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Hello All
I have a problem with starting my car. It's a 2003 Toyota Celsior system. It's a 1985 Toyota Cressida. All the engine and gear systems are the original ones that comes with an LS430 car. Fuse box, ECU etc. come from UAE, it's used parts that comes from Japan.
I turn the key to start the car and I can only hear the starter which is working fine. And I also hear the clicking of the relay coming out of the fuse box (The one in the photo here)
This car stayed for almost 6 months in a body shop since the last time it was successfully started.
Facts:
1. Starter is working fine.
2. Battery is fine.
3. Fuel Pump doesn't work unless it's connected directly to the battery. And there is actual petrol coming out of the hose.
4. No current is coming out of these fuses in the image (3,4,5 and 6).
5. When you remove the ignition coil from the engine, and make it close to the engine body, it does show pulses of electricity when trying to start the car.
I don't have an experince with car maintenance, I've done the above checks with a friend over the phone using an Avometer.
3 Questions please
1. Where do the current in fuse 3,4,5 and 6 comes from?
2. What can be the issue here?
3. What is the next best troubleshooting step?
It will be great if you have any thoughts about how to resole the issue.
I thank you all.
Last edited by Justmorad; Mar 23, 2025 at 04:48 AM.
The fuel pump is not powered how you would expect. The fuel pump gets a different voltage at different times, like briefly when the key is turned to the on position and then it gets more voltage depending on the rpm. So if you aren’t detecting voltage at the pump, that’s not necessarily unusual. If you wired the pump to 12v and it works then that’s a good start, but can you describe what the symptoms are? Does it run? Does it run crappy? How long have you been having this issue? Did you do any work before the problem began? What other symptoms are you having? Even problems that don’t seem related?
Power to the fuel injectors is going to either be controlled by a relay or the ECU, you would need to get a service manual to get the diagnostic procedure. But depending on exactly what the symptoms are, the problem can usually be recognized. I have never heard of a car not starting because of a bad fuel injection relay. Once in a while a fuel pump relay fails. But if the car cranks over but doesn’t start at all then it’s usually a bad fuel pump happens, but if you have wired yours directly then you can cross that off the list.
Something that I would immediately suspect if the car was fine and then after sitting for 6 months you could possibly have an issue with the security system.
I don’t understand, it’s a Celsior? So it’s a JDM vehicle? Does it have OBD2? If it’s not starting up, then it’s probably not going to have a CEL pending to matter. Failure to start is usually more basic so yes, you need to get everything reassembled and then you can determine why it’s not starting up. You need to isolate it’s a lack of fuel or a lack of spark, and then you can narrow it down from there. And exactly what it is doing is important in diagnosing the problem. Does it just crank over quickly and strongly without any hint of firing up? Is there a security light anywhere on the dashboard? Mine is on the side of the steering wheel by the dash dimmer ****. It stays flashing any time there is a problem. If it’s working correctly then it stops flashing once the key is in the on position. Have you tried starting it with starter fluid? If it fires up for a few moments after spraying some directly into the open throttlebody then you know it’s an issue with the fuel pressure. I am not sure why you’re not getting power to those 4 fuse terminals, but there could be a few reasons why, they might not get power until the engine is cranking over or something. You might want to buy a service manual, or get online subscription to one. They can be very helpful to diagnose problems.
From your post it worked pre body shop and used parts including ECU were put in. If you have your old ECU send it off for repair as it sounds like the used one is not paired to your car.
From your post it worked pre body shop and used parts including ECU were put in. If you have your old ECU send it off for repair as it sounds like the used one is not paired to your car.
All parts pre body shop are the same as now. It was a complete set of (Gas pedal, ECU, IMMO box, transponder and key) and it was working fine. They only exception for this is the gas pedal. Does the immobilizer recognize if the gas pedal was swapped? Or it doesn't matter? I'll bring the gas pedal from the original set and see if this makes any difference.