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tsarang

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  • Lexus Model
    ls400

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  1. I got the timing belt change complete. everything looked good. made sure all the timing marks lined up by turning the crank twice from TDC to TDC. looks perfect. got the distributors and rotors installed perfect But When I start the car it starts immediately with RPMS at 3000-4000 as usual then after a couple of secs they come down and car stalls, after this it crank's but does not fire up. I can make it start after a lot of cranking and pushing on the gas pedal. It will stall if I let off the gas. The car runs real rough with lots of vibration when I do this. I had the car started long enough to get near operating temprature and it gave a p0304 code, i changed the cylinder spark plug and wire as I found the spark plug wire to be out of specs(>40Kohm). I cleared the code and restarted. Still the engine gives me same code. I cleaned up the distributor and rotor connections, switched them. still the same. Engine hard starts, runs rough with shudder. will not idle and it die's if i let go of gas. I had the car sitting for about two months now through the 14F weather, do you think its because of bad gas?. I dont think its ignition because I have already checked spark, resistances of the coils, wires, plugs etc. I can hear the fuel pump and can smell gas so that also cannot be the culprit. this is what I am thinking might be the problems a) Bad gas, fuel filter B) IAC valve (idle-air control (IAC) valve, vacumn leak??) c) Crank sensor? I am stumped on this one, Please Help!!!!
  2. Guys, I am having the exact same problems. Please let me know if you were able to resolve this?. If yes then what was the resolution. any detailed procedure carried out will help.
  3. Ok guys, Changed the camshaft sensor with a new one, Didnt help, same issue. When I plug in the bank1 Cam sensor the car will not start at all. I can still make it rev by giving some more gas but it runs terrible, with bad gas smell and shaking and vibration. It will die as soon as I cut the gas. Once I disconnect the Bank1 sensor the car still runs bad (its not terrible, some vibrations) but it idles ok. I am lost at this one. After this I was leaning on the crank sensor going bad but the car usually does not start at all if that happens, so that is counted out. also the resistance on the crank sensor checked out fine. another thing I thought about is the timing belt jumping a teeth. How do I go about verifying that is not the timing belt?. will the car run atall with bad timing?. any other ideas, leads?? I need your help guys/gurus out there. Thanks.!!!!!!
  4. ok guys i am back, here is what I managed to do today a) Heated car so that it could start up without dying car would run very bad with shaking, but idle (RPMS) got stable and it didn't shutdown. If I up the throttle, car would die. I got P0340 now with "TRAC" light on and Off and sometimes (intermittently) p0300 (misfiring all cylinders) code.while idling. b.) Tried a couple of things, Cleared codes before starting and 1) Since I had this flashing "TRAC" symptoms before (it was due to a bad alternator), at that time too the car ran like crap on a cue I removed the alternator and took it for a test to the nearby auto shop. alternator checked fine. 2) From my ordered parts (i had ordered two ignition coils. Two CAM sensors and one CRANK sensor), The auto shop received the IGNITION coils today, CRANK and CAM are scheduled delivery on the 12th. I collected the coils and installed them. BUMMER didnt solve my Issue. 3) Cleared codes before starting and disconnected CAM sensor, Driver side (bank 1) Lo and Behold, Car stabilizes, there is occasional jitter but RPM is stable, I can now raise throttle without stalling or hesitation, idled car like this for about 5 min didnt shutdown. No sudden jerking or RPM changes. I was surprised!!! Shutdown Car and Went to next step. NOW I am still lost why #3 would not send out any code!!!!. should detect BANK1 being disconnected!!!. 4) Cleared codes before starting and Reconnected CAM Sensor (BANK 1) and Disconnected CAM sensor (BANK2) Car acted Like before, running bad, shaking, Idle ok. got the P0340 code. 5) smelled a rat in the CAM position sensor 1. Just remembered I had taken the resistances for the sensors while cold. Now since the car was hot i decided to take them again. Guess what, BANK 2 stabilizes at a certain resistance while BANK1 keeps on fluctuating which was weird. I then decided to test the voltages out of these sensors, since they generate ac voltages, These can be measured. the minimum my meter could go down was 200V and the voltages generated by the CAM sensors are very small ~ 1-10V pulses. I still decided to proceed, the meter was registering the voltages as in 0.001V or equal to 1v. Here are the results of my test BANK2 -- 1v-2v-3v-2v-1v-2v-3v-2v-1v-2v-3v ( Could make out this was cycling) BANK1 -- 1v-1v-1v-2v-3v-2v-2v-1v-3v-3v-2v (this output looks like bad cycle, it was intermittently sending out same voltage instead of changed voltage) looks like CAM sensor BANK 1 is a goner I Cant verify this voltage test results with anything standard though, this is all guess work till now. Will be waiting for my sensors to arrive and change CAM1 to verify my theory. I will let you'll know how it goes.
