I bought a used 98 gs400 about 5 months ago. Since I bought it it’s had some issues with the positive terminal cable. Every now and then the car wouldn’t start so I’d have to pop the trunk and fix the cable. Couple days ago I was driving home and the car wasn’t getting any gas when I stepped on the pedal. It eventually did but took 5-10 seconds to kick in. About a quarter mile later at a stoplight the car died and wouldn’t even crank. The lights stayed on acc but car wouldn’t crank. I pushed it to a nearby parking lot and tried to fix it... nothing. About an hour later the car completely died. No lights no sounds nothing. Any idea on what it could be? I’m think it’s the alternator. Here’s some photos of the positive terminal cable. I want to try and replace the metal terminal piece but I can’t seem to get that 12mm off. Any help? Thanks.

 

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The previous owner put the battery in the trunk? Who knows where there might be a drain along the way. You might have a depleted battery, you should have it checked, there's probably a parts store that will do it for free. Or it's your alternator, but that costs money so rule out the battery first.

 

If you are having a connection issue at the battery, it can be that the alternator is fine and putting out, but not making it to the battery. This would deplete the battery and lead to a low power/ no start. Id get the battery charged and tested, then get a good connection at the terminals and then check for alternator volts while ruining. Both the battery and alternator may be fine, just not a good connection for charging to happen.

 

I think you depleted the battery when it went completely dead. Try this: get a fresh battery and see if she starts, if she does, immediately check your alternator. If the battery light comes on that's generally a sign the alternator is bad. If she doesn't start, it might be related to the fuel pump. I think those 5-10 seconds when you said it wasn't getting gas was actually the fuel pump giving signs of going out. When you got to the light and it went dead that was more than likely due to low fuel pressure.

First things first though, replace or charge the battery and go from there.