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Won't start after stripping interior

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Old May 17, 2023 | 04:57 PM
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Default Won't start after stripping interior

It's as it sounds. I bought a 2002 ls430 a couple days back it was running. Since the last guy is a crackhead I stripped the whole interior obviously with the battery disconnected. I went ahead and plugged the battery back up now and it keeps cranking just won't start. I do have a check vsc light on. Any of you guys have experience/advice? Also my obd2 reader ain't connecting at all, it's getting power but can't connect to the car
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Old May 17, 2023 | 06:02 PM
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Did you remove the backseat? Is it possible you disturbed the fuel pump or fuel lines under the backseat? I would check if there is fuel supplied to the engine.
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Old May 17, 2023 | 06:14 PM
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Originally Posted by LexsLS430
... it keeps cranking just won't start. I do have a check vsc light on. Any of you guys have experience/advice?
Try tightening the connection to the battery terminals.

Originally Posted by LexsLS430
... Also my obd2 reader ain't connecting at all, it's getting power but can't connect to the car
This happened to me after replacing the battery. Car starts, but the OBD-II would not connect to the tablet. I unplugged and plugged back the OBD-II. It connected.

Last edited by RideSmooth; May 17, 2023 at 06:29 PM.
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Old May 17, 2023 | 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by JZZFZZ
Did you remove the backseat? Is it possible you disturbed the fuel pump or fuel lines under the backseat? I would check if there is fuel supplied to the engine.
I did remove the back seat. Pump wires seem fine, when I try to crank it I smell fuel. The conclusion I came to is VSC light is preventing the car from starting I could be wrong though
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Old May 17, 2023 | 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by RideSmooth
Try tightening the connection to the battery terminals.


This happened to me after replacing the battery. Car starts, but the OBD-II would not connect to the tablet. I unplugged and plugged back the OBD-II. It connected.
THats what I thought at first but still doesn't help.
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Old May 17, 2023 | 06:52 PM
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Many cars with VSC Off and VSC light are starting and running fine. Even a loose gas cap could cause these lights.
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Old May 17, 2023 | 07:09 PM
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Originally Posted by RideSmooth
Many cars with VSC Off and VSC light are starting and running fine. Even a loose gas cap could cause these lights.
Thats good to know. I guess imma have to check for spark air and fuel then
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Old May 17, 2023 | 07:12 PM
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Originally Posted by LexsLS430
Thats good to know. I guess imma have to check for spark air and fuel then
Check the battery condition too. Clean the terminals.
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Old May 17, 2023 | 07:19 PM
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Originally Posted by RideSmooth
Check the battery condition too. Clean the terminals.
It's a new battery but yea I'll clean the terminals. I do have to mention once I was working on the car and it just started pouring hard and the battery and ecm got soaked. You think this might be the problem? *Ecm cover was off cuz the crackhead lost it
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Old May 18, 2023 | 07:41 AM
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Interesting development. It said VSC ok after leaving the cars power on (no clue why). But now it won't crank lol.
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Old May 18, 2023 | 08:27 AM
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How long was the car left powered on? Battery is drained? Not enough juice to crank? Any other error lights in the dash? And, maybe the soaked ECU is fried.
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Old May 18, 2023 | 09:23 AM
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Originally Posted by RideSmooth
How long was the car left powered on? Battery is drained? Not enough juice to crank? Any other error lights in the dash? And, maybe the soaked ECU is fried.
Left on for 2 minutes with obd2 plugged in, still wasn't reading. Battery could be low tbh I think there's something draining it (left the battery in overnight). Before all it said was VSC ok the break wear light message wasn't showing. I would think ecu being fried would make it not do anything at all no? I did unplug and air-dry after it got soaked
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Old May 18, 2023 | 09:50 AM
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If the battery was connected when it and the ECU were soaked, the damage would be done quickly. If the car battery, fuel, etc., are good, that will point to the ECU.
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Old May 18, 2023 | 10:03 AM
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My 2001 LS430UL will not work with the bluetooth obd2 reader as it will not connect and cause all sorts of lights to come on. Techstream works ok but half the time engine light and VSC lights stay on after using and I have to reset the zero point calibration of deceleration sensor in techstream to correct. I have heard this can happen and our cars only properly work with the dealer connections. That obd2 reader you have connected will drain the battery overnight just like leaving a dome light on will. If you are leaving this reader plugged in while cranking the car it could possibly be causing the problem. Try not connecting the reader and disconnect the battery to reset the ecu and don't put reader back in and see what happens. Also with the ecu did you take the metal cover off the top and see water in there? If so and above procedure did not fix then take metal cover off again and look for green corrosion around any parts that can be shorting out.
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Old May 18, 2023 | 10:04 AM
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Originally Posted by RideSmooth
If the battery was connected when it and the ECU were soaked, the damage would be done quickly. If the car battery, fuel, etc., are good, that will point to the ECU.
Yup the battery was connected when It got rained on. So junkyard for new ecm?
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