Mihanicos

Hi John, I tried a few times to up load the files showing all the details but it does not seem possible. The connector BA2 is in the engine bay, Gray wire. The connector LA2 is in the Instrument panel, white wire. I hope this is of some help. Chris.

Hi John, You are welcome. I hope you will be able to find everything you need and I have no doubt you will get it to work. Chris

A timing belt has a mileage and a time limit for its service, whichever comes first, for most manufacturers. Be sure not to exceed either of them. For a timing belt that may snap for whatever reason and it may cost you a full engine overhaul or a replacement engine, in case the engine valves have an interference operation, I would never take the chance. Aisin is the original manufacturer for Toyota and I always use without any reservation. Chris.

Hi, I attach here the circuit diagram for the radar distance control of the cruise control. I hope it can be useful. Chris Radar Cruise Control.pdf

A higher oil level than the maximum, when the engine is at normal operating temperature, will cause the oil pump to deliver oil at a higher pressure. The decisive factor is the head of the oil and not the amount on the suction side of the pump. This in turn will cause oil to enter the combustion chambers which will be burnt and pass through the catalytic converters. This in turn, in the long run, will shorten their life and they are expensive to replace and a very difficult job to do. I would drain from the drain plug when the oil is warm. The drain plug is accessible and you do not have to remove the 7 screws of the shield to access the oil filter. Chris

When the 12v battery is below 11v, you get totally unrelated codes. When my 12v battery was low I used to get " Variable gear ratio steering " the car would not start first time but on the second time I pressed the power switch etc. Chris.

Hi, The position of the brake control power supply I mentioned is for a lexus gs 450h and it is located somewhere in the floor of the boot and not where I mentioned earlier. I had a better look at the location of the parts diagram. For your car it may be elsewhere. Check that your 12v battery does not fall below 11v. If it does, to verify the fault use another good 12v battery temporarily. If the battery is not the problem, then there are various measurements you have to take to locate the fault. The information codes retrieved by a scanner will be a guide how to locate the fault and subsequently repair it using the repair manual. I don't think that you can disable the alarm because the brake system is quite complicated on Lexus hybrid models and it is a matter of safety above all. As far as scanners are concerned you can find a few on Ebay, including the Techstream which offers dealer level diagnostics. Chris

Hi, C 1377/43 relates to the brake control power supply, a capacitor, which is used as auxiliary power supply for brake control when the 12v battery is low. If you scan the brake system, you should be able to retrieve further information codes which pinpoint to the source of the DTC displayed. 101 indicates deterioration of the capacitor and should be replaced. 102 indicates self discharge ie leakage of the capacitor. 105 indicates malfunction of the charging circuit. This capacitor you should find between the roof and the headliner above the rear seats. Chris.

When a very simple and straight forward job has not been done, I would wonder about the more involved and costly jobs. Chris.

Do you have the same codes too? B 1421 and B 1424?

Try Megazip and Jp car parts. Megazip have a warehouse in the United Arab Emirates in addition to their head office in Japan. Japan Spares have excellent service too.

Some engines need new cylinder head bolts every time the head is removed. The reason being they will shear off if used again. The torque for a camshaft bolt is much less and the only reason I can think is the bolt having a friction thread which wears off when used the bolt is removed. Hence risk of the bolt becoming loose. If that is the case you can use loctide on the thread, it is available in light, medium and high strength. Medium strength should be tight enough to keep the bolt to its specified torque. This will secure the bolt in position. However, I would follow the manufacturer's recommendations for peace of mind. If tha bolt becomes loose, you will need a new engine or a full engine overhaul. Chris.

Thank you very much for the information on spark plugs. My knowledge comes from following the manufacturer's recommendations for normal service conditions. Chris.

