Malc 1,481 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Gentlemen ...... this is proving incredibly elusive for me to find sadly in my part of Kent I need one to identify my intermittent issue that's just a little more than bugging me ! There are those " Specialists " that are saying to cancel the booking for attention if it's not showing itself as a " permanent " problem two weeks before the day ........or later ! And another who looks brilliant on line, and local, but apart from being able to send him by email, his phone seems unobtainable ...... guess covid or whatever So then, if anyone knows of a Kent based Specialist Auto Electrician, preferably local to me on Sheppey / Medway / Maidstone Kent then I would be so so grateful Thank you Malc 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicnac 126 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 1 hour ago, Malc said: Gentlemen ...... this is proving incredibly elusive for me to find sadly in my part of Kent I need one to identify my intermittent issue that's just a little more than bugging me ! There are those " Specialists " that are saying to cancel the booking for attention if it's not showing itself as a " permanent " problem two weeks before the day ........or later ! And another who looks brilliant on line, and local, but apart from being able to send him by email, his phone seems unobtainable ...... guess covid or whatever So then, if anyone knows of a Kent based Specialist Auto Electrician, preferably local to me on Sheppey / Medway / Maidstone Kent then I would be so so grateful Thank you Malc I should think that most fault finding guys these days do not want to bother with intermittent faults as they can take days /weeks/ never to locate without going back to basics . Most diagnosticians are lost without their fault codes etc and just want the easy jobs that they can trace easily . I cant blame them . Intermittent faults can be a pig , and wont show when you want them to . Techstream is a great tool but you need experience as well . In the modern world this is becoming hard to find . ! PS:- What is your intermittent fault ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malc 1,481 Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Nick hi From my posts from 31st January in the Post ISSUES AFTER HIBERNATION Malc Posted Monday at 03:52 PM On 1/31/2021 at 3:44 PM, Malc said: no other car " self heals " quite like the Lexus Ls400 well guys ....... it's done it again today Been a couple of weeks since she's been out and about ... started fine today, a bit warmer and sunny and dry .. going to get some essential cat food at P-at- H a 5 mile drive ...... just approaching there and POP it all goes off again ............ so I didn't stop, just carried on home .. at the traffic lights put her in P and when the lights change she won't move into Drive .... so I pressed the Gear Override button on the console and she pops into D ok and off I go ......... 5 miles to home and radio works, cigar lighter works ( my phone charges in there ) but all else looks a bit " dead " ... just getting into my turning and BLIMEY it all sparks into life again and seems fine So if it self heals it also likes playing around Asked my indy and he says electrics not his strong point so I'm awaiting his positive suggestion I guess it's a local Auto-Electrician I need then ? Anyone know of one on Sheppey, Kent Malc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malc 1,481 Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Found a potential Specialist at Aylesford in Kent BUT they're estopped from doing stuff coz of lockdown . maybe start again end February they tell me ! Let's wait and see then Malc 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m4rkw 400 Posted Sunday at 03:44 PM Share Posted Sunday at 03:44 PM Not really local to you but if you get totally stuck, Electrum in Wimbledon are very good. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malc 1,481 Posted Monday at 05:48 AM Author Share Posted Monday at 05:48 AM Thank you Malc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brendangeorge 52 Posted 14 hours ago Share Posted 14 hours ago On 2/17/2021 at 12:25 PM, Malc said: Nick hi From my posts from 31st January in the Post ISSUES AFTER HIBERNATION Malc Posted Monday at 03:52 PM On 1/31/2021 at 3:44 PM, Malc said: no other car " self heals " quite like the Lexus Ls400 well guys ....... it's done it again today Been a couple of weeks since she's been out and about ... started fine today, a bit warmer and sunny and dry .. going to get some essential cat food at P-at- H a 5 mile drive ...... just approaching there and POP it all goes off again ............ so I didn't stop, just carried on home .. at the traffic lights put her in P and when the lights change she won't move into Drive .... so I pressed the Gear Override button on the console and she pops into D ok and off I go ......... 5 miles to home and radio works, cigar lighter works ( my phone charges in there ) but all else looks a bit " dead " ... just getting into my turning and BLIMEY it all sparks into life again and seems fine So if it self heals it also likes playing around Asked my indy and he says electrics not his strong point so I'm awaiting his positive suggestion I guess it's a local Auto-Electrician I need then ? Anyone know of one on Sheppey, Kent Malc Hi Malc I'd put my money on an intermittent engine ECU (duff capacitor, dry joint etc.) or one of the connections to it. My wife’s Avensis has a duff body ECU which results in intermittent central locking operation. The body ECU is part of the fuse box – I have a low mileage scrapper to refurb because Toyota want £1K to fix it. There are 12 ECUs in a 400: ● ECU (ECM) ● Proportional Power Steering ECU ● Cruise Control ECU ● ABS or ABS/TRAC ECU ● Shift Lock ECU ● A/C ECU ● Body ECU ● Tilt/Telescope ECU ● Power Seat ECU ● Driver's Door ECU ● Front Passenger Door ECU ● Wireless Door Lock ECU ● Air Suspension ECU (if equipped) The list may help you narrow down the fault. You mentioned you could not select drive – check this URL out. It is about converting a 400 to a manual gear box (nuts I know but it takes all sorts) 😊. You can get an idea about how they are connected and what may stop you being able to select drive. lextreme.com/forums/index.php?threads/tricking-the-ecu-with-5-speed-tranny.1301/ put www:// on the front of the URL above. Some stuff on ECUs from our American pals: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-1st-and-2nd-gen-1990-2000/726265-how-many-independent-ecus-in-ls400.html I don’t have a 400 or 430 any more so cannot be much more help – however I have been an electrical and electronics engineer for a few decades and know what a pain intermittent faults are. You could try a heat gun (hair dryer) or freeze spray on the engine ECU to see if you can make it fail – this is a standard troubleshooting technique. You could open it up and see if you can spot any bulging or leaking caps. Good luck mate – now I need to do some work 😊 Bren Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malc 1,481 Posted 14 hours ago Author Share Posted 14 hours ago Oh my, are all these ECUs on the old and ancient Mk3 Ls400 too ? 😲 Malc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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