landar

As I understand, the electric fans are primarily for use when the AC unit is running. You have a main, mechanically running clutch fan that should pull lots of air thru your radiator when stopped. Check that fan for proper operation. Concerning the no start situation, I would be ready to check the spark when it won't start. Take off all the plastic stuff around the coils so that you can easily get to the main high tension wires to check for spark. One thing that many early LS owners seem to overlook is the distributor caps and rotors. Those rotors do not last forever and need to be periodically replaced as a wear item. May not be your issue but keep it in mind. If you have spark, then you may want to check the fuel delivery next. I would spritz a little starter fluid into the throttle body or intake snout the next time it fails to start. If you get even the slightest hint of the engine trying to run, then you should go down the fuel path. I know you recently replaced the fuel pump and filter but you can get bad parts particularly if they are cheap knockoffs as are so prevalent from the local parts houses. Finally, with a 90 LS, you could be battling the leaky capacitor syndrome. The caps in the ECU will begin to leak and then the computer no longer acts reliably. Again, it may not be the issue but be aware. Also, the trunk wiring in a 1990 can also cause strange electrical issues. Be methodical in your search and you will soon get to the root cause.

You could get a simple Garmin unit (~$100) for long term testing or use your smart phone app. As far as the ECU, I am guessing that the ODO is stored there but it might also be stored in the gauge unit. Not sure. I have heard that you can read the actual mileage out of the system using an OBDII scanner but I have never tried it. That might be interesting to see if it matches your gauge readout. Any good body shop should be able to read out the mileage and adjust if you have a need to. But again, verify that what you think you saw is indeed always true, that is...the mileage is going up way too fast. A GPS unit will help with that in the 'trip' mode. Maybe you can borrow one.

If your speedo is correct but your odometer is jumping up in discrete increments, then I would definitely invest in a cheap GPS that can log your miles driven and speed and check against that. If you find that the speed reading is correct but the odo is completely off, then I would suspect an ECU issue. Maybe capacitors. But you have some verification to do before you can find the root cause.

It is easy enough to buy another set of rims to your liking. Just takes $$$ and time. Keep an eye on ebay, there are lots of sets coming up all of the time. As Jim said, live with the chrome for a while and maybe they will grow on you. In the meanwhile you can do some searching. Expect to pay around $100 each wheel (with shipping) for standard decent factory rims.

Hello. Thought I would chime in. If the odometer is not recording properly, then the speedometer may be off as well. That is the first thing I would look at. Does the speedometer read correctly all of the time or is it reading too fast? A GPS would help in determining.

This trunk wiring issue only applies to 90-94 LS's. I would carefully check your ground connections to the chassis from the battery to see if there might be some corrosion. Do any other interior lights dim or just the dash lights? Also, this is the LS forum, not the GS. You might have someone who knows on that side. Welcome, Michael.

As for the shakiness, you might consider rotating tires, front to back to see if the issue persists. Also, when above 60 mph, try to determine if the shake is worse under acceleration or same when you let off the gas. You might also throw the gear shifter in neutral to help understand if the vibration is from the powertrain.

I am not sure why you replaced the fuel pump the second time. If you do not want to just be throwing money at this car, you are going to have to do some fairly simple troubleshooting. That involves determining whether the issue is lack of fuel or lack of spark. Once you have determined that aspect, you can start further testing the components responsible. The main problem that seems to frustrate owners is this lack of logical, progressive troubleshooting. So, I would suggest that you try checking for spark when it won't run and if it is there, check for fuel. How you do that requires some mechanical skill but not much. You will have to pull a plug wire or the main distributor wires to check for spark and you could spray(carefully) some starting fluid in the throttle body to check for fuel delivery.

Sorry Billy! Could not resist. Picking on you just means that we really do like you. Scouts honor!

Actually, his wife took that photo. Steady hand too, I might add. Usually, at 160 mph, there is some blurring of the photo but Billys LS was velvet smoooooooth. Not unlike Billy himself. ^_^

Welcome Bruce, I think you would be very impressed with the 97 LS400. Your size would be no problem as the seats are very comfortable and very adjustable. Having complete service records is very important as well as car fax for accident reports, although it is not 100% reliable. Make sure the timing belt/water pump has been done (or negotiate the price accordingly) and you are good to go.

Unfortunately, I do not have the wiring diagram for the windows. If you can just pull the whole master switch assembly up so that you can take a look at the wiring, that might help. I would look very carefully at the wiring on the LR switch which is working and compare to the RR which is not working. You might even try swapping those two switches if it is not too much of a chore. Make sure that the RR switch wiring has the same number of wires as the LR even though they will be different colors. If you are handy with a voltmeter, you can even check voltages at the switch. The RR should mimic the LR switch in operation. If not, you will have to trace the wire down to see what is wrong. That might require removing the door panel eventually.

I see, And could you try the three steps that I outlined and see what happens(do not use the remote to lock). There is a factory mode where if you depress and hold the unlock button on the key fob for a few seconds, all of the windows will begin to roll down and the sunroof will open. It kinda sounds like that is happening to a certain extent with the key. Next step would be to find all of the modules responsible for door/window control. It could be this multiplexor module going crazy or the body controller which processes door/window commands. I am not familiar enough with that area of the electronics to tell. More digging required. I know you have a certain 'procedure' that you now follow and I would suggest that you experiment with other patterns to glean some clues(such as I asked above). Note carefully all behavior. There is a known issue with these years of LS400 where electrolytic capacitors in the electronic modules go bad and start causing erratic behavior. Keep that in mind. It certainly is possible that could be your issue but not sure.

