Rhoderman

Sounds like your dealer is wanting to hose you for all they can.

It could be the spiral cable, but I'd wonder if there was a simpler way to fix it.

They want to change out the cable, so if they find the simpler way, along the way, they still get to charge you for it.

Go to another dealer, although your car is probably "in the records" now, electronically.

Look at the lower end of your steering column with a bright flashlight and a small mirror. Look for burned spots at connectors, or melted insulation.

Never did like those bright dang Xenon headlights anyway... B)

Sounds like a bad ground either at the instrument cluster or at the headlight return circuit. Bad grounds cause odd things to happen. Is your battery minus connected to the chassis? Is the engine connected to the chassis ground? Is your Xenon controller connected to a good chassis ground?

Measure the voltage from the Xenon controller ground to the battery minus. It should be less than a half volt or so.

Try disconnecting the controller to see if maybe it really isn't the problem.

Good Luck!

Parking lights and the Car Battery.

It was (and still is in some circumstances) a legal requirement to display parking lights on some roads, for times when your car is left parked in the dark. Some schools of thought believe you should never leave lights on as it will drain the battery, others say that’s the whole idea what the CB Ampere/hr capacity is for because it's being recharged. Then there are some cars with ancillary electrical equipment (alarm, clock, cellphone etc) which when left drain current which over time can add up to a significant A/hr drain. Let's do some sums, say the current is 0.05A, over a 24-hr period that's 1.2 A/hrs, after a week it's over 8 A/hrs. Whatever the situation, there still needs to be sufficient capacity to left start the engine (see above), a CB with reduced capacity will then fail at this point. Don’t forget a battery with greatly reduced capacity will still happily start a car, providing there's at least one A/hr left out of the 40-50 or so original A/hrs it had when it was new!

Above stolen from:

http://www.far-out.demon.co.uk/cardiy/battery.htm

I wonder if maybe your battery isn't getting fully charged when it is running. Measure the voltage across the battery when the engine is running. It should be 14 to 14.5 I think. You might be charging your battery only to 20% capacity and the "normal" parasitic drain is killing it overnight, where if you were charged to 100%, it woudn't even be an issue.

Measure the parasitic current in another vehicle. If it's roughly the same as yours, you're chasing a ghost and your problem isn't the drain current, but the charge state of the battery.

Another thing I've run across is a dead cell in a battery. If you roll the starter for a bit, but don't let it start, you should still measure over 12V. Close to 10V after rolling the starter indicates a dead cell (2V per cell on a lead-acid battery).

Good Luck!!

Can you find something close at Ace Hardware in the plumbing section?

Beware, you will need to know the material the seal is made of, and if it's compatible w/ oil and high temperatures.

I remember some place down there in CSCO just west of Academy and south of Platte Ave. They were a good machine shop and sold parts as well. Maybe they know a good source.

Another thing, can you make what you need with some permatex and some creativity? Just a thought...

Lexus repay you? I doubt it, but you could at least check for sure with them.

For your problems, it sounds like you've lost a temperature sensor in the engine, or it is not working correctly. The computer uses the engine temperature for both things you mention: shift into O/D and fuel mixture.

For the tranny, it is just as your quote stated, to allow the engine to reach operating temperature faster.

For the mixture, as the temperature changes, the engine requirement for fuel changes as well.

You say it seems to be running rich and throwing a code, and it doesn't shift into O/D like it should. I'd at least check the resistance of that sensor. You might also have a bad (stuck open) thermostat which would cause it to run a lot cooler.

Good Luck, and let us know what you find!

When I was at my Lexus dealer, the nice lady behind the counter did a quick "where used" check on the radiator overflow for my '96. I think she said it was the same as an older (95 maybe?) Camry. And about 1/2 the price! Not many will do this, but I thought it was very nice of her.

I'm thinking alternator too, but now that you've cranked on it for a long time your starter may not be healthy any more. You really shouldn't crank on it for more than 10 or 20 seconds at a time, and let it rest for a bit before cranking it again. If it won't start in a few seconds, it probably won't start after 5 minutes of cranking either.

Fuel pump maybe? Does it have more than 1/2 tank?

Lafayette here. A bit of snow overnight. Maybe 1/8"?

I used to live in CSCO many years ago. Neat town and getting bigger every time I go back there!

I replaced mine in my '96 without any trouble at all. Take it out and put it back in. If you need to wiggle it, do it in park and rock the whole vehicle forward and backward.

Mine was trashed. The rubber had pretty much separated. I didn't notice anything out of the normal shifting or otherwise. I just happened to look at it one day and noticed it was goners.

Motoroil, you're in CO. Me too. Where ya at?

Sounds like a connector didn't get plugged in all the way.

