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i have a 94 ls400 whitch is superb . the only problem i have is that when i start her up the instrument panel does not illuminate, until she gets warm whitch may take 30-40 mins any ideas please. i was told to look on the us forum but had no luck. i would be gratefull if any body could direct me to the topic on the us site or have any other knowledge of this problem

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i have a 94 ls400 whitch is superb . the only problem i have is that when i start  her up the instrument panel does not illuminate, until she gets warm whitch may take 30-40 mins any ideas please. i was told to look on the us forum but had no luck. i would be gratefull if any body could direct me to the topic on the us site or have any other knowledge of this problem

If you look in the usa forums under topic titles then replacing burnt out needles you will find the info.

If you want someone to repair the problem in the uk there is a place in Reading Di

electrical I think or there is a garage on eBay under ls400 at sutton who offer a repair.

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Try this for pics. of the job.

http://apaqdigital.com/ls400/instrument_circuit.jpg

Print it .

There was a step by step tutorial on how to get the instrument panel out on

www.lexls.com, but when I just tried it, it would not come up.

Worth a few tries, makes the job easier.

I answered your last post ....mine went wrong the following day!

Did you put a 'hex' on me........

I did this job myself, if you can neatly solder small parts you can do it.

Don't try and rush it and take care not to pull the printed track up from the board!

Ps....it works fine, I got the caps. from Maplin B) B)

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  • 3 weeks later...
i have a 94 ls400 whitch is superb . the only problem i have is that when i start  her up the instrument panel does not illuminate, until she gets warm whitch may take 30-40 mins any ideas please. i was told to look on the us forum but had no luck. i would be gratefull if any body could direct me to the topic on the us site or have any other knowledge of this problem

I had this problem with my 93 LS400 - eventually had some work done at DS auto

near Newbury (cant find website anymore so maybe no longer there) i was disappointed with 2 things after the job and it wasnt cheap - reostat and the fuel gauge no longer work ( subesequently found out it would have been an easy job to replace 2 resistors for the gauge) the lights however do work without cutting out or not coming on for about 20mins If anyone knows somewhere to have my 2 problems sorted I would be grateful

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Hello Folks,

I think I have an answer to the Instrument Cluster Light and fuel gauge problem on older LS400's.

If you have the common problem with the instrument lights whereby they don't come on right away when you start the car in the morning when its cold .... then its probably an electrolytic capacitor located at C212 on the small PC board on the back of your instrument cluster.

If you also have the common problem whereby your fuel gauge takes a long time to read the fuel level in your tank after starting your car in the morning and/or the reading is much lower than the true amount of gas in your tank, then its probably two electrolytic caps on the "Big" PC board on the back of your intrument cluster. One of the caps is located at C142 on the big board... and the other is located at .. C147 .

The interesting thing is that these caps are all the same style. They are very small (Low quality) electrolytic caps. They are housed in little metal cans ... with very short leads .. although they are not true surface mount caps. I tested a bunch of caps on the small board and found that only this type of capacitor was disfunctional .... and interestingly enough .... all the caps of this style were bad on both boards ... (A total of 3) ....

If you are scientifically inclined .. I need to warn you that these capacitors often do not "crap out" unless they are cold .... If you read the capacity at room temp they may or may not seem fine ... But when you put a chiller on them ... then the capacity reading starts to approach zero ...

What you should do is replace them with better quality caps .... either bipolar ... or ceramic .... or titanium ... You can go higher in voltage and also higher in UF .. it doesn't matter ... except for maybe the one located at C142 ... I am not sure .. but this one may provide some kind of timing function ... the other two are clearly just filters .... (IE: for Ripple)...

C142 (big Board) was 4.7 UF, 25V

C147 (Also on the big board) was 10 UF, 50V

C212 (Small Board) 10 UF, 16 V

Now both problems are fixed ..

LamSV was very helpful in getting me focused .... I would still be stuck without him ...

Remember .. that you need to disconnect the Battery before you start removing stuff .. and wait a couple of minutes ... I made the mistake of not doing this and my Airbag warning light would not go out ... So I removed the little light bulb that warns you ... I am not sure my airbags work after 10 years .. but my guess is .. they work or not ... regardless of whether there is a bulb in the warning light circuit ...

