A bit hard to start this morning.... (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 26, 2005
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5
Messages
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Location
Tucson, AZ
My new to me 1998 LC was a bit hard to start this morning. Took a few stabs at the key and 10 seconds or so of cranking to get it going.

It's NOT the starter contacts since engine cranked just fine, just didn't want to fire. Battery is a month old.

Looking at maint records, looks like the PO has already replaced the plugs, airfilter, etc - what else should I look at? I was thinking of starting by cleaning the TB...

Thanks,
Scott
 
What plugs are currently in it? I know you said the PO had them replaced, but what were they replaced with?

rich
 
Where are you located... is it REALLY cold there. I would put some dry gas in your tank. There probably is quite a bit of moisture in your tank with the temps dropping recently.
 
Located in Tucson - although you wouldn't know it - it was 19 deg at my house this morn!

Checked on the plugs and the owners notes only says "double platnium". I'll have to pull one to see what's actually in there.

Are there known issues running non-OEM, or at least non-iridum plugs?

-Scott
 
Sounds like bosch plugs. My experiences with bosch plugs in cars has not been favorable. Although a search on here shows a few people with good experiences with the bosch plugs in LC's. I've always been very impressed with NGK's in both street and racing applications (especially in turbocharged vehicles).

I just picked up a set of NGK OEM iridium plugs for about $6 a piece from the local advance auto parts. Definitely expensive, but considering they'll be in the truck for another 100K, not a big deal.

rich
 
rzpapp said:
Where are you located... is it REALLY cold there. I would put some dry gas in your tank. There probably is quite a bit of moisture in your tank with the temps dropping recently.

Yeah I hear you it was 36F this morning in Chandler. Well if the truck was out side you could have had enough condensation (espically on an empty tank) that you got some water into the system
 
I'm in Tucson, too, but the dewpoint has been around -8F to 10F for the past couple of weeks at night, so I'm skeptical it's a water condensation problem.
 
Absolutely no problems starting this morning - although it was slightly warmer (~23 deg).

I'm suspicious of the battery, even though it's new. When I had the problem yesterday, the engine cranked much slower. Any comments on the quality of the Toyota batts? I'm tempted to grab an Optima from Costco assuming that it'll fit.

My Other thought is that something is draining the battery - I'll check that with the DVM tonight. Any clue what an acceptable draw is?

Thanks!
Scott
 
It did turn out to be the POS Toyota battery. A under any kind of load, the voltage would drop below 9V in under a minute. Fires up much quicker with the new battery.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
The brand new battery is the problem. I hate that.

Two reasons equipment fails -
1. We didn't service it
2. We serviced it and broke something
 

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