drewd

Got my '98 LS400 back last Thursday from almost four weeks at the shop for a new starter, injectors, power steering pump, idle control valve and knock sensors (nothing like having everything go wrong at once!)

The car runs like it did when it was new. I'm happy! But last night, my wife told me that when she was coming home from the store at around 10:00 at night, the automatic headlights didn't turn on. She had to manually turn them on. Sure enough, when I checked, they didn't come on. I didn't think to look to see if the dash lights dimmed when switching back and forth between auto and on.

Oh, and the windshield washer reservoir is reporting low fluid when it's full, but it's been doing that for several months.

And one other thing...one of the bulbs in the center brake light has burned out, but I cannot get the doggone thing to open up. When I got the oil changed today, the guys gave it a try; they even said that they'd done LS400s before, but they could not get the cover to come off.

Any suggestions?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

you need to search mate....all that stuff except the headlights has been covered.

for the headlights, make sure they plugged in EVERYTHING behind the headlights. as it stands, it sounds like either the light sensor has died (unlikely) or the harness to it got pulled out/unplugged. (likely)

drewd

The headlight problem has apparently solved itself. Hooray.

I fear that the amount of force that I'm applying to the brake light cover is just short of breaking something. When I say that it's really stuck, I'm not exaggerating. It does not appear to want to come off the way that everybody says it's supposed to. I suppose that could mean that it's already broken, but I've owned the car since it was new and never had to fiddle with it before. Stranger things have happened, I guess.

And I see what the solution to the washer fluid is. I don't like it...but I see it

Kansas

What is a "brake light cover"?

deanshark

He's talking about the 3rd brake light cover. Is there any screws holding it down from the trunk side maybe?
drewd; Don't leave people hanging like that with the washer fluid. Don't just say you found the problem, say what the problem is. So when people search in the future (some of us actually do) they will know what to do instead of just seeing a dead thread. Thanks.

drewd

I finally got the center brake light removed. There was a burr or flash - some extra material - on one of the pieces that sticks straight down into the rear deck. I just pried as hard as I could while pushing to the rear on that piece and it came out. A little work with some sandpaper and it matched the other side just fine.

The problem with the washer tank is the typical sunken float. I just pulled the fender lining and unplugged the sender wires. It's nice to have the car tell me when it's low on fluid, but it's also not exactly a chore to look over there when I check the oil level at the gas station.

The headlights haven't acted up again.