  5. Hi Guys, Banshee365 Thanks for your excellent feedback. Here is the complete story. My LS has been working perfect since last year, no complains, . I was parking at the local walmart with tempratures down to 16F. Suddenly it starts acting up and showing the symptoms above. I was able to limp it back home, after that the rpms would never stabilize the car would die in a few secs after starting. I had a issue during last years winter when the car would start and blow out white smoke. everybody had said it was a shot gasket but it turned out to be a bad ECU. when we opened the ECU we saw acid eating up parts of the circuit and knew there and then, that it was an issue. Changed ECU and the car chirped like a bird!!! as i said it was perfect till that fatefull day at Walmart!!. I could never get to test the car at higher temps, because currently the highest temp here in tallahassee is 40F (in Florida, can you believe that!!!) I am pretty sure the cold weather is the cluprit, since I am not getting any feasable resultsby testing sensor specs, I am going to try something else. will start by taking a small handy heater and directly heating the sensors in the following manner. a) ignitions coils B) camshaft sensors c) crankshaft sensor d) IAC. e) eventually if I dont get any concrete results I will have a bigger heater to heat the whole engine and see the results. I am betting that it is going to be one of them. I have ordered a,b and c sensors, i want to replace them anyways as preventative maintainence. I am excited and have a long day ahead of me, I will update results. Wish me luck Guys, Again Thanks for all your inputs
  6. Guys, I am getting the dreaded P0340 code. My car (96-ls400) would start and then the RPMS would go to 2000 then 1000 back and forth several times and after few seconds it will die. same thing when I restart. If i give throttle, the engine will not die but The car shudders and the rpms still keep on going up and down. eventually if I let the throttle down the engine will die. Here is what I have done till now. a) traced wires for shorts. They checked out ok. B) Tested resistances for both camshaft sensors and the crankshaft sensor, all came out to be within the right specs. c) tested ignition coil resistances, came out to be within the right specs. Do you think my timing is off?. My car was running perfectly, this only started with the below 20F tempratures we are getting in Florida. do you guys still think it is the sensors going haywire because of the cold? Help definately needed from the gurus out there. Please Help. Thank's!!!!!! :)
  7. LexSC400328 I can understand your issues, I had the same problem with my ls400. I had huge plumes of smoke coming out of the car and it smelled like fuel. Here is how i troubleshooted the probelm. a) sometime's the check engine light burns out. If you have/do not have a Check engine light, still plug a reader to make sure there are no codes. if there are codes then act accordingly. B) Check for issues with the ignition system(spark plug, wires, coils etc) IF ISSUE NOT RESOLVED then c) Check your Engine Brain box or ECU, Open ECU, Check for Capacitor Damage, Leaking capacitors are known to Corrode/Short the circuit board. If ECU is Damaged, Replace/Fix ECU. IF ISSUE NOT RESOLVED then d) Check for issue with the fuel injectors, bad faulty injectors can dump fuel into the Engine, causing symptoms similar to misfire. IF ISSUE NOT RESOLVED then e) Check for issue with the electrical system (harness to be specific) as a last Resort. my issue was the ECU, The board was badly corroded by the leaking capacitors and I beleive this effected the injectors. I got a secound hand unit from a salvage yard, it cost me about $180. my car was purring like a kitten once i replaced the unit. Please do not drive the car till the issue is fixed, It can cause damage to the engine and Excessive Fuel can cause damage your cats. resulting in several $$$$. I hope I have given you some usefull advice to troubleshoot. Let us know if your issue gets resolved. Best of Luck -- Tan
  8. Guys/ Gurus any Idea's/Feedback. Your Help and Input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
  9. Thanks for your excellent feedback eatingupblacktop and landar. I had a suspicion that the ECU is bad but today its confirmed. I had a doubt that the harness can be the issue as a result of the Engine Mount's change. but I finally found out that I was testing the voltage to the ECU incorrectly at the wrong connector. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ost&id=7266 the battery terminal "BATT" has to be accessed from behind the connector. It is the first slot as shown in figure. I was incorrectly testing from the opposite side, being a mirror image the connector slot was wrong and I was getting no voltage at all. I got 12V proper at the right BATT terminal, just to be 100% sure I was testing the right connector I went ahead and disconnected the EFI no 1 Fuse, This broke the connection, so it is confirmed that there is an issue with the ECM and not the Harness. you guys are right we also need to find what would cause the ecu to fail. The Capacitor leakage can be due to capacitor issues with older capacitors, Capacitors buid before 1999 have a tendency to leak after they get old, ~10years. The electrolyte is caustic and causes short circuits frying ICS . another possibility as pointed out by Landar is Bad Voltages which can also cause major damage. Yes I did have the alternator fail and replaced the alternator with a rebuit part. I will remove it an get it tested again just in case. I have found a replacement ECU for about 100$ from a Salvageyard and gone ahead and ordered it. My only concern is that my Key will not work. also my car is equipped with traction control, will it support that Logic?. I will be lucky if it will be 100% fit. but otherwise what option do I have? can the original programming transfer from my old ecu to the new one? I also spoke with people who fix ECU's, he said possible for $250 will this be a good approach? any body done this?, any issues later? THANKS.
