93xNAxTxGS

Okay, let me start off by introducing myself. I'm an automotive enthusiast, I know my way around automobiles, however, Acuras/Hondas are my expertise. I have a couple designated track cars, one I admit is more of a garage queen, while the other is a purposely built sleeper. Having been tinkering with all different makes and models of automobiles for over a decade now, I have never ran into a problem that I wasn't able to figure out, that is, up until now. It may be something simple that I'm overlooking or something I never even knew existed. I'm not too savvy with these certain vehicles, so I admit, I'm honestly stumped. I have no idea what is going on...

THE PROBLEM:

Three nights ago, I took my 1993 Lexus GS300 out for a spin. It was sitting at a buddy's house for about a week as I went on an out of state vacation. Once we arrived back, I went about my business, started the car and drove home. Everything was fine. There were no error/indication lights whatsoever. The next day, I go out for a drive, again, everything went perfect. It wasn't until the night after, I went for a drive, I instantly noticed that the battery light had flashed on. I instantly turned off the car, waited about thirty seconds, then went ahead and started it back up. Everything started up fine. Battery light continues to stay lit. My clock, mileage on the cluster all appeared to have reset. My dome light no longer worked, telescoping steering wheel control doesn't seem to be working anymore either. Aside from the trunk release switch that worked fine prior to the event, the power door locks, windows, sunroof, headlights, all works fine with the car on, but doesn't work when the car is off. I recently replaced the alternator, as the last one went out on me a couple of days after I took ownership of the car. The old alternator failed a bench test, it appeared to have been soaked with oil that was leaking from the distributor seal, which is all fixed now. With the car started, I went ahead and pulled off the positive battery terminal from the battery to see if the alternator had failed, it stayed running without any weird occurrences. This typically means that the alternator is fine, right? I, then switched out the battery for a known working one, again, the problem persists. With the car OFF, there seems to be a break somewhere, I'm not getting power to anything. By anything, I mean anything. No lights, no locks, nothing. Once I insert the key and turn it to ACC position, accessories work, stereo works fine, turn it once more, dash light works, headlights work, accessories work, stereo works, windows work, sunroof books, again though, no power to locks, dome light, telescopic steering wheel, or trunk release switch, fuel door release works fine. Check engine light stays on, oil pressure light stays on, battery light stays on. Turn the key to start, all of the above works, except for telescopic wheel controls, and dome light. Check engine light and oil pressure light goes away, battery light stays on.

THE RUNDOWN:

Checked battery with multimeter, with car off and on, everything checks out fine. I checked all the fuses in the engine bay compartment and driver side kick panel, everything checks out. What am I missing here my fellow enthusiasts? Are there other fuse box locations? Again, the alternator is pretty much new, about a month or so old, battery is good, checked all fuses (that I know about/of), all appeared to be good. Terminals checked out fine. Will a weak or loose ground cause these symptoms to occurs? A break somewhere within cables? The only ground cable that I see are those going from battery terminal to chassis and battery terminal to the engine's block. Positive battery terminal and attached wiring all are snug and tight. Anybody with any ideas/solutions? I'd love to hear it. Maybe somebody here can help me out? Looking for somebody who is local, who is a little more knowledgeable than I am and have more experience with these cars? Or, maybe somebody here know of a local shop with reasonable rates that can diagnose the problem? I'm located in North End Tacoma, WA. Any help, ideas, and/or solutions is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance my fellow enthusiast.

houndawgbp

Granted the car I'm referring to was a 86 model but my cressida did something very very similar. It was my voltage regulator.

93xNAxTxGS

Yeah, thanks, I'll definitely look into that; I'll try adding new grounds and new leads as soon as this hideous Washington weather clears up a bit. I can deal with the cold, just hate getting wet. Heh. Anybody else feel like chiming in and dropping you're .02 cents? I'm open to suggestions.

Jostar

I would pull the alternator & get it checked

93xNAxTxGS

Hey guys, sorry for the late reply, haven't really had time to diagnose anything lately as work has been insanely busy. However, I did manage to find some time to do a little wrenching and here's the outcome:

Considering the fact that the alternator utilizes an internal voltage regulator, I figured I can hit two birds with one stone by removing the alternator completely and having it tested. So after pulling the alternator, I decided to head to the nearest Autozone to have it tested. The first test passed with flying colors, and just to be safe, I had asked for a second test to be done, just to be sure. Again, all green. It's good to go. I figured this would be the outcome considering I had just replaced the alternator, but then again, you'll never know, especially with these aftermarket products.

