changed plugs, now engine shaking!
11-13-16, 08:34 PM
#31
Racer
Sorry you had to go through such an ordeal to change spark plugs, DE. I appreciate that you posted the progress and shared your experience for the benefit of others on the forum. Also great to see the help from others and a happy ending. I can imagine the relief when the engine started up and was back to normal. What a weekend for you.
11-14-16, 04:56 AM
#33
Lexus Fanatic
Good to hear you got this fixed, it woulda bothered me too......I think it's a sign....you'll be getting a call about your season tix too! 
btw what's at the other end of that "connector plug harness," meaning when you get a new harness, what does the opposite end look like? (not the coil side)
btw what's at the other end of that "connector plug harness," meaning when you get a new harness, what does the opposite end look like? (not the coil side)
11-14-16, 05:25 AM
#34
Driver School Candidate
As a thought here, you mentioned lots of grease on the plugs and insulators? wondering if maybe that is creating a short to the engine block or something? From something I read online:
"Of all the parts in a spark plug, no part does more than the insulator. It not only has to efficiently perform a variety of functions, but it also has to have certain properties in order to do these jobs while withstanding the immense pressures, temperatures and vibrations of an engine. Its name describes one function. It must insulate the ignition voltage from the engine block. The insulator accomplishes this by its material and shape. Aluminum oxide and glassy additives are combined and shaped to produce an insulator with high electrical resistance. The ribs on the top portion of the insulator are also important. These molded ribs increase the distance between the terminal stud and plug shell. Thus, the resistance to leakage current is considerably improved."
Not sure at all if this is the case, but you never know. Good Luck!
"Of all the parts in a spark plug, no part does more than the insulator. It not only has to efficiently perform a variety of functions, but it also has to have certain properties in order to do these jobs while withstanding the immense pressures, temperatures and vibrations of an engine. Its name describes one function. It must insulate the ignition voltage from the engine block. The insulator accomplishes this by its material and shape. Aluminum oxide and glassy additives are combined and shaped to produce an insulator with high electrical resistance. The ribs on the top portion of the insulator are also important. These molded ribs increase the distance between the terminal stud and plug shell. Thus, the resistance to leakage current is considerably improved."
Not sure at all if this is the case, but you never know. Good Luck!
One of the age issues we come across is brittle connectors and the stresses when interacting with the harness.
11-16-16, 05:18 PM
#36
Racer
Thread Starter
As a thought here, you mentioned lots of grease on the plugs and insulators? wondering if maybe that is creating a short to the engine block or something? From something I read online:
"Of all the parts in a spark plug, no part does more than the insulator. It not only has to efficiently perform a variety of functions, but it also has to have certain properties in order to do these jobs while withstanding the immense pressures, temperatures and vibrations of an engine. Its name describes one function. It must insulate the ignition voltage from the engine block. The insulator accomplishes this by its material and shape. Aluminum oxide and glassy additives are combined and shaped to produce an insulator with high electrical resistance. The ribs on the top portion of the insulator are also important. These molded ribs increase the distance between the terminal stud and plug shell. Thus, the resistance to leakage current is considerably improved."
Not sure at all if this is the case, but you never know. Good Luck!
"Of all the parts in a spark plug, no part does more than the insulator. It not only has to efficiently perform a variety of functions, but it also has to have certain properties in order to do these jobs while withstanding the immense pressures, temperatures and vibrations of an engine. Its name describes one function. It must insulate the ignition voltage from the engine block. The insulator accomplishes this by its material and shape. Aluminum oxide and glassy additives are combined and shaped to produce an insulator with high electrical resistance. The ribs on the top portion of the insulator are also important. These molded ribs increase the distance between the terminal stud and plug shell. Thus, the resistance to leakage current is considerably improved."
Not sure at all if this is the case, but you never know. Good Luck!
In my case, the misfire/missing I experienced was that 1 wire that I posted a picture of, that pulled out of the connector that goes to the Coil On Plug (COP). I ordered a 4-pack of replacement connectors with long pigtail wires that I will solder & heatshrink & make as a more permanent repair sometime in the future. A 4-pack is only about $12 on Amazon.
Last edited by LS430inDE.; 12-20-16 at 07:03 PM.
11-19-16, 09:01 PM
#37
Racer
Thread Starter
Well, the saga continues!
We took a 2 hour drive (all highway) to the beach this afternoon. It was smooth sailing and I averaged 23.1 mpg!
On the ride home this evening, I threw a CEL plus the CHECK VSC. This occurred while cruising about 65mph. The engine was still running smoothly. I pulled over to the shoulder and she idled smooth as ever.
Fortunately, I still had my OBD2 scanner in the car, from my previous experience on this thread!!! So, while on the shoulder, I scanned the code and it was the dreaded P0430 secondary bank efficiency! I was successful in erasing the code, but the scanner has the code as "pending", so after enough cycles, I'm sure I'll receive the P0430 code again.
So....now the question is....is the passenger side cat bad? I knew I could damage the cat if I continued to operate the car while it was 'missing' after I did the plugs, however, I only drove it for a couple minutes below 20mph when it was missing.
The other issue it could be is the infamous 'Y PIPE' corrosion/leak? I'm guessing (hoping) it's the exhaust Y pipe. My speculation is while the engine was running rough, it 'shook up' and vibrated the exhaust pipes, and was the final straw that broke the camel's back after 140k troublefree exhaust miles? There's no change in the volume/loudness of the exhaust.
