irmichel

Hi,

Well the obvious guess would be that this sensor is located near the gaspedal but what does it looks like?

Since a couple of weeks my LS is holding back when I lift the gaspedal at around 60-75 mph. I have to press the accelerator far more than the usual half inch before it picks up speed again. This sounds more serious than it is (the car loses only a litte speed but still noticeable) but it's very anoying and is becoming more frequently now.

Some searching on Lexus forums gave me an answer that it could be this position sensor. Some guy reported that unplugging the multiconnector from the sensor solved his problem. So before forking out several hundreds to the dealership I want to try if un-/replugging the connector will solve my problem too.

Can anyone point it out to me preferably with a picture since my wife has to perform the 'operation' (i'm tied to a wheelchair for a couple of weeks due to some stupidity :( ).

Greetz,

Michel

It seems that I might have a similar problem. At speeds of 120/130 km/h the engine seems to hold back when you lift off the gas pedal and than want to accelerate again. You have to really punch it to pick up speed again. Same thing happened on a roundabout at 20/30 km/h when it had to be really kicked to get some speed again. But it happens only every now and then.

Now I want to check the pedal position sensor and the connector / multiplug as described in this topic.

Can anyone point it out to me (pictures??) because my wife has to look at it since I'm in a wheelchair for the moment.

Michel

Update !

After about 10 hrs of charging the charger went into trickle mode. Since the charger has an output of 3,6A/hr the 70A battery must have been half empty (or half full if you're an optimist ;))

After disconnecting I had to move the car so our second car would fit in the driveway and on starting the Lex it immediatly turned over more powerfull then before and in two instead of 3-4 turns the enige came to life.

Yob well done I would say.

Now let's see how the battery keeps up.

Took a quick look at the pictures and immediately saw your problem. You've got the charger hooked up to an Alfa Romeo instead of your Lexus! :D Actually if you look at the pictures they have the permanent pigtails mounted to the battery poles with a connector on the other end. Simply plug that connector into the lead from the battery charger and plug it in. You don't even use the clamps. I cannot read Dutch, but I would bet that charger you have purchased is what we would refer to as a floating battery charger. By that I mean that it only charges when necessary and simply goes into a standby phase when the battery has a full charge. Best of luck.

Yeah that's right. Well it's hooked up now, I'll check it during lunchtime. I put a builders helmet under the hood to keep it a bit open for ventilation. Got quite a concerning look from my neighbour though when he saw me putting it under the hood followed by a satisfying look of me being content with my solution....

The charging is in progress now. Connected it an hour or so in the way the manual stated: red on red and black to the chassis. It's bright and sunny so no problems with rain and stuff. There was some mountinghole with a 1" latch just above/behind the right light housing which I overlooked the first time I took a glance at the engine compartment. The charger states that the battery needs charging so.. it's charging now B)

In regard to driving short distances: I know it's not that good for the car but it's just temporary (nov-april). There are periods when we drive 2.500 mls/ month and there also times when we don't hit the 200 mile marker in a month. Mostly shopping runs and a occasional long trip. This charging is just for the months in which we drive not that much. Business is taking off so I presume my wife (she's our 'frontoffice') will do some serious miles after april to give our Lexie the threatment it needs :)

Thanx for the input, I guess I was just a little nervous connecting a charger the first time since I'm not a mechanic but a tax-consultant.

Couple of questions...

The headlights are off, right?

Your foot is not inadvertently resting on the brake pedal?

How many miles do you typically drive the car per week and do you frequently take short trips (<10 miles).

The charger is the answer if you simply are not driving enough to keep her charged via the alt.

I would also test your charge voltage when running. Should be around 14.5 vdc

As for where to connect the neg. clamp...any where on the chassis is fine but I definitely see your dilemma.

With so much plastic around its hard to find where to connect. It looks like the power steering pump has some

nice aluminum showing.

But if this is going to be a frequent occurrence, personally, I would go to a hardware store and get a chunk of metal braid

or a metal clip and affix it under a bolt on the chassis(maybe near the horns). That way you have a good solid connection and you wont be buggering up

your nice car parts with the clamp. If it is truly just a trickle charge that you need, the cigarette lighter plug is probably your cleanest solution(as Budhah

pointed out).

And finally, the reason they dont want you to connect the neg. clamp to the battery is for sparking reasons. If there is enough concentration of hydrogen gas

(byproduct of charging) then a spark could make the battery explode and that is more excitement than you probably need. Therefore, the order of connection is very

important. Positive on battery first, then neg. clamp on chassis to keep that spark as far away from the battery as possible. Removal is the reverse.. take the neg.

clamp off first. Sorry for the length of this response. You may already know this stuff.

