curiousB

Modern cars have a lot electronics that are often in various states of being powered up. As a result there is a phenomenon known as key off current. It is not zero. I am sure there is a spec for your car if you search for it. Be careful measuring key off current. It is not just as simple as plugging in an ammeter and taking a reading. The doors and lights need to be closed and off. I am not sure if the LS has one but a Ford I have has a hood switch. If the hood switch doesn't detect hood closure then car never migrates to its low power state (8mA). If you see a hood switch spoof it out with a wire tie so it thinks the hood is closed while doing your measurement. Lastly set it all up then come back in 1 hour. The same Ford I mentioned doesn't drop down to the lowest power state until 31 minutes (in fact to the second if you use a stop watch!) after last activity detected by onboard systems (door close, ignition off, ...). So if you get a higher reading right after an activity don't worry, it may drop to proper dormant state a while afterwards. Now if the reading is too high after all of this the way to check it is to start pulling fuses one at a time to see which circuit is drawing the rogue power. Maybe an amplifier or CD unit has leaky capacitors and is drawing too much idle current. The point is you have to wait the period of time it takes the system to migrate to lowest power state. So again with my Ford that was 31 minutes each test!!... with 40 or so fuses it can take a long time. You might find leaving a door open and spoofing the door switch will become an important thing to do so you don't keep interrupting the state timer..... otherwise pack a cooler and enjoy the weekend of testing... Also, a fairly common problem is leaky diodes in the alternator stator. The alternator may seem to work fine but when the car is turned off it draws current in the reverse direction. You can test this by disconnecting the charge wire from the alternator and repeating the test. If no difference the stator diodes are probably OK.

Bad gas >>> Maybe but why all of the sudden? Easy to check, fill up from Tier 1 gas station Coolant temp sensor >>> Maybe but usually fails to open circuit which means cold engine. Would typically cause engine to run richer than needed, lousy gas MPG but should run IAT sensor >>> TPS sensor >>> MAF sensor >>> would probably trigger a code ECU?? >>> Doubtful, often claimed but seldom is the problem. Some years had poor grade capacitors which dry out and need replacing but this is something to look at after ruling out everything else. I would add to your list: Problem ignition coil. common problem with these cars and you lose 4 cylinders when it happens. Maybe one coil is on the verge of failing IACV and/or dirty throttle body. These guys get caked up and then impact idle performance. Cleaning is good routine maintenance.

Don't panic. I had the exact P0430 code and in the end all I needed to do was puddle welds on some hole in the exhaust pipe just after the secondary O2 sensors (leaks hidden under the stainless heat shields). Yours could be the same or maybe poor fitting gaskets on the flanges. Even a leak AFTER the secondary O2 sensor can cause the P0420/P0430 code. I didn't believe this was possible initially but learned it was the case. Don't go replacing any converters just yet. They are expensive and should be a last resort. Here is how I finally resolved it.

Short circuit engine temp sensor or associated wiring. Check that first. The ECU will lean out the engine thinking it is warm when it is not. That is why it behaves better when warm, the ECU isn't "as wrong" it its temperature assumption. Unplug sensor and measure resisatance with a DVM. Try the test below. Sensors like these typically fail to an open circuit which would be a cold temp reading and a rich engine all the time but maybe yours failed to a short.

I'm sure this is great information but the prior post was 6.5 years ago. I doubt he is still searching for answers...

Gas cap leakage is a trigger for an error code. Since it hasn't reoccurred in 3 weeks you may have solved the problem. As Landar states time will tell. Maybe rush to the test center while its looking good! 3 weeks will have certainly passed all the long term testing. What you don't know is if a code is pending. An OBM reader will tell you this. I'm not sure if a pending code is a fail condition for the smog guys. It probably is. But its all moot as we don't know if you have that either.

All ODMII systems must have a flag to say if the MIL has been reset recently. They show certain long term tests as incomplete. If you simply reset the MIL light and drive into the smog test facility around the corner you will FAIL. After reseting you need to drive 50+ miles miles and a few cold restarts to get the long term tests to complete. Typical driving may take 2-3 days. Its kind of obvious why it works this way, otherwise code scanners to reset MIL (CEL) would be the hotest gadgets on the market....

