Got in the LS yesterday and it was completely dead. Found that the trunk wasn't fully closed and was probably open for about 8 hours. No problem, my jump box started the car immediately.

Went to Autozone (only thing open at 9:00 am on a Sunday) and they put a tester on it. Battery, alternator and starter all checked out fine. Clerk noticed that the printout showed a significant drop on the starter section and said that the problem was the starter. I am skeptical because dome lights, radio, etc did not work when I got in the car. Also, I did not get the normal clicking that occurs when a starter is bad.

That said, my LS400 went through 2 starters and I want to find the answer. On the other hand, I could just charge the battery and forget about it. Comments or suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

 

Most likely the battery failed.

 

Battery. Let us know what brand battery you put in if you go that direction.

 

Put very little confidence into what the autostore workers tell you. You can use them for advice but take it for what it is worth. I think you found your issue...a light being left on for 8 hrs. Just drive enough to charge the battery(maybe 1/2 hr or so) and rest easy. This kind of thing happens all of the time.

The load tester printout probably showed a significant drop upon starter engagement because the dang battery was not fully charged. Thats all.

 

Not a lot of failed LS430 starters reported on this forum over the years....maybe 1 or 2 at the most. Starter is likely OK.

 

I hope you are right, I could do without replacing the starter. Battery is just under a year old, Interstate Mega-Tron Plus (800 CCA). I just put the C-tek charger on it. I will charge it and drive around for a week or so with the jump box in the trunk. I will try to stop by the shop where the battery was purchased and have them check it out.

 

My 05 430 needed a battery about 2 years ago. I also went to AutoZone. Great company. Then in September of this year, the battery went dead. Took it back and after all tests, they said I probably had gotten a bad battery. they popped in a new one for free and off I went. Hope yours is the same issue. good luck.

 

If the battery has some age on it, I would agree, start there. Plus if you are in a cold area, cold will take a toll on a borderline battery pretty quick.

However, don't forget to rule out dirty or loose battery terminals. I had an issue the other day that was a dirty terminal that looked clean on the outside.