DshngDaryl

My '05 SC430 just started making a horrible grinding noise when it starts. I believe it is the starter. The noise is similar in sound, to me, as when you inadvertently double start your car.

It sounds like it is coming from the mid point of the engine. Once the car starts, the noise is gone. I am not sure if the car starts before I hear the noise or after I hear the noise.

Right now I am going to drive it home and park it; I don't want to chew up the flywheel.

I am afraid my starter is going out, but I don't want to go to all the trouble of replacing it.

I am really hoping you guys have some suggestions I can try before I reach that point?

Any ideas? Could it be a bad relay? a problem with the ignition switch sticking? Anything else?

JohnnyCake

Doesn't this almost have to be related to the starter pinion gear or Bendix?

Coleroad

It's going to be a new starter. Then you have to check the ring gear on the fly wheel or you may be in the same boat six months down the road. It may be just a sticky starter solenoid. It doesn't take much to damage the bendix drive though. That would be why I'm talking new starter. It sucks with this car being under the intake.u

im assuming that the battery is functioning properly, and that all associated wires are in proper order.

DshngDaryl

My thoughts exactly, but I am far from a starter expert and wanted to get input from you all

Yes, if it was a normal starter I'd try and mess with it, but since it is such a pain to get to, I am just going to replace it with a new, OEM one (if it gets that far). I'd hate to have to take the intake off twice

The battery is good for sure, but that is why I was wondering if it could be relay related. If the relay was making a bad connection or if it was sticking, would that also cause this problem?

DshngDaryl

My latest thought is to take the starter relay out of my Pontiac Vibe (aka rebadged Matrix) and see if it makes any difference. Luckily they are the same relay.

I would be ecstatic of that was the issue.

DshngDaryl

So the Relay swap did not make any difference.

Does anyone know if I take it to someone with Techstream access, is there is some kind of test it can run?

DshngDaryl

I had my friend, who is the best non-professional mechanic I know, look at my car.

He doesn't think it is the starter itself, since it performs fine in every other way. Also if he starts the car in a short burst (instead of keeping the key turned until it starts) the car doesn't make the noise.

He thinks it is the ignition switch. This goes along with BGW's statement that the Lexus starter is a pretty reliable piece of machinery and rarely fails.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

I wish I had remote start, so I could test the theory more. Does anyone know where I can hook up a temporary switch to try out the starter without going through the ignition switch?

Last question, there is a key cylinder and a ignition switch. Any opinion on which one is possibly bad? Is it the switch itself, or the spring in the key cylinder?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-GENUINE-...pXtTI1&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ignition-Swi...36AqNg&vxp=mtr

Bon

The ignition switch provides voltage to the starter relay. I don't see how the ignition switch could cause the starter relay to half-way power the starter unless the relay itself is bad. You've swapped out the starter relay with another so that's not it. The starter has three electrical circuits. When the starter is fed voltage there are two coils that receive the voltage. Their job is to push the starter gear into the teeth of the flywheel. After the teeth are engaged then two things happen. One of the two starter coils is shorted (by the starter windings) and current is simultaneously flows through the main starter motor windings turning the engine over. Based on this, I'd say that the starter motor is losing voltage when the main starter motor windings kick in and therefore the "hold-in" coil can't keep the motor engaged so you hear the clashing of the teeth. My bet is on a voltage drop between the battery - relay - starter somewhere. Possibly a ground.

I'd get a friend and use a meter to try to find it. Measure between the battery post and frame ground while cranking the engine. You should see on a slight voltage such as << 1 volt DC. Pull the starter relay and put a small wire into the socket leg that feeds the starter and then replace the relay trapping the small wire. Measure the voltage on the small wire, relative to chassis ground, to see if you're getting full voltage to the starter. I'm betting you're not. Based upon what you find you'll probably have a new suspect or be resolved that it's a starter issue. Good luck!

DshngDaryl

Thanks man, that is EXTREMELY Helpful

DshngDaryl

Hey everyone

I am Embarrassed, Grateful, Thankful and Happy.

Since there is a general consensus the starters rarely go bad in the SC430 and since Bon made such a compelling argument that I should look further for my problem (THANK YOU BON), I searched the internet for a problem that seemed more similar to mine.

My car was making a noise similar to this one common on the IS
They say it is due to the lack of oil in the engine buckets due to leak down. Even though it is not a problem with the SC, I decided to check under my car for an oil leak. I stripped off the cover panel and found out I had a loose wiring bracket on the alternator. I spent a whopping 75 cents at Home Depot for (3) 6mm screws and screwed it into place. (I also found an oil leak.)

I would like to thank Bon again for his wisdom. Instead of spending "hundreds of dollars" and "hours of labor" fixing a problem that didn't exist, I was able to resolve the issue in 20 minutes for less than a buck.

I started the car 10 times throughout the day and it has not made any "out of the ordinary" noise. Thanks guys!

Bgw70

You said several things and I think I am following...
the noise was the the alternator bracket.
You found an oil leak, the valve covers always leak on these cars. Just tighten the valve cover bolts and you should be good to go.

you said something about an engine bucket, what is that?

DshngDaryl

So BGW, I was doing some research on oil leaks and I saw you said that this was a common problem and to turn the bolt hand tight and like 1/2 a turn past that, since the spec is 10 ft lbs of torque. So I crawled under my car and it does look like the bolt is the high point of the leak. However the bolt did seem very tight, not loose like I had expected.

I then noticed my power steering reservoir was empty and right over the area the where all the oil is. Is there a weak spot in the power steering system that you know about?

Bgw70

i am not aware but you could refill and watch for leaks. Could be a broken tank or hose. Worse yet, the pump could be leaking.
i removed tank and cleaned it because it became black. BTW, I use Dexron tranny fluid in mine.

DshngDaryl

Yeah, I saw that on the lid. I filled it back up and will see what I can find. Is the pump near the reservoir, or is it somewhere else?

Bgw70

if you remove the engine cover, two bolts, you can follow the hoses down to the pump. It is on the passenger side, front of engine.