boogieman

I did a test years ago on my '94 , Champaign and tan, vs a dark teal green with teal leather interior Grand Marquis. The Lexus, lighter colors, was 25* cooler inside on a hot Texas day. Both had tinted windows. No more dark colors for me. They look great but not for me.

Do you know of a "qualified person" to do such work? Someone on the forum perhaps? Someone proficient and reliable? Someone versed in this delicate procedure? I don't know anyone even remotely related to this kind of work.

Reading yesterday about rebuilt ECU's. Anyone use one of these? Worth the cost? Do they actually work as advertised? Good deals or money thrown down a black hole? Any one supplier/vender better than the others? I hate to scrap the car but am quickly approaching that point.

The car has been trouble free until recently. Got it in 2008 so 7 years of good luck. Now this.

Never used anything but premium grade fuel. No throttle issues before this last start-up attempt.

The throttle response, or lack there-of, indicates something much more serious than the battery. When running there are no trouble light indicators. Battery voltage reads 13.8v.

New battery and alternator in January. Terminals clean and tight, no corrosion at all. Going to pull and have the battery checked, again.

I have been busy so the car has sat for the last few weeks. Tried starting it this morning. Electrical completely dead. Battery charger on it for 3 hours and still no sign of taking a charge. I did get it started but its running very rich, throttle response very slow, labored, and sluggish. Upon letting off the gas it dies immediately. Tried again , same response. Waited a hour, same thing again. Rich, sluggish, then dies. No indicator lights on the dash. Should have let it go two weeks ago when it was working. This sound like possibly the main ECU, too?

A competent upholstery shop can replace whatever needs replacing in matching material. I have had this done on several of my vehicles. There was a phone in both my '93 and my '95. Not a big deal to remove them. I had no problems with either of mine.

Checked with my mechanic this morning. Car started and ran great all weekend. I asked about the alternator swap-out potential. He offered that they did check for a ripple current surge and all is within specs. He did offer the observance of 20 year old cars and on-going electrical issues, especially centered in the main computer. Just as mechanical components wear over time from repeated use, so too do electrical components. They switch off and on millions of times. Connections degrade from usage. Heat, humidity, currents, surges, low batteries, alternator fluctuations, jump starting the car, jump starting other cars, etc., all play a part in electrical gremlins. Makes perfect sense to me. As of right now all is good with my LS. Thinking now might be the best time to part with it before being struck again. Chances are very high they will strike again. Once a "break-over" point is reached there is no going back without incurring possible major expense.

Most major auto supply's will read the codes for free for you if you don't have a scanner.

Started the car last night just to check status. No problems, no issues, no errant readings. Going back to my mechanic to see if they can check the alternator, or change it out for me based on information gleaned here. As we say here in the south, "Thanks ya'll."

I got mine on-line. About $50 best I recall. Rockauto is a good place to start looking.

Ridiculous isn't it? No, not a dealer, just an avid hobbyist. Never being able to own or care for more than 1 or 2 at a time, and wanting so many different cars, the turn-over rate is high. That and my wife drew the line at no more than 2 toys at a time. I have slowed down lately. Have had my '95 T100 since '98. This LS since '08. In the shop, the toy box, now is my '35 Plymouth street rod and the '79 Avanti. My current LS was bought new in Houston, spent its life here in the Dallas area. Serviced at local Lexus dealers. All documented. No rust anywhere. I had the alternator replaced in January. Might that be the cause of the possible errant power supply issues? It is fully warranted and can be replaced at no cost if need be. Interesting story about chance meetings. In '92 I went to the NSRA street rod nationals in OKC. 12,000 cars, 200,000 people. Talking to a guy from Wisconsin telling him I was from the Dallas area. He asked me if I knew "Mike" too. There were over 220,000 people in my community at the time. Turns out that "Mike" lived only 6 blocks over from me, and I did know him! Even borrowed an engine hoist from him once. One never knows.

Thanks Randall. Being a 47 year survivor of the construction industry, I always left electrical issues to the experts. I know, different animal, but equally baffling to the uninitiated none-the-less. I can understand how one problem can initiate another and the dominoes begin to cascade. I really don't want to part with my LS unless there are continuing issues. I like the car and enjoy driving it. Like any other piece of equipment, when it takes more than it is worth dealing with it, it is time to go. I hope I haven't reached that point yet. I suppose this might not rear it's ugly head again but possibilities abound. In a quick side note, this is our 2nd LS. First was a '93 that we enjoyed until I was broadsided at 40 mph by a '78 Ford 3/4 ton pickup right between the drivers side doors. I was spun around and did a header, nose first, centered between the headlights, into a large tree. Air bags deployed, lost consciousness, woke to EMT cutting me out of the wreckage. I walked to the ambulance. The car was totaled. I am sold on Lexus safety. That's why we have this one. I'm located in Dallas in the Republic of Texas. I have a friend in South Bend, home of the Avanti. You know Mike? (Sorry bout that, I couldn't resist)