  10. Ok guys, i figured out how to remove the glove box and get at the ECU and the connectors. Tested the connector as advised there seems to be no voltage at all at the connector. i further went on to check the fuse and tried detecting a voltage and could not find any voltage coming there too!!!!. IS THE HARNESS FRIED?. how can i further test this?. i wanted to point out that before this issue happened I had changed my motor mounts. i remember the mechanic had a hell of a time removing one of the mount and he had to jack the engine up like crazy. would that have caused damage to the harness?. Did anybody have this experience? I opened the ECU too.. found all capacitors leaking, blank gunk on the circuit board. I want to further go ahead and clean this using electrical cleaner. let me know if it is OK? should i go ahead and replace the capacitors too? After seen the gunk, How do I know the ECU is fine? is there a test I can perform to Verify 100%?. My OBCD reader connects to the ECU to get the P1600 code so can i presume ECU is good?. can i supply 12V directly to the ECU, By attaching a wire directly to the ECU?. In that case what should the voltage be?. 12V? Gurus Kindly respond. Thanks. Thanks for the Help Guys -- Tan.
  11. Hi N.C.O, Thanks for your reply. I already tried to get a code from the ECU with the car started but keep on getting the same P1600 code. It wont give me any other code except the P1600. The smoke is greyish/dark white and smells heavily of fuel. I don't think it is a blown head gasket because the car ran fine the second time it started without any smoke at all. at this stage I am leaning at a bad ECU since a bad/dead ECU will cause the whole EFI system to crap out. before following this expensive option I need to verify that the ECU is dead following the procedure listed in the manual. It states that you will need to remove the instrument cluster to get to a particular connector, I cannot figure out what this connector is?. I was following the procedure in the manual to troubleshoot this. Please see the below links. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ost&id=7265 http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ost&id=7266
  12. HELP, My baby is sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I was driving late at night and my 96 LS400 developed a check engine light, there was no power loss or any misfiring so i kept on driving as my home was near. I stopped at a signal and the check engine light started flickering with TRAC doing the same. Engine was revving like crazy with light white smoke which was light at first then it started to get pretty thick, I had to switch the car off and put my Hazard on. It was though I had blown off a gasket, piston or something. I was close to home so I decided to take a chance and restart my car just to see what happens, this time it started with the check engine light on but no smoke. Eventually I limped home without any majour exhaust issues. Next day i restarted the car, initially there was no smoke but then it started again, stuttering engine, raw fuel smell and lots of smoke. I looked at the the Trouble code, it was P1600, which pointed to an issue with ECU battery malfuntion, looked up the Forum here http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...mode=linearplus this gives a good idea to troubleshoot this code. its says to perfom the following test tp see if the ECU is bad a. remove instrument undercover and measure voltage between terminal battery of ECM and body ground. my question is how to do this? where is this connection?, I mean the connector shown (see pic below), where is this at? http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/uploa...65210_thumb.jpg I was able to see the procedure to get at the Instrument panel here http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/electrical/...entcluster.html and I see that there are three connectors, which one should i be using?, I am confused, Please Help. b. I already tested the efi1 fuse connectivity with an ammeter, and checked the harness wire which seems to be fine visually (is there anything that can be done to verify connectivity more precisely here)? any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Gurus!!!
  13. Guys, any help with the Motor Mount changing procedure?
  14. ok i found some great info in this post. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...nsmission+mount I will copy and paste the procedure so that it can be accesible to anyone who is searching. Thank's 92ls4008888 for the procedure ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 92ls4008888 write's " finally changed my transmission mount. Here is what you need to do: Drive the car up on a ramp (I used a Rhino Ramp) Use the jack that came with the car, together with a piece of wood, to even out the pressure point, and apply jack on tranny pan. You need to apply just enough jacking force to lift the tranny about 1/2 inch. Behind the tranny pan, you will notice a cross member. This cross member is held to the chassis by 4 14mm bolts. There will also be 4 12 mm nuts that holds the tranny mount towards center of this crossmember. Remove the 4 nuts in the center followed by the 4 bolts on the crossmember, remove the crossmember. You will be able to see the tranny mount. The tranny mount is held to the tranny by 4 bolts. Remove the 4 bolts and remove tranny mount. Install new tranny mount. Alldata list torque figures for the 12mm nut at 10 pounds and the 14 mm bolt for the cross member at 19 pounds. Is this correct? Anyone please care to comment? My old mount's rubber was pretty much squashed to the point that it was metal on metal. See attached pics: Notice that there is barely 1/8 of inch of space. With the weight of the tranny, I am sure that it was metal on metal - this means all the vibration will come through I did not have the time to take the car for a drive but I immediately noticed less vibration at idle. I am sure that the motor mounts are probably shot. However motor mounts are $110 each and labor is another $250 or so. It is too difficult a job for me to undertake. The tranny mount took me 30 minutes, the mount cost about $56 delivered from Park Place Lexus. It is a really cheap solution for those looking to reduce vibration. Anyone can do it. My car has 200K and has issue of vibration " --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  15. Thank's Bali26, these posts speak about Gen1 LS400 . anything Specific for the 2nd Gen LS?. Do you have a 2nd gen LS? Did u change your transmission mounts? If yes, then would appreciate if you can list the exact procedure.
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