93ls400walt

If the coils were just replaced I would re check that the connector and coil wire are connected well. Also there are 2 ignighters on the car, passenger side wheel well, could have a bad one. But I have not heard of them ever being a problem.

Well it's done. Total price came to $1108.00 with tax and coolant. So far it is great. The car runs excellent, much more responsive and smoother. Also, still on the first fill up, I seem to be getting much better gas mileage.

So I am happy with them and their service.

Thanks again for all of you input.

Walt

Thank you all for the info. and support.

I had decided to do this myself if the last shop I had left to call did not work out, confidence and price wise, however meeting the owner and being given a price of $475.00 for labor I decided to go with his shop. Part of the decision is based on the water pump leaking so much that I am putting 1/2 of a gallon of coolant a day into the car, and the local temperature around 106 daily with high humidity, I did not think I could spend that much time out in the garage.

The shop is European automotive service in Palm Desert, CA. He also has excellent on-line reviews ( I know ). I'll let you know how it all works out.

Thanks again, Walt

Thank you Landar,

Your information is insightful and very helpful.

Walt

I've not heard of ignighter problems with the ls ( i have a 93 ls ). But this sounds like an ignighter problem. I had these issues with 2 different Toyota's, except for the sputtering at start up. They would run fine then act like I was running out of gas. Let it sit a while and would start right up. Finally would not start at all. In fact this was recall, years ago, and Toyota would repair free of charge.

There are 2 ignighter's located on top of the passenger side wheel well. With that being said, this year does have ECM/ECU issues. I replaced mine with one off ebay. My ECM issues were different from what you describe. Engine would drop rpm whenever I tried to accelerate more than just slightly.

Also you can search the forum to see how to read you Cel codes. This could narrow it down for you.

Hello everyone,

I've read some of the topics on changing the TB. I am in need of a new water pump, as it is leaking, and my LS is overdue for a TB change. I have a fair amount of mechanical experience, but nothing at this level for many years.

My question, to those of you that have changed your own, is would you do it again or pay to have this done?. And do you have any info. on mechanics in the Palm Springs area of CA?

In my area the local Lexus and Toyota dealers want around $1700.00 to change everything out. eg. timing belt, water pump, idler pulleys, TB tensioner,serpentine belt tensioner and pulley, cam and crank seals.

I am about ready to do this myself but a little reluctant to try it. Especially since it is around 110 degrees out daily. And no a/c in the garage. Also, if you would, give any tips / tricks that you learned. Especially about lining up the belt marks and getting the crankshaft pulley bolt off and removing the pulley.

Thank you,

Walt

If the engine runs smoothly at idle and when you are not trying to accelerate more than just slowly. I doubt that it is the coil ( the driver side coil seems to go first due to its low position and engine heat so I have read and experienced)

I have a 93ls that had simular to what you described and there seems to be a few 90-94 post with simular issues. Try to read your cel codes and post any you get. It may be your TPS code 41. But my early bet is that it is you ECM. Don't pass out as a new one is around 1500+. There are some repair shops for ECM's and used ones for 100-300. Very easy to change out.

I could not get code 41 off my 93Ls with replacing and adjusting the TPS. The car would drop rpm and basically seem to go into neutral, as it would lose forward acceleration, if I pressed on the gas peddle more than just a little. Eventually I had the cel code for the vehicle speed sensor ( forgot the # ) and the car seemed to skip from 1st to 3rd and would not go into overdrive. Gave up and bought a used ECM off e-bay for $200. Put it in and this fixed everything. My 93 is running great now.

Some ECM have leaking capacitors that cause shorts on the board. And could cause any type of problem depending on what they are shorting out.

You can search my posts to find out more details and if you are interested in where I sent my ECM for repair. I did have what I thought was a problem with the repair service But in the end they were great.

In LA there is a large suppler called TAP I think it stands for Toyota Auto Parts. They have an on-line parts web site.

have you checked for any cell codes? I have read that the erg being somewhat clogged can cause this failure also. If you were running on 4 clys. It may be a bad coil. The driver side coil seems to go out most often.

Thanks for all of your input. It was the dimmer switch. Not sure how it got turned off. But it is working now at least in the daylight. Have not checked it in the dark. Walt

Stupid question, but have you tried the dimmer knob? It may have been moved, if not it's likely the dimmer is bad. I assume all your parking lights work fine.

you know that is a good question! I had not thought of the dimmer switch. I'll have a look. All of the outside lights are working. Thank you.

well, im getting error 41 and bucking if i push the gas too hard in my 93 ls400. i already replaced the tps with a perfect one, had the ecu rebuilt by ati, and checked continuity of the wires from the tps plug to the ecu, they are all perfect. i had been emailing ati for a few days. last thing he asked me to do was check the voltage at the idl pin of the tps connector with it unplugged.

pin1 vc is 5v

pin2 vta is 1.7v

pin3 idl is 10v

pin 4 gnd is gnd

shouldnt the vta pin be reading 0v when unplugged from the tps since it is the signal from the tps when connected? does anyone know if 1.7v on that pin is normal? i emailed this info to ati and havent heard back from them in 2 days now. any help would be appreciated as this is the only error im getting now and i have tested the tps multiple times and even bought a brand new meter thinking maybe mine was reading wrong as its 10 years old. still checks out perfect according to the repair manual.

Don't know about the voltage readings. But My 93ls had the same problem. Sent my ecm for repair. they sent it back saying it was to far gone to repair. Bought one on e-bay now my ls runs fine.

my 93ls400 has a new problem that I have not heard of before. The white lighting comes on when I start the car. But when I turn the parking or headlight switch on the white lights go off completely. The cluster panel is totally dark. The idiot lights still work though. ( I know that they are reflected onto the panel cover ). I have the usual problem of intermittent tach and spedo. working.

