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motjebben

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  1. Hi! You wondered if the instructions are useful for fixing the backlighting of the instrument panel. The answer is a partial yes: That is, Jim Walker, who provided the first part of the instructions (for removing the instrument panel) lists, in his instructions, his email and US Post address if you wish to also have the "flickering/random" display problem fixed on your Lexus. At least email him to see if he thinks he can help you. What he does is replace some components on the power suppy board for the display that go out of tolerance with age. This replacement that he performed for me fixed my flickering needles. It may also fix the backlighting; please ask Jim. However, in addition to the "flickering/random" aspect of the needles, there is usually a secondary problem where the needle is completely or partially black and ALWAYS SO. In that case, the needle itself has gone bad. That is what the second part of the instructions addresses. It tells you how to paint the tip of the needle with fluorescent paint and mount a UV lamp to illuminate it to solve this second type of problem. I hope Jim can help you - please contact him! -Mike (motjebben) :)
  2. Jim- I have two more friends who DEFINITELY would buy the LCD replacements. -Your friend (and flickering lights fix customer), Michael O. Tjebben
  3. Thank you! Yes, the red-orange tips DO make the needles more visible, even in bright daylight. In my description of the fix, however, I wanted to leave the reader with the correct impression that the needles will not be as bright as the original glow of the needles when in bright sunlight, and the UV-glow is also not as effective as it is at night, which is TERRIFIC! But the "compensatory effect" is that the red does tend to stand out to a certain degree in bright sunlight, because it is on the tip and shows, in contrast, to the blackened needle. What is really neat, is the look of the dash bathed in a UV-purple glow from the bottom of the display. It is just bright enough to make the dash look different from any other auto, but it is NOT so bright as to be distracting. It's even somewhat "soothing". -Mike (Michael Otto Tjebben = motjebben)
  4. The lexusdash site seemed to indicate that for several of the older-model Lexus', at least, the needles were made up of several segments of LED's and that they, at Lexusdash were converting to cold-cathode tubes as used by the newer Lexus'. I was figuring that the $500.00 that they are advertising for the conversion was due to the fact that they'd have to convert the low-voltage LED technology support on the printed circuit boards to add high-voltage inverters to power the cold-cathode needles. Hence, I figured if some of us already have the high-voltage circuit boards, we ONLY needed the cold-cathode needles. And, because one can buy a 12" or 4" cold cathode tube for between $9 and $20 (type "cathode" in the search window for compusa.com for an example), I figured that it was surprising that they want $500.00! However, I can see the cost being that much for the needles-only, if the quantity produced is so small that it is difficult otherwise to re-coop the non-recoverable engineering costs. But that seems somewhat surprising, as I would think they'd be able to do a LARGE production run for so many of us that have such problems... I was just curious...
  5. Your thoughts seem reasonable, except that the battery tested bad. according to Lexus, and I did not have the alternator replaced (or Lexus did it for free and didn't tell me ;) And Lexus also told me that the alternator was good, according to their tests!) Finally, it lasted another year before "fully dying." It seems, from a business standpoint, that they'd have more to gain from profit margins to replace the alternator, especially if it truly was bad. They explained that the battery would almost "short-out" when under heavy load. I haven't studied this problem to see if it makes sense as I'm only an electronics engineer and not fully versed in electrochemical processes. I'll have to dig up the old text books and study a bit...
