Help! A strange electrical problem just happened on my 2002 RX300. The car was fine about 6 hours ago. There is a noise coming from around the engine that sounds like the thumping of an air compressor and the red burglar alarm light on the dash flashes at a high rate. There is a vibration on the radiator cross-member but no sign of any activity from the cooling fan, alternator, or A/C fan.

When it was first noticed, a few minutes ago, the battery was almost run down. I have temporarily disconnected the battery until the morning. Because of the low battery charge, the car doesn't start and the electric locks don't function. I'm visiting here and don't have other than basic tools or a battery charger.

Unless you guys can help, I'll try getting a jump start in the morning and, one way or another, take it to the dealer for repair. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks.

 

The relays go nuts when the battery is run down. My guess is that you need a new battery (or other charging system issue). If it was me and the battery was more than a few years old, I would pop a new battery in and see if it fixes it.

 

Agreed.. I bought mine with an older battery, and I was experiencing similar issues until I replaced with a fresh one.

 

Thanks CarGuy07! I replaced the battery with one from Costco the next morning and everything has been fine. The delay in responding was due to a road trip from Florida to Maryland I just finished.

The Costco battery was only 3 years old and it load-tested OK just a month ago. The new battery from Costco, which is labeled Interstate Batteries, fits better, since the previous Costco batteries were a little taller than the original battery.

The putt-putt sound the relays made was really amazing.