fsuguy

Hi,

If your '91 is similar to the '92 (and I am pretty sure it is!) there is a manual release in the trunk inside the First Aid box. This should look like a t-handle attached to a flexible cord. Find that and pull on it gently and your fuel door should pop open. This should resolve your immediate problem of getting fuel into the car.

I think the issue may be the electrical connection the solenoid at the fuel door itself. You may need to check the circuitry to see whether that is the problem. On my '92 the same issue was due to the lid being slightly misaligned - gently putting pressure against the lid before activating the switch inside the car, would work for me; this probably would be alleviated by some lithium grease, I think, but have not really bothered to fix it.

hope this helps

Hope this helps

Hi,

After you disconnect the battery post, while leaving the battery disconnected, you could drain any residual power by putting the key in the ignition and turning it. Alternative, you should let the battery remain disconnected long enough to let any residual power (stored in capacitors, etc.) drain out. That should reset the ECU.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

If the above does not work, you could commandeer an assitant's help to work the switch while you use both palms against the window (one from outside and one from inside) and put gentle pressure downward. This has worked for me in the past on the passenger side.

...And, for those out there who think responding with sarcasm to a call for help is quite witty, without providing useful advice, it is not, really! Remember that all members, even very new ones, are capable of providing some information that could prove useful to us, but not if they are disgusted with sarcastic wit and driven off!!!

Hi,

Couple of points that may be helpful - try to bypass the relay - there should be schematics that show you how, if not, I can dig through volumes of stuff and find one. This can be done with a jumper, but only for a short time and just to eliminate the relay as a source for the problem - if bypassing the relay resolves the issue, you're home free.

Next, the ECU is prone to leaking capacitors according to Yamae, an electronics engineer in Japan who has posted some pretty good pictures showing the ECU PCB with corrosion from the capacitors. It is a well-known fact that some of the electronics on these early models were not designed with longevity in mind - think 15-20 years, as evidenced by issues common to the 1st & 2nd gen. vehicles (LCD failures, rear-view mirrors, fluorescent lamp failures, sundry other cluster related failures, etc.) Don't get me wrong, the mechanical characteristics of the Lexus is world class, and the engineering is superb! However, the electronic components were produced by secondary markets and as a result we see these failures. But back to the point, the ECU may be the culprit, if everything else seems to be fine. If you can get your hands on a known good ECU and test it in your vehicle, it may help resolve this possibility - by the way, Yamae has posted replacement capacitors types and values somewhere on here to effect repair of the ECU!.

However, as several other posters indicate, a good objective test of the fuel system is in order, since several things may be the issue - tired fuel pumps get hot quickly and while have capacity while still cool, become useless when hot, etc.

Good luck & hope you can get resolution soon!

Garo_mcc,

Great post!! Thank you for sharing this useful bit of information and glad it finally worked out for you!

I have one I need find it lol I work a double tomorrow so probably wont be able do it till sunday afternoon. and it is brand new starter I even had tested make sure and it passed :( and really I work near that area but yet live in winter park so its diff a drive shame u not living here id pay haul this car and get it fixed and me pay u lmfao

As Landar suggested, the solenoid should kick out the starter drive gear against a fairly sturdy spring to engage engine flywheel, if it is getting the full amperage of the battery's power. But since the starter motor itself is not engaging, it is possible that either the full power is not being delivered (Check your battery terminal clamps - corrosion on these things cause all sorts of problems!), or alternatively, the solenoid spring is preventing the drive gear from engaging the flywheel and subsequently not allowing the starter motor to energize. I think if you had a meshing problem there would be a terrible screeching, like a herd of scalded banshees!

Since you are getting a "click", the solenoid is getting some voltage, but it may not be getting enough. Check the battery cable clamps, and the cables themselves. If these are good - solid connections, and no frayed wires (look for green stuff under the insulation near the battery terminals or near connections), then the problem area is most likely the solenoid itself (Is it new like the starter? If not, it is possible the contact plate is pitted due to sparking and you are not getting enough voltage across to the starter winding), the throw-out mechanism is sticking or jammed (the bearing should have been well greased before assembly). Of course, I am assuming that all your other work is fine.

You mention that you had the starter motor tested and it "passed" - how did you test it? Also, since you got the car with this starter issue I think there may be some doubt about the replacement starter itself. This must be very frustrating for you and I hope you can get it fixed without too much more trouble. Good luck.