From my experience, oil on the thread of the spark plugs occurs when they are under torqued. For my car the recommended torque is 19 Nm but I usually torque to 25 Nm. Oil on the plugs may be caused by a long overdue oil change, using the wrong type and viscosity, excessive oil in the sump [ over the maximum level ] worn oil seals on the intake valves and worn piston rings. A weak spark can also cause oil deposits. Stoichiometric combustion normally gives a light chestnut brown colour but for the electrode insulator to be white is normal. Like another learned member pointed out, Iridium plugs are normally replaced every 6 years or 72 000 miles, whichever comes first. As the plugs wear, their gap increases and for iridium plugs the gap should not be adjusted. From the photos, I think they have done quite a few miles over the top. If they are the original and fitted on 2006, the time span has been exceeded by far. I agree with the recommendations of other members and I always begin repairs and fault identification by doing the easy steps and cheap repairs first. Chris.

Well the original 12v battery of my car was replaced after two years from new and the second battery lasted five years. The gel battery now in service is working fine and it only cost me 70 Euro. No battery trouble codes of any kind have been displayed to date. Chris.

Hi, If you search the Internet, you will see that AGM batteries can take a higher charging current than a gel battery. They also deliver a higher current compared to the gel batteries. There are some differences in their characteristics in design, performance and durability bu the key here is the charging current, which is less for a gel battery than an AGM battery. Therefore the charging circuit of the car would be operating at a lower level without the risk of overloading and subsequently causing a fault. I would put a gel battery instead if it is cheaper. Choose the highest ampere hours for the physical size available. When I had to replace the 12v battery of my car, the dealer wanted 500 Euro for it. Instead I put an 80 Ampere hour as opposed to the original 57 Ampere hour . Chris.

Hi, Your car should have a NiMHi battery of 40 cells connected in series and its capacity should be 6.5 Ampere hours. There are some differences between the various GS models destined for various countries but all manufacturers try to use the same parts as far as they can to minimise their costs. As far as I know your car should have the same modules as the Prius, for the same type of battery. For some of the latest models, they are using Li modules. As long as the modules you get come from the same capacity battery, and they are of the same size, they should be ok to use. As another member pointed out, the internal resistances will vary and a good diagnostic tool will read them. Try to match the internal resistance of replacement modules to them. Because the battery is made from 40 cells connected in series with copper " busbars " it is of paramount importance to make sure they are clean and corrosion free. Any contact resistance through each of these busbars will be added to the total circuit resistance of the battery and this will reduce the charging current and the current delivered by them. There have been cases that a bad connection caused codes to be generated relating to the hybrid system. If you decide to repair it, it is a good practise to put the 10 modules from each side in the middle and the 20 from the middle to put them 10 on either side. Chris. I

Before I make any modifications, I need to have the existing circuit diagram and the circuit diagram of the equipment to be added. If you can make measurements and checks to verify the connections, you can make the modifications you want. However, to add relays, other switches etc, you have to find ways to support them, room to accommodate them etc. Sometimes even if you replace just a bolt or a nut which is not the original, you end up buying the original. Chris.

Hi, I bought some repair manuals from emanuals and ebay. There are some on ebay now, I just had a look, some are on a CD and some are on pdf. They are very cheap and they cover a wide range of Lexus and Toyota Aristo. Chris

Hi, Unfortunately I do not speak Japanese. To me it is just like hieroglyphics. Try to get the repair manual of your car with the the full circuit diagram. There are a few websites on line to get the manual on a pdf document with very reasonable prices. I bought a Toyota Avensis and a Hundai manual for about 30 Euro each. Without a complete circuit diagram showing all the connections you will be shooting in the dark. Chris.

Hi, The circuit diagram shows all the connections to both mirrors from their respective ECUs. You need the circuit diagram of the Aristo mirrors to make the connections. As far as the motor operation is concerned, the wiring is clear. The mirror position sensor wiring is not clear what each wire does. You can try to measure the resistance of each wire with every other single wire of the position sensor, note each value and try to match them to the Aristo mirrors. This is a very coarse method it is not recommended and you may cause a short circuit when the mirrors are operated. If you change the door ECUs you must make all the connections to each except the mirrors in which case it will a direct wiring case. Sometimes ECUs controlling the same part have different wiring. Good luck. Chris.

