Intermittent "Nothing Happens" when Start Button is pressed (1 Viewer)

[Chaldaean]

In the past few days, I've hit the "Start" button and nothing has happened. The dash lights don't turn on or anything. After trying a few times, the truck fires up.

In other vehicles (80 series etc), when a starter is going bad, the dash lights would at least illuminate.

QUESTION = When a starter is going bad on a 200 series, does the dash still light up or does it stay dark?

In at least one case, I'm pretty sure that when it did finally start, the "Climate Control" was off (no fan) and the audio input was set to "Auxiliary". Both of these settings are different than when I shut the truck off (I had the heat blasting and the radio on) -- this is what makes me think it's not just a starter issue.

I just crossed 200,000 miles and believe I still have the original starter (based upon the previous owner's Lexus service history accessed online), so I just ordered one anyway. I'm just curious if there is something else going on.

 

[tbisaacs]

Check your battery terminals first.

 

[bloc]

Raining lately where you live?

 

[Chaldaean]

Raining lately where you live?

Yep, it's been raining pretty good - I'm in the seacoast NH area. The last time it showed this behavior was after sitting overnight at around 30F and it was snowing.

 

[bloc]

Yep, it's been raining pretty good - I'm in the seacoast NH area. The last time it showed this behavior was after sitting overnight at around 30F and it was snowing.

I strongly advise pulling the front door sill trim and inspecting for water around the wire harness, or evidence that it was there at one time and corroded the connectors there.

 

[Chaldaean]

Check your battery terminals first.

Will do. I installed the Slee upgrade kit with the larger battery back in 2019 and haven't touched it since. I did apply dielectric grease to the terminals and now it's covered in an oil undercoating "mist".

 

[tbisaacs]

Will do. I installed the Slee upgrade kit with the larger battery back in 2019 and haven't touched it since. I did apply dielectric grease to the terminals and now it's covered in an oil undercoating "mist".

View attachment 3590744

Placing money that this is your issue. The two metals corrode and start causing contact issues.

This is what mine looked like when I had no starts.

 

[Sandroad]

The symptoms are not of a bad starter. One of the other 2 things suggested above are the likely cause

 

[lx200inAR]

There's also been numerous threads on those Slee terminal extensions giving people trouble. Enough so that Slee doesn't sell them anymore and has a replacement terminal block.

Seeing that last picture, i wonder now if the issue was with the bent extensions or the marine terminals they are attached to.

 

[Chaldaean]

I went to start up the truck this morning and was met with the "no start" issue. After pushing the start button, the steering wheel began to extend outward toward me (as it typically does), but then everything went black and stopped. There was no response from the Start Button. I tried it multiple times and at one point a few minutes later, the dash lit up and the Nav Screen showed "System Load. Don't turn off the power" (image below), but it would not crank. I tried to start it for a few minutes but gave up. I then put a separate jumper pack on the battery terminals (upstream from the "terminal extenders" -- where the factory cable joins) and the truck started right up.

A few other points that come to mind as I think about this issue:
- About three months ago, I used Techstream to access the system. I looked around at a bunch of menus, but the only thing I changed was to turn off the seatbelt chime. This was my first and only time using Techstream - not sure if I angered the Lexus Gods...
- A couple of weeks ago, I was unable to turn off the "rear fan" on the Climate Control system. When I pushed the button, nothing happened. After a restart, the fan was off. This "electrical gremlin" only happened once.
- The other day, I was trying to unlock the rear hatch and could not unlock it from the external button (the tiny "Lock/Unlock" button next to the main "Open" button). I had to go to the armrest panel on the driver's door and unlock it. Again, this "electrical gremlin" only happened once.

 

[Chaldaean]

I strongly advise pulling the front door sill trim and inspecting for water around the wire harness, or evidence that it was there at one time and corroded the connectors there.

Will do. I assume I need to remove #1 and #2 on both the Driver's side and the Passenger's side.

