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Mile_High_Flyer

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Everything posted by Mile_High_Flyer

  1. As a reminder, it's an '04/'05 LS430 right hand drive imported from Singapore to New Zealand. Everything in English, not Japanese. Done about 230 Km. I have been trying to post the same message on the US site, BUT keep getting told: CleanTalk. Spam protection Forbidden. Private list deny. Message seems to be spam. ** Any thoughts on that?
  2. I have replaced all the hoses on the VSV (VACUUM SWITCHING VALVE) for EVAP etc, but of course, not the other parts. The VSV appears to be fine, the resistances are within spec, the valve opens and closes properly after cleaning, I can blow through it when open, but not when closed, I tried blowing through the tube off the canister line, unsuccessfully, instead of using smoke. After I left the shop where I bought the above hoses, without having done anything, it came right, all was beautiful! I did the hoses after I got home, and it was still good. However, yesterday, it all started turning to custard again. Today was worse. All the usual, bad idle, smell, reduced fuel economy, not-so-smooth gear changes etc. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next! I haven't refueled, as the tank is about 3/4 full. When I did fill up the other day, I stopped as soon as the nozzle clicked off the first time. Wondering whether another reboot by disconnecting the battery for half an hour, might help make things right again once the computer gets itself sorted, after some mileage, hopefully not just temporarily. Or should I drive it some more first, and see what happens? After that, it got worse. A lot worse! I then removed the PCV valve. It rattled, as it should, but I still cleaned it with throttle body cleaner. I couldn't blow through it one way, but could the other way, and the rattle was slightly louder, and appeared to be more free. I then reinstalled it. Its hose appeared to be fine. I then looked at the 2 Pressure pulsation dampers. Couldn't see any signs of fuel leakage. I then went for a very short run, but it didn't improve. When I got back, I turned off the engine and looked at the dampers again. The screws had risen up. So presumably they are working, with no diaphragm leakage as there was obviously still pressure there. So, I rebooted by disconnecting the battery for half an hour again. It then came pretty well right and kept improving slowly, as has always happened previously, but then, after a time, it went bad again. I then blew through the line back towards the canister, then sucked it, and the line was free. I assume that's how it is supposed to be. We have also checked the VVT solenoids, and they appear to be working correctly. Another reboot! This time it hasn't had enough time to go wrong yet, but I expect it to probably do so soon! I'm wondering if it could possibly be the ECU computer? When it's starting to go wrong, the first indication usually seems to be the rougher gear changes, then the fuel consumption starts going up, and after a while, the exhaust pipes start to go black. There are no CEL dash lights, and my tester doesn't show any codes. A couple of days later: Here we go again! It's started having slightly less smooth gear changes, and the exhaust pipes are starting to blacken! It never seems to lose power, even when it's pretty bad. it can accelerate hard, right up to gear change revs. I'm in two minds as to whether I should reboot again now, or continue driving and see what happens. One time it got really bad, it was so rich it was smoking and even missing. Another time, it came right by itself, until it went out again! It always comes right, albeit temporarily after a reboot, usually for about 2 or 3 hundred kilometres. I did reboot again, and it lasted about 300km before starting to go bad again. As a reminder, it's an '04/'05 LS430. Any more suggestions? Please!!
  3. Over the last few days, my LS430 has started running rough, and economy has plummeted. Idle speed can vary. Sometimes it will idle very slow, and run very, very rich. Rich enough to smoke. I found a pipe that had come out of the rubber tube connecting it to another pipe, so I joined them back. No change, MAF and Throttle body were cleaned about a couple thousand kilometres ago, as was the air filter. Not that they were dirty, they weren't, but just general maintenance. I was on about 1/4 tank of fuel, buit have filled it up, so it is most unlikely to be bad fuel. The trans is also not quite as smooth changing as usual, but it wouldn't be noticed by anyone else. The exhaust smells, which I assume is the Cat working hard. I have disconnected the battery for 30 minutes, to reboot the system, then run a 40km or so trip to try and reset the computer. Tried that 3 times! I hjave a HUD plugged into the diagnostic port, and it normally shows the same instant fuel consumption as the dash. However, at the moment it shows a bit higher consumption than the dash. There is no Check Engine light showing. Any thoughts what else I can try? Thank you. Cheers, Keith.
  4. I have also posted this on the US Forums. My 2005 LS 430 has recently been getting very warm when working a bit harder than standard. No, not thrashing it, just working a little harder, like going up a hill. The dash temperature gauge sits on its normal position, just above the centre mark. However, I have an HUD display plugged into the diagnostic port, and it shows the rising temperature. I have just put in a brand new radiator because it was leaking from a crack in the top tank, no difference. My original first thought was a crack in the head or block, but no sign of water in the oil, nor oil in the coolant, and I can't smell anything apart from antifreeze in the coolant, but that may not necessarily be correct, my sniffer may not be as good as it might be, at my age!. It looked clean when I drained it. My next thought was water pump, but it was changed 30,000 km ago, so it should be fine. Or a thermostat not opening fully, but that I haven't checked. .The fans are turning on at about 93 degrees. The strange thing is the different reading on the dash temperature gauge, although it appears to work fine up to that normal point.. Checking the actual water temperature suggests the HUD is reading correctly. Does anybody have any ideas? Thank you.
  5. Hi 2Bling. I have a small voltmeter "permanently" attached from the fuse box under the dash, by the driver's legs. Been there since I got the car a few years ago, so I have a pretty good idea of what's normal for the car. It reads the same as going directly onto the battery. The battery is 4 years old, but appears to be okay. Obviously it's not going to have quite the capacity of a new one, but it still turns over fast, and starts fine. I guess I'll just keep a close eye on it,.and see how things go. Cheers.
