The "free" Lexus

[Censport]

So now I'm a Lexus owner. And it wasn't even my idea.

My girlfriend's father has had this black 1990 LS400. He was driving home from work one day when the car died. He had it towed home, and the next day I came over with my tools, meter, etc. Naturally, the car started right away for me. I let it warm up, drove it around the neighborhood, no problems. A visual inspection didn't turn up anything either.

A couple of days later, my probably-future-father-in-law got in it to go to work, and... it wouldn't start. He ran the battery down trying.

Frustrated, he put an ad in the local paper. Only one guy came out to look at it, and he offered $200. He was politely (or so I'm told) asked to leave. I think it was then that my girlfriend's parents decided to give the car to me, to see if I could fix it and get some use out if it.

Like I needed another car, as my girlfriend says. I currently have a 1996 Jaguar XJ6, a 1994 Mazda Miata (the track day car) and a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair. If I was in the market for anything, it would be for a Triumph Bonneville T-100. But that's another story.

I've put a new battery in the LS, and -as before- it started and seems to be running fine. Maybe it just likes me better. The "check engine" light is on, and so is the traction control light. Can Autozone (or some reasonable facsimile) read the engine light? I have a code reader, but it's only for '96-and-later OBDII cars.

Other than driving it until it acts up again, I don't have any plans for this car. If I flew for business, I'd use it as an "airport car". But I'm pretty good at making the young shmucks in the office fly instead. Maybe I can use it for when my girlfriend wants to go downtown for dinner or clubbing. Or I could always trade it for a T-100... Right now, I've got a whopping $400 in it (went ahead and fixed the A/C after I got it running).

A quick survey of just a few of my car buddies brought different theories as to why it stopped running before:

Friend A: Ignition control module.

Friend B: Fuel pump.

Friend C: Ignition switch.

Anybody have any other theories to offer?

I'll take some pictures tomorrow afternoon and post them.

[vroom8]

....these cars are mysterious, sweetie.

fabulous, but mysterious....

I do know that the engine lite coming on might be a gas cap not working...this has happened to me with other cars.

My guess - fuel injectors need cleaned or replaced.

[eatingupblacktop]

Congrats on the freebee , I think, and welcome to the club even if you're not keeping the LS. Reasons for not starting could be any of those on your list. Fuel, air and spark - if you're missing any of those - no start. Here's a link for reading the codes:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html

Let us know how you make out.

[wwest]

....these cars are mysterious, sweetie.

fabulous, but mysterious....

I do know that the engine lite coming on might be a gas cap not working...this has happened to me with other cars.

I don't think the gas vapor emission gas cap issue goes back that far.

My guess - fuel injectors need cleaned or replaced.

ALL of the injectors intermittently fail, simultaneously, twice..??

NOT..!!

Fuel pump or FP voltage dropping resistor (connections??) mounted on the inside of the fender just to the right of the battery.

[TA in KC]

If the check engine light is on, the TRAC OFF light automatically comes on. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the Traction Control system.

Why don't you pull the diagnostic codes and let us know what they are. That would give us a better idea of where the problem is coming from.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html

[Censport]

Hey, thanks for the encouragement, tips and links. Hopefully I'll get a chance to check the codes after work tomorrow and see what's up.

Who knows, I might hang onto it for a while after all.

[Censport]

I managed to take a few pictures between Friday evening's rain showers:

Always check out a body shop before taking them your car:

Actually looks good from this side. Just needs some quality time with a buffer.

My friends love this option. One said I should drive around playing the (original) Miami Vice soundtrack all the time.

Haven't had a chance to pull the codes yet. Hope to do that one night this week.

[Censport]

Code #28 - Main oxygen sensor signal (on right bank)