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.

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....

I did some more checkin and it is the alternator fixing to go south. The coolant light, battery light, oil light and brake light all come on and at the same time the alternator did that pulling sound that happens when it is doing the charging bit. BTW a lots of keys are on the ol ladies key ring as is usual with the ladies who have a habit of carrying enough keys to rival a locksmith shop. But I found the alternator may have picked up enough fluid from a recent power steering leak repair. I recall that any fluid getting in or around the alternator can cause huge issues. Some say the fluid can kill the brushes and fluid did get on the alternator. That is the last thing I done to this vehicle. I also found a loose connection on the positive side terminal. Those 2 wires hooked to that treminal so I tightened those up. There is another thread that says the fluid is a killer of alternators and the same thread mentions all those lights that came on are a cause of an alternator going bad. I am wondering if some tuner cleaner could help clean this mess up or maybe the brushes are toast and need to be changed out. There was also an issue of the headlights brightening om acceleration as is another tell tale sign of an alternator issue.

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.

IT WAS NOT IN REVERSE where that comes from is not possible. The ignition switch is loose and thinking it could be the problem as the idiot lights went out after turning off the car. It turns out this is a good indication the alternator is about to take a dump. I noticed that the lights were not on on the dash until after the car had ran a few minutes on the way to the store. So upon our return I decided to do another check. so i start the car and lo and behold the alternator does the sound as if it is pulling and at the same time the lights all come back on on the dash. There happens to be a thread that tells about this problem I just was not able to find it till this writing. I did find repair options too. Parts geek has an alternator under 100 dollars and if you want to go real cheap with just replacing the brushes as I had a power steering leak and that, we know is a death blow to alternator brushes. looks like we may have found the problem not some wires in the trunk.

This is a 1990 LS 400. This happened yesterday evening as she was getting ready to drive home from work. 3 times it happened to her. I thought about this and thought about this then this morning she starts the car and it did it again. I go outside and check it out. I shut it down and jiggled the ingnition switch then started it up and lo and behold the lights went out. I am thinking the 25 year old switch has become work to the point that it is in need of replacement. it does feel a bit on the loose side. This makes me feel better and i hope this is all it is. Loose switches can do wierd stuff like this and since it is a well used moving part, I am going to guess the obvious is the culprit. Did I guess right?

We are in Waukon. The oil , coolant, battery and break light is what stuck on. This happened after start up and after putting in reverse. She drove back into the parking spot and shut it off. This happened 2 other times and then it quit. I do know all the lights briefly come on after turning the key. that is usual with most cars. This case was unusual and out of charachter for this car. they did not come on for a few seconds and go out. They lit up and stayed that way.

This is a weird thing. This happened to the other half as she was ready to leave work. She hits the key and ALL the idiot light on the dash light up like the car is telling her it is ready to die. ALL warning lights not just one and even the check engine light came on. so she calls me and asks me whats up. I am thinkin oops, the serpentine belt has snapped. She opens the hood and checks the belt and it is still there. I then have her check the oil just in case to see if she would do this and she did. I think this car has a spirit or something and demands a lot of attention. I will check to see if something did not come loose. I never heard of an alternator doing weird stuff like this and I was wondering if any fluid that may have got in there would do something like this but NO that is not the case. This car seems to do weird stuff ONLY when she is driving not when I drive. Anyone here experience this type of weirdness with their beloved Lexus? I will check to see if i didn't bump a connector someplace or got some crud on a connector where crud should not be. These high tech sensors have been known to do strange things when they get crud on them. I am thinkin that is what is going on a loose connection or crud. IF not then it is a car with a mind of its own and it is ALIVE!!!