Bought a 1996 LX450 about a week ago and trying to work through a hard start issue. Of course the previous owner said nothing to me about this when I purchased the rig. The problem I'm experiencing is a hard start the first time I start it for the day. After the first start it seems to start normally. The hard start is it will crank for a bit then try to kick off, but stumbles and dies a few times before it will idle. Before purchase I checked radiator and engine fluids for any mixing and everything is good. The rig has no smoke coming out of the tailpipe so believe I've got either a electrical, sensor or fuel problem. The rig is low miles, for the year, at 176K.
Last night I replaced the fusible link as I've read this seems to be the most common hard start issue. The link that came off was in horrible shape, one wire you can see has gotten hot at some point and another was cut. In the little black plastic cover I cleaned all connections during the replacement and installed the new link. I'm not sure if this fixed the problem yet until I get home after work to start the vehicle. My question is, where can I buy a replacement truck side connector for the great push type connector that attaches to the fusible link. The one of the truck has some insulation missing close to the grey piece, and while I'm doing this want to make sure I eliminate this area completely. Below are pictures of the old link and a picture of the truck side harness connector that I'm trying to locate. I've google searched it but can only find the fusible link for sale. Also, I picked up a spare for the glove box. The third leg to the original fusible link not in the picture was spliced onto to the grey connector non truck side. Thinking someone at some point made a quick repair at some point to get home.
Plans for this rig are go get the wiring and mechanical 100% and start the upgrades. From the looks of things not much has been done to it. I ordered new fuel pump with in-tank screen and fuel filter to shore up the fuel system. Ordered new plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor to shore up the ignition system. Also orders some misc. parts such as EGR valve, air filter, PCV valve, Oxygen Sensor, TPS Sensor, etc... I'll also change and flush all fluids and rebuild axles if needed. Rig is in pretty decent condition but want to make sure I have my bases covered. Going to try and work through all this pretty quick if possible and will ask any questions needed along the way. I pretty excited about the rig and ready to get it dependable and start driving it more. Thanks in advance for any help along the way.
Last night I replaced the fusible link as I've read this seems to be the most common hard start issue. The link that came off was in horrible shape, one wire you can see has gotten hot at some point and another was cut. In the little black plastic cover I cleaned all connections during the replacement and installed the new link. I'm not sure if this fixed the problem yet until I get home after work to start the vehicle. My question is, where can I buy a replacement truck side connector for the great push type connector that attaches to the fusible link. The one of the truck has some insulation missing close to the grey piece, and while I'm doing this want to make sure I eliminate this area completely. Below are pictures of the old link and a picture of the truck side harness connector that I'm trying to locate. I've google searched it but can only find the fusible link for sale. Also, I picked up a spare for the glove box. The third leg to the original fusible link not in the picture was spliced onto to the grey connector non truck side. Thinking someone at some point made a quick repair at some point to get home.
Plans for this rig are go get the wiring and mechanical 100% and start the upgrades. From the looks of things not much has been done to it. I ordered new fuel pump with in-tank screen and fuel filter to shore up the fuel system. Ordered new plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor to shore up the ignition system. Also orders some misc. parts such as EGR valve, air filter, PCV valve, Oxygen Sensor, TPS Sensor, etc... I'll also change and flush all fluids and rebuild axles if needed. Rig is in pretty decent condition but want to make sure I have my bases covered. Going to try and work through all this pretty quick if possible and will ask any questions needed along the way. I pretty excited about the rig and ready to get it dependable and start driving it more. Thanks in advance for any help along the way.
Last edited:
