Beka1986

So the other day i go out to start my car and it makes a rapid clicking noise, after a few hours it started, kinda slow to start but it started. - after assessing battery, alt, and starter i find out the starter is reading low voltage. I had the starter replaced. After it was replaced, i noticed it was still 'slow' to start. At this point i dont know if something else is wrong or if they even replaced the starter. I will return to advance and have them test the starter again, but if it reads its fine, why is the car 'slow' to start...it's almost like the battery just has enough juice to turn over - but the battery is reading in great condition . im just unsure if this guy even changed the starter.

Clutchless

You probably need a new battery. You probably did not need the starter. Just go back to Advance and buy a battery, they do free installation.
You did not say how old your vehicle is, how many miles and how old your battery was. Those are important facts to consider.
However, based on my many years working on my own cars and friends cars, I bet you need a battery. Go for the simple most obvious and cheapest fix first. In this case, batteries are known to wear out or go bad at any time and the clicking noise is a sure sign of a battery not strong enough to make the starter engage, regardles of what their test states.

Blue Moose Engineering

We may be missing some information here.

• What was the voltage reading you took at the battery before any attempts to start? After several attempts to start, what reading does the battery deliver?
• What was the voltage reading you took at the starter and what terminal did you use?

A low voltage reading AT the starter may indicate that the power delivery TO the starter has a fault. What type of environment do you live in? Perhaps your battery cables or your ground are corroded or faulty. If you have a known good battery and a known good starter, don't rule out cables and connections.

Let's fill in some of the blanks and figure this out.

Beka1986

its a 07 lexus es350 - started fine one day, next morning all the power was fine - just a steady, rapid clicking...few hours later, started up. not perfect, but it started. i took it to advance, said battery was fine, asked them to test starter and alternator. print out said starter was low voltage. i dont have money to just buy part after part so i took the professionals advice and replaced starter, im just not happy with how shes starting even after the starter was replaced. its' got 117,000 miles on it.

Beka1986

i will need to gather the paper work from the tests - unable to do so right now because im at work - but once i get off i will deff get that information. I live in Norfolk, Va - so the atmosphere isnt that bad -

Blue Moose Engineering

It sounds like you had the starter tested while it was still in the car. All that really tells you is that the starter circuit has a fault of some sort. Since you cannot isolate the starter itself from the complete circuit, it's difficult to tell what the true root cause is. If you had the old starter you could bench test it at AutoZone or anywhere that does that kind of thing.

Perhaps you had a bad connection and replacing the starter and redoing the connections fixed it?

It sounds like it's starting up okay now, but may be a little sluggish. Remember there are other components in the starter circuit that may be at fault. Definitely do not randomly replace things and waste time and money. Some careful investigation should reveal any problems though.

Here's a decent link to some basic starter circuit diagnosis:

http://www.howacarworks.com/ignition...tarter-circuit

Clutchless

Norfolk is on the coast where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic and is home to a huge Naval base. I think salt air corrosion is definitely a possible factor in this instance.

Blue Moose Engineering

This is exactly what I was getting at. Thanks for chiming in. I don't know VA at all so this is really important information. That moist salty air EATS cars. Everyone in CA knows not to buy a used car from someone that lives in a beach community lol

I strongly suggest looking at and even cleaning all your terminals, and checking the resistance of the cables.

Beka1986

yes- the starter was tested while it was in the car at advance- battery tested fine, but starter showed low voltage, so i went ahead and got the starter. after it being installed, the car seemed a little slow to start - just want my car to start the way it was starting prior to that day i woke up to a rapid clicking then 2 hours later started up!

Clutchless

The shop that installed the starter should be able to check your starter and battery and ground cables resistance and connections and clean up any corroded connections or replace any bad cables.

Beka1986

Wasnt a shop - trusted person a family member referred

seawind300

Everyone checks the cables at the battery posts, Disconnect the post cables and clean the positive cable connection at the starter and clean the ground cable where it connects to the frame/engine, that is the one that is always over looked.

Mike

Blue Moose Engineering

That's great advice...this definitely sounds like it could be a ground...and we've established that the OP lives in a salt air environment, making it even more likely.

Also, battery cables can corrode from the inside out. A cable may look good on the outside but may be rather rotten inside...I've seen it many times.

This is why a proper electrical diagnosis needs to be performed. Otherwise you're just guessing.

ufsmudflap

You will also get the click and no start when the crankshaft position sensor needs replacing.
If you have a good battery and have replaced the starter; that might be your problem. I would take it
to the dealer and have them pull any error codes.

chuyrobles

It seems counter-intuitive to me to replace the starter if voltage to it is low. At this stage, the starter would be the last suspect. The starter does not 'put out' voltage, it takes it. So a low reading at the main starter cable connection indicates there could be a connection problem there or at the battery post. If I recall correctly, there is a pos battery cable directly connecting the battery and the starter. The solenoid cable runs in from the fuse box. The ground cable goes from neg battery to a transmission ground point near the starter. A smaller neg cable goes from battery post down to a chassis point below the battery tray. All these points need to be removed, inspected, cleaned and layered with dielectric grease or a battery chemical spray to prevent rust.

I haven't read that the battery was load-tested. A bad battery can still put out normal voltage, but if the internal plates are fried, it will not sustain that voltage under load.

I hope you figure it out.