I believe more accurate diagnosing can be achieved using the "live data" from my OBD2 scanner? My scanner does have that capability, so any suggestions on what to look for/scan for with the tool would be most appreciated.
Really sucks this (might be) the result of my changing the plugs and breaking a wire off the COP.
We took a 2 hour drive (all highway) to the beach this afternoon. It was smooth sailing and I averaged 23.1 mpg!
On the ride home this evening, I threw a CEL plus the CHECK VSC. This occurred while cruising about 65mph. The engine was still running smoothly. I pulled over to the shoulder and she idled smooth as ever.
Fortunately, I still had my OBD2 scanner in the car, from my previous experience on this thread!!! So, while on the shoulder, I scanned the code and it was the dreaded P0430 secondary bank efficiency! I was successful in erasing the code, but the scanner has the code as "pending", so after enough cycles, I'm sure I'll receive the P0430 code again.
So....now the question is....is the passenger side cat bad? I knew I could damage the cat if I continued to operate the car while it was 'missing' after I did the plugs, however, I only drove it for a couple minutes below 20mph when it was missing.
The other issue it could be is the infamous 'Y PIPE' corrosion/leak? I'm guessing (hoping) it's the exhaust Y pipe. My speculation is while the engine was running rough, it 'shook up' and vibrated the exhaust pipes, and was the final straw that broke the camel's back after 140k troublefree exhaust miles? There's no change in the volume/loudness of the exhaust.
I believe more accurate diagnosing can be achieved using the "live data" from my OBD2 scanner? My scanner does have that capability, so any suggestions on what to look for/scan for with the tool would be most appreciated.
Really sucks this (might be) the result of my changing the plugs and breaking a wire off the COP.
11-20-16, 08:23 AM
#39
If you haven't installed your new COP female connectors and wires then I would be that is your culprit. Until I installed mine no amount of jerry rigging would work. Make sure to solder and used electrical shrink wrap tube when joining the wires.
11-20-16, 08:54 AM
#40
Racer
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by rkw77080
Here's some basic information on the DTC P0430. Did you get any other DTC's with the P0430?
11-20-16, 10:57 AM
#41
Racer
Thread Starter
old plug pics
Attachment 399290Here's some pictures of my old plugs. They were Denso IK20 and had only ~60k miles on them. My new plugs I installed are NGK #4589 (IFR6T11).
11-20-16, 12:28 PM
#42
Racer
Thread Starter
Here's a pic of the wiring harness that goes to the COP. I picked these up (a 4-pack) for $14 on Amazon. The wires are about 4" long. The product is listed here.... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I haven't yet to replaced the one I broke.
I ordered some heat shrink from Amazon and I should receive it in a couple days. The heat shrink is listed here... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
How amazing is Amazon?!
I ordered some heat shrink from Amazon and I should receive it in a couple days. The heat shrink is listed here... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
How amazing is Amazon?!
11-20-16, 06:00 PM
#43
Racer
Thread Starter
So good news and not so good news? I drove the LS on 4 separate occasions today. Each duration over 20 minutes in drive time. I had the scanner plugged in to the OBD2 port, and at various times during my trips, I had NO 'pending' codes at all. She is also clear of any Check Engine Light!
As I was playing around with the scan tool, I noticed an option for 'enhanced OBD2" codes. I selected that option. It then asked me if the vehicle make was a Lexus. I selected 'yes.'
What it revealed next was alarming. It showed 16 codes, ranging from "random misfire" to "bank 1 lean" to some sort of "mass airflow" trouble, and various other items.
I do NOT have any codes on the LS though. The scan tool does NOT show any 'pending' codes either.
I realize I still need to make a permanent fix for my COP connector, but why the heck is the scan tool showing those codes? I even erased them all, and 5 seconds later, they come back! I was thinking maybe I should disconnect the battery for a minute or 2 and see if that helps the situation, but if the scan tool is able to successfully erase the codes, and they come back, I doubt if disconnecting the battery will do anything for me.
FYI...the vehicle runs like normal, if not smoother!
Stay tuned I guess...
As I was playing around with the scan tool, I noticed an option for 'enhanced OBD2" codes. I selected that option. It then asked me if the vehicle make was a Lexus. I selected 'yes.'
What it revealed next was alarming. It showed 16 codes, ranging from "random misfire" to "bank 1 lean" to some sort of "mass airflow" trouble, and various other items.
I do NOT have any codes on the LS though. The scan tool does NOT show any 'pending' codes either.
I realize I still need to make a permanent fix for my COP connector, but why the heck is the scan tool showing those codes? I even erased them all, and 5 seconds later, they come back! I was thinking maybe I should disconnect the battery for a minute or 2 and see if that helps the situation, but if the scan tool is able to successfully erase the codes, and they come back, I doubt if disconnecting the battery will do anything for me.
FYI...the vehicle runs like normal, if not smoother!
Stay tuned I guess...
12-20-16, 07:08 PM
#44
Racer
Thread Starter
You are 100% correct. The codes kept coming back until I replaced the harness. I soldered the new harness onto the cutoff wires of the broken harness, & used double-heatshrink. I started the car and has been running great without any codes nor pending codes, for the several weeks since I made the repair permanent!
12-20-16, 07:49 PM
#45
Moderator
Sounds like a happy ending... Those enhanced codes that were stored may have been from previous hiccups that the computer picked up on? I haven't delved into my scanner that deeply to find anything like that...