 

[KLF]

I totally agree that this sounds like a poor/intermittent battery connection. The system reboot in your previous post is what happens when the battery has been reconnected, so that's a dead giveaway that it's a battery issue.

I have the same exact Slee connectors & tray, have had it installed since 2017, and never a problem, no corrosion at all. I have no idea why I've avoided the problem other than I always spray battery terminals with "Battery Protection" spray. Now I see NOCO makes a similar product.

Yes, we did get some serious rain on Saturday. We were without power for almost 24 hours.

 

[Chaldaean]

I totally agree that this sounds like a poor/intermittent battery connection. The system reboot in your previous post is what happens when the battery has been reconnected, so that's a dead giveaway that it's a battery issue.

I have the same exact Slee connectors & tray, have had it installed since 2017, and never a problem, no corrosion at all. I have no idea why I've avoided the problem other than I always spray battery terminals with "Battery Protection" spray. Now I see NOCO makes a similar product.

Yes, we did get some serious rain on Saturday. We were without power for almost 24 hours.

Ken, it's great to hear from again. Yeah, I will focus on the battery area and hope it also cures the weird electrical gremlins as well (like not being able to turn off the Rear fan).

Yep, we have certainly had some weird weather in our area. Speaking of Saturday, I hiked up Mount Washington and skied down on the fresh 2+ feet of snow and that was the day I was met with the "no start" condition. It was certainly not the most idea place/time to be stranded.

 

[bloc]

Will do. I assume I need to remove #1 and #2 on both the Driver's side and the Passenger's side. View attachment 3590801

After finding out you have the Slee terminals my gut is your problem is there, but if it comes to the door sills see this

 

[Chaldaean]

After finding out you have the Slee terminals my gut is your problem is there, but if it comes to the door sills see this

That video is really helpful - thank you. We have a few warm days coming up and I will tackle that. I didn't know that was a common issue with the 200 series.

 

[Chaldaean]

The new billet battery terminals from Slee are out of stock at the moment and are due in about three weeks. I will order some when they are available.

I cleaned up the terminals tonight. The negative side seemed worse and had a good amount of black substance between the lead alloy battery terminal and the aluminum extender. It did seem like the lead had been eaten away (not just compressed) as the aluminum extender was fairly loose.

One other thing to factor in is that the caps on the top of my Interstate 31P-MHD were raised/loose and it looks like battery acid had leaked. I'm not a chemist, but Google tells me that the sulfuric acid in the lead-acid battery will attack the aluminum and result in aluminum oxide (anodizing). This aluminum oxide is not conductive and may be the black stuff in the pictures below. Maybe this is why only certain people have issues with the Slee terminal extenders -- perhaps they have leaky lead-acid batteries. It would be interesting to see if folks with gel batteries have any issues.

 

[Chaldaean]

I also found a crispy mouse stuck in a fan belt. Poor dude. I really hope he was just around for a short visit and not chewing on any electron-carrying components and responsible for the random electrical gremlins.

Here are some shots of "shimmed" terminals. I hope it starts in the morning...

 

[KLF]

It would be interesting to see if folks with gel batteries have any issues.

My battery is an AGM Odyssey, installed in 2017, terminals still look new. The yellow tint is the battery protector spray stuff.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Interesting comment re: lead acid vs other battery terminals in other types. Might explain why we have people like @KLF running them for years without issues and others not. Also why we never saw many failures in customers trucks that we built because mostly we swapped the batteries out at the same time.

As mentioned the new terminals we have with the TIN coating has been trouble free.

 

[Chaldaean]

As mentioned the new terminals we have with the TIN coating has been trouble free.

Thanks for the guidance, Christo! Looking forward to installing the updated terminals!

My battery is an AGM Odyssey, installed in 2017, terminals still look new.

KLF, everything in that engine bay looks new - nice work! Seven years and counting is an impressive lifespan. I'm not sure I can swing $500 for an AGM, but it's tempting....