eigenvalue

Thanks Herbs, No leaks today, however I never use the headlamp washers! The 'elbow' connectors have both popped out once so I have no confidence they won't do so again. It would be good to hold them in using a tie-wrap, etc. but there is no obvious convenient mounting place for this. Alan

Thanks for the advice Herbie. Just to clarify, the right-angled connectors had both come adrift from the body of the washer unit rather than the flexible pipes parting from the connectors. Are these all just push fits? Seems a little surprising when water under pressure is required to extend the actuator. Alan

A very old thread I know...... Washer water started leaking out on the passenger side - on inspection, the water pipe right-angle connector had come away from the end of the headlight washer unit. The connector just seemed to need pushing back into the unit, no obvious means of fixing being apparent. Topped up with water and lo and behold water starter leaking out on the driver's side. Exactly the same had happened on this side and this connector was also pushed back in. I never actually use the headlight washers! Questions: Is it simply a coincidence that both connectors should have popped out - or might there be a reason? Simply pushing the connectors back in does not seem very secure. Should there be a means of fixing to prevent this happening again? Thanks to all.

Thanks to all for the additional information. Ben, I will be very interested to hear what you find inside the old siren unit - please do let us know. I agree that the details of the alarm system must be documented and known to service centres, etc. but unfortunately no-one is forthcoming on this, e.g. how to diagnose faults, how to disable, etc. We certainly have a legitimate reason for needing this kind of information! It may be a little time before I can take a further look at mine. Being a chartered electronic engineer I will be rather interested to investigate the setup.

Thanks for your reply Ben. Do we have any idea what type of battery is used in the alarm? e.g. is it a rechargeable type or a long life lithium non-rechargeable, for example? I have no idea of the arrangement of the siren unit but Is there any reason why the battery can't be replaced on its own? Can the siren be disconnected? I suspect that the siren unit is located somewhere behind a side panel in the boot - but which side? I would also gladly settle for disconnecting/disabling the alarm, no matter the implications. This should be straightforward if the information is available. I am sure there will be people on the forum who know how to do this? If you had the alarm unit removed did the vehicle operate without it? If not, maybe a simple connector with a link is needed? A lot of questions, but are there answers?

Unfortunately, in my case at least, this solution did not cure the problem. Thanks all the same for the potentially very useful information.

I am also experiencing the alarm going off randomly in my 2002 IS200 SE. A few years ago there was trouble with the headlights coming on and sometimes also the alarm. The screen had not been changed and there was no sign of dampness in the fuse box in the driver's footwell. Nevertheless a hairdrier and WD40 in that area appeared to cure the problem at that time. Now the alarm is sounding randomly, although there may be a link with wet weather. I must have read most of the threads on this - and tried the possible solutions, motion sensor, door switches, etc. I am interested in the idea of the alarm battery being low. Can anyone please describe exactly where the alarm unit is? Also, can it be safely disconnected? At the moment I have to leave the car either unlocked or manually locked. I appreciate that alarm disable information will be sensitive so please feel free to pm any information. Disconnecting the horns unfortunately still leaves the siren.

A nice tutorial! Can you say if disconnecting the motion sensor did in fact cure the issue of the alarm going off in your case? Thanks for the useful information.

Thanks for the information. The job's now done and for anyone else needing to do this, it's very easy to cut through the thinest part (1/4") of the new shield and bend over the hub and then straighten out again. This is definitely the way to go and avoids dismantling the hub. I reckon it must be the seaside air and winter road salt up here in Scotland that makes things rust so badly!

Thanks for your comment. Yes, it is the front splash/dust disc brake shield and I have now got one via the dealer. I felt that one from a breakers would probably be pretty rusty, and they are such a pain to change since the hub has to be removed unless the method recommended by Tigerfish can be used, i.e. cutting and bending over the hub. I changed the offside shield 2 years ago and removed the hub at that time. I don't know whether or not it might be an MOT fail with a missing/broken shield? The original was so rusted that it simply fell off as soon as the wheel was removed. Because these shields rust so badly, I give them a couple of coats of black Hammerite before installing hopefully for some extra protection.

Any suggestions where to source a new nearside Front Disc Splash Guard/Shield apart from a main dealer? Vehicle is an IS200 SE, year 2002. Regards to all.

At last, a chance to feed some knowledge back into the forum! My IS200 came with after market LED Stop/tail light units, no doubt sourced from "the other side of the World" by the original owner. Over time several LEDs had failed and I finally decided to cut the units open and replace the failures. The process turned out to be easier than expected and has been completely successful. The light units each contain 23 LEDs - these are connected in 5 strings of 4 LEDs in series, plus one string of 3 LEDs. There are series resistors of 150 Ohms to limit the current in each string. I kept a sketch of the complete circuit for reference. The circular plastic backs of the units can be easily cut away. I used a Dremel with a fine milling cutter (a used ex-dental type). There is no need to cut any of the outside visible parts, only the back which is completely hidden. There was a double plastic skin to cut through, the inner being what looked like a reflector for an optional standard bulb. After the back is cut away the LED circuit boards can be removed - held in by 2 screws. The only difficulty encountered was trying to remove the plastic swarf from the insides of the units. The failed LEDs can then be replaced. An excellent match in terms of brightness and colour are the Farnell part 149-7975. These are 5,000mCd 5mm Red LEDs and come at a cost of 15p each +VAT at 25 off. If one LED fails then the whole string of 4 will go out, so it is necessary to find and replace the failed LEDs only. The source of the problem is clearly overheating of the LEDs. The LED array draws much less current than a conventional bulb. To avoid the dashboard warning light coming on, resistors are arranged in the units to draw extra current, which is dissipated as heat. There was clear evidence of overheating on the circuit boards in the vicinity of the failed LEDs. The backs of the units can be re-attached with silicon and any LEDs which fail in the future can be easily and quickly replaced. I trust this may encourage anyone with the same problem to have a go.

