Well, I screwed up, and it took only a second. On my '05 LS430, I accidentally pulled the wires out of the spark plug connector (the one closest to the driver). I carefully disassembled the connector and reattached the wires, but I'm now getting a Check Engine light. I'm assuming I didn't get the wires reinstalled in the right order. The engine runs perfectly normally, but . . . you know, unwanted lights on the dash.

If someone could snap and post a photo of the connector with the color of the wires exposed, I would be most appreciative.

Do I need to reset the ECU as a result of this rather embarrassing error?

I plan to visit the junk yard, cut off the #1 plug connector, and carefully splice it onto my wiring harness as a permanent repair. Until then, I'd sure like to confirm that my temporary fix at least has the wires installed in the right order.

Ok, now standing by to have a bit of abuse heaped on me for making such a boneheaded mistake.

 

Been there done that. ;o)

Look up my post about replacing the spark plug female plug.

 

Depending upon where the ignition wires were pulled out of the connector, consider an inexpensive replacement pigtail wire harness and splice it in to the existing wires using heat shrink insulator over the soldered splices.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Toyota-Connector-Housing-90980-11885-fits-Toyota-Matrix-Echo-Camry-E-/142181927923?hash=item211ab40bf3:g:d4AAAOSwHMJYLYkM&vxp=mtr

 

What a great forum this is. This probably reveals me to be a crappy person, but I feel a whole lot better knowing that I'm not the first one to make this mistake.

I took Tradosauru's advice and ordered the set of pigtails from Amazon (which appear to be identical to the ones on my car). My only problem now is that I still don't know which wires go where. Can anyone snap a photo of the connector to the plug closest to the driver's seat so I can match the color coding to my own vehicle (an '05 LS430)?

 

Thanks, Tom57. The link you posted is to an item that doesn't match the plug on my car. But no worries. The link that Tradosauru posted was to the correct item, so I ordered it straight away.

Am I going to damage my engine by driving it until the part arrives and can be installed? It seems to run just fine. I'm getting a Check Engine light, Check VCS light, a red exclamation point, and a Trac Off light.

Other than that you can't tell anything is wrong!

 

Too quick to try and get you a link to a replacement part ... I corrected and edited my link above. Part #90980-11885 for the pigtail connector to ignition coil over plug is correct. (Note: that part # shows incompatible on many eBay listings.)

If it runs normally, you won't damage the engine.

It's below zero here. I'll post a pic of the 4-wire connector in a few hours (after I turn on the heat in my garage) unless someone has already posted a pic by then.

 

Thanks, Tom57. I'd feel a whole lot better working from a photo that shows the correct wiring order for the plug closest to the driver than trying to decipher the diagram posted by rkw, although much thanks for that as well. I just want to make sure I get it right the first time. It's pretty cold out there, and I don't want to have to redo this repair!

Shrink tubing and connectors are on their way from amazon.com.

Boy, those wires sure came out of there easily; I felt no resistance at all. I'll be super careful from this point forward, you can be sure of that!

 

Hey, Tom57. I found a photo of #7 wiring for an '02, but I don't know if that's the same as an '05.

Need to get this right the first time.

Here's the title of the thread I found for the '02:

"wiring diagram for #7 (I7) ignition coil connector on 2002 ls 430"

 

I read in another post that the wire colors are NOT the same for '01 - '03 vs. '04 - '06. The wire color on each pin varies by cylinder as well.

Also, you are repairing the # 1 cylinder ignition coil connector, right? (which is the driver's side full front position). You stated # 1 in your first post, but now saying # 7?

Note: You may be getting an undetectable misfire in that cylinder depending upon how many wires are pulled out of the connector. Before driving while it's unrepaired, I'd suggest pulling codes to see if any are a misfire code. You shouldn't drive it if it's misfiring.

 

I just confirmed that it is indeed #7 cylinder whose connector I screwed up, which is the one closest to the driver seat.

 

Note that my first post said "the one closest to the driver," which, as it turns out, is #7.

 

Your post also said: "I plan to visit the junk yard, cut off the #1 plug connector" ... which is not the one closest to the driver.

I'll take some pics of # 7 coil on plug connector and post in a few minutes.

 

Pic of # 7 wire harness connector installed and connected to coil over plug connector with wire colors in the order as they appear. Hope this helps.

 

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT. WROTE THE BOOK! Here's my thread from LAST MONTH! There's a ton of useful info the guys provided, including the replacement COP harness. (Bought a 4-pack from Amazon for about $12, I think?)

Soldering the wires from the new harness to the engine's harness is a PITA! Make sure you use quality heat shrink on each conductor. Trust us, you need to PERMANENTLY fix the wires. We all thought we could 'rig' the connection but only to fail a couple hours/days later!!!! (and you do NOT want to be in the middle of town throwing a code and misfiring!!!)

Happy reading!!!.... https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...e-shaking.html

 

"Pic of # 7 wire harness connector installed and connected to coil over plug connector with wire colors in the order as they appear. Hope this helps."

Much thanks, Tom. Your photo confirms that I correctly connected the wires. Weirdness continues because the car suddenly returned to normal. No codes, no VSC warning, no check engine light, Trac Ctrl works again. Super weird. I went out to the car last night to drive home from work, and everything was completely as it should be.

It's as though the computer in the car needed time to heal itself.