  6. I've got a "quick", not-perfect, but definitely helpful fix for the burned-out Lexus instrument needles. What I did was paint the tips of the needles with fluorescent red-orange paint and mount a 12" cold-cathode UV lamp at the front edge of the inside of the instrument panel housing. This is one of those cold-cathode UV lamps that PC enthusiasts use to mod their PC cases to show off their systems. The are readily available at computer stores. I tapped into the 12Vdc on the main white connector of the instrument cluster, after having removed the cluster following the instructions given by Jim Walker of this club who had earlier done an EXCELLENT and FAST job of repairing the flickering dash problem. I mounted the inverter which provides the high-voltage for the tube inside the cluster also. And I masked the bottom of the "plexiglass" of the display so that the UV light wouldn't distract the driver. I used black electrical tape so that it wouldn't show, and then lined the inside with another layer of aluminum tape to help reflect the UV light back into the display. Though the attached picture does not do it justice, it DEFINITELY has helped both my wife and me to see the guages both at day and night, though sunlight diminshes this methods effectiveness somewhat. Still, it is MUCH better than before. I'll provide more details if someone can briefly explain how to post the details on this sight for anyone who'd like to try this. Best wishes, -Mike :D
  7. I had a similar problem about a year-and-a-half ago. I tried to start the car when I left a restaurant and it wouldn't go, but the lights came on. I got my jumper cables out and begged a charge from a nearby car owner. We got my car started and he drove off. When I put the car in drive, it died. I called the Lexus roadside service and they sent a flatbed truck. The driver of that truck took out a heavy duty battery starter and got my car started again. He said it'd be fine, but as soon as I put it in drive, it died again. He had to put my car on the flatbed and take it to the dealer where they diagnosed the battery as having a dead cell. Apparently the battery was able to keep low-powered stuff running, but when trying to crank the starter it just pulled the battery down. I got a new battery and everything was fine. After about a year the alternator finally went bad, so it may have contributed to the other battery going bad, in some way. It passed their diagnostics tests then, but probably was going bad. I was able to diagnose that the alternator was bad, because it read only 12V while the engine was runnning, whereas it should have been closer to 14V to charge the battery. ... just a story that sounds a bit like yours. The other suggestions you got seemed like good things to try also... Good luck! -Mike
  8. What about those of us that already have cold-cathode tubes that are burned out? That is, when I visit the lexusdash.com site, I read that the older lexus' used LED's, and that lexusdash is doing the conversion to cold-cathode technology. I have disassembled my dash and my needles are clearly already cold-cathode: I can trace the circuitry back to inverters to provide the high-voltage to fire the tubes. Wouldn't it just simply be a matter of replacing the cold-cathode tubes, then? And wouldn't that be much less expensive, considering one can purchase cold-cathode tubes for "PC-modding" for about $20.00 for a 12" tube and less for a 4" tube! Really curious! LS400 (1993) -Mike
  9. I wish I could give you advice about your battery drain! As I indicated earlier, I had just changed my battery, actually in January. It was probably about 2 years old, quite new for a battery! They tested the alternator (supposedly) and it checked out okay, but really must have been in the process of dying, as it is NOT working now. Their test just must be more of a go/no-go than a quantitative measure of resistance, etc. That's probably why they missed it. My understanding is that the 1993 LS400 power steering pump often leaks onto the alternator and destroy it. I had my pump replaced last year - I wish they had warned me about the alternator, because I DID ASK if there was ANYTHING else that ought to be replace while they were "in that area!" -Mike <_<
  10. Alternator and/or regulator is bad. Though they had checked that two months ago when I had the battery replaced (the Lexus dealer indicated he had), it must have been going bad. I can tell, because after charging the battery overnight and replacing it in the car, it works great but the voltage across the terminals, when the car is running, is only 12V, instead of the 14V or so that it should be. Now I'll do some web searching to find out how difficult the 1993 LS400 alternator and regulator are to get at.
  11. Well, after doing a lot of web searching, I've read that the Lexus batteries have had problems. I'm therefore going to test the alternator and regulator, and, as long as they are okay, buy an Optima battery, probably Red-Top.
  12. Count me in, Jim! I'd buy one! If you do decide to do this, would you be so kind as to also post or email instructions for how to remove the old ones so that we don't all have to buy repair manuals? THank you so much for even considering this! -Mike motjebben@mindspring.com michael.tjebben@icverifex.com
  13. HELP! I'm having to replace my LS400 batteries WAY too often! I just replace the last one about 2 months ago, at the Lexus Dealer, with a BRAND-NEW 84 month model! The Lexus dealership indicated that the old battery had a dead cell (which acted like almost like a short - thereby draining the battery almost immediately after jump-started). This morning, on my way to work, the car's instrument panel started flickering (more than the usual 1993 cold problem - I have that too and have sent an email to Jim to ask for his solution) and then the engine sputtered and conked out! Two jump starts from others did NOT keep the car going, it had to be pushed to the side of the road. I've removed the battery and am charging it now and will attempt to put it back in the car tonight. What is causing these batteries to die so quickly?! Lexus ran the computer checks and alternator tests and pronounced the car healthy before selling me this latest battery! HELP! If the Lexus batteries are poor, I'm happy to install a different model myself. Does anyone know if I can get a prorated refund on the current battery if I turn it into another battery manufacturer besides Lexus? I appreciate your taking the time to read this post by a Lexus club newbie! I LOVE my Lexus, and am embarrassed, for the FIRST few times now when my in-laws compare my Lexus to their Infinity! I've always told them that my Lexus has been great! -Michael motjebben@mindspring.com or michael.tjebben@icverifex.com
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