This problem is very easy to fix for anybody comfortable around a soldering iron .. and much less expensive than having the dealer replace your boards ... (My cost was about $1 worth of parts versus $1200 if the dealer fixes it) .... the labor involved was mostly in removing than reinstalling the instrument cluster ... (About 1 hour) ... Replacing the 3 capacitors is about 45 minutes worth of work ....

Best of luck to anyone with the problem .....

Cole

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What you should do is replace them with better quality caps .... either bipolar ... or ceramic .... or titanium ...

Or tantalum even! :lol:

Good post, hopefully someone'll add it to the knowledgebase.

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What you should do is replace them with better quality caps .... either bipolar ... or ceramic .... or titanium ...

Or tantalum even! :lol:

Good post, hopefully someone'll add it to the knowledgebase.

thanks for all your help i am having it seen to shortly will let you know how i get on. thanks again. al406

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Try this for pics. of the job.

http://apaqdigital.com/ls400/instrument_circuit.jpg

Print it .

There was a step by step tutorial on how to get the instrument panel out on

www.lexls.com, but when I just tried it, it would not come up.

Worth a few tries, makes the job easier.

I answered your last post ....mine went wrong the following day!

Did you put a 'hex' on me........

I did this job myself, if you can neatly solder small parts you can do it.

Don't try and rush it and take care not to pull the printed track up from the board!

Ps....it works fine, I got the caps. from Maplin B)  B)

thanks 4 that mate . i dident put a hex on you lol

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  • 1 year later...
Hello Folks,

I think I have an answer to the Instrument Cluster Light and fuel gauge problem on older LS400's.

Best of luck to anyone with the problem .....

Cole

Thanks to Cole's post I now have a fully functioning dashboard at startup on cold mornings - rather than waiting till I'm half way to work to find I still have the parking brake half on and am nearly out of fuel.

I bought the three capacitors from Maplin for the grand total of £1.56 :) and the whole job took less than 1 hour - most of that time was removing and refitting the dash assembly.

Thanks

Mick

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey all, looks like lexus revised the design of the circuit on the ls400 dash. I've just been to a local scrappies and got the dash out of a 1994-95 M reg LS400 which had an engine fire? Anyway it looks nothing like the circuit in the link, its actually just one main board, with two membranes running from it. As far as I can tell there isn't anything wrong with this dash. Not sure on the mileage recorded on it, I'm gonna try to generate inputs to it to get it to come on.

Note I don't have an LS400, and by the looks of it this dash won't fit my gs300 :unsure: so it may be for sale should anyone need one. The part number is 83010-50650. You may want to check it'll work in your car first, and I'll supply pictures of it for anyone interested.

Paul

Edit:- Got it to come on with help of a wiring diagram i've found elsewhere... but its coming on as it should and displaying 99738 miles, looks a lot cooler than a gs300 dash, just a shame its not gonna fit easily :tomato:

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Hey all, looks like lexus revised the design of the circuit on the ls400 dash. I've just been to a local scrappies and got the dash out of a 1994-95 M reg LS400 which had an engine fire? Anyway it looks nothing like the circuit in the link, its actually just one main board, with two membranes running from it. As far as I can tell there isn't anything wrong with this dash. Not sure on the mileage recorded on it, I'm gonna try to generate inputs to it to get it to come on.

Note I don't have an LS400, and by the looks of it this dash won't fit my gs300 :unsure: so it may be for sale should anyone need one. The part number is 83010-50650. You may want to check it'll work in your car first, and I'll supply pictures of it for anyone interested.

Paul

Edit:- Got it to come on with help of a wiring diagram i've found elsewhere... but its coming on as it should and displaying 99738 miles, looks a lot cooler than a gs300 dash, just a shame its not gonna fit easily :tomato:

No offfence, But what does this reply have to do with the thread/problem that has been bug out of the woodwork???

Most LS400 owners know how to fix the dash not lighting up by changing the caps. Please stick to what you know the GS300 threads.

If you have a panel for sale then feel free to post it up in the parts for sale section.

