High-Test

So, I have a Diamond Pearl 1992 SC300. It's kinda been through hell lately. It's been lying dormant since december, but now that I'll be out of school for the summer I have some time to get to it and attempt to fix the problem.

Here's what happened: One day, the car wouldn't start. So, I got a new battery. Problem solved. 2 weeks later, it wouldn't start after I got home from being out of town. I got one of those battery chargers, and that fixed the problem. Then, it died yet again. I noticed that the alternator wasn't turning while the motor was on. so, I called around, and m,ade the idiot decision of telling TAP I wanted an alternator for a 1992 Lexus SC 300 with a 2JZ-GE engine. THey sent me one for an Es300. so, my brother in law went out and bought a brand new one, and installed it. He took it for a spin, and that seemed to fix it for the night. The next night when I went to pick it up, it wouldn't start. (surprise, surprise..) He decided to jump it. I told him to ground it, but my brother in law said "Chris, this aint my first rodeo." It started, and ran fine, but died when it was disconnected. He hooked it up again, and we started it again. After half a minute I noticed that something wasn't right. THe car was off. The fan wasn't turning, and there was smoke coming from all around the fusebox, but none of the fuses seemed to be blown. being that it was a dead car in My Brother in law's driveway, my sister wanted it out of her sight yesterday, and the car's now in Marceline, MO, where apparently even the word Chrysler has area mechanics scratching their heads.

With that really long introduction about my problem, Can anyone shed some light on what's wrong with my car? THe only guy in Marceline who has ever worked on the car before said that he thinks it's the wiring harness, but he needs a wiring manual. Is there anything I could do to fix it that isn't excessively expensive?

Also. where might I find a dark Grey driver's side door panel?

iasc300

iTrader: (1)

well first of all welcome to CL and i hope you enjoy your stay - but im sure there are alot of people who will help you out- im not sure- peace

95 Integra

Never had that problem, but it does indeed sound like a wiring problem. Id start off by looking for melted wires and then look for the cause.

High-Test

I'm 17, and I have very limited mechanical ability.. So I could look for melted wires when I get up to where the car is. Pardon me for asking, but if a wire is melted, it will have burned through the insulation, right? I could find melted wires by looking around with a flashlight?

If the whole wiring harness is fried, (gasp!) could I find one that isn't? Or is that just a case of more money than brains?

atekt

Hey welcome man!Sorry about your problems. It does sound like wirring problems.... And yes if it was your harness you can find alot of them on here. Alot of people are doing swaps such as myself and just had one laying around. I hope all goes well man. ill let you know if I find anything about this problem.

High-Test

THanks alot. You guys have been really welcoming, and I greatly appreciate any help you have to offer.

dejacky

iTrader: (2)

make sure the battery contacts and terminals are not corroded. If they are, replace them immediately and clean the battery contacts to the point where they are polished with NO corrosion or crap on them. i know this has caused MANY problems for sc300 owners and i hope it helps .

High-Test

Yeah.. I know I had a new set of terminal hookups on my list before it died.. where might I be able to acquire one for somewhat less than an arm and a leg?

95 Integra

Autozone for the battery terminals and yes, look for melted insulation.

Tammy

From your original post....

" I noticed that the alternator wasn't turning while the motor was on "

- Was the accessory belt missing or screaming at you ? The alternator was locked up and would not turn?
.
" my brother in law went out and bought a brand new one, and installed it. "

- Were there any wiring changes made when installing the alternator. Was it an "exact" plug fit? Any chance of confusion regarding the reinstallation of the alternator wiring?

- Did you check the output voltage of the alternator supplied to the battery, when installed and new? If not, you don't know if the voltage regulator is functioning correctly or not.

Remove the battery; insure you have a good ground and postive wiring and connections. All connections must be clean and tight.
A star washer between the battery connection end and frame ground sometimes greatly improves the overall connection. Use a size that fits the bolt.

Highly recommend replacing the wiring with the correct fitted wiring. Nothing works better than starting with new industrial grade copper wiring at the battery. Auto electric or battery supply houses sometimes have the ability to custom make cables for cars and trucks. They use large hydraulic crimping tools. Much better than the "off the rack" replacements, who always use thin wire and the universal terminal ends..

