2000 Lexus ES 300 clicks but won't start

Tiny
SMILEY18545
  • MEMBER
  • 2000 LEXUS ES 300
  • V6
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 113,000 MILES
Last November, my car would not start so a mechanic installed another battery. It sometimes still would not start and would always make the clicking sound when I turned the ignition. So a mechanic installed an alternator, and, when the problem persisted, he thought that new alternator may be bad, so he installed another alternator. When I drove long distances over the holidays, the car was fine, but my relatives did all the local driving there. After the holidays the same problem recurred, not only the clicking when the ignition was turned but even stalling twice while idling. It could always be started with a jump. Oddly, after the car sat on the driveway for 2 days with frigid temperatures, the car actually started but stalled later after some local driving. Any suggestions for my mechanic? Also, is there any correlation between the car's computer and the alternator and battery?
Sunday, February 9th, 2014 AT 1:48 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
  • MECHANIC
  • 1,136 POSTS
There is a correlation between the computer and the battery/alternator. However if it always starts with a jump, then im inclined to believe theres a connection problem between the battery and cable terminals or a battery ground problem where it attaches to the body. Grab the cables at the battery and twist. Do they move? They shouldn't. If theyre not shiny or have greenish stuff on them this will cause problems. Sometimes with that strap type battery cable terminal the corrosion builds up between the battery post and the terminal. Take the cables off and scrape the inside with a little pocket knife or screwdriver and see if anything crunchy comes off. It shouldn't. Id start there
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Sunday, February 9th, 2014 AT 2:10 PM

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