CrocodileHunter

Excellent, thanks again tim

Thanks tim, Much appreciated. Will it also be ok for the LSD? Ben

I want to change the gearbox oil on my car as I have no idea when it was last done. I already have a gallon of ep 75/90 gl4/5 semi synthetic that ive had for ages that reckon will be suitable however is says that it is hypoid gear oil on the label. I think its one of those oils that's suitable for various applications but i just wanted the opinion of others before i change it. Would this also be suitable for the lsd? Pic of the label below, What do people think? Thanks, ben

No problem Alan, i shall let you know what i find. Sounds like you're going to understand the working of an alarm system much better than me! I am fine with the oily bits and basic electronics but after that its a bit beyond my knowledge.

That used to be quite a common problem, normally due to a replacement windscreen not being sealed correctly. I guess the replacement companies figured out how to do it properly now so you don't hear as much about the issue. Symptoms are headlights staying on, hazard lights playing up, alarm issues and other problems too.Here is an example of what happens: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/94492-efi-relay-clicking-removed-junction-box-need-help/ this one wasn't too bad and was cleaned up. Others have had to replace the fuse box which I think costs around £180 for the part. Thanks for this link, i will check mine out. Although my car appears to still have its original screen fitted and I've not had any issues other than the alarm problem?

Siren is on the drivers side / right behind the boot side panel. It is easy to get to. I only sourced another complete siren so i could remove the original and fit replacement in one go. For £11 I thought it was worth a go. I shall take my old unit apart and have a look to see whats inside and let you know. On the era of these cars I'd expect it to be a ni-cd or nimh?? I've always assumed its rechargeable but i really dont know? I didn't try the car with the siren removed as i had the main battery disconnected. I'd read in other posts of people having problems with the alarm going a bit crazy when reconnecting everything so i made sure it wasn't armed and removed the neg lead from the battery first. If you could simply bridge a couple of wires to bypass the alarm and retain the remote locking that would suit me down to the ground! I did contact a local auto alarm guy a while back and he suggested that as the siren and horns sound it wasn't something he thought he could easily fix and wasn't interested in looking at it. Thing is, the problem must be traceable and fixable! You mentioned dampness in the fuse box? I've not heard of this issue before, i will check mine Ben

I fitted a replacement siren to my car over the weekend, not sure if its cured the problem or not? It seemed ok on Saturday, however i didn't trust it to leave it overnight. I rearmed it on sunday morning an it went off within 20 mins! I'm wondering if it could just be the back up battery in the siren needs to charge? With a week of using the car I'm hoping this might happen? I'll try again over the coming weekend. I have also searched alot about this problem but cannot get to the bottom of my issue. Its a pain not being able to lock the car with the button, I'd settle for the alarm being deactivated and the remote locking working if i could work out how it could be done if possible? One thing I've not tried is removing the roof lining and looking for a damaged alarm wire, purely as i see this as unlikely?

Well i found an exact replacement siren for my car, hopefully it will arrive tomorrow and I'll get it changed over the weekend I'll let you know if it sorts my problem. It would be really handy not having to manually lock the car all the time!

All my door switches seem to operate the interior light ok so i have disregarded them at the moment. Im wondering if a dodgy switch could just be causing the light to come on, cause the volt drop and cause the alarm to sound? Suppose an easy way of testing that theory is to just remove the interior bulbs? If the battery is built into the boot siren i might just give another a go? They go for about £15 on ebay. (My car is the saloon) The estate must have the same siren somewhere?

Dave i have the exact same problem with my 200. I have disconnected the interior sensor, bonnet catch sensor (so it thinks its always shut) changed fob battery but still the problem persists? Did you manage to find out if there is a back up battery to replace? Tbh I'll be happy with having the completely disconnected and just the remote locking working if thats possible?

Yes i am interested, would you sell the front pair on their own or only as the full set?