RCM.pdf Hi, This is my second attempt to upload the circuit diagram of a European Lexus GS. If you can open it and you need more information or diagrams, I will he glad to be of help. I apologise for my earlier failure. I hope this time is ok.

Hi, This is a check valve that allows crankcase gases to pass through it into the inlet manifold and supsequently burn in the engine. If you blow on it in the direction of the crankcase it should remain closed. If that is the case, it works. A bit of cleaning will go aong way. If this valve has seized, usually causes engine oil to come out of the front and rear crankshaft oil seals. Chris

Hi Steve, I have studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds and worked in England for some time with Electricity Generating Boards and Babcock and Wilcox. Electronics has been my lifetime hobby and mechanical engineering my passion. All my life I repair and maintain my own cars, any tools or equipment I need I buy, irrespective of cost. I never go to the dealers for anything. I can do a full engine overhaul strictly to the manufacturer's specifications. Mechanical, hybrid and electric cars all obey the laws of physics and electricity. When I write a post here, it must be precise, accurate and correct. One cannot rely on memory to give the right information and guidance to other people. Wrong information and guidance may result in damages whose cost will be born by their recipients. I always look up the repair manual of the manufacturer which I bought from Lexus, irrespective of how simple or complicated the work involved happens to be. For me the repair manual is a guide. However, knowledge of the principles of operation of the various parts and experience is the key to pinpoint an electrical or mechanical fault and subsequently carry out repairs. I am here to learn from other learned members, like Socrates said about 2500 years ago, " All I know is that I know nothing ". I have recently retired and I now live in Cyprus. Chris.

Hi, Remove the inverter radiator cap. Loosen the air bleed plug [6mm] at the front driver's side and connect the air bleed hose. Insert the other end of the hose into the filler tank and drain the coolant. Refit the bleeder plug, tighten to 1.5 Nm. no more, risk of deformation. Find the hose which connects to a pipe going down and making a 90 degree bent at the bottom of the engine. This pipe is held in position by a a drain plug. Release it and drain the coolant. Tighten it to 13 Nm. At the bottom of the engine, there is another drain 10mm plug. release it and drain the coolant. Tighten to 39 Nm. Collect and measure the total amount drained. RHD capacity is 2.8 litres. Loosen the 6 mm bleeder plug and connect the hose. keep the other end of the hose next to the filler tank. Add coolant until the coolant in the tank is at the maximum and the same level with bleeder hose. Hold the hose next to the tank. Remove the hose and tighten the plug to 1.5 Nm, no more. Connect the techstream or a similar scanner and operate the active test on the pump. Add coolant to the max level of the tank while operating the pump for about 3 minutes and stop for 1 minute. If the water pump operates for more than 5 seconds without enough water, it will stop for 15 seconds and restart. Excessive coolant will cause an overflow. Keep adding coolant for 1 minute and stopping for 1 minute. When there are no more air bubbles and the sound of the pump is quiet, the air bleeding is complete. Make sure that you have added more coolant than the amount drained. Driving the car with air in the circuit, it will display trouble codes. To eliminate the remotest possibility of air being trapped put the car heater on full and with the engine running squeeze the heater water hoses one at a time. With the radiator cap removed, observe that every time the heater hose is squeezed, the water level in the radiator rises and falls. Also make sure you can feel hot coolant in the hoses indicating circulation.This expels all air from the coolant in the heat exchanger Test drive the car and drive slowly for a few minutes. Stop and check the coolant level. Drive for longer time and keep checking. Make sure you check the coolant level every time the engine cools down. If you need to add coolant it means that you still had air in the system or you have a leak. It is of paramount importance to eliminate all air from the system. Trapped air impairs the coolant circulation resulting in insufficient cooling of the electronic components thereby shortening their life and eventually leading to a failure. It also causes engine temperature rise. Chris.