Wont start. Clicking sound

[sidneyhop]

When I try and start I get the clicking sound from the starter.....solenoid Im presuming. The battery is good and fully charged. Checked the connections and theyre tight.
Anything else I can check to troubleshoot?
Thanks

 

[sidneyhop]

Im looking to troubleshoot the relay but cant seem to find its location. Is it in the fuse box named something other than 'starter'?

 

[Rednexus]

If you are hearing the "click" and you do have a good battery, it is most likely the starter solenoid. The starter usually does not last more than 200K (and may die much before that - mine was cooked at 135K) and is a bit of a bear to replace.

Luckily, a Denso reman is not that expensive (mine was $92 from Rock Auto).

 

[sidneyhop]

I found the relay. I was hoping there was a diagram on it so I could jump/bypass it to test it but there isnt one.
Red...did you swap out your starter or take it in? Im getting estimates from $500 to 1K to replace. NUTZ!

 

[Rednexus]

Try swapping the relay with another that is the same size. Or, if you can hear the "click" coming from under the intake manifold (not the relay in the fuse box), and you have good battery voltage and your cables are in good shape....it's the starter solenoid.

I did the starter DIY. Is your GX VVTI or non-VVTI? The job is way easier for non-VVTI. For VVTI (which mine is), it's a nightmare to remove the secondary air injection tubes in order to allow the rear coolant crossover pipe to come off to access the starter bolts. It was about a day of work for me for the whole thing. I also installed a secondary air injection system bypass, removed the tubes and put in blockoff plates at both ends to make it easier next time. For non VVTI you should be able to just remove the intake manifold, pull the rear coolant crossover pipe, and remove the starter without having to mess with the air injection tubes. The actual intake is pretty easy to remove (VVTI and non-VVTI).

IMO $500 is not a bad deal for how much of a pain this job is.

 

[sidneyhop]

its an 06 VVTI.
any relay of the same size will work for testing?

 

[Rednexus]

its an 06 VVTI.
any relay of the same size will work for testing?

It should. When I check relays I just pull one adjacent that looks the same externally and has the same markings (unless the starter relay is somehow different than all the others).

 

[sidneyhop]

Follow up for future reference.
Multiple clicks generally is your battery or electrical system.
A single click generally is the starter.
I tested all my battery connections and the gauge on my charger indicated my battery was fine. All the electrical worked fine, ie lights, wipers, radio etc. I even used the 70 amp jump feature on my charger. No luck. So I figured it was the starter.
Turns out it was the battery after all and I avoided a PIA and costly repair!
Hope this helps someone in the future diagnose there issue if its similar.