I've Stumped The Dealership! Truck Dies...

[littleroo]

My husband is in Afghanistan, so I'm having to write this description from the female perspective, LOL! We bought this '97 LX 450 b/c we thought it would last forever, but....

Here's a quick synopsis, and I wonder if anyone is familiar with this problem b/c the dealership is totally scratching their heads over it:

Truck has 92000 miles on it, never been wrecked, well-maintained. Had its 75000 mile work done, but not 90 or 100. So, out of nowhere, one day at low speeds, the engine went dead and I coasted off the road onto the shoulder. Tried everything to restart (regular start, flooded engine start, checked the oil, gas, battery, etc). Towed it into the dealership. Dealer says the air intake valve was old and need replacing, and it caused the fuse to blow which supplied gas to the engine. $900 later, they gave me the truck with a clean bill of health.

Scene 2: A week later, the truck dies again at low speeds. Now, I'm noticing a pattern, albeit odd. The truck dies in the afternoon after driving 30 miles in the am, and both times it died while making a right turn. So the dealership changes the fuse, and their computer cannot diagnose a problem in the 10 days they kept the truck. Bottom line: they tighten some wires in the wiring harness and promised it was good as new.

Scene 3: After being forced to pick up the truck (again, no husband and three kids, I do NOT want to drive this car w/o someone fixing SOMETHING) which they acknowledged they could not replicate the problem, I replicate it in less than 30 miles and 2 hours! Died again at low speeds, and curiously, after another right turn.

Does this make sense to ANYONE? My dad had worked on the radio antenna and all that entails. Is that close to the air intake valve or the wiring harness the dealership was talking about?

When it dies, I immediately lose all power steering, brakes, everything. I have about 5 seconds to get it steered off the road before I come to a halt. It won't restart unless a new fuse is put in, and runs okay until it burns out that fuse again. The dealership sends a mechanic to swap fuses and drive it back to the lot. They've had it die again while driving back to the lot. But then it sits there and doesn't diagnose on the computer or replicate and they give it back to me. :cries:

Anyone? Anyone? Thanks for reading if you got this far!

[lenore]

Did lexus say which fuse blew? This is a long shot, is it possible that the right turn is causing a short in the fuel pump circuit, in the steering column or else where?

[SKperformance]

First don't worry about being a woman you made a better more descriptive post than most people who know cars inside out.

The key factor is exactly which fuse is being blown ,once that is determined a basic schematic can be assumed to the parts in peril causing the fuses to pop.

Let us know.

[Rookie]

First don't worry about being a woman you made a better more descriptive post than most people who know cars inside out.

The key factor is exactly which fuse is being blown ,once that is determined a basic schematic can be assumed to the parts in peril causing the fuses to pop.

Let us know.

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It sounds familiar. I've recalled a couple of folks having a similar problem. I don't remember all the specifics, but basically there's a main wiring harness in the engine bay that comes through the firewall and runs close to the engine. The problem as I recall it is that the harness rubs against something, (don't remember if it's the firewall or something on the motor) and once it rubs through the insulation you've got bear wire exposed. I think the right hand turn is causing enough lean for the wire to contact metal and short out.

I'll see what else I can dig up.

Rookie

[Rookie]

Here ya go. Print this out and take it to your mechanic.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=1...ine+dies+wiring

You may or may not have the exact same problem, but somewhere I think a wiring has chafed and is shorting out.

Good Luck,

Rookie

[dougjohn2]

Good call Rookie!

I'd bet that's the problem.

Check for the EFI fuse being blown. It's a 15AMP fuse located in the engine compartment fuse box (not the one on the dash).

I had the same fuse blow on me while on the Rubicon Trail this last weekend. When I owned a 94 Land Cruiser, the exact same thing happened to me. It happened several times. I know of another site that has some information regarding the wiring harness chaffing. Let me look for it and post another reply. The other one had a very nice write up with a couple nice pics.

Now...I need to track down the problem on my rig...

[dougjohn2]

No luck tracking down the additional info. Actually, I found the info, but the link with the write-up and pics is now dead.

Have them track the O2 sensor wires along the firewall. These are the ones that could get frayed as well. Usually near the front driveshaft, but not always there.

In the mean time...I hope they have you in a nice loaner :D

[littleroo]

Thanks for all the EXCELLENT advice! I forwarded the link to the dealership (mmm, I'm sure they LOVED that! Me telling them what to look for, LOL!!)

They did say it was the EFI fuse that was blowing. They don't know what is causing the fuse to blow, though. I asked them to look at the wire bundle for bare wires rather than just tightening them. (Although I have to hope they would have noticed that when they tightened them....)

The guy who has my ticket is supposed to call me Monday, and I'll post what he tells me then.

Thanks again! Any more info you guys have would be great!

Shelley

[Rookie]

Thanks for all the EXCELLENT advice!  I forwarded the link to the dealership (mmm, I'm sure they LOVED that!  Me telling them what to look for, LOL!!)

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I'd like to thing they'd take any help they can get. Keep us posted. I'm interested to hear the outcome.

Rookie