Engine Cut Out

[vman1100]

1993 SC300 5speed - My son reports that occassionally when he applies the brakes, the engine will die, the dash lights will go out and the clock will reset to 12:00. This indicates to me that there is some kind of electrical problem. I test drove the vehicle last night and couldn't get the problem to appear. There was no dimming of lights or loss of radio audio etc. usually associated with bad ground. I had the fan on all the lights, radio, directional etc.. This is a dangerous condition and I am concerned about it. I am trying to find out if this is a routine Lexus electrical problem (which I seem to see alot of), or if there is a definite fix for this. The car is a Florida car with 82K miles. Looks great, runs great and I would hate to get rid of it, but I can't put my son's life at risk - especially since I bought this car because it had the safety features recommended by consumer reports. The battery is an 84 month battery only a year old. I have replaced both Lexus battery terminals as they were problematic for a while. Any thoughts or experience ?

[johnny3]

Battery, battery cables, or ignition switch(or it's wiring).

[SKperformance]

it might be you powersteering pump leaking on your alternator

[1Ponkte]

I had a similar problem with my 92 SC300. I put new end connections on the battery cables and tightened the ground. Haven't had that problem since.

[vman1100]

I had a similar problem with my 92 SC300. I put new end connections on the battery cables and tightened the ground. Haven't had that problem since.

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Yea - I replaced that crap that Lexus put on the ends of the battery cables, but this problem appeared after that. I found a a posting by an 'old salt' who spoke about marine elect problems and he said No grease on the ground connections at all. So, I have cleaned the connections again and retightened and left it with noo grease covering at all. The problem is intermittent, but I can't get it to rear its ugly head. We'll see. I will enter a post if the problems goes away and what the final resolution is. Thanks for your input.

Vince

[vman1100]

Battery, battery cables, or ignition switch(or it's wiring).

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I am working on all of the above.

Interestingly enough, I too owned an 89 Acura Legend Coupe 5 sp. Sold it after 10 years with 205,000 miles on it. Absolutely a great car - Loved it and I can't find anything to replace it. This Sc300 has potential - if I can get this electrical crap behind me. . . Thanks for your response...

[idrewfelix]

Battery, battery cables, or ignition switch(or it's wiring).

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I am working on all of the above.

Interestingly enough, I too owned an 89 Acura Legend Coupe 5 sp. Sold it after 10 years with 205,000 miles on it. Absolutely a great car - Loved it and I can't find anything to replace it. This Sc300 has potential - if I can get this electrical crap behind me. . . Thanks for your response...

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I had a 94 Acura Legend, I absolutely loved that car. I beleive it was the best Acura ever made. But luck wasnt with me and it got totalled, so i got myself a sc300. Its a good car and has alot more aftermarket.

[sergioon20]

1993 SC300 5speed - My son reports that occassionally when he applies the brakes, the engine will die, the dash lights will go out and the clock will reset to 12:00. This indicates to me that there is some kind of electrical problem. I test drove the vehicle last night and couldn't get the problem to appear. There was no dimming of lights or loss of radio audio etc. usually associated with bad ground. I had the fan on all the lights, radio, directional etc.. This is a dangerous condition and I am concerned about it. I am trying to find out if this is a routine Lexus electrical problem (which I seem to see alot of), or if there is a definite fix for this. The car is a Florida car with 82K miles. Looks great, runs great and I would hate to get rid of it, but I can't put my son's life at risk - especially since I bought this car because it had the safety features recommended by consumer reports. The battery is an 84 month battery only a year old. I have replaced both Lexus battery terminals as they were problematic for a while.  Any thoughts or experience ?

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hi u doin man my name is sergio and i think i can help u. A little about me, Im 20 years old and I have my own installation shop and we major in electrical issues. Ok it sounds to me like u have a ground issue. It wont be at the batt or ing. switch. i had the same issue with a 96 escort. what we found after a 30 min drive the car would do the same thing. the frame ground [body gnd.] wire was bad and it would heat and seperate inside the insulation of the wire. we ran a wire [ 10awg or bigger] from the neg. side of the battery to the actual frame of the car itself. we attached it with sanding a little paint from the fender and using 4 self-tapping screws. this wire may but maynot show indication of melting. the insulation of that wire may be a little bubbled but may not show it. the reason why i think this is ur problem is because u loose power to the car and it resets itself. i dont think but it is possible that the pos. side of the wiring could be bad too check all connections and make sure that nothing is loose. if u still need help u can call me @ 216-376-4515

[vman1100]

1993 SC300 5speed - My son reports that occassionally when he applies the brakes, the engine will die, the dash lights will go out and the clock will reset to 12:00. This indicates to me that there is some kind of electrical problem. I test drove the vehicle last night and couldn't get the problem to appear. There was no dimming of lights or loss of radio audio etc. usually associated with bad ground. I had the fan on all the lights, radio, directional etc.. This is a dangerous condition and I am concerned about it. I am trying to find out if this is a routine Lexus electrical problem (which I seem to see alot of), or if there is a definite fix for this. The car is a Florida car with 82K miles. Looks great, runs great and I would hate to get rid of it, but I can't put my son's life at risk - especially since I bought this car because it had the safety features recommended by consumer reports. The battery is an 84 month battery only a year old. I have replaced both Lexus battery terminals as they were problematic for a while.  Any thoughts or experience ?