Thought members might be interested to hear - I placed a request on the BreakerLink site for a used shield and received 2 offers: £95 (incl. £15 shipplin) £120 (incl. £30 shipping) I read from this that they have the part, but clearly did not want to dissassemble the unit! Not having a local Lexus dealer in Dundee, I contacted the local Toyota dealer (Struans) and they obtained the part 'next day' at £31.58 +VAT (with no shipping). I have to look more closely at the fitting of the shield, but if a major disassembly is required I wonder if it might be possible to do without splitting the knuckle upper ball-joint and removing the whole unit as the workshop manual suggests? i.e. only remove caliper, disc and then remove nut/hub and replace shield? Thanks to all for the great advice.

Thanks TigerFish - good idea and I will look into this!

Thanks for the quick reply Steve. It is a year 2002, and as I suspected, it looks like a major job (for me at least!) to replace. No doubt it would be an MOT failure as it stands?

Thanks for that advice, yes the shield has rusted around the 4 fixing bolts - I must have a closer look to see what might be possible. From what I could see from the workshop manual, it looks as if the caliper, disc, etc. needs to come off in order to remove the shield. Can anyone confirm if the shield can be removed without dismantling? Thanks to all.

You could be in business selling these - I'd be interested if the price was reasonable!

Just noticed that driver's side front disc splash shield/guard is broken and rattling. Any suggestions where to best obtain a replacement? Thanks to all.

Can anyone suggest a recommended source for replacement front caliper pins, apart from a dealer? Also, I am puzzled why only one pin has the rubber sleeve and the other does not? I find that the sleeves stretch and then do not stay in the groove when the pins are replaced. I tried making replacement sleeves cut from neoprene tubing - seemed fine but they do not have the longitudinal grooves in the rubber (presumably to let grease escape). The result is that they give a very good seal and the pin acts like a bicycle pump and tends to spring out exerting pressure on the outer pad. Thanks and any comments would be appreciated!

IS200SE, Year 2002 Just had two instances of the alarm going off for no apparent reason. Car was locked and sitting in the driveway at the time. Did change the main car battery last week but there was an instance of the same thing a few months back before the battery change. There is also a new battery in the keyfob. I have read the earlier forum threads on this problem, such as this one: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=72491&st=0&p=752743&hl=alarm&fromsearch=1entry752743 I intend to try locking, then turning off the motion sensor to isolate that as the possible problem. I also suffered from the 'headlights on' problem during the winter before last. No problem last winter which was at least as cold. No sign of moisture in the footwell fuse box but using a hairdryer and WD40 seemed to cure this problem. Not sure what all the possible trigger sources for the alarm are - certainly the door, etc. switches and internal motion sensor in the roof light. Are there any other alarm sources? Also, are any diagnostics possible, e.g. with a code reader to find out the source of an alarm trigger? Is anyone able to provide any information or advice on this? Thanks to all.

GEN - Thanks for the recommendation of the Bosch S-series batteries. I am curious about the possible 'issues' in the replacement? I note that the Bosch is 5mm wider and 21mm shorter in height than the original (that is if I have interpreted the dimensions in the correct order!). Terminal layout may be another issue which I could not confirm from the website. The only other issue I can think of may be that things may have to be reset after a battery disconnection, e.g. radio pre-sets (anything else?).

The reply is that it is a genuine Lexus spare part battery with a guarantee of 3 years, delivered free to an Arnold Clark outlet of my choice. Guarantee period may be important to me as I suffered badly from the 'headlights-always-on' problems winter before last and I think the periodic flattening goosed the battery. Strangely enough, there was no repeat of the problems this last winter which seemed to be just as cold. Only thing I really did was to use a hair dryer on the driver's footwell fuse/connecter board and spray with WD40 which seemed to cure the problem.

Thanks to all for the suggestions. As I said originally, I am some distance from a Lexus dealer. However I sent enquiries by email to the nearest possibilities, i.e. Lexus Edinburgh, Arnold Clark Toyota/Lexus Aberdeen, and Struans (Toyota) Dundee. The only reply received has been from Aberdeen, quoting £61.28 inc VAT + £25 delivery, BUT with the offer of free delivery to any Arnold Clark outlet. This is for a sealed battery and I have responded asking for confirmation that this is a genuine Lexus battery and what the guarantee period is?

I note the advice to try the dealer for a new IS200 battery. However I am some distance from the nearest dealer and I see some seemingly reasonable deals for batteries, which include delivery 'next day'. These are maintenance-free sealed units; I am unsure whether or not the new dealer batteries are still of the 'wet' type as per the original? I have also realised that care is needed to ensure the correct terminal positions, i.e. looking from in front of the car, the Red positive terminal should be at the back left-hand corner. The batteries I am looking at can be seen via the battery finder facility at: http://performancebatteries.co.uk/wizard/Car+Battery+Finder/results/ Choice of: Alphaline at £54.95 or VARTA at £71.97 both inc. VAT and delivery. Anyone tried either of these, or have better recommendations? Thanks to all.

I have also been concerned about battery drain while standing unused. The other day I measured the 'dark current', i.e. the current drain while parked, and it was 32mA. This is presumably accounted for by the alarm and other things which are always on. After a very rough calculation on this it would seem that the battery would be completely flat in around 2 months. I now give the battery a charge every week if the car has not been used.