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No offence taken, I was merely pointing out that it "appears" lexus have revised the design of the dash between models, the 1994-5 M reg dash I have gotten hold of today doesn't have the same style caps, or two seperate boards. It just has standard electrolytic capacitors, therefore I'd have thought the same fix might not work on the newer dashes, the cause could be something else, but I guess you've played with all the different types. The pictures I was offering were to show this type of dash board and the capacitors on it should anyone be curious, I was only trying to help

Paul

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It could be, but I'm unsure, I've not really had the chance to study the different types of dash between the models, but I doubt this is the only one of its type, perhaps there was a cut off in 1995 of the older style 2 board type and the newer style single board dash. All I know is the dash I have has a different circuit to the one in the link above. It may also be that people with this type of dash haven't suffered the same fault, so it hasn't been pointed out before??

I did notice the dash in a 1994 is wired differently to a 1995 dash according to the american/canadian wiring diagrams I've managed to get hold of, so it looks more likely lexus, well toyota, did revise the dash. Other manufacturers have done like Honda as I've noticed several different types in the same model. Thats the reason I was offering the pictures, so anyone who was curious could have a look.

edit: - If I recall correctly there was a model change in 1995, the revised some other points about the LS400 although I can't remember them now.

Paul

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i have a 94 ls400 whitch is superb . the only problem i have is that when i start her up the instrument panel does not illuminate, until she gets warm whitch may take 30-40 mins any ideas please. i was told to look on the us forum but had no luck. i would be gratefull if any body could direct me to the topic on the us site or have any other knowledge of this problem

Hello,

Try this site.. They can probably help..

Good luck - rollim

http://www.bba-reman.com/content.aspx?cont...uster_dashboard

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  • 5 months later...

I have followed paulsje's instructions to the letter and have completely restored function to the instrument console. The console was taking up to an hour to come on and would usually take at least ten minutes on a restart within a couple of hours. Total cost is pennies for the capacitos from Maplin. Be careful when disconnecting the loom as you can easily scratch the steering wheel and binnacle, think about protecting from scratching with a cloth whilst you are trying to unplug the three main connnectors.

The replacement components are much larer than originals, however there is plenty of space, perhaps with them leant over at 90 degrees. Be very careful about damaging the solder pads on which the capacitors sit.

This has probably saved my beloved LS400 (200,000 miles and sweet as a nut) from the scrappers. Thank you.

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  • 1 month later...
Hello Folks,

I think I have an answer to the Instrument Cluster Light and fuel gauge problem on older LS400's.

If you have the common problem with the instrument lights whereby they don't come on right away when you start the car in the morning when its cold .... then its probably an electrolytic capacitor located at C212 on the small PC board on the back of your instrument cluster.

If you also have the common problem whereby your fuel gauge takes a long time to read the fuel level in your tank after starting your car in the morning and/or the reading is much lower than the true amount of gas in your tank, then its probably two electrolytic caps on the "Big" PC board on the back of your intrument cluster. One of the caps is located at C142 on the big board... and the other is located at .. C147 .

The interesting thing is that these caps are all the same style. They are very small (Low quality) electrolytic caps. They are housed in little metal cans ... with very short leads .. although they are not true surface mount caps. I tested a bunch of caps on the small board and found that only this type of capacitor was disfunctional .... and interestingly enough .... all the caps of this style were bad on both boards ... (A total of 3) ....

If you are scientifically inclined .. I need to warn you that these capacitors often do not "crap out" unless they are cold .... If you read the capacity at room temp they may or may not seem fine ... But when you put a chiller on them ... then the capacity reading starts to approach zero ...

What you should do is replace them with better quality caps .... either bipolar ... or ceramic .... or titanium ... You can go higher in voltage and also higher in UF .. it doesn't matter ... except for maybe the one located at C142 ... I am not sure .. but this one may provide some kind of timing function ... the other two are clearly just filters .... (IE: for Ripple)...

C142 (big Board) was 4.7 UF, 25V

C147 (Also on the big board) was 10 UF, 50V

C212 (Small Board) 10 UF, 16 V

Now both problems are fixed ..

LamSV was very helpful in getting me focused .... I would still be stuck without him ...

Remember .. that you need to disconnect the battery before you start removing stuff .. and wait a couple of minutes ... I made the mistake of not doing this and my Airbag warning light would not go out ... So I removed the little light bulb that warns you ... I am not sure my airbags work after 10 years .. but my guess is .. they work or not ... regardless of whether there is a bulb in the warning light circuit ...

