I got up this morning and got into my car and it would not start. My first thought that maybe it was the battery and all I would need is a jump....but I had a gutt feeling that wasn't it even before I tried to jump the car bc all my electrical things (lights, steering wheel tilt, radio, clock, etc) were working. So I had my cousin come down and try to jump me....NO LUCK.

That's why i'm here on the board, hopefully someone can give me a little advice. When I try to start the car, the car makes ONE CLICK sound and nothing else happens (both when my cousin was giving me a jump and without the jump). I checked all the battery, intake, and spark plug coilpacks and everything looks in order. For reference, I have a 98 GS400 with approx. 51k miles. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will tow the car to the dealer this evening after work. I'm wondering if the STARTER went out...anyone with any ideas???

 

One click followed by nothing usually means a bad connection at the battery.

One click followed by one click each time the key is turned is normally a bad starter solenoid or starter relay.

A rapid clicking sound (which it doesn't sound like you have) normally means a lack of voltage, which is usually a bad battery.

 

Thankx for the quick reply Dave....When you are talking about the "bad connection at the battery," wouldn't the other electrical features of the car also not work (i.e. lights, radio, etc)??? Do you think maybe I just blew a fuse or something??? Thankx!!!

 

security setting? did your key go bad? did you try a spare key?

 

Yes, this sounds like a security issue.
Seems like you engine kill feature on the security system is engaged. I would put the key into the drivers side and turn it to the left and right, unlock than lock it with the remote.

 

Yeah Alex....I even tried using the spare key thinking maybe my primary key had some issues, but again no luck. I'm not familiar with the security system specifics, but I'm gonna go home for lunch now get the owner's manual and try your idea Drew. Wish me luck, I'll find out if it works into an hour. {CROSSING FINGERS}
Thankx for the input guys!!!

 

Try just cleaning your battery terminals first.

If you can check voltage at the solenoid, then that could help as well.

If it clicks, but doesn't turn over, then it could be a bad ignition switch (low voltage to gear reduction motor/solenoid)...etc...

Can you tell us more? What happens when you try and jump it?

Tim

 

Here's another thing to do:

Put the ignition switch to on position, step on the brake and put the trans to N. Then try starting.
If nothing happens, put it back to P and start again. If nothing still, and your batt. terminals are clean and tight, and you have a fully charge battery, I would suspect that the starter gear got stucked in the flywheel which happens very rarely. To disengage, put the trans to N as per direction above, and then turn the crankshaft clockwise by manually turning the crank pulley in the front (I think you might need a 19mm wrench- not sure. Sometimes you can turn it just by pulling on the belt).

If the dealer fixes it, please let us know what was wrong. Thanks.

 

Well, just got back from lunch attempting to start my car...no luck. I played around with the keys like Drew mentioned and I also checked on all the Fuses that had anything to do with the starter or ignition system, but all the fuses were fine.

The battery is less than a month old (got a Yellow Top Optima Battery) and everything is hooked up properly on it. When my cousin was giving me the jump start, there was no difference in response than when he wasn't giving me a jump start. The car is not turning over at all, I just get ONE noticable CLICK SOUND coming from the engine bay when I turn the key to the Start position.

Whitels....I'll try your suggestion when I get back home this evening. If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions that I should try, let me know. If the car still doesn't start, I'm having it towed to the Lexus of Westminster Friday first thing in the morning. Thankx again guys!

 

Could be a dead ECU. If so, no amount of power will help. Time to call Lexus.

 

your starter contacts are bad time for a new starter

 

Here is the sequence of things to check when the engine fails to turn over.

1. Battery (Good cables are needed for a good jump)
2. Terminals (visual check + twist check) (good jump should eliminate it)
3. Wires (Ground strap is generally over looked '-' is connected to chasis and there is strap (I do not know where in GS. Suspect the starp if the car has been worked on.) that connects to the engine block (which is on rubber mounts). [Try connecting the "-" of the jump on the engine block instead of your car's battery terminal ... it is safer too].
4. Ignition switch {not your problem as starter clicks)
5. Solenoid (since it is clicking the only problem can be in the contacts) ... It is a relay and the terminals can be bypassed by a heavy screw driver ... sparks fly.
6. Starter.
7. Stuck flywheel/engine ... starter can not roll it over ... even a good starter will smoke.

Unless you are a DIY, stop after performing steps 1-3.

Salim

 

its still your starter

 

I think so too Sooner. The car will be towed later on today, so I'll find out soon enough what the problem is. BTW, I got money on the SOONERS +3 vs Texas, so hope the SOONERS make me some money to pay for this repair. Speaking of replacing the starter and this repair, what would you guys estimate the damage to run???

 

MRGS400nSoCali,

My Celica was doing the exact same thing as your car, it won't start and all it does is one very noticeable click when I turn the ignition key.

I found out it is a common problem for Toyota made cars, the problem is the ignition signal to the starter is not strong enough for some reason when the car get older.

I replaced the starter, doesn't help at all.

The fix for me is to find the ignition signal wire from the ECU to the starter, wire the signal wire directly to a relay and to the battery. What this does is when you turn the key to send a signal to the starter, instead of directly sending the signal from the ECU to the starter, the signal wire trigger the relay and send a direct voltage signal from the battery to the starter.

I know what I said is confusing, but that is the best I can explain it. I am pretty sure this is what's wrong with your car though. It happened to my friend's 4-runner also, exact same problem.

Jeff