Have an '06 GS 430. Yesterday I had a dead battery. I put it on a charge that brought the interior electrical systems up but still would not start the car. Today I replaced the battery and now the car is totally dead - nothing at all. Any thoughts?

 

Did you check the voltage on the new battery with a voltmeter? Is it OK?

Did you charge the first battery with the connections still in place to the car, or did you remove the battery cables (at least one of them) before charging?

Also, a simple check...is the transmission shifter in "P"?

Are you depressing the brake pedal when trying to start?

 

Looks like a bad alternator to me!

 

I wouldn't jump to this conclusion this early. Make sure the battery is fully charged, try jump-starting it with cables or put a different battery in there if you can find one.

 

I had my battery die on me once... my fault.... left it in ACC mode with radio and possibly headlights on all night...

It was completely dead... interior lights did not even come on. Hooked up a jumper cable to my brother's Infiniti... bam, car powers up... but does not start or even attempt to start.

Had to exit the car. Lock with the remote and unlock with the remote. Then it would actually attempt to start (must be a security feature) but not enough juice.. so I had my brother rev his car a bit to get more amps from his battery/alternator and then she cranked right up!!!

 

Alternator has nothing to do with starting the car.

Two likely scenarios are, as mentioned above:

1) Security lockout. The car does not like the battery to be disconnected while it is LOCKED. A completely dead battery might as well be a disconnected battery. For that reason, always replace batteries when the car has been unlocked first. Play around with the key fob as suggested to see if you can get the lockout revoked if that's the case.

2) Fuses. Any time you have electrical problems, the first thing that should come into your brain is to check the fuses. It's a pain but it's better than paying for a tow and then paying for somebody else to look at them.

Of course, you could have also just been sold a battery that nobody bothered to charge before selling it to you. Heck, theres even a chance that they didn't even add the electrolyte unless you distinctly remember the battery having a sloshy feeling.

 

easy. call lexus and ask for a busbar fuse. i can almost guarantee it.