Sailor1906

I have 1994 LS400 -that has a sudden decrease in power. I cannot go faster than 35-40 mph, the engine is loud, RPMS are 4000-4500. The Reverse Light on the dashboard comes on and stays, no matter what is selected with the shifter. The light for the correct selection is on also. It feels like the transmission is not shifting. Any ideas?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

first thing to check is the wiring harness in the trunk hinge...
then start troubleshooting.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

I agree with the wiring , your fan clutch may be shot which is why it makes so much noise but that is a different problem.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Most likely your ignition coil

Sailor1906

Thanks - you were exactly right. Kudos!!! It took me 30 minutes to fix. The white/black striped wire was broken inside of the plastic bracket. Because of no slack in the wire bundle and where I had to splice and solder in new wire, the wire bundle does not fit back into the plastic bracket. Used cable ties to hold everything back where it belongs. The car now shifts smoothly.

The sound was from the engine over revving because the transmission would not shift, because the Lexus engine is so smooth, the noise inside the car is more like wind blowing hard. By the way, I have over 330,000 miles on my 1994, and it still amazes me how smooth it stills drive. A little wear on the interior and the driver's seat needs to be replaced. No reason to buy a new car yet. I drive 35,000+ plus a year for work. So with the money that I saved from checking this forum before going to the dealer and paying hundreds of dollars from a new cable bundle, I can use that money to buy drivers seat from a salvage yard.

Thanks again. PureDrifter, you saved me a bunch of $$$$ and time.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

hahah, not a problem, its a relatively common issue with the 1st gen cars