2000 LX-470 Rear Height Sensor (1 Viewer)

[2000LX470M]

After the fourth time replacing this at $400 a pop I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion for a good source for a used one. I also need the connector off the wiring harness, it is connector number 11143 but of course you need to buy the entire harness from Lexus as they dont supply pig tailed replacements. all of the failures have been due to internal corrosion of the gold plated springs. Should I try packing the connector with dieelctric grease next time?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

2000 LX-470 200k miles no off road

 

[agaisin]

A few things:
1) they're ~280 for front and ~300 for the rear sensor if you get them from lexuspartsnow or toyotapartszone and you can check with cdan and beno what their price is.

2) I have seen reports of using dielectric grease to improve the seal and presumably that helps. I am not familiar enough from an electronics standpoint, but have taken mine apart b/f - I assume they at least put it on the orings that seal both sides of the housing, but not sure where else it makes sense to put the dielectric grease.

3) some people have had success replacing the springs with ones they cannibilized from pens etc. worth a try (if you have your old ones you can try fixing them and run the diagnostic tests from the FSM to confirm they're working properly).

4) I don't have access now but will check later - pretty certain there was a TSB related to the corrosion issues with the height sensors and there are measures the dealership (or you) can take to minimize exposure to corrosion that are outlined in this TSB).

Hope this helps.

 

[2000LX470M]

Thanks for the info, certainly better than paying the $435 the dealer here in NJ wants for the item. My bigger issue in terms of availability is the harness connector that connects to it. Mine is destroyed and all i have is the wires which I have sealed off with silicone RTV so that I could at least continue to dirve it. The connector number is 11143 and is used in many other locations, such as the fron sensors and the vapor pressure sensor under the hood

I don't know why they wouldn't provide a manual override or an off switch that really turns the system off. Even with the sensor disconnected and sealed off such that the control module will go into fault mode the damn pump still jacks up the back over time as you drive it. I have to sit with the engine off and cycle the ignition on and off until it comes back down.

 

[hoser]

Search "AHC Removal"

Final answer.

You could probably collect the OEM non-AHC T-bars and rear springs for next to nothing on this board. Buy some new bilstein shocks and be done with it.

 

[2000LX470M]

I found a great source for all toyota connectors, they will supply them with pigtails. All you need is the part number.I was looking for 90980-11143

curt
www.elmhursttoyota.com

630.279.2265 Parts

 

[agaisin]

Well, with the part number you can order it from any parts dealer (at least that's what it looks like).
Where did you find a reference to the part number?

Thanks for the info! How much are they charging for the part? It was a mere 6.13 on toyotapartszone (not including shipping though...)

 

[uHu]

The problem is that the sensors have a design fault, and a new sensor is therefore not any better than an old one. What you need to do after repairing the sensor is to seal it properly. If you have a closer look when putting the sensor together, you can see that the lid bends between the four screws, so that the o-ring will not seal all the way around. If you put something rigid, like a 4 mm aluminium sheet, over the lid, it wil keep it straight.

 

[2000LX470M]

I gave two of my lovcal dealers the 5 digit part number 11143 which they told me was wrong. This number is on the body of the connector. The complete part number is 90980-11143. Thre real problem with most dealers is that they have no way of looking it up based on a schematic or maybe they just want to sell you a whole harness. I found the complete part number from a PDF file that I recieved from curt at www.elmhursttoyota.com.

Thanks for the suggestion on the defroming plate, I will make sure I address that. It also seems as though the moisture is getting in through the pins in the housing itself, wicking down to the contacts, this is why I thought some dielectric grease in the connector might help.

I am not sure how good of a seal the shaft seal is, seems like this would be the most prone to failure. After I relace this I will inspect it after 6 months. If I notice any corrosion I will replace the gold plated springs with equivalent springs made from 316 stainless steel available from www.leespring.com. I am certian the 316 will survive better than the junk springs they use even in the presence of salt and electrical current. The higher resistivity of the 316 shouldn't factor in as the impedance of the votage divider (Potentiometer) is in the Mohms.

I don't have a part number for the lee spring. I will base it on wire size, OD, free length and number of turns. You can buy a sample for a few bucks a spring.

 

[agaisin]

2000LX470M - let us know what ends up working for you in terms of spring part number and in terms of improving seal/preventing corrosion.

 

[agaisin]

I gave two of my lovcal dealers the 5 digit part number 11143 which they told me was wrong. This number is on the body of the connector. The complete part number is 90980-11143. Thre real problem with most dealers is that they have no way of looking it up based on a schematic or maybe they just want to sell you a whole harness. I found the complete part number from a PDF file that I recieved from curt at www.elmhursttoyota.com.

I was curious where to find the part number you referenced - it is not in any of the parts diagrams I could find under electrical, body, power train/chassis, etc.

After more searching I did find what I was looking for in the Electrical Wiring Diagrams part of the FSM though - there's a list of part numbers for connectors.

You should know that according to the FSM listing, the part number 90980-11143 is oly the connector for the rear height control sensor, however the front LH and RH have a different part number of 90980-11015.

 

[2000LX470M]

I was guessing it was the same, didn't try to remove. I do know it is the same as the vapor pressure sensor under the hood

 

[agaisin]

I was guessing it was the same, didn't try to remove. I do know it is the same as the vapor pressure sensor under the hood

Yep - was gonna mention that. The rear height sensor is actually same as vapor pressure sensor (code V1) and the vehicle speed sensor for the combination meter (code V2) according to the parts connector list, but not same as the front height sensors...

 

[2000LX470M]

Lee Spring - Precision Stock & Custom Springs
I have not tried to replace the springs with a stainless steel version just yet as I am going to try some dielectric grease both inside and out. If this does not work I will select a similar spring from the on-line catalog. A similar spring can be found using the outer diameter, free length, number of turns, wire size, etc. The stock springs are gold plated music wire, I would select a stainless steel version made from 316. The fact that these will have a slightly higher resistance should not be a factor since they are being used in a high impedance (resistance) voltage divider circuit (potentiometer).

These can be purchased for a few dollars a piece, or like I have done in the past forother projects, got a few free samples.

 

[agaisin]

For interest's sake, here's the TSB I referenced in my earlier post about the sensors and corrosion:
"
SUSPENSION
SU001-07

Title:
HEIGHT SENSOR & REAR
HARNESS IMPROVEMENT

Models:
'03 - '07 LX 470

June 5, 2007

Introduction
To improve salt and corrosion prevention, new and improved front and rear height sensors and a rear height sensor sub-wiring harness are now available.
"