Paul Sherman

Cool - thanks for the hints. It may be a loose connection - I was driving last night, hit a small bump and it was suddenly working fine. Still working this morning, too. (Thinking back, it may have started working after hitting little bumps on the other occaisions...) Knowing how to get to it will make troubleshooting a LOT easier! B) Will keep you all posted.

Hi all: My heater fan in my LS400 ('93, 179K miles) has been behaving erratically for a month or so. I returned from a business trip yesterday and it's no longer erratic - it doesn't spin. Not good news as the weather gets hot. Has anyone tackled one before? (searched the messages, didn't find anything, but could have searched wrong...) Any info related would be greatly appreciated; wiring diagrams, how to get to the fan, possible failed relays, etc. Thanks in advance.

Ed: I don't know where in St. Louis you are (I'm in South City), but I have a neighborhood mechanic who does the work I don't want to. He's honest, pretty good and has even tracked down used parts for me.

Does anyone have (or have a source for) center/hub caps for a '93 LS400? I walked out of the office this afternoon and found one gone. The others are pretty corroded, so a full set would be optimal.

An update: The cell phone issue is resolved. I found the phone 'box' and disconnected it. A few hints (that don't seem to be covered elsewhere) for anyone else needing to disconnect the factory cell phone (On a '93 LS400, possibly other 1st gen units): Location: In the trunk, on the driver's side. Remove the side panel that contains the tool kit (4 screws and the plastic plugs. The phone is a black box located behind the antenna and below the tool kit location. Electrical Deinstallation: There are two white, multi-pin rectangular connectors that hook it into the car's electrical system. If you unplug either one, you will have no sound out of the left rear speaker. The trick is to unplug both connectors, then plug the two connectors not attached to the phone together (I checked wire matchups and they looked fine). As for the climate fan...That is still a struggle. I appear to have a loose connection somewhere. Yesterday it didn't work for several hours. We hit a bump, it started working and is working fine now. Any info on where the climate fan, wire harness and related components are located (and how to get to them) would be greatly appreciated.

I ran into the same problem a few years ago with a Porsche 928. I used leather cleaner on all leather and plastic upholstery. (I'll look for the exact product, but I think it was Maguier's) Followed that with leather conditioner. I shampoo'd all the rugs thoroughly and cleaned all the hard bits (metal and plastic) with soapy water, then Armor-all'd the plastic. I then left the windows open whenever possible for a few weeks. It took a while, but the car ended up smelling fine. I didn't use air fresheners, as my wife is allergic to fragrances. Good luck, it can be done.

I'll need to do some research - it would be handy if the phone was causing the problem...as long as I can do something about it. I did disconnect the handset from the 'buried' connector. I actually started dissembling too far (trying to remove the whole insert), then saw the panel under the vent - much easier. Does anyone have the phone box connector diagrams? I've been in electronics ~30 years professionally, should be able to jumper whatever's needed. I've heard the box is in the trunk on the driver's side - but haven't found it yet...

I have a '93 LS400, 178K miles on it 2 more weird electrical problems... First... Occaisionally, the built in phone will turn on by itself. I turn it off, and it turns back on. Worse - it will beep every 15 seconds when the car is turned off. Pretty annoying. I unplugged the handset, but that did no good. I removed the fuse, but that disabled the stereo output (guess it's because the speaker circuit routes thru the phone box) Can I remove the main phone box and keep the stereo working? Any other solutions? Second... Lately, the heater/AC fan occaisionally takes its time coming on. Works fine in cool weather (when heating), but in warm weather it can take several minutes, or never come on during a short trip. The fan speed indicator comes on, the AC compressor engages, everything but the fan seems to work... Not a huge issue now, as the weather is OK, but come summer, I'm gonna need that AC here in St. Louis! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks all for being here. Geez, I feel guilty, asking for help and unable to help out yet.

OK, thanks. Now for what and where the TPS sensors are...

Good Morning: I have a '93 LS400 with 178K miles on it. The 'trac' light was coming on sometimes (tires not slipping), which implied a problem being logged. Sometimes, when it happened while the engine was cold, the car would hesitate and surge a little. Using the info you all provided, I got the car into diagnostic mode and it came up with 45 "When idle switch ON, main throttle position sensor signal is 1.5V or higher" What does that mean, and what do I do to fix it? Again, this is one of the best support sites I've seen. Thanks to all.

What year and mileage? OOPS! Sorry about that... '93 LS400 with 178,000 miles on it.

Hi all: A couple of thanks up front. My heating problem this winter was solved - Two problems at the same time; a pinhole leak in the reservoir and a defective coolant sensor. I was low on coolant and didn't know it until I spotted the empty reservoir. Also during winter; the infamous no instrument lights until warm, which changing the capacitors solved. Couldn't have found those without your help! Now I have the opposite problem - the instrument cluster blacks out when the cabin is warm. If I start at a cooler temp, it stays lit as long as the cart is running. Once I turn it off, then back on - no display (gas gauge shows empty, etc.). Some days, when the sun heats the cabin over ~80 degF, the display never comes on. Any suggestions?

Hi all: 1. I think the locks are resolved, we'll see come the next rain followed by freezing temps... 2. Heater - I've been doing the diagnostic homework some of you have suggested. Here's what I've found. The heater works great at all RPMs while the car is warming up. When it exhibits the symptoms, the car is fully warmed up and blows cold air after about 30 seconds below about 1700 RPM. a. Setting to "max heat" makes no difference. b. The air is the same temp from all outlets. c. The engine temp is stable in the middle of the gauge. Questions - On my other vehicles, thermostat failure shows up pretty readily on the temp gauges, is that not the case here? Don't mind changing it, just not fond of parts-swapping as trouble shooting. The car seems to warm up normally (~10 mins) - what's normal? I saw in another posting that there's a valve controlling water flow into the heater core. Is that so and if true, would iit be worth a check?

Thanks for the hints I had de-iced the locks previously, so they're ok, but the lock mechanism in the door seemed to be the issue this time. Hope I can do this without removing the panels - My '40 chev street rod is torn down in the garage, so I'd have to try it outside - not fun in 20 deg weather at my age, The water pump has about 5K miles on it, changed just before I got the car. How big a deal is it to change the thermostat in the Lexus? (I often work on my own vehicles, so learning curve shouldn't be too bad - heck I've already done the dash light capacitor replacement in this car.)

Hi: I bought a '93 LS400 this October and like the car quite a bit, however winter is pointing out two quirks I'd like to resolve: 1. Door locks and latching - As it hits sub-20 deg, the lock is sluggish. once I get the driver door open, it doesn't relatch very well. The first time, I held it closed and hit the lock, which worked. This morning, it latched, but now it won't open, the lock is stuck closed. I had to crawl out the passenger side. And now the passenger door won't latch, plus I still can't release the driver's side lock. I squirted lube in the lock last night, but not sure what else to do. Can I access the latches without dissembling the door? 2. The heater - works great, as long as the engine is running over over 1700 RPM. below that, the heater blows out cold air. No problem on the highway, but waiting at the intersection gets chilly, and stop and go driving is no fun. Is this normal or is there something I can fix? Any help on either front is greatily appreciated.

This listserv has already made my day! The weather just started getting chilly in St. Louis and yesterday morning and this morning the display did the 'delayed flicker on' (reminded me of the fluorescent lamps in my garage in winter) Lo and behold, it is dying caps and you all had the solution! Thanks bunches!