←

hi u doin man my name is sergio and i think i can help u. A little about me, Im 20 years old and I have my own installation shop and we major in electrical issues. Ok it sounds to me like u have a ground issue. It wont be at the batt or ing. switch. i had the same issue with a 96 escort. what we found after a 30 min drive the car would do the same thing. the frame ground [body gnd.] wire was bad and it would heat and seperate inside the insulation of the wire. we ran a wire [ 10awg or bigger] from the neg. side of the battery to the actual frame of the car itself. we attached it with sanding a little paint from the fender and using 4 self-tapping screws. this wire may but maynot show indication of melting. the insulation of that wire may be a little bubbled but may not show it. the reason why i think this is ur problem is because u loose power to the car and it resets itself. i dont think but it is possible that the pos. side of the wiring could be bad too check all connections and make sure that nothing is loose. if u still need help u can call me @ 216-376-4515

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Sergio - Thanks for your info. Sounds to me like you are talking about a 'grounding kit' that I see posted every once in a while. The wires both look good at the Battery end of the connections, but I haven't been able to get under the car to drop the shell and check things out down below. I will also check on the back end of the positive cable to make sure it is clean and tight. Right now after I have cleaned (again) the ground battery connection and removed the protective grease coating I had applied over the top of it, the problem has not reappeared. It is intermittent and I do not have any confidence that the problem has been corrected. I just need a dry day when the temperature is above 8 degrees so I can get under the car and try your suggestions. - I just hate electrical problems with cars. . .

[cal9126]

hey sergio

how many places is the car grounded at and where are these grounds located at.

[vman1100]

Here's an update on the electrical problem. I again cleaned the negative terminal and cable ends. Retightened and this time did NOT apply a light coating of grease to the connection. The problem has NOT reappeared. Keep it clean, keep it tight and NO grease. Appears to work for me. . . Thanks everyone for your input.

Vince

[vman1100]

  Here's an update on the electrical problem.  I again cleaned the negative terminal and cable ends.  Retightened and this time did NOT apply a light coating of grease to the connection.  The problem has NOT reappeared.  Keep it clean, keep it tight and NO grease.  Appears to work for me. . . Thanks everyone for your input.

Vince

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Darn . . . The problem is still with me. The service manager at Lexus is suggesting a possible failing alternator. But, he admits that an intermittent problem is difficult to diagnose and without knowing for sure, we would be just shooting darts. I for one do not feel like playing a $600.00 game of darts. Anybody got any more ideas. . .

[Thienn]

I am having the same problem with my beater, 1992 Honda Accord! Will try to figure it out this weekend.

[Streamline]

I own a 92 SC300 5-speed.

I, too...have experienced what you are describing...except on a much smaller scale.

I notice that when I first warm up the car and proceed to drive out of my driveway, the first time I step on the brakes...the fan will somewhat lose a bit of power for a split second. Then, it will come back on w/ no problems at all.

I haven't been too picky about it, as I don't have the time to diagnose the problem.

I'll try and diagnose it this weekend.

While I was doing an oil change this weekend...(from under the car) I did notice a ground wire that is approximately below the oil filter area. It was caked w/ dirt and grime...so I just cleaned it off. I haven't yet given my car a thorough cleaning (as I'm pretty obsessed w/ stuff like this)...but plan to do so shortly. I don't know if cleaning this wire was beneficial...as I wasn't thinking about it...but thought I would mention as it is directly below the oil filter and prone to getting dirty.

Will give the car a good cleaning soon (hopefully this weekend) and will let you know of the results.

Dom

[vman1100]

Well gang, we will try this again. It has been more than 2 weeks now, and the electrical engine cut out problem seems to have gone away. Here is the final work done. It had been indicated by Sergio and others (myself included) that the problem was in the negative or ground side of the electrical circuitry. Apparently that is the case. I had cleaned the battery terminals before and the electrical connections at the battery and behind the battery at the body grounding spot. What everyone seemed to be saying, but that I did not pick up on, is that when you inspect the ground wire carefully, you can see that there are a couple of other places where the ground wire is connected to end terminals by crimping. Apparently what needed to be done, was to tighten these crimped connections. I managed to squeeze some electrical connection grease onto the connections, which would help to dissolve some light corrosion where the ground wire is crimped on to the end connection. Then I used my TRUSTY Vice-Grip pliers and put as much pressure on the wire connections as I possibly could. There were three connections that I could reach near the battery itself. I could not reach the connection at the starter - But apparently the FIX is in place. So, it was a ground problem - just not very easy to find. I had scheduled a 2 hour trouble shooting session at my local Lexus Dealer (2x$95.00 = $180.00) plus parts. He told me he would be looking at the alternator ($339.00 + tax). I strongly suspect that he has seen this problem before and if I hadn't stuck with it he would have happily taken me for well over $500.00. I know he has to pay the rent, But so do I. . .

Thanks to all of you for all of your assistance. . . Vince. . .