This problem is very easy to fix for anybody comfortable around a soldering iron .. and much less expensive than having the dealer replace your boards ... (My cost was about $1 worth of parts versus $1200 if the dealer fixes it) .... the labor involved was mostly in removing than reinstalling the instrument cluster ... (About 1 hour) ... Replacing the 3 capacitors is about 45 minutes worth of work ....

Best of luck to anyone with the problem .....

Cole

Thanks for informations, there is not a lot of LS 400 in France and of course I have the same problem with mine

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  • 6 months later...

Thanks to Paulsje, Royt and everyone who put info here and saved my car from the scrappers.............................

And nice motor Andy - what r the wheels off mate?

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  • 1 month later...

I had the problem where the instrument panel came on only infrequently and flickered while on. I followed paulsje's suggestion to replace C212 and now the panel works perfectly. I used a Panasonic EEE-FK1C100AR capacitor. Still an aluminum electrolytic type with the same capacitance and voltage rating, but a much lower ESR than the original part. I got the part throuh Digikey (www.digikey.com). They have a 5 piece minimum for cut tape packaging, so the total came up to $1.21 for 5 pieces. There is also a $20 order minimum.

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  • 4 months later...
Hello Folks,

I think I have an answer to the Instrument Cluster Light and fuel gauge problem on older LS400's.

If you have the common problem with the instrument lights whereby they don't come on right away when you start the car in the morning when its cold .... then its probably an electrolytic capacitor located at C212 on the small PC board on the back of your instrument cluster.

If you also have the common problem whereby your fuel gauge takes a long time to read the fuel level in your tank after starting your car in the morning and/or the reading is much lower than the true amount of gas in your tank, then its probably two electrolytic caps on the "Big" PC board on the back of your intrument cluster. One of the caps is located at C142 on the big board... and the other is located at .. C147 .

The interesting thing is that these caps are all the same style. They are very small (Low quality) electrolytic caps. They are housed in little metal cans ... with very short leads .. although they are not true surface mount caps. I tested a bunch of caps on the small board and found that only this type of capacitor was disfunctional .... and interestingly enough .... all the caps of this style were bad on both boards ... (A total of 3) ....

If you are scientifically inclined .. I need to warn you that these capacitors often do not "crap out" unless they are cold .... If you read the capacity at room temp they may or may not seem fine ... But when you put a chiller on them ... then the capacity reading starts to approach zero ...

What you should do is replace them with better quality caps .... either bipolar ... or ceramic .... or titanium ... You can go higher in voltage and also higher in UF .. it doesn't matter ... except for maybe the one located at C142 ... I am not sure .. but this one may provide some kind of timing function ... the other two are clearly just filters .... (IE: for Ripple)...

C142 (big Board) was 4.7 UF, 25V

C147 (Also on the big board) was 10 UF, 50V

C212 (Small Board) 10 UF, 16 V

Now both problems are fixed ..

LamSV was very helpful in getting me focused .... I would still be stuck without him ...

Remember .. that you need to disconnect the battery before you start removing stuff .. and wait a couple of minutes ... I made the mistake of not doing this and my Airbag warning light would not go out ... So I removed the little light bulb that warns you ... I am not sure my airbags work after 10 years .. but my guess is .. they work or not ... regardless of whether there is a bulb in the warning light circuit ...

This problem is very easy to fix for anybody comfortable around a soldering iron .. and much less expensive than having the dealer replace your boards ... (My cost was about $1 worth of parts versus $1200 if the dealer fixes it) .... the labor involved was mostly in removing than reinstalling the instrument cluster ... (About 1 hour) ... Replacing the 3 capacitors is about 45 minutes worth of work ....

Best of luck to anyone with the problem .....

Cole

Dear Cole,

following your instructions I have solved the problem with the soldering iron for the price of $2 in Belgrade, Serbia so I don't have any problem with the panel illumination and fuel gauge. But, for the last two years I've been having problems with sticky needles and tachometer which I've been solving with banging on the dashboard! Have you recently found out how to solve this problem.

Regards! :)

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