Like you already guessed I don't use the car that much. So therefore (after the third time it occurred) I went to a battery specialist which measured everything and found it all to be OK except for the battery being low on charge. He even refused to sell me a new battery (small town, small business with service and honesty) because it's in my usage of the car. I drive it not that much (office @ home) so he suggested I would charge it monthly to keep the battery's health up. If the problem will persist he will measure the power etc etc in the car for leaking currents, bad battery or whatever but he didn't want to charge me for something that probably can be fixed with an occasional overnight trickle charge. He mentioned a gell battery but found them very expensive and gave me some homework to do first.

Thankt for the tips, you confirm everything the charger's manual states so some extra peace of mind there. The charger is a 'big one' in a small package. It will charge a 80 Amp battery in 14-16 hrs and then goes into trickle mode, sorry if I put you guys off on that one. English isn't my native language. It's this charger: Ctek 3600 euro model

@Brett in AK: I kinda agree on attachting direct to the +/- poles because there is a permanent lead with a cable that has 'eye's' at one end to permanently attach a charging cable to the battery. At the other end there is a female connector (the alligator leads have a similair female connector) for attaching it to the male end of the cable coming out of the charger. I found a site (in Dutch but the pictures are self explaining) : Pictures It's picture nr 3 and wire B. In picture 7 and 8 you can see it connected. That's the permanent lead cable I'm referring to.

So therefore I started wondering since the manual states that I shouldn't attach the black alligatorclamps to the battery itselve but I can when using the other lead which only differs at the end (eyes instead of clamps) ??

by the way: the second time my headlights were on for the first 15 minutes, so my own fault I guess....

I'll keep you guys posted on this one.

without going outside (it's 10 pm and dark overhere) i think it's a 70Amp with 570 number on it (peak amps for starting?) and it's an original Toyota part so I guess it's up to par for my car ?

I know the basics about batteries and alternators but mine is 6 months old, so i'm going to take a try recharging it first before buying a new battery again ;)

It starts fine but runs out in 20/30 minutes standby use.

Hi all,

I've just bought a trickle charger (Ctek 3600) due to the fact that I don't use my LS 430 that often. Sometimes the battery dies when I'm waiting in the parking lot, listening to some music while the misses is picking up some groceries. I have to shut down the car (take the key out) and wait for 10 minutes for the battery to regain it selve.

To prevent that, and to give the battery a longer life, I'm told by a battery salesman I should charge it occasionally to keep up its condition. So I bought a charger and the manual states that the red clamp should go on the positive pole of the battery but the negative should be attached to the chassis of the car (ground/mass).

Where do I put the negative crocodile clamp? (The manual states it should be away far as possible from the battery it selve)

Input (with pictures ;) ) is very welcome.

Michel

I did it recently on my old Benz and it's a 5 minute job if you have a helper.

Wouldn't recommend a screwdriver but a sliding-wrench of some sort (Bahco).

No no no, that's the Self Destruct button B)

Thanks guys. I guess I'll just order the Vaistech and have it installed. I'll leave it up to Lexus if they encounter 'too much wiring' to find a solution if needed :)

That will be after they solve all the problems on my 'new' car like a fresh battery to prevent that i've to call the autoclub for some road side service again

Hi guys,

I've just picked up my '01 LS430 UL and i'm wondering about this:

my car has a Parrot 3000 (of 3100) carkit that seems to use the Parrot cable harnas for Lexus since the stereo will mute when a call is coming in (no external speaker to be found yet).

I would love to have a Vaistech Ipod adapter put in (the SL2i) but will this become a problem since the Parrot is connected to the stereo and the Vaistech must also be plugged in somewhere with a loop-through cable?

Anyone got some thougts or experience on this?

Greetz,

Michel

Does your climate control features display on the Nav Screen? Also check to see if there's CD or Tape in the deck. if there isn't try putting one into the deck and see if it would play.

Yes, the climate controls did come up on the screen.

According to the sales person he put in a cd before we took of for the testdrive.

I really like the car and the deal they offered me but if the radio is a goner already the deal suddenly becomes less attractive.

Second to that i now own a Benz S-class and i'm fed up with it. I want a zero-problem car B)

Hi guys,

First post here from a wannabe Lexus owner. Recently I testdrove a '01 LS430 President (you guys in the States call it an Ultra) and i LOVED IT :)

It had the Mark Levinson audio and the sat nav. The sat nav was working fine but on pushing the volume knob of the stereo system a message 'radio off' would come up and the stereo kept silent. After some seconds it would switch back to the nav screen. Also on pushing some other buttons of the stereo/sat nav i would only get sat nav related items to choose from.

Is this bad news and should i stay away from it or is there a logical explanation ? The one year warranty will cover only 2/3 of the replacement costs if it concerns the on-board audio/navigation.

(Must ad that the car was standing in the dealer lot with the battery disconnected to prevent it from draining so maybe a security issue of some sort?)

Michel