Greetings Club Lexus! I have learned a lot about my sc400 from this site, and have saved untold $$$ in repairs by researching here. My car is a 1992, 128k, I've owned it for about 3 years and put about 15k on it. It's been a great car and besides giving my lots of trouble with passing emissions it has been problem free until this month.

This month I must have done something to **** it off. Seemingly all at once the following happened..
1. Heat blows cold air. I got under the hood after reading some threads on here to swap the hoses on the heater control valve until it got warmer out, but wouldn't you know it, the previous owner had already done that. So that is a work in progress.
2. The windows stopped rolling down. On the driver's side I can hear the motor so I'm assuming the motor is good and the piece on the regulator has just broken off. From what I understand I can fix that with some JB Weld and a free afternoon. The passenger window is silent.
3. The alignment on my vehicle has gone to hell. When driving straight I have to hold the wheel at about 11:55 instead of 12 o'clock and my passenger front tire is getting uneven wear on the inner 1/6th of the tread.
4. The odometer stopped counting and the O/D light started flashing. Side-note- the speedo hasn't really worked since I got the car (just intermittently). I ran the trans diagnostic and got code 42 which relates to the Vehicle Speed Senor #1. On my way to work today the odometer and speedometer started working again but not well as my drive to work is around 15 miles and the odometer counted about 6.

Questions: Does this sound like faulty wiring or should I go ahead and replace the VSS? I realize this vehicle has multiple speed sensors..is #1 the same part number as #2 ect? Does anyone have a spare VSS I can buy?

Any advice on this or any of my other issues is greatly appreciated.



Since this is my first official post, here are some pics of my vehicles for your viewing pleasure. I have some pics of my sc400 but it's not in my fquick garage yet so i'll have to upload them later. It's just your run of the mill sandstone beige sc400 though



02 Mustang GT Bolt-Ons





99 Camaro SS H/C/I/N 549whp/590wtq






02 Harley Davidson V-Rod

 

Evening bump for sad car.

 

Bump new week

 

1. Heater - All you need really is to hook up any vacuum line into the port and it will open the valve allowing coolant to flow though the heater core.

2. Power Window - Plastic piece holding the window that runs vertical on the track has probably snapped from the metal cable. There is a thread here on how to repair it with epoxy.

3. Alignment - Lower control arm bushings are probably worn out or steering rack mounts. Only way to check is to lift the front end and check for any play.

4. I had this problem with one of my sc's I swapped the vss sensor on the tail shaft on trans and solved the problem. Your case sounds like a loose connection, you should first unplug it and clean the connection. 20 year old connectors are very brittle I've broken so many on this car.
There are speed sensors on each tire but those are for traction control and I believe abs but they do not control the speedometer needle.

 

Thanks for the advice.

1. The heater vacuum lines on mine were already switched by a previous owner. Could I pull that servo arm out manually and put something in there to hold it out?

4. Thanks I'll check the connections before I replace. It seems to be working again at least temporarily.

 

I had a similar issue before on my 1992 SC400. I ended up switching the one way valve around on the vacuum line, and i then revved the motor up to 3K and wolla, instant heat. Been like this ever since. The valve is black and white in color.. Just turn it around and see what happens.

If you need the front speed sensors, Ihave them both for sale in the classifieds. Try regreasing them. Again that controls the traction control and the ABS, not the speedo you are describing.. Best of luck..