Want To Know Everything

[anjelette]

Hi everyone!! As you can tell I am new to the club, but, I am excited to learn as much as possible about my car. Never thought I could have a love affair with a car, but, I am so spoiled w/ her that I want to take care of her like the previous owner. I own a 93 ls400 and I bought her from the first owner. I have to say he took excellent care of her and she does not look as old as she is. I have had a few issues like the dash blacking out but ran out and bought capacitors and it worked!!! I do have a new dilema tho'. Battery light came on and first thing i did was check to make sure all cables were on tight and clean. It only comes on while i'm cruising and when I hit the brakes it goes out. Had the battery checked and they said it was fine but a really strange noise is coming from the battery (even when removed from car), and it was extremely hot to the touch. Can any one give suggestions please?

[1990LS400]

How did they check the battery? Checking only the specific gravity won't tell you if the battery is good. It usually takes 30 to 60 minutes to test a battery by charging and discharging it.

I would think that the next step would be to have the charging system checked to see if the voltage regulator is defective. It shouldn't take long or cost much. I had my favorite mechanic check the charging system on my 00 LS400 last fall and I don't think he spent 10 minutes doing it.

I've had more than one battery test "good" when it was not. LS400s seem to go through batteries fairly quickly. I've been driving LS400s for 21 years and have had only one battery last more than four years and some batteries - even some expensive name brand ones - have lasted barely a year or two. I also remember one of my defective batteries overheat when there was nothing wrong with the charging system.

It's odd that the battery light would go off when you hit the brakes -- maybe someone else can explain that. I've had internal connections inside batteries break more than once causing a momentary failure when turning a sharp corner or hitting a bump in the road.

If you have not found out already, you should know that the power steering pumps on the 90-94 LS400 are prone to leaking with the leaks sometimes causing the alternator to fail. Check the fluid level in your power steering pump and verify that it is not leaking fluid on to the alternator. If it is leaking, have it replaced or rebuilt ASAP. Some people fashion plastic guards out of plastic bottles and attach them to the top of their alternators to deflect leaking fluid.

[steve2006]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

As 1990LS400 says check for the leaking power steering pump reservoir O ring.

Aso check out the trunk hinge wiring as this causes mysterious problems,if you check out the tutorials on www.lexls.com it is all explained there (Strange dashboard lighting problems) along with other good information.

[anjelette]

I took it out and took it to 2 different places to have it tested 1 put it in a charging testing box and ran some test's then made sure it had a complete charge on it. I had the power steering pump checked for any leaks and so far so good. Replaced the positive terminal b/c mine was worn and had the alternator tested. The previous owner had just had it replaced so it was ok and tested okay. I have a scheduled appointment to do a systems check on it b/c that way I can find out what is going on. I want to say thank you for your quick response. I really want to treat this car the way it was designed to be treated. With respect.