappears. Keep in mind that most modern cars take up to 30 min for everything to shut down. If the battery passes the test, and the drain is not excessive ( app 30ma or less ) start looking at the alternator.

Lazy

iTrader: (2)

I would say its ur battery. Unless bad weather over there and it messes up ur starter/alternator while its been sitting there. If you know your car is gonna sit somewhere for a while always take off the terminals.

kennedy759

first its my wifes car and she works at home so she might not drive it for a few days, second how do you hook up the volt meter? I have one, just not sure how to hook it up in this situation.

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

positive to positive terminal...negative to negative terminal.

kennedy759

do I need to diconnect the positive cable from the battery and connect the amp meter between the positive cable and the positive terminal on the battery?

Rhoderman

iTrader: (1)

You can do it with a meter, but be careful that you don't draw more than 10 amps through the meter or you will blow the fuse.

That said, you will probably also be chasing current draws from things like the radio clock/memory circuit and anything in the computer or alarm system that stays on a little. Expect way less than one amp from all of those. If you measure less than 250 milliamps (1/4 Amp), you probably have a bad battery or alternator.

If it's more than 250 milliamps, start with the obvious things, like courtesy lights in the sun visors, dome light, glove box light, trunk light, aftermarket radio, etc.

If the current draw is normal, check to see if your alternator is charging. Reconnect the battery and start the car. Measure the VOLTAGE (make sure you change the leads on the meter or you WILL kill it) across the battery. It should be more than 13.5 Volts if your alternator is working.

Then, shut the car off and let it sit for 1/2 hour or so. Measure the voltage again. If it is much less than 12.5V or so, you have a bad battery. Anything less than 12V indicates a dead cell typically.

Good Luck, hope this helps...

kennedy759

thanks for your help, checked alternator, 14.4 volts, checked battery before starting car it was 12.4V, then right after starting car it was 12.8V, after 1/2 hour it was down to 12.5V so I am going to check run down my next day off on tuesday and then buy a new battery. I think is it the problem as no lights are on.

crooozr

New answer to old post,I had same problem of my battery dying/battery drain, found the simple answer on Sparkys answers.com (have to give credit were its due), its a design flaw, ok enough blabber,it could be the SET BUTTON(left side of seat) on drivers seat that's stuck in the ON POSITION , just take a screw driver and pop it out, it draws a little current at a time, ifyou don't drive the car for a few days it will kil the battery, thank you to the other Lexus members for you're help on other problems I had, next is my HORRIBLE FRONT END RATTLES

yeskay

That is quite interesting. how do you check if it is stuck in the ON position.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

The button will be physically stuck. I had the same issue when I bought the car, but I think I did it myself by accident.

crooozr

ES 300 1998 , and similar V6 engine
I assume, FIX For battery drain / parasitic draw / charging problems,.after a few days of sitting in the summer, or overnight in the cold my car needed a jump, I thought it was a parasitic draw from the stuck SET BUTTON in driver seat (actually it still could be a problem if it stays in stuck position),, BUT HERE IS THE FIX, JUST SEND $9.99, just joking ,INSTALL A 130 amp ALTERNATOR FROM A 2001 High Lander,( the stock alternator is not powerful enough,) Presto..., No More Problems,I got this answer fromanother Lexus forum member months ago and I can't find the post to give them the credit, but THANK YOU

crooozr

20 degrees last night,(normally my recently purchased 98 es 65k would barely start or not at all..with a very new battery and looks like a new alternator) and after the upgrade to a 130 amp 2001 High Lander NEW/REBUILT ALTERNATOR install yesterday(returned a LIKE NEW core for $50 cash back) my car started up with NO pPROBLEMS of any kind

yeskay

alternator kicks in only after the car starts. either your battery was not fully charged or some sort of drain.