MikeMiel

Hi, my radio does not turn on at all, everything else in the car works, i checked both fuses and they both work. The Cd changer in the trunk works. The last thing I did to the car was open the back trunk and threw groceries behind the panel (behind the black cover on the trunk on the driver's side). Later I checked to see if I accidentally hit a wire, but there are no wires on that side for the radio that I saw. I threw it there before and nothing happened. It's weird because the radio just doesn't turn on at all and the lights don't turn on on the cluster only the power button for it lights up, all the other lights on the instrument cluster work though. What should I do next?

also, this is a pioneer system. sc400

Happened a few months ago. The lights both turned on and went away. Slowly came back, now there on all the time. They very rarely go away, but soon enough they come right back on and now there on almost all the time. Both the traction light and brake light. They use to come on one ata time and the traciton or brake light came on later on, but now they both are on almost all the time. Very weird. Thank You for all the help.

-Mike

Hi, I just replaced my power steering pump and alternator a year ago, everything worked great. I checked my power steering level and it was low so I filled it up to the right spot. A few days later my power steering pump is not working it has NO power. I have to turn the wheel with LOT's of force and really tires you out if you don't move the car and turn at the same time. When I checked the fluid level, it was good. I tried to open the cap and turn the wheel left and right while the car was on. The fluid was bubbling but still nothing helped. When I turn the wheel all the way, it doesn't make any noise like it use to. I don't see any leaks either.

My vehicle has had 3 previous owners, and I don't have the full service history. It's a 97 sc300. I bought it with 100k miles on it and it seems to run great, but just to be on the safe side, I've been thinking about having the timing belt replaced this summer. It's got 110k miles on it now. Are there any symptoms, such as a characteristic noise from the engine, that I should be looking for? I'm not really inclined on engines so to be honest I'm not even sure where the timing belt is to look at and see if there are rubber teeth missing or what not. Just figured its better to change it now if it never has been than to be sorry I didn't later.

hi i have an sc300 its a 95 and the engine on these cars are a non-interfirence engine which means if the timing belt does break it would not harm the engine at all,it would just leave you stranded somewhere.

is this true about the sc400 and does the year matter?

My radar detector (the one lexus put with the knob under the drivers seat) just stopped working after I replaced my alternator. What should I check? wheres the fuse, wheres the WHOLE UNIT??? I have no idea where to check for the problem. Please help, thanks in advance, -mike

OK, What year SC? Where was it originally purchased ? You can always ask a dealer to run the vin# and find out every detail on the promotion to see who mfg's the detector. Was the alternator serviced at a Lexus Dealer ? Have you looked to see if there are any loose/disconnected wires ? The more info supplied on this subject the better your chances are to remedy the problem.

The only thing i want to know is where the radar boxes are located??, I changed the alternator myself.

Detector section of ANY radar detector needs a clear view of the road. If there is nothing looking through the front windshield, then a remote detector section likely got put behind the grill and in front of the radiator. Part under front seat is likely power unit and annunciator with a volume control. Fuse could be inline on a wire feeding power to unit under seat or part of some other fuse in the car, a circuit that goes off when the key is removed. Start tracing wires by hand to see where they come from and go to.

Thank You, i found out the problem, it was the fuse located next to the fuses next to the drivers seat.

My radar detector (the one lexus put with the knob under the drivers seat) just stopped working after I replaced my alternator. What should I check? wheres the fuse, wheres the WHOLE UNIT??? I have no idea where to check for the problem. Please help, thanks in advance, -mike

OK, What year SC? Where was it originally purchased ? You can always ask a dealer to run the vin# and find out every detail on the promotion to see who mfg's the detector. Was the alternator serviced at a Lexus Dealer ? Have you looked to see if there are any loose/disconnected wires ? The more info supplied on this subject the better your chances are to remedy the problem.

The only thing i want to know is where the radar boxes are located??, I changed the alternator myself.

My radar detector (the one lexus put with the knob under the drivers seat) just stopped working after I replaced my alternator. What should I check? wheres the fuse, wheres the WHOLE UNIT??? I have no idea where to check for the problem. Please help, thanks in advance, -mike

Lexus never put a radar detector in there cars, It's aftermarket if there is one :whistles:

false, it was put under there as a promotion from lexus to sell the cars, so it is from lexus, but a different company.

Like I said, It's aftermarket ;)

ok smartman, thats why they installed it before it was sold to the public. If i installed it myself, then it's aftermarket. Is the pioneer speakers aftermarket? NO, but according to u they are.

Promotion, It was never offered as an option from the factory :whistles:

i don't care, but for those who got the "promotion," any tips on what to do>?

My radar detector (the one lexus put with the knob under the drivers seat) just stopped working after I replaced my alternator. What should I check? wheres the fuse, wheres the WHOLE UNIT??? I have no idea where to check for the problem. Please help, thanks in advance, -mike

Lexus never put a radar detector in there cars, It's aftermarket if there is one :whistles:

false, it was put under there as a promotion from lexus to sell the cars, so it is from lexus, but a different company.

Like I said, It's aftermarket ;)

ok smartman, thats why they installed it before it was sold to the public. If i installed it myself, then it's aftermarket. Is the pioneer speakers aftermarket? NO, but according to u they are.

My radar detector (the one lexus put with the knob under the drivers seat) just stopped working after I replaced my alternator. What should I check? wheres the fuse, wheres the WHOLE UNIT??? I have no idea where to check for the problem. Please help, thanks in advance, -mike

Lexus never put a radar detector in there cars, It's aftermarket if there is one :whistles:

false, it was put under there as a promotion from lexus to sell the cars, so it is from lexus, but a different company.

