Hey everyone,
Today, I couldn't start my '94. I drive it somewhere, and had it sitting outside for 20 minutes before I went back out. I tried starting it up (engine still warm) and got nothing. The instrument panel lit up, the steering column came down, and all signals electrically seemed to point away from there being a battery problem.
There was a single click that came from the engine compartment. Nothing else. I tried several times, each time only getting a single click. Makes me think the starter is shot...
My car started roughly every time since getting her (about 4 months ago) and the cold has been having even more of an adverse effect on the starting. It seemed to whine, or growl unattractively every time.
My questions are: 1) What's the problem? 2) How do I go about fixing it? and 3) Can I do this myself?

Thanks everyone!

 

I would check the starter first. Similar thing happened to my other car (not a lexus) it was the Starter. Good Luck.

 

mine done the same thing and this is what we done

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...est-99-ls.html

 

mine did the same exactly 2 years ago.

1) the starter solenoid contacts and plunger are worn (as billy indicates)
2) you don't really want to know, but the upper and lower intake manifolds have to come off.
3) Yes, I did mine. But I cheated, I didn't remove the starter which I detail somewhere in this thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...-progress.html

Still going strong.

 

Before jumping in make sure the battery is good as they can fail suddenly without warning and also check the battery connections.
The reason I mention this is because I rebuilt my starter motor and a month later I got the dreaded click,it was a loose battery terminal fortunately and no problems since.

 

Agree 10X. A loose conection can be a killer. (Makes ya do all kinds of things ya don't have to) Plus, even though all electrical is working the battery can still be bad, just not enough juice to turn the starter.
It's alot easier to check the battery and connections then to change a starter in this car. Although I've never had the pleasure, YET.

 

+1
Check the battery first, then that usually leads to the starter.

 

I would also check the starter relay first before tearing into the starter. Actually, if you have someone turn the key while you are looking into the engine compartment, you may be able to determine where the 'click' is coming from. If from the back center of the engine, your starter is the culprit.

As concerns bad battery and connections, usually you will get multiple, rapid clicks, not a single.