daveskates

iTrader: (1)

So I took my mom to work tonight it wasn't too far. On my way back home I took a turn and all of a sudden I had not much power at all it went from healthy to **** in a few seconds. I have NO idea how that happened I wasn't driving fast or too slow doing about 35mph. So I'm worried that it's going to break down on me so I just coast until I get home. I put it in park and tried to rev it a little bit and it felt like it was taking a while to even rev smoothly. I popped the hood looked around and noticed one connector was caught in the timing belt and the wire was gone, as well as another fml. So my question is can anyone identify what connector this is? also is it that bad? I kind of got really upset I really wouldn't want to have to replace the harness if I can't retrieve the wires to go back to the connector. I'll take pictures tomorrow after work, has anyone ever had this happen before?

here are the pics

YoshiMan

I had a crankshaft pulley separate from the engine and had it take ALL the belts with it on an old Camry. ( I don't think i have ever laughed so hard after opening the hood of a car) but can't say i've lost any electrical wiring to the belts yet. There is alot of wiring on modern cars and if it's loose and unsecured, it's inevitably going to get eaten.

As far was what connector, You're gonna have to put up pictures or give us more detail. Any idea what it was connected too?

daveskates

iTrader: (1)

no idea it's night time so i can't really see everything too well i'll post up a pic tomorrow

YoshiMan

sounds good, let us know.

Just judging from the symptoms and the general area, i got money that it was for the air flow meter

daveskates

iTrader: (1)

i hope it's something that simple, whatever wire broke it would crank start up then die im not too happy about this situation at all but i hope it's an easy fix but that's wishful thinking

LScowboyLS

don't get yourself in a twist over this!

every LS400 connector is available at the junkyard, and MANY of them were used on a gazillion regular old Toyotas, which makes them super easy to find, if you can strip wire and solder, you will be fixed in a jiffy, and probably for less than $20 for the connector, wire, solder, everything!

just post multiple clear photos - cell phone if you have a good one, digital camera is even better, and on a bright day - and we will tell ya what to go hunt down at the junkyard!

daveskates

iTrader: (1)

yea you're right i'll take pics first thing when I get home from work hopefully nothing else got tangled in the timing belt it was revving a little bit just not as smooth so I think it's safe to assume nothing is stuck to the point to stop the belt from moving completely

steve2006

I think you mean serpentine belt not timing belt as this is all encased in covers.

nthach

What shape are your plug wires/coils/caps/rotors are in? Our cars can "limp home" on 4 cylinders but you're dumping raw fuel down the exhaust and risking cat failure.

daveskates

iTrader: (1)

pics updated in my first post

let me know what you all think i have no idea what the wire is for but w/e it is must've caused the car not to start anymore

YoshiMan

Alright, question # 1: Did you remove the covers from the timing belt? Or are they just missing? If they are straight up missing, you REALLY should go to a junkyard and pick up some new covers. The timing belt really should not be exposed and open.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that connector is for the right hand camshaft position sensor, which would explain why the car is either running horrible or not starting, as the ECU is totally blind on the cam position.

daveskates

iTrader: (1)

when i purchased the car it was exactly like that, personally i'd keep it on there but maybe they took it off when they replaced the timing belt and waterpump who knows

lexxpro

You are missing all the covers to prevent things like this from happening. It looks like your right hand cam sensor is completly riped out of the housing and the left side cam sensor has a damaged plug that needs to be replaced. Like others have said just go to your local junk yard

daveskates

iTrader: (1)

i wish the car came with all that stuff, in the second picture it looks like it's going to be a PITA to even get to those wires to solder them -__-

how far back do they go is there an easy way to get to them better?

LScowboyLS

you need to tell us which town you are in within Texas, many Club Lexus members in Texas know the local junkyards and can point you to one with a good selection of Lexuses and/or Toyotas

you are missing a lot of covers, shields, wire guides etc. that would keep this from happening again, all stuff you need to pick off of some junkyard LS400's, it may take multiple cars to find everything you need

if you get stumped locally, there are plenty of junkyards who list these parts on ebay for very reasonable prices, and also people parting out their cars right here on Club Lexus!

and yeah, some of that soldering is gonna be a pain, that is why a really good auto electric mechanic makes the big bucks!