Gamedina79

Hey guys, I'm new here, and new to this Lexus business. Anyway, here isa short list:

1) I have a '95 LS400, It has aftermarket HID's (unknown brand) They worked well for about a year, then they cut out and have not worked well for a few months. Only one light works now (driver side) I'm thinking a bad ballast or a bad Relay switch. If a bad Relay switch, where is it located? I can't find it. I thought it wason the steering colum but i'm not finding squat. Both lights only work when the brights are on.....

Also, around the same time this happened ^ the fuel pump went out. I got it replaced, but the mechanic said it had a short in the system but didn't specify where...... ???

2) Now there is a slow discharge of the battery, to the point where it will die in about a week. However if i run the headlights it will drain within a few minutes. I'm thinking the alternator, i have checked the fusible links (120A, 40A, etc..) I unbolted and inspected them, all fine.

Thursday i took the the battery to be tested at O'Reily's, it tested at 95% after being charged. I then went home and put the battery in the car, drove it to Autozone. I had them test the the electrical system, and they said it was fine. I drove three blocks and had O'Reily's check the system and it could not read the anything. ....

Even though the car is a '95, i believe it has the OBD II system. they say they can not check it because they only check '96 and up (BS!).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Welcome to Club Lexus.

The HID is my suspicion. Pull that out and put the halogen bulbs back in place. When the ballasts are removed you'll be able to trace back any additional wiring that were added. Check all the fuses as well. That should fix it and then if you really want HID, a new kit from a reputable company.

Gamedina79

Thanks RA40, I will try this changing that out soon, like as soon as i figure out the rat nest that guy left me.

Currently I have chased down some more wiring problems. There was a ground wire on the top of the steering colum attached under some spring mechanism, that looks as if it were pulled off, weird. I re-attached that.

Also, my wiper switch had been broken since i got the car, so i pulled it out. While i had it apart, three (3) of the four (4) wires were frayed down to the copper wire. I should probably order a new one, but who has a reputable place to order this sort of thing from?

LScowboyLS

95's (like all LS400's) suffer from alternator failure (not the alternator's fault, caused by leaking power steering system) as well as issues with the ECU caps, so once you feel like you have the wiring back to bone stock, if the problems persist, then look to those two areas as potential suspects next.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

This was posted in the LS430 section and may be helpful:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...buy-parts.html

I tend to go to Carson Toyota because they are local. Sewell Lexus is also good.

Handy98

I had the same symptoms but mine were solved with a new TPS. Scared the heck out of my then toddler because we either idled/rolled or floored it and went rocketing down the street. Good times!

In my hunt for the problem, I do remember there being a question about a yaw sensor causing it. My neighbors thought I was nuts, standing in my trunk at 2am, rocking the car. Thank you google.

What a year that was. Starter, TPS, ps leak and my mom, then my son lost each lost a master key. I don't recommend that.

Gamedina79

I have broke down and ordered a new alternator, i did notice that there is a gouge on the wiring harness that goes into the alt. I'm hoping some cleaning, and e-tape will help. wish me luck, haha. I have considered the lights and will look into all of these fun electrical stuff over this week.

LScowboyLS

did you test the alternator before ordering/installing a new one? - even just a basic test of putting a meter across the battery when running and also with car off, would give you some information

Gamedina79

Yes the Alt was "deep fried" (lol) soaked in power steering fluid from bad ps hoses. the 400 stays charged now. But still had some problems with the connector so i had to E-tape the heck out of it.
Looks like someone couldn't "finesse" it out, so they hacked it out. :


The missing was coming from a frayed sparkplug wire on the left bank. I replaced all plugs and wires. Today the missing came back. I removed the left bank cover and once again another plug wire was nearly chopped in half!?! so i guess im gonna have to buy some more plug wires, unless anyone knows where they sell individual wires? Because I have looked all over town. I wish I had kept some of those old wires...

Oh yeah and I'm guessing the "ignitor" on the HID is bad, and not heating up the salts. but yes, i think i'm gonna get the lights back to oem. Does anyone have a pic of what the original wiring looks like, so i know what to look for to order some new ones. Or i could search the salvage yards.

Thanks guys.