  6. Howdy. The voltage in normal running has been slowly dropping over the last few months from about 14.3, now down to about 13.3 to 13.5 volts. Turning lights on and loading it up makes no difference. Battery voltage when not running is normal. It still has about 14.2 when first started, but drops as it warms up. Might this be the regulator on its way out, and can that be replaced, or is it likely the alternator itself is getting a bit ancient, like its owner? Is the regulator built-in to the alternator, or is it separate? Is it likely to completely clap out any time soon? How easy, or difficult, is it to replace? I haven't noticed any strange noises from it. Cheers, Keith.
  7. Another update. I disconnected the battery for about an hour and a half to make sure there was absolutely no residual voltage, or anything else! Then reconnected and went for a 40km ride. (About 25 miles). Fuel consumption figures looked good, and when I got home, no smell, and exhaust pipes were a lot cleaner. So I cleaned them, then went for a 20km ride. Pipes as clean as a whistle. That was yesterday. Today I went to work this morning, and back this evening, About 40 km each way 6.4L/100km, 36.75 mpg US. 44.14 mpg Imperial. Mainly on motorways (Freeways) mainly about 80km/h, 50mph. and again pipes absolutely clean. I'm very happy with that. I have no idea what caused the problem, because the same tank of fuel was used all the time. Cheers.
  8. Update. She appears to be running fine, and according to the fuel consumption figures etc, all is good, but she has to be still running a bit rich as the exhaust pipes are black, and there is still some smell, but I still don't have any codes from either of my OBDII checkers. I am going to try disconnecting the battery for a while in the hope that it might reset the computer, but I'm not gonna hold my breath!! Other than that, I don't know. Might have to bite the bullet and go and see Toyota.
  9. Seems to be all good again now. It was running fine, but even so, I did still pull MAF and clean it again, although it looked clean, and was done only a few months ago. Also cleaned and vacuumed air filter, which again was done at the same time as the MAF, also looked clean. I'm obviously keeping a very close watch on everything at the moment! It just seems strange that no Check Eng and no codes showed up. If anything else happens, I will let you know. I think it must have been one of those temporary glitches that computers can sometimes have, but I will check hoses etc. One of my LS400s had a funny one too, some time ago. It sounded exactly like a hydraulic lifter not pumping up, but they don't have 'em! Only lasted a very short while, and never did get to the bottom of it. Thanks guys.
  10. She suddenly started idling very slow, and surging, When I got out and went around the back, the exhausts were emitting black smoke. When I got home, I left it overnight, and it seemed to be okay this morning, except possibly idling slightly high. This afternoon she was okay for a while, then started back with the surging and slow idle, At the lowest point, about 200 RPM the CHECK ENG message flashed on for a split secvond . Other than that, there are no warnings, and one of my OBDII sensors showed no codes. Haven't checked my other sensor yet, I'll do that tomorrow. At one stage I gave it heaps, and it appeared to be quite good for a while. When I got home, there was no smoke, but there was quite a smell. I've only just now thought , I wonder if the cats might smell through working hard because of how rich it was riunning . Could that be the case? Any thoughts, anyone? Thank you.
  11. No problems, but I'm just wondering about the following on my 1999 right hand drive LS400 from Singapore. 1. On the firewall, there is a unit that looks like a horn, but not a wind tone type. What might that be for? Someone said it was for the car alarm, or panic alarm, but they use the standard wind tone horns hanging from the cross bar in front of the radiator. Nor is it the alarm beep to let you know the car is locked or unlocked. That appears to come from behind the front wing. 2. Also hanging from the same bar, directly behind the left horn, is a box with 4 wires. Inside the box is a little foam air filter, and a small circular unit with a fine mesh. My first thought, before I checked inside, was possibly the outside air temperature sensor, but it isn't that! 3. Where is that air temperature sensor? 4. A small problem I just thought of. Each time the ignition is turned on, the driver's mirror housing moves outwards very slightly. After a number of times, I hit the folding button a couple of times, so the mirror starts folding in, then out again, and it always stops in the correct place. Is there any easy way of correcting this? It would seem unlikely to be an easy fix! Many thanks, Keith
  12. Hi all. Season's greetings to everyone. My handicapped daughter didn't close the trunk properly on my 1999 LS400, right hand drive. It was down, but not locked into place, so the light was on for a couple of days, before I discovered it. This flattened the battery! There was power enough for the lights, and to pull starter solenoid in, but not enough to turn the motor over. I recharged the battery overnight, and it started and ran fine, the next morning. However the "VSC Off" light was on, and the "Check VSC" warning was showing. It couldn't be turned off. A mechanic said to disconnect the battery, and see if that would reset the VSC, and the manual also says the same thing. So I did, knowing I would lose fuel mileage and associated information, probably both trip meters, (I was wrong with that one) and the radio settings. The radio didn't worry me as I had instructions in the owner's manual, and had previously put in my own pin number. However, the radio now won't do anything, it comes on to "SEC" immediately the ignition is turned to ACC. It appears it should actually be off, and blank. Because it's on SEC, I am unable to use the 1, 6 and ON buttons together, also unable to use the 1 and Tune buttons for resetting. Any ideas how I can get the radio working again, or would I have to take it to a Lexus dealer? Also, can anyone tell me what the "horn" in the engine compartment, just in front of the firewall, is for? Also if there is a way to increase the volume of the beeps when the remote control lock and unlock is used. Many thanks Keith.
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