21, 25, & 28 could all be related. The link I posted was on a four O2 sensor vehicle with the secondary sensor posting the crime (P0430). Yours seems to be the primary O2 sensor. I know with OBDII and a laptop you can view the O2 sensor signals (they are posted in my earlier thread). I am not sure how you view signals in OBDI vehicles. If you can get to that then you can maybe get more clues. The O2 signal should be a meandering waveform popping up and down from rich to lean as the EFI system trims the fuel mix. If you have a flat line or slowly moving waveform that is a clue something is wrong. It could be the O2 sensor heater has blown. If you have a DVM you can simply measure the heater resistance. If it is blown it will read very high or the meter will show infinity. My understanding though is the heater is just to warm up the sensor to get closed loop EFI sooner and even if the heater blows the exhaust heat will eventually get the O2 sensor warm enough for "light off" condition and will function properly for closed loop EFI. It could be a bad sensor and without diagnostic tools it may just be easier to take a flier and put a new one in for $20-30 depending how you value your time. Pick up an O2 sensor socket for $15 at an auto store and use a socket long bar to break it loose. Put some O2 sensor friendly antiseize (some antiseize ruins the O2) on threads before installing new one (just a dab don't smear it all over the pace, less is more). It could be the exhaust leaks and just getting a muffler shop to puddle weld them closed might solve it at least temporarily. I'd hold off on a $400-6000 muffler job until you know if that will even fix the problem. Leaks were a problem in my scenario but they played havoc with the secondary O2 sensor and did nothing to the primary sensor. That is why I am less sure this is your problem and reluctant to go jump on a new exhaust system on a 265k mile car. Hard to say what the problem is with the limited data but maybe a few ideas to get you moving forward. I battled the P0430 for 8 weeks or so before I slayed it. In the end it was obvious but its funny how it never is on the onset. Anyone else on board seen this exact error code pattern? Surely someone has solved the exact scenario. Chime in and lets get Jason rolling minus the codes.

Just FYI. A lot of people buy the latest DVD and then sell their old one on ebay for a significant discount. If you don't want to pay $170 for latest you can get 2-3 year old one for half that. Even 3 years old would be 5 years newer than you have...

Leaky flange can generate a code suggesting catalytic converter isn't working properly (P0430). This code isn't self resetting however. I had a leaky pipe that led to P0430 but a leaky flange will do the same thing.

I agree. Many passionate debates about Timing Belts and interference vs non interference engines. Despite the hysteria what is lacking are actual cases of snapped belts and the horrendous damage. I haven't seen a thread here about it. You'd think with thousands of these cars there would be plenty of stories. Yet there are few (maybe even none). Sounds like TB anxiety is not something to get very worked up over.

Keep in mind this is a 21 year old car. I'd get it running, fill up with a tank full of fresh gas and do an oil change. Then I'd drive it for a bit before launching off in many other things. See what you have after a couple weeks of driving. The throttle body is a good maintenance item but it isn't likely your smoky exhaust issue. That may be faulty ACV in PS pump (leaking some PS fluid into intake) or maybe just oil consumption by a well worn engine. Again I'd wait to see what is the laundry list of issue to fix before jumping into a preventative throttle body job.

why bother with lojack anyway. Isn't that why you have insurance?

Version 12.1 Map update is $169 at Sewell Lexus. Sounds like this would be an 8 year improvement of the map database so you decide if it is worth it. I went to 12.1 from 9.1 and have been happy. If you want you can look up the release notes and look at all the map changes in you area with each release. It is a lot of work to do though.

First response: disconnecting the NAV unit isn't the necessarily a reset solution for the audio. Maybe the NAV unit is fine but it is the acceptance of that audio stream and processing it with the head end audio unit that is the problem. I don't claim this will do anything but its trivial to try and you don't seem to have a lot of better options right now. Second Response: re: I tried several volume settings including off, then on with no luck. You are aware the volume for NAV is a touch screen based setting and nothing to do with the volume control for the audio unit? Changing audio volume does nothing for NAV voice level

Disconnect the battery negative lead for 30 minutes? What is the NAV volume setting set to?