Hi Sky. Since no one is responding, I thought I might venture a guess...and that is just what it will be. First, isn't this a 'neat' problem to have? I mean, who wants a boring, easy to fix problem? ;-) Need some clarification: I read over your symptoms several times and wondering something. Ok... 1) all doors closed except the drivers door 2) you press the electric lock on the drivers door panel and all doors lock. Buttons go down as they should but no 'weirdness'. 3) you close the drivers door and the lock/unlock gremlins come to life. Is this an accurate description?

Welcome Daniel. So, it sounds like you have done a pretty decent job of checking things. The motor obviously works fine or the RR window would not operate properly on its own switch. You swapped the RR master switch and still no go. All logical steps. With all of that done, I would venture to guess that a wire to the RR window is either off or not making proper connection to the master. Check that area very carefully. Sometimes a connection looks good but is not.

If it is spark related, it could be a number of things. An intermittent coil (or coils, you have two) or worn rotors or distributor caps could produce the symptoms. In the winter months, especially when it is damp in the morning(depending upon where you live, if car sits out overnight), it is not unusual for the spark plug wires to crossfire if the insulation is old. If you have not done a basic ignition tune-up in a while (last 50k miles or 5 years), you might consider new rotors, caps, wires.

That's one way to do it Billy. But we were not about to go all that way and leave any part of the starter 'untouched', including the rotor and gearing. We put a high quality rebuilt Denso back into it.

All we ask is that you show some respect for those who take the time to try to answer. We are not always right but we are trying to help. As a young guy, you need to know when to refrain from lashing out. If I ever get into that mood, and I do occasionally, I step away from the keyboard and let it go for a little while. Usually when I come back, I am calmed down and can answer in a more civil manner. I don't 'hate' on lowered cars. It is just that you really have to be careful that a mod is well designed and thought-out before applying it. Whoever slammed your LS should have thought about the wiring harness getting chewed up before it actually got chewed up. If you are careful about the mod, it could be ok but many are not well thought-out and lead to other failures of the car. The Lexus engineers spent many, many hours doing tedious design work and you cannot expect to come in and just modify some aspect of that careful design without some consequences. So, back to your issue. Try scanning for codes as a first step. If the engine bucks on a fairly consistent basis that will give you a good opportunity to do some testing. You are going to have to divide this into an ignition or fuel issue. Then go after the root cause. I could just see some chaffed wire touching chassis ground causing your problem. I see you are 'working' both forums on this one.

Greg, that kind of response to 1990LS400 is not warranted nor going to help your situation. I, for one, do not appreciate your attitude toward him. Jim is a venerable poster on LOC and has made many, many valuable contributions. He also makes a good point. Just because you think you have the harness patched back together, it could still be an issue. Your engine bucking could be due to an intermittent connection somewhere. You have to consider all potential sources of root causes. Ya, we do have a lot of 'grumps' on this forum(including me) but we are some pretty smart and experienced grumps so it would be wise of you to listen up and learn. Please tone the attitude down or go try your luck on another forum.

You know, I rescind that comment about the pedal position sensor as I do not think the "drive by wire" stuff was introduced until the 98-00 models. Still, a crusty, dirty throttle body might behave badly for you. Ever clean that throttle body butterfly plate?

The symptoms you describe are starting to sound familiar but I would have to do a search. Off the top of my head, the throttle position sensor or pedal position sensor (since it works on cruise) are suspects. Also, it seams to me that the computer capacitors are a distinct probability but I will have to do some more searching. Gotta head off to work right now.

Hi James. People have different terminology for things and so 'shudder' may mean something different to you than it means to me. Shuddering to me is more of a constant misfire feel. I am not sure that the charging voltage issue is related but could be. So if you are driving at a steady speed down the road, you get this shuddering but at no other times? Is there a particular speed where it is better or worse? Can you try reducing all loads on the alternator while it is doing the shuddering? Turn the heat off so the blowing is not on, turn headlights off in the daytime, defroster off, etc. and see if there is any change in behavior. You will definitely need to get a voltmeter on that battery to see how it is charging.

Oh no. Seriously, you used a $2 voltmeter to make the measurement, Billy? I do not feel too confident in the readings if so. At least get a $5 meter ^_^ . Then we can talk. Actually, if you can verify the accuracy of the cheap meter with a good meter(like a Fluke) then I would be ok with the cheapy. Else, fail, back to square one.

It could even be that the sensor is broken. If you hit a bump hard enough to break the linkage, it might have also damaged the sensor or connector.

Yeah, Billy, that is pretty low for a proper charge. It should be closer to the 13.5-14 range as Greg stated. Now, if you have every "power hog" on that you can find...ie: headlights, brake lights, rear defroster, heated seats(you probably don't have these in TX), then you might see 12.5V. And that is normal with everything on. Try turning off everything except the headlights and rev to 2k RPMs. If you are still in the 12.7/8 range, start looking at that alternator. You might have lost a phase due to a blown/open diode.