it's veteran's day. and i cannot start the car. i turn the key, the dash lights go out, and all i hear is a CLICK from the starter and the shifter lockout. the warning lights are on though. i tried jumpstarting using another car but no difference.

i'm stuck in the driveway blocking the garage, which is steep and goes downhill to the garage, so i can't push it out on the street to let everyone else out. i call a tow truck but they can't hook it up because the car is too low, the driveway is too steep, and the WALD bodykit on it is blocking the rear tow hook. so the tow truck operator gave up and left.

so i was forced to abandon my car in the driveway. and everyone is now trapped because of me because my car is blocking the garage. later attempts in the day after trying to start it every hour and it started after 5 tries, but after thinking it was okay and turning it off and later restarting... CLICK.

because it's a holiday i'm stuck. no dealer is open. i tried some autoparts stores but they want the OEM part number for the starter to cross reference with their rebuilt list. can anyone help? i've searched here and found lots of posts about the starter, but little about what i need to know

 

Ben,
before you go on a while goose chase do the process of elimination.
First. Check the starter with a multi meter you should have 12.5 to 13.0 volts.
then try to start it while observing the voltage meter. the volts should drop to min of 10.0 volts.
if the battery cannot handle the load it will drop to 8.0 or less.
Second. If the battery is less than 8.0 volts check the cells of the battery they might be dry. if so, use distill water to fill, just to the level of the battery. Leave the battery to sit over night and some life should return the next day. If you have a trickle charger, put it to charge for about 4-6 hrs. on a 10amp load.
Third. While battery is charging replace the battery with your uncle's`s battery from his car. make sure that you clean the terminals so that you can eliminate any voltage drop. Try to start you car then to rule out any further problems.
Finally. your explanation doesn't`t sound like an alternator problem. however, you must start from the basics.let me know how you made out.
Andre

 

the battery is not oem, but an optima redtop. it's supposedly at least 5 months old.

it's been on a charger overnight, although the charger was in float mode because it says the battery is holding a full charge.

this morning i went back and tried again. CLICK wait CLICK again wait CLICK....

after about 15 tries in succession... the &$@! car started!

but i had an xmas display of idiot lights, from the VSC and check engine ligits, to even the headlight leveler failure warning

i left it running this time and moved the car out of the way. i called every mechanic i knew and found one willing to give help. he said the same thing... getting full power from the battery? i think i am... drive it around and see what happens... i did and it was clearly in limp mode. i got home and was hesitant to turn the engine off. he said do it anyway and i did and i restarted right away and it still worked, but this time all the warning lights were off.

so i hightailed it to his garage and now it's there. no one has a new starter or intake manifold gasket in stock. i recall a thread somewhere here about someone replacing the armatures and being able to fix the existing starter, but i cannot recall if it was a 1UZ FE from a GS.

so here i am... without car, not sure how much i'm in the hole for... and i was going to by an LSD from andre... sigh

to the genius engineer who thought was a great place to install a starter on this motor

 

My 98 GS4's starter started crapping out about 4 months ago. Sometimes it would start effortlessly then others it was a hassle. Then when I needed it the most it was dead. I found a local mechanic to put in a new start for $500.00. I feel your pain.

 

cdubb... was it an oem starter that you had installed? if so, would you have the part number for it handy?

 

well i got a call this morning from the mechanic... he worked all day on it sunday because my car is taking up shop space for scheduled work.

the manifold is off and the starter is in pieces. he said the armature assembly is completely cooked. he has ordered the parts and he's hoping to rebuild it (he knows about the rebuild procedure someone else had posted on this board). but the manifold gasket is on order and he's going to change the PCV valve as well because it's full of crap

all said and done... i might be looking at $500-600cdn when it's all done parts incl... is this good or bad?

 

latest update... i have no camera so i can't take pics. but the old starter has been dissasembled and it's a mess. all the contacts have worn to 1/2 their thickness and the plunger is in very bad shape. everything has to be replaced. the mechanic says he's never seen it so bad before, and this is the first time he has had to replace a plunger at such a low mileage (65k mi).

our car came with an aftermarket alarm with remote autostart. i use it every morning. he's suspects this might be the cause of so much wear on the starter, possibly too much voltage or the starter duration is too long? he's not an alarm specialist and he cannot check this out for me.

so i'm now at day 3 with no car and the repair bill is still climbing...

 

I don't know if you guys noticed...but it seems like it takes about 4-5 full revolutions if not more to start our GS's. I think our starters work pretty hard...not sure why it's like that.


So I wonder if I do my torque converter this spring if putting in a new starter will be peace of mind?

 

would large 8 cylinder engines be more difficult to turn over in comparison to smaller v6's or 4 cylinder engines?

the mechanic also did what synco357 said to do... the battery is reading 12 volts at rest, and drops to just over 10 volts during startup. but, the mechanic says that the positive terminal is not tight because of the typical optima issue of the poles being slightly too small and the terminals do not clamp well over them, but there was no voltage drop between the terminals and the poles.

 

i have a oem starter for a gs400. 220 shipped. lo miles.

 

i'm not sure if pulling the transmission will give you sufficient access to the starter because the bolts that are holding the starter in face forward. the intake manifold may still have to come off. hopefully someone else more knowledgeable can answer this.

 

aliga... i pm'd you a parts request a few months back... did it ever make it to you?

 

i may have missed it, can you pm me or email me again. i get bombarded with pms. thanks.

 

i seem to get more success catching you here instead of pm's... i was looking for a black rear parcel shelf with brake light and a pair of front lower control arms. i need them for cores.

 

my starter has been rebuilt and replaced. but the problem is still there.

i don't know what else there can be. the mechanic blames the aftermarket alarm. the alarm person i went to blames a faulty factory immobilizer or the key ignition assembly. the dealer blames everything they didn't do and told me they would charge straight shop time until they diagnose the problem.

help? what about the starter relay? i don't know how to diagnose for that.