Hey Jeff,

Thankx for the idea, that sounds like it could it be. I mean, it sounds like a relatively inexpensive and str8 forward fix (if you know what you are doing, of course) and I'd like to try it before I send my car out to the dealer and spend BIG $$$ on a new starter. I PMed you. Let me know WHO fixed your problem or maybe someone that can come to me and help me out (i'm located in OC - Huntington Beach). Let me know.

Martin

 

still the starter probably about 800-1k.go ou

 

I agree with Sooner . The contact on the starter is worn out and by bypass the wire. You may put more current to the starter and it may end up burning the wire harness to the starter.
The starter on this car is located under the intake, so you'll have to remove the intake and drop the transmision down a little bit just to get to the starter bolts. Good luck

 

My cousin who is a mechanic is gonna replace the starter for me. Anyone got an idea of how much the STARTER retails for from the dealer??? How many hours to replace the STARTER from a savy mechanic who has never replaced one on a GS400 yet???

So to replace the STARTER, you have to take the intake off and drop the trany??? Anything else that needs to be removed or moved to get to it??? Thankx for the input.

 

Also....the big OU win over Texas will help to contribute $300 to the repair (finally something good happen this week for me).

 

I tried to post this the other day but either my ISP or CL was down...
Anyway, there are lots of other things besides a starter that could be bad. One quick check you can do, is to disconnect both the positive cables from your battery. One goes to the starter motor and one goes to the fuse panel. Now, with a meter, check the resistance of both of these cables from the cable to ground. Make sure you use a ground point like the engine block. You should see a reading of someting above 40-50 ohms, but not 0 or 1 ohm. If the connection to the fuse panel reads close to zero, you can then start pulling fuses until it jumps back up. Once it does, look at the panel cover to determine what the fuse does, and then go from there.
This may sound like an odd way to do things, but believe it or else, my wife's '99 Suburban had a bad horn that caused the vehicle not to start, and I used this method to find it in about 20 minutes. Basically, theres a large number of things connected to the same fuse panel as the ECU and if they short to ground, they will pull the whole fuse panel down, and as in my wifes case, the current draw wasn't enough to blow the fuse.
I'd hate to think what the dealer would have charged me for the two batteries, alternator, and starter motor they would have replaced before figuring out something else was wrong! A bad horn??? Go figure...

 

too bad the starter is hard to reach on our cars, unlike honda's and *****. you could just take the handle of a hammer and knock the starter a few times. that sometimes get's the starter going.

 

you might want to try this place in Glendale for a starter. This is from a previous thread.

http://www.bmaautoparts.com/

 

i was just wondering if any of you guys have had the problem i am having now - yesterday my car, 2000 gs4 w/59,0000 miles on it, decided to not to start. All of my lights and electronics work so i assume that the battery is fine. When i turn the key i just get a clicking noise. I am thinking it is the starter but wanted to know if anyone else had experienced this and what it costs them to fix. thanks in advance

 

could be the starter but just because your lights work doesnt mean your battery is good.

 

Clicking noises from the starter usually mean a dead battery...or at least not enough charge in the battery to crank it over, even if the lights are OK.

After you get the car started and the battery charged up (or replaced), check underhoood, in the glove box, trunk, or anywhere else you have small light bulbs ...one or more could be stuck on and slowly draining the battery.

 

When you turn the key and hear the clicking sound does your display dim or turn off in sync with the clicking sound? If so then it is your battery. Not enough cranking amp. Best method is to get a volt meter and check your battery. Crank your engine and check the voltage drop during cranking. If it is substantial it is the battery.

Chu...

 

my starter had to be replaced at 43000 mils so it could be the problem it was coverd. so no big deal for me. but you have more then 50 so it might not be.

 

I had the same problems with a testd good battery. i was told it was the starter relay which is in the starter? Something like a $1000 with labor to fix... wow!
E

 

I have trouble starting my 98 GS4 as well. Sometimes it works when I get up in the morning and start it, but sometimes I have to try it 3-4x for it to start up. Recentlt bought the car, so I am a little worried.