Yes, it would be. However, this may not be the cause of all of my problems - just the shutting off. I noticed that sometimes the lights flicker in the car and then it dies, whereas other times it just dies. This leads me to believe there may be more than one culprit to blame.

The only benefit is the cost, I can get it rebuilt for $50 as opposed to $300 for a new one. I think rebuilt takes a day or 2 at the most. I think they replace the major components so I would expect it to last.

I will let you know.

Also - does anyone know if your alternator is going bad will it trip your battery light on your dash?

Jonny

 

Varcity,

Dx's problem is different than ours, I'm sure if you did the alternator 'test' (removing battery cable with car running) your car will still run, as mine did (as well as having the dealer test the battery and alternator and no issues were found). The difference with our problem and Jonny's is that our common denominator seems to be the idle dropping low (600 rpms and lower) when the brake is engaged.

So I still believe we have a cause (or causes) somewhere else that need to be found. I'm starting to believe that the wire for the battery ground may be more of the culprit than anything else (from what I'm reading). I'm going to swap out my battery this weekend and see if I can get back there and see how to tighten (or replace) that ground and see if that causes any change.

I'm not a mechanic at all but just trying to use a little common sense here, I know my car is more likely to die if I'm playing my music a little louder along with the other things are pulling voltage away from the car (Viper alarm, Nav bypass module, headlights on). Anyone have an opinion as to whether the brake pump being engaged (along with the above) is taking away too much power to keep the car running and if so, how do you get more power to the car to keep the rpm's up (other than running the A/C or putting it in Nuetral - temporary fixes)?

Any mechanics, lexus techs or electrical people with any ideas, please chime in....

 

Hey man,

I think you are right. I think your problem may lie with a loose or corroded ground wire. I don't have the list in front of me, but there are a good 7 grounds around the engine bay. I would start at the alternator ground and go from there. If there is not a solid connection to metal or corrosion is in the way, then this will cause the car to die.

When I replaced the motor on my old SC400 I had it all put back together, but everytime I would touch the brake it would die. It turned out that I had not connected the ground wire properly. Simple fix after I, well actually my mechanic, found it.

Anyway, my problem seems to have gone away for the time being. I charged the Optima Red and put it back in the car. Started it and pulled off the battery cables and it ran just fine. Then I let it idle for 10 minutes and it was idling fine. So I took it for a drive and not a single stall. Came back and let it sit another 10 minutes while I pressed and depressed the brake, turned stereo and lights on etc etc. So for right now my problem has taken a break - although I expect her back any day now!!

Jonny