New Battery, still not starting

[flintlock89]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and new to trying to be my own mechanic. Haven't found a good indy shop in SW Mo yet. Not really wanting to go to the dealership.
That being said, our 2010 LX570 (stock) began to flash all sorts of lights on the dash on Friday (Jan 21, 2022), and it took a couple pushes of the button to start. It did happen to drop to 0* F that morning. Lights included check engine, 4LO flashing, Traction Control, the yellow triangle, and "check VSC system." Next morning resulted in engine not turning over at all, but all electronics worked. That being said, on Monday I took the battery to O'Reilly's; they tested, said it was bad, and sold me a new one. Fired right up after install, without any lights on the dash. Victory!... or so I thought. Shut it off, and she set until this morning, when it was 13* and she wouldn't start again. Interior lights working, electronics working, but nothing period happening with the engine. I'm in the process of searching for my multimeter to test volts (as I was told to do). I'll try to jump her when I find it.
Thought maybe in the meantime I'd see if anyone more seasoned than me had anything similar occur and could help point me in a direction to start diag. Is there a fuse somewhere that could affect ignition? Should a brand new, hot battery completely drain in less than 48 hours? Would the alternator have anything to do with this problem, or does it seem electrical? Keep in mind haven't actually driven since replacing battery 2 days ago; it didn't even run for 3 minutes.

Thank you in advance!

 

[flintlock89]

I would give is a jump and see if it starts, or have the new battery tested. Maybe you have a new bad battery? You can have 12.7 volts and no amps.

Good suggestion. We tried that when my neighbor got home, then took the cables off and he tried tapping the starter while I hit the start… fired up after a few tries… parked her facing downhill so I can load it Friday.

 

[jivewalker]

Good suggestion. We tried that when my neighbor got home, then took the cables off and he tried tapping the starter while I hit the start… fired up after a few tries… parked her facing downhill so I can load it Friday.

Not sure if you are paying to have it towed? You can probably get it to start a few more times by tapping on it and you can drive it to your friends, just don't shut it off until you get there. Starter is only used to start it, not needed to drive.

 

[flintlock89]

Not sure if you are paying to have it towed? You can probably get it to start a few more times by tapping on it and you can drive it to your friends, just don't shut it off until you get there. Starter is only used to start it, not needed to drive.

Thanks, I plan to hopefully start It and drive it onto my trailer. I’ll haul it myself. It’s downhill just in case it won’t start at all.

 

[Ojra89]

Hi @flintlock89.. Was this fixed with the new starter? I'm having very similar issues and a new battery didn't fix it.

 

[GrouchyTech]

If you have good voltage at the battery (12.5 is fine):

Check for voltage at starter. If you’re OK on voltage (within a 10th or two of battery voltage) then the most likely possibilities based on having a new battery and having it start a few times after that are:

Starter/starter solenoid is bad. Smack it hard with a mallet a few times, try starting again. Give this 3-4 tries. If it DOES start, replace the starter/solenoid assembly. You can also try putting a jump pack on the battery, sometimes the extra current will kick-over a failing starter and get it to wake up.

First to check your battery connections, and make sure they are tight. You can get voltage in a weak connection, but won’t pass much current. Check for high resistance in the starter circuit. You should see about 0.1 ohms testing from battery positive to positive lug on the starter. Check for corrosion on every connection between the battery and starter.

That’s where I would start.