'90 Ls 400

[yank30265]

i was told on here about the white wire. I dont see a break in it unless it is broke inside the insulation. My lights dim when I hit the brakes; My fan slows down and speeds up as I accelerate or decelerate. Today when i hit the brakes; the radio cut off the dash went black and the rear view mirrow dimmed; seems like i lost electrical. My fluid is alittle low Im gonna fill it and see if that stops it(brake fluid) but if it does thats a heck of a way to let you know your brake fluid is low. Im afraid this car is gonna get me stranded. My alternator is new; connections are tight and free of corrosion. Battery is a few months old and has alot of cca; its a duralst gold. autozone dont have the best parts but I like the batteries. I got a power steering question but one thing at a time

Thanks

Oh yea the car dosent die when this happens and the outage is for a blink of an eye

[curiousB]

www<dot>lexls<dot>com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html

[steve2006]

The wire can break inside the insulation so may not be visible,stretching the wire should show where the break is,if in doubt cut the section out and replace.

[landar]

I know you stated that the battery was near new and connections clean and tight but the evidence (dimming lights) sure seems to be saying differently.

If the trunk wire is not the culprit, take the battery cables off the battery and clean/reseat them again. Sometimes grease gets on the battery posts which looks innocent (or even clear) but turns out to be not so conductive.

[AzHotLS]

Your PS pump isn't leaking on your new alternator, is it?

[yank30265]

Your PS pump isn't leaking on your new alternator, is it?

i have been having issues with the p/s pump. These problems started before the fluid leak. but being you mentioned it; this car sat for 4 yrs in a garage never started; when it was givin to me i had to replace a rotted brake line; then a yr and a half the other front brake line. My P/s started leaking from the little rubber hose coming off the pump and clamped onto a metal line. when replaced the old line fell apart in my hands. Then the next day I had a huge leak on the drivers side again a rubber hose clamped to a metal line which when replaced fell aprt in my hands.. nOW both leaks fixed i have no power steering at low speeds(which is how i make most of my sharp turns). Is there a filter I should check? the power steering was working great up until and during the leaking period. The hoses arent kinked. Any idea on that one?

Back to the electrical; I topped off the brake fluid resevoir and didnt have any of the lights cutting out but stiull dimming; i want to just cut a long piece of the white wire out and splice in a new one

[AzHotLS]

Read through this Power Steering Bible thread on the "other" forum. Me thinks you may need to clean the solenoid screen. But check to see that the vacuum tubes from the ICV are good.

http://www.clublexus...ring-bible.html

The "little rubber hose coming off the pump and clamped onto a metal line." is the low pressure return line. So the alternator was replaced AFTER the PS leaks?

[yank30265]

Read through this Power Steering Bible thread on the "other" forum. Me thinks you may need to clean the solenoid screen. But check to see that the vacuum tubes from the ICV are good.

http://www.clublexus...ring-bible.html

The "little rubber hose coming off the pump and clamped onto a metal line." is the low pressure return line. So the alternator was replaced AFTER the PS leaks?

nah the alternator was replaced before the p/s leaks. so it is possible the p/s fluid leaked on the alternator.But if I remember correctly the car was doing some of the dimming of the lights before the leak started; but it may have been leaking very small to where I dint know because of the splash guard underneath. Im sorry i know too many variables. The car sat for 4 yrs in a gfarage with fluids(and gas) in it before it was given to me; they said it got unreliable. and had a mind of its own. I think they were talking about the elctrical poroblems lol. They were the type to bring it to the dealer when it needed air in the tires; i cant afford that so Im the type ti DIY.

[AzHotLS]

If the alternator was replaced before the leaks, it's possible that ruined it. However, before you go down that road, take it to AutoZone, they should have a charging system tester that can tell you if the alternator is good or not. Before you go, read though this for background:

http://www.lextreme.com/alternator.html

I also have the Duralast Gold in mine and am happy with how Duralast batteries perform.

If the car had problems before it sat, who knows, but if it was "given" to you as you say, it's hard to complain. Well, not too much anyway.

However, I would still investigate the trunk wire harness issue to see if you don't have a bad wire in there. It doesn't necessarily have to be the white one though.

[yank30265]

If the alternator was replaced before the leaks, it's possible that ruined it. However, before you go down that road, take it to AutoZone, they should have a charging system tester that can tell you if the alternator is good or not. Before you go, read though this for background:

http://www.lextreme.com/alternator.html

I also have the Duralast Gold in mine and am happy with how Duralast batteries perform.

If the car had problems before it sat, who knows, but if it was "given" to you as you say, it's hard to complain. Well, not too much anyway.

However, I would still investigate the trunk wire harness issue to see if you don't have a bad wire in there. It doesn't necessarily have to be the white one though.

the people were going to donate the car and no one showed up to pick it up so it was given to me and you are right no complaining here just trying to fix it. ive done alot to it and bring it back to our friends so they can see. mostly body work but the lady tears up when she sees it; they are great people and love that I am driving thier baby around. This forum has helped me alot with problems and someone sent me a lnk on how to change the plug wires nd distributor caps' all in color and step by step instructions. Big Big help. I also bought the 2 volume shop manuel off of ebay for about 12 18 bucks also a big help. I work at auto zone part time so I will test the alternator when i get back home after the holidays. then i will get back to you. Thanks for the help and Merry Christmas

[VBdenny]

Clean all your ground contacts including where the negative battery cable is grounded. Dimming lights can often indicate a compromised ground.