1990 Ls 400 Alternator Or Brushes Post Power Steering Leak Repair

[rljmusic]

OK I have this 1990 LS 400. recently i completed a major repair of a series of major power steering leaks and had achieved success in this repair. I had, as a part of this nightmarish job, heard and read a few stories about the evils of having any fluid getting on the bruchses and killing an alternator. I think this may be the case but the alternator may still have servicable bearings since i hear zero noise from said bearings. What nasty gremlins that lerk in my alternator are causing a few idiot light to come on the dash like battery, oil, coolant ( radiator looking icon) and brake lights. These lights came on and originally i thought that the ingnition switch had been worn and was causing an issue. It was not until further inspectionthat i noticed that the alternator made a sound as if pulling as they sometimes do in charging mode and all the afore mentioned idiot lights came on. I have proior experience with an alternator eating bearings and the tell tale sounds and alternator can make when the bearings go south. this is not the case. I am thinking that is highly possible that all the leakage of fluid that happened has found its way to the brushes, resulting in their death. Cost effective is the order of the day here. Brushes cost a whole lot lest than an alternator. IF all the nightmare stories I hear are correct, then I am thinking i can get by with just replacing the brushes and i can do this job with no great difficulty other than removal and replacement of the alternator. So should i just change the brushes out or change out the entire alternator? The alternator is not completely dead but it is showing sings of wore brushes. I just want to make sure I choose wisely so I dont end up dead in the water later on in the next couple months.

[Exhaustgases]

Most local shops that do starter and alternator rebuilds, pretty much just take them apart and clean real good and put in new brushes and bearings and likely the regulators and diodes too, nothing else really wears out in them.

[rljmusic]

I think the problem is found and fixed. Thyis morning we had to take a 17 mile trip into town in the LS400 that had idiot lights coming on and staying on. This happened shortly after start up and the pulling sound of the alternator once again and on comes the lights. Now yesterday I found two loose wire connections on the positive terminal. There is the clamp that mounts to the positive battery post and on that clamp there is a plate and there are two bolts on that and those connect to a wire for each of those bolts and those two bolts were lose. I tightened those up yesterday. Now back to the trip. I decided to see if that tightening job was a possible problem since a loose connection can really mess up your whole day and empty your wallet real fast if you do not troubleshoot. So I thought that it was an obvious thing that this could be the culprit. We drove the 17 miles and made it to the local auto parts store to get a battery/alternator test done. we did that. and the machine said YES the battery voltage was a lillt on the low side. The alternator passed the test with flying colors. So we still had those idiot lights on after start up and we drove another couple miles down the road and all of a sudden the idiot lights went off. we drove with ALL non esential items turned off. BTW on the trip to the parts store i did try to use the cruise control to see if we had any signs of charging. That test was a NO GO. We drove after the lights went out on the dash for about another 6 miles and did some business in town then took another drive to have lunch and no problems with starting or any other problems with anything electrical and had lunch and did some shopping. After that we went on back home and on the 17 mile trip back to the house the cruise control was now working and no idiot lights came on and this time they stayed off. no problems with start up and no other issues. Moral of the story is, do some troubleshooting. Speaking of troubleshooting, I think it would help all LEXUS owners if there was a troubleshooting guide made available to help those of us who may be in need so we will not pull out all of our hair and have to be put on blood pressure medication or require being sedated when trouble strikes. The thought of forking over several hundred dollars for parts that are a might pricey does mess with ones mind. Case in point. alternators for this LS 400 are close to $200.00 and brush and regulator kits are in the under $25.00 range. batteries are under $100.00 dollars too. Electrical connetion cleaners are in the $10.00 range tightneing a loose bolt or two FREE. trouble shooting guides for this forum will be a best friend to have. I do want to thank all those who helped me in my time of mechanical frustration. Till the next mechanical crisis happens....

[Exhaustgases]

I also have had issues from bad battery terminal connections. And usually always first mention to check them. This whole thread was all about alternators so I just figured you had the other stuff sorted out already.

[rljmusic]

Good thing it was only a loose connection that cost ZERO dollars to deal with and a lot less headaches. Almost scared me a bit too. when all the lights came on on another vehicle I owned, it cost me right at $100.00 but it was a good thing everything was easy to get to and it too all of an hour and a half to fix. I broke down in a parking lot righ by an auto parts store and thankfully, they had the parts I needed right there and even had a paper clip to hold the brushes back in their holders for easy install. This vehicle had easy access and no removal of the alternator was required. Not so on the Lexus. The Lexus has a clean bill of health for now. I did not get a phone call today from the other half saying her dash lights came on and stayed that way. I think i fixed it and no weird stuff electrically is going on. These cars sure love their attention but the ride is so great.