Hi,

You probably are on the right track with the ECU test. Were you able to get a test unit? I have also read Yamae's pretty comprehensive and informative analysis of the capacitors used in the early versions, and also the reports from members who have followed his advice and their results - all basically good! The pictures with leaking capacitors, however, are very much more convincing. Would really like to know what you come up with, since my LS is an older one as well (1992) and I like it very much - a much better built automobile than the many other types I have owned and driven, except for its electrical quirks!!

By the way, while ethanol is not the best for our cars, I believe the big issue is its impact on the rubber components - hoses, etc., something about the size of its molecules being smaller than the usual non-adultrated gasoline, but I may be wrong about that.

Good luck with the diagnoses!!!

Hi,

This may be a long shot, but if the bump was significant in the issues you describe, it could be a ground wire knocked loose. Yo may be able to get a schematic of all the ground connections and check through them one by one to eliminate that possibility. Alterntively, it could be some crud clogging up the filter/pump, and while flow may be enough to idle the engine, it may not be enough to sustain higher RPMs. One other thing that comes to mind is the Throttle Position Sensor may have a flat spot on it, or it may be going south. Testing with a known good one will eliminate that as a source of problems.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

Check out the tutorial on the lexls.com site - http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/audio/powerantenna.html

He essentially walks you through the entire mast replacement process.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

If I remember correctly, there are two black plastic pins/plugs (I'm not sure I am calling them by their correct names) that are pressed into the trunk lid and they hold the carpeting in place. You should be able to remove them fairly easily by levering them out a bit with a flat blade screwdriver.

The wiring harness runs from a fairly thickish bunch of cabling on the back of the luggage compartment at the left hinge, and a smaller harness branches off this main one. The smaller harness is routed through the left hinge and is hidden by the black plastic/rubber cover (it comes off easily). It may take a while to find a broken wire since if the insulation on the individual wires is not broken you may need to use some ingenuity to identify a break. Sometimes a broken wire may be indicated by a limpish wire; alternatively, if you can use a VOM and a sharp needle you should be able to track it down without resorting to cutting all your wires to find the break.

Good Luck!!

One additional note to steve2006 comments -- Rostra will only sell to dealership/distributorship, so it would be helpful if you have a friend at one of the places like Autozone, etc., who would be willing to order parts for you at no cost! Also, if your A341E internal seals are hardend, you will experience shifting problems, even if your solenoids are working properly. You can get error codes by following directons from Lexls site where the error codes are are also posted (I think 62 & 63 indicate faulty solenoids, but not sure).

p.s.: If the internal seals are failing, pressure will not be enough to actuate the valves necessary to induce shifting, and the only solution is a replacement of the seals - means removing the tranny and all the associated tasks!

Hope this helps

I agree with steve2006, the door handle will have to be removed and then the lock cylinder has a bulb fitting on it (this applies to the gen1 versions for certain, but may also apply to later models) which can be removed, but it is do-able if you follow the clear directions for inner door panel and outer door handle removal on lexls' excellent website.

I suppose the driving (no pun intended) question is whether it is really worth all the trouble of removing the inner door panel, the door handle etc. Fortunately, (or unfortunately) some of the models (mine in particular is) are prone to having the outer door handles break and necessitate their removal/repair, at which time both, the courtesy illumination bulb and the door handle can be replaced if necessary ;)

Yamae,

thank you for the reply - that is good information.

For my preference it would have to be the Michelin Primacy MXV4 V-rated tires - the ride quality was noticeably better and significantly quieter from the Goodyear Eagles ( a darn good tire too, but too noisy for my taste!).

Hi all,

The link below appears to have the service manuals for '89 thru '00. The link as it is bring up the manual for '95. However, to access any other of the manuals (up to 2000), simply change the '1995' to your year and it should work. I have checked it and it is good!!

My appreciation goes to the original poster (don't remember who it is though, but thank you!!!).

http://www.ls400.ru/lexus-89-2000/RepairManual1995.html

Hope this helps.

Hi Yamae,

I followed your other thread about the ECU capacitor repair - do you have an updated list of manufacturers and capacitors that I could use to replace mine with? ('92 w/o traction)

Thanks

Hi,

Sorry I cannot be more specific with which thread it was, or when, but if you can, try to find a post by Landar - he has listed an excellent series of steps to eliminate various issues; basicaly divide the possibilities into fuel, and spark, then methodically eliminate each possibility one by one till you find the culprit/s.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

Your question is not too clear and is probably why you won't get too many responses. However, I am guessing you know what you are trying to do and can find the appropriate instructions on the lexls website.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

I may be wrong on this, since it has been a while, but you probably do have separate fuses in the fusebox under the hood - there are separate fuses for the right and left headlights; check those first.

hope this helps

Here it is:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/60609-how-to-change-ignition-coils-on-92-ls400/

Hi,

The FP relay should be on the passenger side inside the engine bay on the right wheel cover, if the '90 is similar to the '92. It will be coverred by a black plastic cover that you can remove easily. You may have a test ODBC under the hood that will allow you to test the FP by jumping a couple of connections - look up the lexls site for how to do this. You may also have a FP resistor in the same place - check your connections for any loose ones.