Any thoughts on this?

GREAT- I know the feeling of finally it works right.

I would like to say that I had a sour comment on EMC To Go about keeping my ECM. I have to say that after one phone call to them they again were very concerned and helpful. They located my ECM and shipped it 2nd day air. I received it back very carefully packaged. They again have my faith and trust.

I would use their service again without a problem.

I bought a used ECM. Said it came from a wrecked ls. for $160.00. ECM-TO-GO say they will test your ECM and replace the bad parts for

$275.00. They told me mine had a pretty bad circuit board. But they rebuilt it and tested it on a ls. And that it still malfunctioned. Then offered to sell me an in-stock rebuilt one for $495.00.

I found one on e-bay and called them to give them a credit card number to pay for shipping my old one back. That was a month ago. I am still waiting. My take on this is everyones ECM is is unrepairable. You buy " one we have in stock " for twice the price. They keep your old one and sell it to someone else.

Hey fiveofakind,

to me it sounds like you may have 3 different issues going on.

1) battery drain/low lights is most likely related to old battery not charging or the alternator going bad. If your handy you can replace the brushes in the alternator for around $20.00. Ordered mine from Park Place Lexus-Plano Texas. Autozone or equivalent can check your charging system.

2) radio cutting out with the brakes may be related to the drivers side trunk hinge wires. Pull the black trim and trace the wires back toward the window. To and past the fixed bend points for the harness. Look for cracked or broken wires. Splice in new wire to any suspicious areas.

3) sputtering, no 2nd gear and idle issue can be many things. But I had gone through a lot of Seafoam, throttle body cleaning, new TPS, plugs, wires, caps, rotors, coils, new vac. hoses. The car ran better with all of this. But never fixed my idle, 2nd gear or lack of acceleration. The " new " ECM however did.

Good luck

93 and 94 are switchable. What you need to do is pull the ECM out and see what model number you have. And replace with the exact one. As there are federal and california models ( different smog stuff ). And with or without traction control. So get the number!

As for ECM-to-go, all the praise that I posted, I take back. It has been over three weeks and they still have not returned my ECM.

My ls is still running GREAT. The tach and speedo are again intermittent . I did not think that the new ECM really fixed this. Just a fluke.

If I ever get it back I'll open it up and get some pics to post.

Oh, and my ls has 130,000 miles. It spent most of it life, except the past 5 years, on the Atlantic coast of Florida. If the heat and humidity/salt air had anything to do with it.

one simple issue is the wire harness located in the driver side trunk hinge under the black plastic trim. Remove the trim and pull the harness out. Follow it back to the different bends and inspect the wires for cracks or breaks. Splice in the same size wire if any areas appear to be damaged.

This problem is common and can cause many weird issues. Search the threads for more info on this.

Some of what you described may be ECM related. See my recent thread on ECM repair.

Well I sent my ECU to ECM-TOGO in Houston. They tried to repair but said it did not test out in the post repair testing. So on to Ebay, I bought a used ecu and installed it. The car runs like crazy ( good ) I have had the ls for 5 years and it has never ran so well. The cel codes 41 and 47 are gone. Which 47 is for sub throttle position sensor. Which my car does not have. Also the O/D light stopped flashing cel code. The trans does not skip 2nd anymore. And my tach which worked on and off now seems to be working all of the time. ( I know, could that be! )

Cured symptons;

skipping 2nd gear from a stop

inability to press on the gas more that very, very lightly without the rpm dropping and car slowing down

Flashing O/D light for vehicle speed sensor

surging of rpm 200 to2000 with constant pedal position on

dying at idle

strong gas smell

14mpg in city ( hopefully, still working on new tank of gas )

ECM-togo

I was treated very well in my dealings with ECM-togo. The staff was great,they waived the $45 fee for diagnostics, which would of been applied to the $275.00 rebuild fee if my ECM was rebuilt and working. In Fact they said they cleaned the circuit boards and replaced the caps even though they thought the board was shot. Put it in the test car ( they have an ls ) But it did not work 100%. They only charged me for return shipping.

Sorry, no pics. Sealed it back up. going to send it to ECU TOGO in Houston for repair.

Agree with a ignition coil. There a two of them. Typical for the one on the drivers side to go out. On-line price with Park Place Lexus in Plano Texas is around $60.00.

I opened the ECU case. It has 2 circuit boards in it facing each other with all of the caps and transistors inward. One of the boards had to be unscrewed and freed up ( stuck to the case ) and raised up to look between them. I saw corrosion on one cap and the second had leaked onto the board about the area of a nickle. Staining the circuit board dark.

When I first removed the 2 metal covers from the ecu exposing all of the soldered connections. Everything look pristine. But I remembered from other post the the caps were sometimes at fault. So I gingerly removed the screws from one board and had to pry around the edge to loosen it.

Thanks for your input.

I found 2 places listed on Club Lexus via Google search. Foreign auto computer and Auto&Truck Electronics, both in Florida. FAC wants $250.00 and A&T elect. will do them for $99.00 but had 2 very negative reviews for non ECU car electronic repairs.

I have a 93ls that has 2 leaking caps on the circuit board. With the car running smooth then surging back and forth, idle way up then idle way down. stalling at stop lights. The later will run perfect.

So I have read some stories of bad service with ECU rebuilders. Have any of you had good results with an ECU repair? And if so can you give a name and contact info. Or name and city where they are located.

Thanks, Walt