My 1999 LX470 has been parked in the garage for almost exactly 1 year. Ran perfectly when it was parked, but now won't start. Turns over fine and sound normal. Just doesn't fir-up. She was very low on gas when I parked her, so I added a little more thinking that she may be out of fuel. No such luck. History of the unit is clean, well maintained, park inside. Is there a trouble shooting flow chart to follow?
1999 LX470 - Won't Start After Sitting for 1 Year
- Thread starter Agent T
- Start date
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Air, fuel, spark. Did you disconnect the battery before storage? Using a new battery or jumping? Immobilizer light on or off? EFI fuse, fuel pump are things to check.
If it's the same battery it may have enough juice to crank but not start. Immobilizer is the light by the clock.
- Thread starter
- #5
Immobilizer light is flashing with the key out and turns off when the key is inserted, so at this point I don’t think it’s the immobilizer. Fuel is my next thought. As stated, the gas tane was very close to empty when parked. No movement on the gas gauge and the fuel light is on. Battery is strong. Would the next step be to check the fuel tank access under the rear seats? Or where should i look next?
I would look at the fuel pump next.
Did you run Stabil or something similar in the gas? I would agree that the fuel pump, fuel filter or (hopefully not) fuel lines are the likely suspects. In a year modern fuel -especially with ethanol- can degrade and cause sedimentation/blockage.
Start with a freshly charged battery that you KNOW is holding charge, probably not a bad idea to add some seafoam (proportionate to the amount of fuel in the tank, don't drop a whole bottle in there) and I would also check that throttle body for varnishing.
Finally, if it's sat for a year make sure you're checking the air filter cannister for rodent activity!
Start with a freshly charged battery that you KNOW is holding charge, probably not a bad idea to add some seafoam (proportionate to the amount of fuel in the tank, don't drop a whole bottle in there) and I would also check that throttle body for varnishing.
Finally, if it's sat for a year make sure you're checking the air filter cannister for rodent activity!
Can you check for fuel pressure at the fuel rail with a gauge?
Is that possible?
Is that possible?
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks for the ideas. No additives we put in the tank. No rodent activity. I’m not is the fuel rail has a Schrader or other port to connect to. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in. I read some post that said to jumper the fuel pump using the and battery terminals in the diagnostic port in hope that the fuel pump may free itself up. Anyone tried that?
LXMarksTheSpot
SILVER Star
I just had my rail out and there is no valve to check fuel pressure. I know I had pressure because I installed an injector wrong and fuel was shooting out of it. Haha. That’s an awful test but it worked.
Another member had a crank no start recently. I see above that there was no rodent damage but please check your cam position sensor wires. Maybe disconnect and clean and reconnect.
^ that was after the TB job, not something that just came up. For the fuel pump, you pull the seat and peel the carpet back and see if you can hear it priming. You can also pull the line into the fuel filter and carefully see if gas comes out with the ignition on.
- Thread starter
- #14
Thanks again for the direction, I’ll start with confirming the fuel pump is working and the filter and lines are flowing. I suspect old gas is to blame as I live in Sacramento, where the weather is temperate…and the rig was parked inside. She’s had minimal use over the past 5 years.
