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Help Diagnosing IS-F Electrical Gremlins

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Old Apr 28, 2010 | 05:14 PM
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Default Help Diagnosing IS-F Electrical Gremlins

Hi all. I was pointed here by a colleague who also owns a lexus.

I have a 2008 IS-F and been having a great time with the car until electrical problems started last week. Shortly after starting the car, power to several of the displays/center stack blinks out and then comes back on. One time it felt like power steering were affected. Yesterday the window controls were reset when this happened - windows are no longer auto up or down, and are only able to be controlled via the door switch on the particular door that the window resides.

The car is heading to the dealer to be inspected on friday, but any thoughts on what the problems may be would help my peace of mind.
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Old Apr 28, 2010 | 07:37 PM
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never heard of this on the F... closest person who had electrical problems would be "juanca" i guess...

you sure you're not leaving other important information out like previous wrecks or mods?
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Old Apr 28, 2010 | 07:40 PM
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never heard of it either. If the car has not been messed with in that way you could have a potential long term problem as electrical issues take forever to get right. Hope it works out for you. It could be as simple as a bad ground or as horrible as a bad wire unseen wire in the wiring loom. Good luck
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Old Apr 28, 2010 | 07:55 PM
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Thanks for the replies. Fortunately there have been no accidents or damage to the car and there are no mods as well. I was hoping(still am) for an easy overlooked fix. Perhaps the car knows I've been looking into getting a gt-r and this is it's way of telling me it's displeased.
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Old Apr 28, 2010 | 09:55 PM
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Just curious, are you the original owner? Also, does your car sit a lot or is it daily driven?
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Old Apr 28, 2010 | 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by flipside909
Just curious, are you the original owner? Also, does your car sit a lot or is it daily driven?
It's a daily driver and I'm the original owner. If it matters, I have a commute of maybe 13 miles a day.
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Old Apr 28, 2010 | 10:14 PM
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Did you recently drive through any large puddles? Or maybe wash the engine compartment or send it through a high-pressure car wash?
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Old Apr 29, 2010 | 12:25 AM
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the window auto up down feature can be reset by going to each window switch and rolling the window half way down then all the way up and hold the button up for 1 second after it finishes going up. You have to do this from each windows individual switch and not from the 4 on the drivers controls.
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Old Apr 29, 2010 | 07:05 AM
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My 08' had one instance of 'memory' loss...the side mirrors would not tilt down when trans placed in reverse. This lasted for a couple of weeks, then the feature returned. As like you, mine is a daily driver.
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Old Apr 29, 2010 | 09:31 AM
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your battery could be dying or you have a loose ground somewhere. possibly at the battery as well
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Old Apr 29, 2010 | 10:44 AM
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It sounds like one of your battery's post got disconnected (probably loose), that's why you got the issue with the flickering screen and windows... or maybe the battery is about to die.

The mirrors issue mentioned above could be because the switch was not set to either mirror but to the center, that's why the tilting down feature got disabled.
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Old Apr 29, 2010 | 10:48 AM
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+1 on battery problem..
should get them checked out
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Old Apr 29, 2010 | 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by ISF FAN
My 08' had one instance of 'memory' loss...the side mirrors would not tilt down when trans placed in reverse. This lasted for a couple of weeks, then the feature returned. As like you, mine is a daily driver.

I noticed mine stopped doing that too, for some reason it only does it if the switch is on left or right, if I have it in the middle they dont tilt down in reverse. Was that the case with you?
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Old Apr 29, 2010 | 01:56 PM
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Thanks all for the additional brainstorming. I'm hoping its as simple as a wipe of the ecu or battery replacement. Not looking forward to them potentially messing with the wiring.

On a somewhat related note, my dealer made a mistake on the amount of oil needed on my 15k service and as a courtesy my service adviser offered me the next service on the house. The person I scheduled my appointment with couldn't find record of it and the adviser has yet to return my emails and calls. Unfortunately I didn't think to ask for a written confirmation as this discussion happened as I was being walked back to my car. Am I correct in guessing this is not going to be honored as this is only my word?

Last edited by fredbaggin; Apr 29, 2010 at 02:00 PM.
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Old Apr 29, 2010 | 02:31 PM
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Originally Posted by fredbaggin
It's a daily driver and I'm the original owner. If it matters, I have a commute of maybe 13 miles a day.
Wow that's a very short commute. Constant starting and short distances are not enough to keep your battery charged up. I suspect your battery is starting to go bad or already has a bad cell. Since you're still within your warranty period, have them check it out.
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