Tommy_B

I think you need to do some testing to determine if you have a battery or alternator problem. If your battery is bad then it won’t hold a charge and you’ll have issues like unable to start car with cold engine and so on.

Under normal conditions the alternator is powering everything in your car. Think of the battery as just a big capacitor that stores energy. The battery is storage, the alternator is creation of electrical energy from mechanical energy.

If the alternator is faulty you will see battery voltage drop as you turn on more electrical items. If you have a good alternator the battery voltage won’t sag from these loads. So I would measure battery voltage at + and – terminals of battery with engine off and everything electrical off, Should be around 12VDC, then start up engine with nothing electrical on except engine, voltage now should be 13.6VDC or so. Now start switching on things like AC, blower fan to max, high beam headlights, rear window defrost and so on. If the alternator is working properly the battery voltage should still stay above 13.3VDC. If battery voltage drops to 12 or lower then you have an alternator output problem. If the alternator is bad you make be able to fix it as it is likely the brushes worn down.

yeh i talked to the previous owner and he said that as long as he drove it everyday it was fine..but if he let it sit for a day or two then the battery was dead...and he replaced it with a new one and it did the same thing..so im sure its not a battery problem. and i should be buyin a new alternator pretty soon anyway, for my system

ohhh yeahh i never even thought about doing that..ill definately try. i mean its not gonna make it worse..

I don't know what PSI the washer was that I used (I think it has about a 5hp engine), but it didn't do any damage at all to my carpet. Actually, it cleaned it up quite nicely. This was the worst of the stains in my car:

Before:

After:

yeahh mine are like that just a lill bit worse..so ill def try it..thanks

If your carpet is dirty, you can clean it up pretty easily by pressure washing it. Otherwise, try car-part.com to search the junkyards for a "new" carpet. The carpet in my '95 LS was badly stained (Coke stains), and I considered having it replaced until the upholstery guy told me that Lexus is the only source for the carpet, so it would be $1,200-$1,500 for the carpet and labor. I pulled the carpet out and pressure washed it, and it almost looked like new, and it didn't cost any money.

I've heard $600 +/- to have new covers put on all of the seats. What kind of foam work are you having done?

ohhh yeahh i never even thought about doing that..ill definately try. i mean its not gonna make it worse..

and just a few spot in the seats where a dog rip it up. the dog like ripped the foam right out but the holes arent all that big

Sounds like your going to have to get a custom job done. Call some body shops and ask for referals.

yeah..im calling around tomorrow to see how much itll be to get foam work done and get my new leather put on my seats..i got them from leatherseats.com...you have any idea about how much it should be?

so i might call around about that too..cause right now i dont see how ill be able to get all the stains out..

does anyone know where to find replacement carpet for a 96 ls???...i think i have looked everywhereeee

It could be the seat motor is starting to seize up causing a larger current draw than normal. Has the seat motor fuse popped recently? Was it replaced with too large a fuse?

Is behavior the same with or without engine running? If so then I suspect the motor may need some clean and lube. Hard to see it being battery terminals as starter motor draws 100x what seat motor draws so if terminal restricting seat motor car wouldn't even start. They should be checked anyway for clean and snug.

im thinking its probably the alternator..because i can get it to start fine..but like i said when i mess with the seat it dims everything down and sounds like its gonna cut off..then when i turn the car off after about 20 minutes or so..i have to jump it to get it started (well 90% of the time) so it sounds like its not charging the battery. but like i said before i plan on gettin another alternator anyway because of my system....i plan on puttin 1 15" L7 kicker and 2 12" l7 kickers in it :D

it could either be your battery not holding the full charge that it used to. it could also be your alternator. also if you have a sound system in your car subs or any powerful amplifier hooked up it can dim the lights. also check your batter terminals and make sure they're tight and dont have corrosion on them. my lights dim when i roll up one of the windows not really bad but i can tell, and if i roll 3 up, its a very noticeable dim.

yeh i replaced the battery and i noticed that one of the terminals was all ****** up..so im gonna replace that and see what happens.. and im probly gonna buy a more powerful alternator because i plan on getting a pretty banging system.. actually i might just get another battery just for the system..but i know ill need a more powerful alternator. i saw a 200 amp (high out put) one on ebay for like $200..is it a good deal? ill give you a link if you want

None on any LS that I know of, except the trunk hinge wires on the 90-94 LS400s, but someone said that also lingered on into the 95+ models. Also, there was someone here awhile back with a '96 LS400 that had alot of fried electrical wiring... I forgot what caused it though.

What exactly is your issue?

well i have a few but one is that wen i go to adjust the seat..everything dims down and sounds like the car is about to cut off.. any ideas what it could be?

are there any common shorts for the 96 ls?

Uhh.. the only decent tire I have experience with is a Toyo Proxes 4 on my old 20"s

low profile?

Do you have everything? Wheels tires susp?

only thing i gotta get is tires..any ideas on what i should get?

So what's the details on the wheels susp?

well i wish i had some good news..but the struts just got here the other day, so im not sure how long itll take me to do everything now

http://www.amazon.com/Light-Smoke-Auto-Len...ef=pd_rhf_p_t_2

there..i think thats what someone told me it was

folia tec if you can find it makes the best tint spray but it only last 4 years or so.

Any info on where to find folia tech? Google isn't helping me much :D

j you found it anywhere yet?

folia tec if you can find it makes the best tint spray but it only last 4 years or so.

aight thanks man

I have experience with VHT nightshade. It's nice, but if you go too many coats it will start to turn purple-ish when light is shown through. Kind of like a black light. My friend tinted his clear corners one time many years ago. I told him to tint the stock orange ones, but he didn't want to. They looked great with no lights on. Totally blacked out. But when he turned them on (with his XENON white 194's) they were completely purple, JUST like a black light. :lol: He never lived it down. haha

I, however, don't know if this is the case with ALL lens tints.

Maybe post a link of this "JDM Tint spray"??

hha yeahh i was tihnking of just smoking the tails anyway..is that what you did? was it still like a "blacklight"?

has anyone used these on their lights? i saw a tutorial on lexls it looks pretty cool

Hehe, again... You shouldn't be expecting to see any exposed hardware on a vehicle of this caliber ;)

haha yeahh i was looking and looking then i was just like whatever, let me go ask haha

Have you popped off the plastic caps that cover the bolts that hold the seat tracks to the floor?

nah but now i know thats where they are..so thanks and sorry for the dumb question, i shoulda looked harder

They are heavy and a pain but they are simply bolted to the floor.

yeah thats what i was thinking..but i cant find the bolt underneath?

how do i take these out?

Nice quote. I remember that from a previous page....

what was the point of that quote? haha

Do you have clear headlight lenses ?

NO !

So how could you use halo's if no one could see them?

well actually i just got done talking to the people from AAC and they said if i sent them the headlights they would do it....

Halo Kits, yes.

No produced complete angel eye housings.

And yes only 98+

but nothing for a 96 at all right?

No such product for any LS.

Sorry bud.

well aac has an oracle halo kit...but on for 98 and up i think....:(