Interesting! I wonder which type it is? Thanks

do you still have your original sport front coil springs? if so and you don't want them I'd be interested in buying them off you I found out this week at mot time that one of mine has a snapped coil so am after a standard replacement, finding replacement springs for a sport model seems to be difficult! thanks

does anybody know the difference between the standard suspension setups? I have a late 2001 sport model which I believe is a facelift model. I took it for an MOT and I have a leaking rear shock absorber and a snapped front coil spring so need some replacements. most online suppliers seen to only list one type of spring for all models which cannot be correct if the sport models came with slightly lower suspension as standard? its seems the same issue with shock absorbers too. buypartsby list the parts at a good price but I just want to be sure its the right bits for my car. I don't want to buy a pair of front springs and end up with the front of the car higher than it is now, I assume it is only the springs that were different between the sport models and se models and the shocks are the same? does anybody know as searching the web seems to find conflicting information. Any help would be much appreciated! thanks

You know at first I really thought we had it sorted, but never mind! Thanks for your suggestions, it did help alot. I'd still like to get to the bottom of it but I am not going to spend loads of money doing it. I am comfortable working on cars but with this I have run out of ideas with. It is clearly getting a volt drop from somewhere but I don't know where?

I'd forgotten about this thread! I tried disconnecting the battery but that has not fixed the problem. One thing I have noticed is that it only seems to go off in the rain now? Before changing the battery in the key it was alot more temperamental than that so thinking this is a separate problem? Can anyone recommend a good place to take the car in the Bedfordshire area? Or any good auto electricians?

Ok I shall try this and keep my fingers crossed! Thanks for your help on this

Ok, I put a new battery in the key a for a couple of days all seemed fine! I couldn't actually believe it. Never had it gone that long without playing up, although I didn't trust it overnight just yet but for hours on end during the day it was all good. However yesterday in the hard rain it went off twice, just as I was getting more convenient it was actually sorted. Suppose this could just be coincidence but rain to me means dampness shorting something out. Maybe the wiring in the roof is as fault too?

I've thought about getting a modern diesel but I don't think I'd ever own a common rail one no matter who makes it unless it had a warranty or someone else was going to be paying for repairs? Also most don't get anywhere near the quoted mpg figures. One of my work colleagues has a 2012 A5 2.0tdi and that has averaged just 39mpg since new on the readout, it is an auto mind but still way under the 56mpg or whatever it was quoted by vag. Even on a steady run to france it only got mid 40s? Ive also never come across any 530d's or any other of the bm 3L's that will do 50mpg in real life?

Really???? Have you seen this before then? I don't understand how but will give it a go! Cheers :)

I have owned mine for about 6 months or so now, and like you I have always wanted one since first driving one back in 2004 that was the company pool car. Last year I needed to think of a family car for my £1500-£2000 budget and one of these really ticked most of the boxes. luckily the exact model I wanted came up not too far away for the right price. A sport model, manual box in blue with the black interior. After going to have a look and having a drive I remembered how good they are. They drive so well being RWD compared to lots of new stuff. Apart from a problem with the alarm which was there when I bought the car its been faultless, and everything still works. The only thing that lets it down is i need to repaint the wheels, although it not as bad as some you see! PS - yours in white looks really good, don't see many in that colour really?

Hello I am new to the forum, I have only had my IS for a few months but can honestly say it is the best car I have ever owned! I do have a small problem with it that was there when I bought the car and that is that the standard alarm seems to go off when it feels like it? I have been getting around the problem by locking the car with the switch on the drivers door and the key so the alarm doesn't arm itself but I really want to try and get to the bottom of it. Doing a bit of searching on the web seems to suggest that the interior sensor is a common fault on these? The guy I bought the car off said he changed the sensor but it didn't fix the problem? I have disconnected it now and the problem is still there? I then thought that maybe the bonnet catch switch could be causing the problem but even with this disconnected it still happens? As it seems to be very random as to how long after locking the car up it happens I think it could be an alarm wire shorting out somewhere? I did read somewhere that the wiring above the headlining has been known to do this but personally I think this is a long shot and don't really want to take the headlining down to find nothing wrong. All the doors seem to operate the interior light ok so I assume the switches are all good? I have not yet checked the boot switch which I should really do, but does anybody have any other ideas on what it could be? The car is a late 2001 IS200 which I believe is the facelift model as it has isofix brackets the back. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! cheers