If your in doubt, have your Lexus towed to a good alternator repair establishment or auto electric specialist in your area. Have them review for any damage to the electrical system. I would not even attempt to start it at this point. They have the needed test equipment the determine the extent of any damage, starting with the replacement alternator/voltage regulator..

- Smoke usually means fire - there is no experience like driving a car afire ! Better than a roller coaster.

High-Test

Thank you for the insight, Tammy. I'll talk to my dad about it and see if we can get it taken to an electrical specialist soon.

About confusing the wiring: I honestly don't think he'd do that. He fixes his own cars when stuff goes wrong, and he's replaced alternators for other people.

IronCobra

Well, it seems that we can narrow the problems down to either the Starting system or Charging system or both.

-First get a volt meter so you can see if power is getting to the correct areas.
-The old alternator might have froze up because of a problem with the electrical system. Perhaps a bad ground somewhere
-You might want to check the starter system (it could be providing too much current)
-Do you have any aftermarket audio equipment in your car? If so, how do you have the power ran? Directly to the battery or to your fuse box?
-Has the car ever been slight submerged in water causing the wires to corrode?
-Is the distro block that leads from the battery to the charging system bad?
-make sure you don't have a faulty alternator.. regardless of it being NEW, it's probably a rebuild and might be bad also... Happens ALOT.

Just my 2 cents..

Welcome to the club! Hopefully we can tackle these issues for you!

High-Test

Well, After my debacle, I had planned to sell whatever I could out of it on ebay, as the car was wothless as it sat. There haven't been any modifications to the audio system. I pulled the Amp and CD player out, even though the CD player hadn't been working for a while previously. (probably needed a fuse)


Has it ever been submerged? I don't believe so, It's been in my family since late 1997, and we don't remember ever driving it in water. Plus, the way the grip is on that car, sriving it in water would be suicide.

My main problem right now is this: I'm in Overland Park, KS, and the car is in Marceline, MO, because my dad has a place there to store it. (my sister wanted it out of her driveway) THis summer, however, I will make an attempt to stay there for a week, or get it up here to get it looked at.


Wait.. I had a small incident in october after I bought the new battery that's in the car. I went in to carquest for a V24-6 (I think..) and he gave me the battery. When I got home to install it, the terminals were backwards from the old one, so I had to wrestle the cables around so they'd fit. This sets me up for the incident: My friend is a total gearhead, and we were going to take out my nasty flooded old driver's side headlight unit and replace it with one I bought on ebay. We unhooked the battery to be able to get to the nuts that hold the side in, and then realized that I was a total idiot. THe unit I bought wasn't one of the auto level ones, and my old one was. Plus, the headlight bulb I bought wouldn't fit in the new unit. I set the battery in the way I had before, but either way I mocked up the cables they didn't look right. His dad came out, and we looked and found the ground, and hooked the car up. Later, I was leaving his house at 11:30 at night, and the car wouldn't start. (****!) In hind sight, I think maybe the cables had nudged the terminals the wrong way when we were debating which way they were supposed to go. So, he attempts to jump my car, and we get a nice little handful of sparks. Anyway, that's why I'm worried, becuse I had to order an Alternator fuse. It fixed the problem, but Is there a possibility that I fried something more important, like one of the really big metallic looking ones?

I don't think the fuse started my alternator problem, as the car is 14 years old and the shaft probably gave up.

High-Test

Okay, I've ordered a wiring Harness from R and J Distributing here on the classifieds, and I hope that it will help.

Here's another newbie question out of me: I searched for bettery terminals online, but only found either the cables or a bettery itself. I need cables, but I also need the connectors that connect the cables to the battery. Where could I find a pair? Autozone, Carquest, and O'reilly don't have anything that looks remotely similar.

High-Test

Okay, I have the wiring harness from a '97, and even though it's used I'm willing to bet that it's a world better than the one that's currently in my car.

I need a manual to know what I'm hooking up. I looked on booksforcars.com, is the manual I want for the electrical stuff on the engine the engine manual, or the electrical manual? Forgive me for asking so many stupid questions, I just don't want to waste money on the wrong thing.