My radar detector (the one lexus put with the knob under the drivers seat) just stopped working after I replaced my alternator. What should I check? wheres the fuse, wheres the WHOLE UNIT??? I have no idea where to check for the problem. Please help, thanks in advance, -mike

I have the same problem, the ecu is fried and I still can't find one that's a good price. My mechanic said not to even take out the ecu because it's such a hassle. Just get some strong tape and tape the new ecu over the old one.

? your ECU is fried? <_<

sorry, wrong forum

My rear view mirrors dont work. Does anyone know what i should do to take care of this? is it the motors? Please help. Thanks Guys :whistles:

Its most likely the ecu, you can buy one from the dealer. It's located directly under the dashboard, so you have to go under and look behind the steering wheel for the ecu.

I have the same problem, the ecu is fried and I still can't find one that's a good price. My mechanic said not to even take out the ecu because it's such a hassle. Just get some strong tape and tape the new ecu over the old one.

my sc400 has pioneer speakers. All of the speakers work except for the passenger speakers (both the 4 inch and tweeter are popping). I did a test from the wire coming from the door str8 and it was doing a popping noise with various speakers so i know its not blown. First there is NO sound at low volumes, but when you crank it up real high, the speaker starts popping with the beat of the music. WHAT IS THIS????!!! I read somewhere that I might have to replace the wire that goes from the head unit to the door. This sounds like a lot of work. How do i do this (open the head unit, run the wire?) PLEASE HELP. Thank you,

mike

My radio antenna was not coming up, it just made a LOUD GRINDING NOISE when I try to put the radio on. I looked around the antenna area and found this loose cable COMING FROM FRONT of the car. Please help me identify what this cable is and if this cable is the problem and where does it GO? PLEASE HELP if you know, And THANK YOU in advance.

You probably have air in the reservoir. To get it out, you need to bleed it by jacking the car up and opening the power steering cap and turning the wheels left and right, but CLOSE it when it is coming out, the car needs to be on when you are turning the wheels. That's what happened to me when my power steering pump was changed, it still had a loud noise coming out. If you don't understand anything, just reply and I will get back to you. Hope this helps.

I know what the problem is. The ecu is dead and it is a common problem with the SC's. I still have the same problem because I cannot find a rear view power mirror ecu anywhere. If you take yours out, the chip is right behind the dashboard. To get it you need to go directly under your car of your pedals, (where the fuses are in the drivers seat) and look up next to the dashboard for an ecu. That is where the power mirrors ecu is. If you find an ecu, please tell me because I am still looking for one.

The ECT (power button) kicks the shift downs quicker and carries a slightly higher rpm band before shifting..Good for responsiveness but does not make the car any faster...

But won't the acceleration be a lot quicker?

Don't you guys think that the power button would make a difference? If I'm not mistaken, doesn't that button make the transmission shift to the maximum rpm's and give a boost of power? So it's almost like having an "automatic manual" where it shifts like you want a manual to do. Thank You all for your responses

Where is the mirror ecu located? How hard is it to get it replaced? How can I check if that is really the problem?

The power mirrors do not work on my sc400. The thing is is that neither one doesn't work, so if both don't work, it needs to be an electrical thing, not something in the gears or locked up somewhere. I checked the fuse, their fine. Is there anything else I should check? Thank You in advance.

My Lexus sc400 was starting fine for that last few months until suddenly the battery dies. I looked at everything and everything was off. No lights or anything that would drain it. Then I go to put the radio on, but the antenna makes a grinding noise, seeming like it does not want to come out or something, then it stops after the motor tries to push it out. Then I go in the trunk to look at the antenna and the motor. I see a loose cable there, but I can't find where it goes. The cable is black and looks exactly like the cable that goes in the tv with the little needle coming out, with threads as well. I look but I don't have a good view in there. The radio does not work in my car at ALL. As I am looking for the place where the cable is suppose to connect, I left the radio on as well, with no reception, just that annoying noise, to see if the radio comes on. But as i am doing this,(the car is not on, but I charged the battery all the way) the battery suddenly dies after a few minutes. I know it was going to dye eventually, but this is a brand new battery, and should last for a long time. Please HELP! I need to know where that cable goes, and if that is what is killing my cars battery??!?!!?!

Thank YOu

Hi, I'm 16 and I got a 1998 Lexus sc400 for Christmas! It is in perfect condition, no rips, power steering pump replaced, no tears in seats, everything works. I am a proud owner of it. My good friend who is also 16 got a 1995 BMW 540i. Many people think his car looks and out performs my Lexus. The BMW has the same engine size, 4.0 V8. We even got the same color too, Dark Green, but mine is Metallic with the reflection but his is not. I did research on his car it goes 0-60 in 7 seconds as well as mine but his burns more gas. But I have 260hp and the BMW has 286 and it's a manual 6 speed. What do you guys think? Who goes faster??

I think Dark Green is the best color because it gives the greatest contrast between the headlights and taillights versus the color. Though black looks better, it's a hard color to maintain cause you can see every little scratch on the car, or debree.

When I press the brake SOMETIMES in my 1993 SC400, the light in the dashboard that only goes on when you go reverse goes on when I apply the brakes, but I'm NOT going reverse, just normal cruising. Is there a wiring problem somewhere? Is this normal?