With that being said and done, I went ahead and replaced every bus fuse that I can find, tested the battery and alternator voltages, tried jumping a few grounds here and there, and nothing seems to do it. I still have zero power going into the cabin controls. However, the car starts, and once it starts, everything seems to be fine, aside from the battery light being on, dome light not working, and trunk switch not functioning. I even unhooked the trunk release switch in the cabin and trunk, in case something was making direct contact, still nothing.

I'm almost ready to throw in the towel and bringing it into a local shop, the fear of raping shop rates is the only current thing that's stopping me at the moment... I'm sure it's something stupid and simple that I'm just overlooking, but I can't seem to find out what it is.

Anything else that I should be looking at? What am I missing guys? Maybe somebody here has had a similar problem? Please ask around, any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

chrcrou26

Bad regulator from previous alternator could have possibly surged and damaged circuits in the fuse box or possibly relays somewhere else....sounds like a nightmare but until you follow and test every lead to the systems that aren't functioning you can never be sure

93xNAxTxGS

Okay, so long story short...

Yesterday, I threw in the towel. Brought the car to a local nearby shop, had nothing but great reviews on Yelp. Yes, I was so desperate to get my car back on the road that I relied on Yelp as a source of reliable reviews. Anywho, I drop my car off at the shop, after waiting a couple of days, the tech/mechanic was sure that the problem was a faulty alternator. I figured, yeah, why not. I'll take that into consideration. $150 later, I'm driving home, nothing was fixed, all problems still exists. I'm now somewhat pissed. A part of me knows that the alternator is fine, so I feel like I just threw away $150 for no reason.

I get home, park it in the garage, now somewhat irritated, my f*#k it attitude comes out and I start going back over everything. Upon a thorough inspection of the underdash harness/fuse box, I find to my surprise, two wires fray, burnt, and bonded together. No bueno. Actual pictures will be posted here soon. So I split the two wires apart, made sure that they weren't in contact with any other wires or grounds/grounded areas, crossed my fingers, started the car, and voila! Battery light, gone! Now I'm thinking, with that now out of the way, I can finally get on with my life, oh wait... There's still no power to anything while the car is off. Turns signals, telescopic wheel, power locks, and trunk release no longer works while car is on, everything else powers fine. Again, when car is off, nothing is functional.
Below is a picture of the two wires that had frayed and bonded together, any ideas as what the two wires and plug control?

PIONEER

iTrader: (2)

A faulty alternator voltage regulator might have caused a surge in the system which led to the 2 wires frying together. I say look for the TSRM and see what that plug on the junction box goes to.

chrcrou26

That's exactly what I said last week the problem was lol

93xNAxTxGS

Hey again, just thought I'd give everybody a brief update as to what is going on, just in case anybody else out there is facing or has had a similar problem...

The upside, the car runs and drives great. She's a blast to drive! Comfortable enough to cruise in with enough power to overtake slower traffic with ease.

The downside, the electrical problems still persist...

I still have no power to anything while the car is off, i.e. all vehicle lighting (headlights, tail lights, dome lights, etc.) However, brake lights work when brake pedal is depressed. Trunk release switch doesn't work. Power locks no longer works. Telescopic wheel, well isn't telescopic. Interior clock isn't receiving power. Cluster isn't memorizing trip info, miles driven etc. Resets and reads "0.0" each time I shut off and start the car back up.

Headlights only turns on when car is started. Otherwise, they're perfectly nonfunctional, just like the rest of the accessories.

So... With all that being said, any ideas? I've already replaced the fuse box in the engine bay compartment as well as the underdash fuse box.

Is there a body/chassis ECU that I don't know about? Maybe a faulty relay or some sort?

joewitafro

I wonder if your ignition is bunk... Can you check to see if you get accessory power out of the ignition? Or a broken wire somewhere/loose ground that is causing everything to reset and not work without being running.

I really don't have many ideas for this one.. If you need the wiring diagrams though I can hook you up with an FTP link if you need, just pm me.

ClarkKent

That's exactly what I was thinking Joe... Ignition switch...