I doubt its a head gasket. You would have other symptoms as well if it were that. Might be a valve cover gasket. Pretty easy fix. Could also just be some spilled oil while you were doing the other work. Why don't you monitor it a few weeks before jumping into a repair. Fill the oil to exactly one of fill lines and note it. See if you are falling away from that line over a few weeks.

Maybe start by just putting in a new cabin air filter. Located behind false door in back of glove box. Perhaps old one is plugged up and a legionnaires disease carrier...

Its a reasonable assumption that a worn pump can't meet pressure and volume at higher fuel demands (WOT). Other supporting data is the noise which is not normal. The jumper of the FP/+B port is just shorting out the series resistor so the pump sees full 13.3V instead of something less. A fuel pressure gauge isn't very expensive but it doesn't sound like you'd use it much. I bought one 2 years ago and still waiting to crack it out of the carton.

I just fixed this on my console. Symptom was if I slide the top cover forward as I closed and opened it, it worked fine. I disassembled and found the screws from the hinge (58907-50030) to the top cover had worked loose. Just had to tighten those up and I was good to go. Its a bit of work to get the cover out. Basically you are removing the inner console box and cover as a unit.

Noise isn't typical so it could be a warning sign the pump is on its last legs. A blocked filter could be adding load to the pump as well. A worn pump will show its problems by not being able to sustain required pressure at higher volume flow. This is the WOT case you are having troubles with. Curbside fuel pressure measurement can be deceiving. Maybe there is enough evidence to just swap out the pump and filter rather than spending ££££ on test equipment to sort it out.

I think SRK gave you some important clues a while back. Testing engine revs in neutral or park isn't a very meaningful test on the fuel system. It may be useful to check ignition (erosion of spark output at high RPM) and see if there are coil and/or ignitor problems though. Never cars have REV limiters to stop RPMs past a certain level. Its controlled with software in the ECU. Not sure what the ceiling is on these cars. For fuel system volume/pressure the engine needs to be under load. Is there a way you can connect a fuel pressure gauge to the fuel rail and tape the gauge to the windshield (dial facing inwards) and go for a short ride? See if the pressure is maintained under load conditions (heavy acceleration, highway speed acceleration). The whining sound has to be fuel pump related. If you change pump I'd change inline fuel filter for good measure. Also I should mention there is a fuel pump relay in the electric circuit to the pump. It switches in and out a series resistor to limit current to the pump motor. If the relay is stuck such that the resistor is never shorted (bypassed) the pump may have volume problems at high demand. A simple test would be to short the resistor with a jump wire and see if the symptoms change. Are you trying to race a LS400?!?! Not really the target application of this lumbering comfy couch on wheels. Have you really spent £1400 in repairs on a car worth £900? Yikes, that could have been many Guinness's.

Yikes. It sounds like a head gasket to me. If it were a leak you'd see signs of it in the engine compartment and on the ground. Since you are not it sounds like coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber and getting vaporized in the exhaust. A compression test or cylinder leak down test will give you the confirmation one way or the other. If its a leak, the water pump is a prime candidate. You can tell if a water pump is leaking as you usually see caked up coolant near the leak where the water boil out of the coolant and caked residue is left behind. Might we worth pulling a cover to peek at the water pump. At 275k miles a water pump may still make sense to fix. A head gasket is probably not economic.

It looks like a case of chronically bad spelling and poor grammar. I don’t think your ECM is field (or fried) if that is what you were saying. Is the car running or not? You say it is doing it again. What is it doing again? Not starting? Then starting after you disconnect the battery? Maybe read your own post before sending it. Temp sensor won’t stop the car from starting. That may reduce fuel performance (MPG) but not starting. What was the code number you cleared recently and long ago? Were they the same codes?

Take at look at the OBDII fuel trim values for long term and short term. They may offer a clue. An air leak in the intake ducting or the intake manifold can play havoc with idle. It introduces air that is unmetered (leaky air isn't detected by the MAF) so the computer tries to compensate with lean/rich trim by looking at the primary O2 sensors. You can do the unlit proane torch trick to see if you have leaks. Do it outside though. Alternatively if its a cracked duct or ruputured tubing it might be quite audible. get a 2' length of hose holding one end near your ear (not stuck in your ear!) and move the other end around to suspicous places. You'll hear a whistling sound of air if there is a decent sized leak.