Oz_racing

we had a LS400 in the other day there is a connector that, if water gets into will stop contact, its right behind the manifold by the firewall 4 pin connector white cover push it and see it will start or if start will click

ihiryu

iTrader: (7)

that's pretty much what I did. Except it was a "starter switch" that I bought at an autoparts store. 12 bucks for a switch I was going to use for a week lol.

sc250tt

Hmm im not a v8 guru yet but i would look at the starter circuit and the alarm circuit. Did you test the starter signal wire for juice?

SpinAll4

This guy is on the right track. I would find the starter wire coming from the ignition switch and test that to see if it has voltage when you move the key to "start", if so then move on to the anti theft system. There is for sure, 100% no chip in the key in 97's.

Forgot to ask, is there any type of aftermarket alarm in the car? if so, the ****ty starter kill relay they put in some can cause problems (if there is a starter kill relay present, you can take it out quickly and reconnect the 2 ends of the starer wire back together to bypass this)

ScottURnot

iTrader: (33)

Well, I am going to see what I can find out today.
The car has no aftermarket alarms, all stock.

Lextreme

Scott,

Have you read this article? http://www.lextreme.com/dx-starter.html Perhaps you should double check your ground wires. BTW, I have 1997 SC400 Diagrams. PM me what u need.

ScottURnot

iTrader: (33)

Yep David, That was the first informitive artical I found. Which ground wires are we talking about?

Lextreme

Scott,

Trace this diagram
See if any of the compounants are not working properly. It is very common for the Lexus to have loose wires under the relays in the fuse box. Have a friend get in your car and turn the key and you put your ear close to the starter relays and listen for the click sound. If it doesnt click, the relay is either not getting juice or its is broken. I have few relays are home if you want them. Since your car is manual now, double check the Neutral switch. It might be loose.

ScottURnot

iTrader: (33)

Thanks David for the diagram, It may be a help. What I am trying to figure out is what role the neutral switch plays.
I origanally jumpered the two pins on my harness to get the car to start and to this point that had been working. Where is the actual NSS located on our cars? I am still wondering about it.

Also trying to understand the starter relay. I have a very good understanding how realays work, In fact that is how I got the car started to get it home. I applied power by jumping pins A4 too B8 and it started.
The relay is good but I get no power at B10 or B7, does the Theft deterent sytem actually power the relay coli and the switch supply ground or vise-versa?
Where is the theft Deterent system located?

c0wboy

Scott, if you've got no power to B10 after you turn the key then it sounds like you have an issue with the neutral safety switch. The anti theft ecu supplies the ground to start relay. I had to get my starter firing recently and the checklist is should help out greatly.

Eric

Lextreme

You should trace B10 and back.

Neutral Switch
Theft Deterrent
Ignition Main Relay


Check for loose connection where relays are plug in. Try this, get into the car and put key on to power. While try to LOCK and UNLOCK the door switch feel times. That would reset the theft deterrent.

ScottURnot

iTrader: (33)

Thanks for all your help guys! I got it fixed and suddenly feel really stupid! There was a fuse up in the drivers side kick panel that was blown. I checked everything under the hood, didnt realize I had a fuse for the starter relay inside the car.

Still, I wonder why it blew? Chances are it will do it again. Fuses blow because there is a problem, I have a feeling this is not solved.

KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

A blown fuse doesn't always indicate that there is a problem. Sometimes it just happens.

If you wanted to, you could hook up an amp meter across the fuse terminals, with the fuse removed, to see what kind of power is going across the fuse when you start the car. If the amps are spiking high compared to the fuse rating then you may have a problem somewhere. Too much resistence somewhere, if something was shorted to ground the fuse would have blown again right away.

KC

Lextreme

I am truly glad that this problem is fixed. Electrical can be a nightmare.

ihiryu

iTrader: (7)

yay sorry i couldn't help, but i'm glad you got it figured out!