I hope it's easy for you to find. I'm sure it will be.

Then go in to the guys who "fixed" your door handle and ask them if this their usual way of doing business. Denying responsibility.

Then go find a new shop who understands the relationship of removing a door panel and having something come disconnected.

:(

Check the relays under the hood.

There might also be a big relay up under the dash somewhere.

The time to have looked for it was while it was still clicking. They're easier to find that way.

:( WAit how can 1994 es 300 be obd 2 and where you plug the scanner wont fit because it is more like a circle,is there something I am doing wrong???

OBDII? What does that have to do with a relay quitting?

Edit: I see you were looking in another post for the OBDII connector. On my '96, it's behind the fuse door by your left knee. Not sure where the '94 is, but good luck!

Typically, they use relays to activate the hi or lo beam headlights.

On my '96, they both stay on with hi beams.

On my '03 2500HD pickup, the lo beams went off when hi beams were on. That sucked.

I used a 1N4001 diode to cause the low beams to stay on with the high beams, but being a diode, it prevented the high beams from turning on with the lo beams.

One side of the relay coil is usually tied to the 12V supply, and the switch pulls the other side of the relay coil to ground to activate it. You put the diode from the switched side of one relay to the other. You should be able to find some more info on the 'net on how to approach this. If you aren't up to par with electrical or electronics, I wouldn't suggest trying it.

Good score on the car! Congrats!

Have a good friend close the trunk while you're in it. See if the light stays on.

The other culprits would be the glove box light or the vanity mirror lights.

When it's really dark, check for any signs of light.

Check the relays under the hood.

There might also be a big relay up under the dash somewhere.

The time to have looked for it was while it was still clicking. They're easier to find that way.

Since OD Off and ECT (Electronically Controlled Transmission) both come from the transmission shifter console area, I'd suspect a bad ground either there or in the harness somewhere.

I don't have a clue what going up a bridge has to do with it though.

Awesome! Glad it was easy!

Thanks for posting back.

Check your battery connections. Pull them off, clean them, and put them back.

If that's no help, check your engine ground (where the battery minus goes) and where the positive attaches to the starter.

Good Luck, and post back what fixed it for others to use later.

If the battery was hot, I'd suspect you have a dead cell.

Measure the voltage with the headlights (only) on. If it's around 10 or 11, you have a dead cell. 12 or better and the battery is probably okay.

I had a dead cell in my truck battery once. I was charging it with a simple charger. The charger got smokin' hot, and the battery was swelled up and hot too. I backed away slowly and unplugged the far end of the extension cord to the charger and let it sit for a day. One cell had shorted, and the charger was bound and determined to charge it to 12V or better. The battery only wanted 10V.

If you suspect the battery at all, replace it. Winter is coming... Good Luck and tell us what you find!

Push on the brake a little harder (or push on it a little if he wasn't pushing on it at all).

If that doesn't work, there's a little plug to the right of the shifter that can be pried out. Then push in the hole with his key to get it into N. Set the P-Brake first!!!

Start it in N, and don't go back into P until he is home.

Check the ground. Apparently you have power since it tries to work.

Make sure that power has a way to get back to the battery (minus=chassis ground).

Lots of people don't run a ground wire. They just don't know any better. The radio typically does get (intermittent) ground through the antenna/frame/or whatever. A good solid ground wire from the shell of the radio to a good ground point does wonders.

First, open the glove box door and press the little button to RE enable that trunk release. That will keep the unmentioned one from standing on the button.

Take any screws out of the panel you can see. Look for little plastic covers, pry them off to access any screws. Then, (on a hot day) pry off the door panel, starting at the bottom. Pry it open a little to see what you're up against, then continue on. It will come off, but you will likely break one or more of the clips, so be ready to buy more. The top hooks down over the edge behind the window. It may help to roll the window down before you start.

Good luck!

My guess is like CUMan says, the socket is not making contact with chassis ground. The bulb will find ground through the "other side", i.e., the park light circuit.

If it's blinking fast, and you turn on the headlights, you might be able to shed a little more light on the subject (no pun intended...). My guess is that the corner with the bad socket will quit flashing entirely. Try it.

Is it really in Park?

Try Neutral too.

Coin box? What coin box?

Mine (96) is next to the fuses, behind the panel by my left knee.

Just had smog check - the guy spent forever looking for it.

I believe there is another one in the engine compartment fairly near to the radiator cap.

Don't quote me on that one though.

It's probably not a short. Most likely an open ground connection for the dash panel.

Another place you might check is the brake lamps themselves. Stand behind the car while someone presses the brakes. Do the bulbs all light up correctly?

Check anywhere you have a wire connecting to the chassis. When you stand on the brakes, you are flexing the dash to make just enough contact.