1999 gs400

first thing in the morning when trying to start, the starter goes CLICK, and nothing happens.

jump starting does not work. battery is an optima redtop, less than 1/2 year old. it shows 12v at rest, just over 10v on startup, whether it goes just CLICK or the engine does end up starting.

after 15-20 tries over the course of 2 days the car starts. but shutting it off afterwards brings back the same problem again and it does not start.

mechanic has rebuilt the original starter with new toyota parts. car starts on the first try. mechanic moves it out the garage and parks it. but afterwards it does it again... no start, just a click. later on it does start.

the mechanic says the starter was good when it was bench tested prior to going back into the car. he says it is the aftermarket alarm starter kill, which is not his specialty. he also says the optima battery positive terminal post is undersized because the battery cable clamp is as tight as it can go and there is movement.

i went to an alarm installer. he tells me if it were the ignition kill, there would be no CLICK because it cuts power. he did not comment on the battery post. instead, he says it's either the factory immobilizer going bad, or something in the actual key ignition next to the steering column.

i go to the dealer. they tell me it's the aftermarket alarm and they would charge me straight time to diagnose. i didn't get any further than that.

i've tried searching end to end on the gs board but everyone seems to have success with just replacing/rebuilding the starter, which did not work for me.

is there any hope? what about the starter relay? how do i diagnose that?

any help appreciated... i'm tired of being stranded

 

I would try a new battery or different battery clamps. I had that "click" and my battery terminal was loose. I tightened it as much as I could and It hasn't given me a problem since... that was 4 years ago! There should be NO play in the battery clamp once tightened. If you can freely slide it back and forth, its too loose.

 

you need a new battery.... my SC400 did the same thing and I swapped out the cheap old batt for a red top runs like a dream.

 

Just remove the positive cable and have someone hold it on the post and pull it all the way to one side so there is pressure pushing it onto the side of the post. This will tell you whether or not it is the battery or not.

But yeah, there should be ZERO play in the cable. I would replace the cable end before I would replace the battery though Not sure what the alarm guy was talking about!

Jonny

 

right now on the positive terminal the nut on the clamp is completely maxed out. i can't pull the clamp off the terminal, but i can turn it on the terminal with a little force.

i will try and find another audio store and see if i can get the clamp replaced. is there anything i should be aware of beforehand? i am assuming there is more than one type of clamp on the market.