A couple of things to check are the fuel filter - if it is blocked/clogged you may not be getting fuel; also, any loose connections to the Fuel system; I am guessing that since the car was running, but has since refused to run, your filter may be clogged, or a wire has come loose! Your battery is still suspect, unless you have a new one. I would eliminate the obvious problem areas first and for all components to function correctly you need a good battery.

Hope this helps.

Just thought I would post this for any newcomers with older LS 400s wanting to replace their suspension bushings. After much searching on this and other forums for the so-called "Strut Rod Bushings" I found out that there is no such thing, especially if you are trying to get OEM parts from the dealership. Instead look for the Lower control arm bushing (p/n 48654-50010 for the '92 LS400), There may be some incorrect references on this forum to a stabilizer bar as the SRB so make sure you know which part you are wanting to replace before ordering them. A good reference for parts with diagrams is the Toyodiy site - once you register with the site you will have access to the diagrams and part numbers, and you can check the part # I have listed above.

Hope this helps you all out - it did me!!!

...additional note: you can use the onboard computer to determine whether the solenoids are tripping a warning - requires you to jump the diagnostic connectors in the On Board Diagnostics port (see the manual or the lexls site for correct connections) and count the flashes on the instrument cluster. Sorry, forgot about mentioning that tool in the previous post.

Hi,

Since you already checked the fluid level (hopefully you checked with the engine running, if not, redo this with the engine running, or at least use the directions from the manual to do so!), low fluid may not be the problem. The following suggestions are conditioned on the transmission not being abused and having the parts like clutch bands, etc., being damaged!! Since the car is a '91, I believe any one or more of the following could be the source of the problem you are experiencing.

You probably have the A341E transmission which has 4 shift solenoids controlling fluid flow in the valve body. Two of these (#1 & #2)control the shifting of gears, the 3rd and 4th solenoids, serve to damp the shifting so hard shifts are minimized, and for lockup). If either #1 or #2 are gummed up or failing it would be a cause for shifting issues (ruling out any other mishap, like melted/shorted wiring, bad connections, etc.). If this is the source, the fix is relatively inexpensive (approx. $300 for the pair from some dealers) - replace the two solenoids: an easy bolt on operation, but you will have to remove about 19 bolts and take down the tran-oil pan - a pain in the ***. Testing the solenoids off the car is the surest way to find out for certain if they are bad/going south. There may ways to test w/o taking off the pan and some of the gurus on LOC may have a good idea of how to do that.

Another source for the transmission behavior could be a clogged filter - least expensive, given other things are not the cause; will need to drop the tran-pan and do the bolts thing here as well. Resist suggestions to have the tranny machine flushed, no matter what!

Another more expensive and serious possibility is that your seals inside the tranny are shot - over time these harden and do not provide the sealing that fresh, flexible seals do, preventing the appropriate pressure buildup required for proper shifting. Often this will manifest as a gradual degradation in shifting - slow to shift into gears, till eventually the transmission will not shift at all. If this is what is happening to you, a complete overhaul or a new tranny is the only option ($$$).

For what it's worth, my '92 began acting up by not going into reverse immediately, then it took longer and longer to shift into reverse; the problem migrated to 1st and 2nd before I decided to get drastic. In the meantime I checked the fluid level, filter, solenoids, electronics, engine, etc., etc., to no avail. Finally, took it to a transmission rebuilder and had a complete rebuild - was told all the seals had hardend and were virtually useless. Note: Shop failed to replace my shift solenoids during the overhaul and I had intermittents shifting issues till I replaced them with new ones.

Hope this helps

Check the following:

1. Ignition coil(s)

2. TPS

Specs for both are in the shop manuals, or look on this site for info: http://www.ls400.ru/lexus-89-2000/RepairManual1992.html

Also, if you have a schrader valve on your fuel rail, I would like to know exactly where it is, since I have a '92 and do not have one of those!!

Hope this helps