Greetings,

My 99 RX300 has 160k now. Been running great, no issues. That's until Wed. I went out pick up my son, filled it up, and came back home. Shut it off for about 20 minutes then I needed to go out, and the car wouldn't crank. I just heard one click, and some hissing sound, that's it. No cranking sound.

I read on the internet that it's likely the starter, so I went to ebay and bought the replacement contact kit. It came in today, and I took the starter out and replaced the parts.

Unfortunately the car still won't start, still the same symptom, one click, that's all. Nothing else. Oh, I tried jump start both before my replacement and after, that didn't help.

I am not sure what to check now. Should I go buy a new(refurbished) starter? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Have you tested the battery yet?

 

No, since I tried to jump-start it, I thought it shouldn't be the battery, does that make sense?

 

Did you do a bench test before and after doing the solenoid repair?

Usually people skimp on the plunger, but it is an important part.

The other thing one has to be careful about is the leveling of the new contacts.

Salim

 

Long distance diagnosis is solenoid. But also shade tree test the battery. Do the headlights burn bright. And listen to other posters too.

 

It makes sense, but I have had several times where I could not get a car to jump and it was just a bad battery. Not sure if it was because the cables were not making good contact or something, but it seems like it is hard to get enough juice through cables if the dead battery is really "dead".

 

How old is the battery? That should give you some clue as what to do next. The ECU requires a minimum voltage to operate properly.

 

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. Really appreciate them.

No, I did not do a bench test, which I probably should've have. And the contact position is indeed something I should have checked too.

For those suspecting battery issue, again, I tried the jump start, I am having hard time to understand why you guys are still suspecting that. I used my wife's car, and her battery is new.

I just read online, could it be the starter relay? I am not sure since I do hear one click. I will have to check it out later.

Since you guys are all pointing to starter or battery, I plan to do this:

My battery is old, I am going to take it to the shop and have it tested out, and get a new one if it's bad.

If that new battery still does not work, I will take starter down again, and make sure the contacts are in good position, and try do a bench test (never done that before, I don't like large current stuff ). If that does not work still, I will get a starter from auto zone.


Again, thanks so much for your quick replies. Wish you all have a great weekend.

 

my money is on battery...

a battery with a dead cell may prevent the car from jump starting even...

an easy test - get a volt meter - measure voltage at the battery posts... more than 12 volts, should be ok and jump start, less than 12 volts, most likely around 10.5, then you have a bad cell and may not ever jump start...

 

I went to Auto Zone, where I got the battery, and they said the battery is good, just the voltage is low. So they charged for free. Unfortunately, it did not work either when I got home. Still same, one click is all I heard.

I will start taking it apart again tomorrow. Boy, I thought it'd be easy!

 

Another side of the road possible fix, is to bang the solenoid with a rubber mallet. Try to start. Do again for a few times.

 

I am lost now.

It seems the first assumption was bad solenoid contact.

So the right thing would be to confirm the contact repair was done right.
or
see if the starter is bad.

Click with good battery, good wires and good terminals is most likely the solenoid.

test procedure: Make sure you do this before and after repair
Remove the starter and hook it up to a battery, Take +12v and momentarily connect it to solenoid activate terminal.

The new contacts must lay flat, else the plunger can not bridge it. The contact has a tendency to tilt as the holding nut is tightened.

You can test the starter by giving +12v to the other side of the solenoid.

Remember: Not to run the starter for long and let it cool down between tests.

Salim

Salim

 

Guys, I just took it out and did the bench test, and it worked.

I then checked the continuity between the battery to the starter connector, that's good too, i have about 12.4 V there.

I read a post on internet that a similar situation could mean bad engine. I hope that's not the case. This car has been with us for over 10 years now and it's been doing great.

Any ideas now? (I am almost out of it now, may have to bring it to the shop)

Thanks everyone, this is quite an experience to me

 

I still think it could be electrical. Your battery and starter tests were a good start ( sorry, no pun intended). Now you need to test the wires between the two. Hook up your volt meter to the terminals at the starter and have someone observe the voltage when you try to start it. If you have >11 volts at the battery you should have very nearly the same at the starter, otherwise you probabaly have some resistance in either the ground or power wire. It doesn't take much, 1/10 ohm will cause a 10 volt drop at 100 amps and there is no way the car would start.

 

Thanks. I did test it when not trying to start it, I got 12.4 V at the starter. And I did test the continuity on the two cables, they are within 1 ohm (you know digital multimeters, the reading jumps around). I did not realize that it could be 100Amps, if that's the case, then I may want to replace the cables.

I still have that engine lock down in mind, I hope that's not the case.

Trying to assess what to do next....