Trouble Starting My Is200 When Cold Problem.

[jamesey]

hi ive got a 2001 is 200 with 149 k on the clock , im meant to be driving to whitby in this on saturday but over the last week its developed a problem , it did it on monday and then again today both when the the engine has been stood overnight and all day today , its just cranking for ages before it fires up , its just the twice its done it , usually it just fires up straight away , what could be the problem and what can i check? many thanks

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Battery is your first check mate :)

[jamesey]

Battery is your first check mate :)

its turning over fast enough and the volt meter is around 14 voltish whilst running , the only thing is ive noticed is when driving in the dark to work when i rev the car the lights go bright and when it goes back to tick over they go dull , dont know if this has anything to do with owt .

[steve2006]

First port of call is a code read.

Once you have this information it may lead you to the fault.

Without this there are too many possible causes and you don't even know if it's fuel related or spark related.

Also as mentioned check the Battery voltage but whilst the car is cranking it should be at least 9.6 volts any lower may cause problems.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Yeah what Steve said.

Also Your Battery will go to 14V as the alternator will charge it while running. Next time check the voltage before you start the engine. Just turn the key once so the dash lights up and the volt meter should go between 9 and 10. If its below that it will struggle to start.

The thing with the lights is the same on mine. I have a brand new Battery. I think this is normal :)

[Clubsport78]

I'm not sure if it will help, but have a look at the issues (amongst others!) I have had with this on my IS300. As you will see, my symptoms were very similar to yours...

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=78587

It seems to be fixed currently, by a mix of using high octane fuel and maybe disconnecting/fitting a new Battery which probably reset the ECU. (I think there is another way to do the ECU reset [and save your radio presets] by pulling a couple of relays out, but I am not sure). It is a pretty strange issue, but maybe cleaning out the air filter/air box, putting some super juice in it and resetting the ECU will do the job?!

Good luck.