Help!! I'm Irate!! Ignition Trouble... (1 Viewer)

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P

Pants

Joined
Sep 12, 2006
Threads
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Location
Ranch-ville U.S.A.
Ignition Trouble...UPDATED

Regular updates posted as they are available for the benefit of anyone else who might have a similar problem.





I was recently having ignition trouble, where the truck would crank just fine but wouldn't fire.

I took it into the local garage and they told me it was a bad fuel pump, for which I dutifully paid $600 to have it replaced.

Got in the truck this morning and the SAME THING happened again. It turns over just fine but it will not catch. There's plenty of gas in it.

I did notice that as I got in and inserted the key, the blinking red light indicating the alarm system was still blinking as I tried to start it.

Is it possible that the battery in the key is going dead, and it is failing to establish a connection with the engine's computer, preventing it from starting? Some kind of anti-theft feature?

Please help.

Thanks.

Pants
 
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can u lock/unlock the truck using the remote key? If u can I guess remote battery is good. But if u still see the red light blinking, truck will never start. If you have a spare key or valet key, try starting the truck with those keys. If not may be u will have to reset the ECU and reprogramm the keys
 
Pants said:
I was recently having ignition trouble, where the truck would crank just fine but wouldn't fire.

I took it into the local garage and they told me it was a bad fuel pump, for which I dutifully paid $600 to have it replaced.

Got in the truck this morning and the SAME THING happened again. It turns over just fine but it will not catch. There's plenty of gas in it.

I did notice that as I got in and inserted the key, the blinking red light indicating the alarm system was still blinking as I tried to start it.

Is it possible that the battery in the key is going dead, and it is failing to establish a connection with the engine's computer, preventing it from starting? Some kind of anti-theft feature?

Please help.

Thanks.

Pants
Click to expand...


More info needed: Did you get a new key recently? In case you are not aware keys need to be programmed using a specific programming sequence...just a thought. And for a few bucks it might be prudent to install a new key fob battery.
 
Remote locks work fine.

Wife has the other key at work so that will have to wait.

Resetting the ECU and reprogramming keys, is that something I can do myself?
 
Maybe it would be helpfull to rephrase the question:

Under what circumstances would the alarm indicator light continure to blink AFTER the key is inserted into the ignition?
 
Pants said:
Correct.

Sorry, I actually knew I could prgoram the keys myself, just didn't know about the ECU. Any idea how much that might cost me?
Click to expand...


I think the ECU repsonsible for starting, etc. is $1,500-$2,000. However Toyota has typically offered to replace this once per vehicle at no-charge for the parts. A friend of mine just had hers replaced on her '98 at no charge from Toyota (+ $600 labor though). Although her problem started from simply breaking the plastic remote key fob...so the dealer in their infinite wisdom decided replacing the entire ECU with a new key was the best approach. Unfortunately thereafter her remote key would not unlock the door locks. So then they wanted to charge her $800+ to replace the door lock ECU! Once I learned of her woes I simply took the electronics from her old key and put them into the new key housing (for which she could have just bought on e-bay for $25) and reprogrammed the key to the starting ECU and everything works fine.
 
I doubt it would have anything to do with the battery in the key since the valet key doesn't even have a battery. Does it work w/ the valet key?
 
Update:

My wife says the same thing happened with her key last week.

The part that befuddles me is, for the first three days after it was out of the shop, I had no problems. It seemed as though the fuel pump really was the culprit, because it started just fine.

And now this again.

Thanks everyone for responding. I'm hoping to get this figured out a.s.a.f.p.

Chow, if it's not the battery, then it MUST be the ECU, no?

P.S. Can we all agree that it definitely was NOT the fuel pump? (Since I now have a brand-new $600 fuel pump and the same exact problem)?
 
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Did you recently buy a new car?
If so, did that new car come with new keys that you put onto the keyring next to your toyota keys?

This happened to me once and it turned out to be a radio frequency conflict with another key on the keyring. Try using ONLY the Toyota key in the truck and starting it.

Also did you happen to install some new electronics in/near the upper dashboard area?
 
I saw it suggested elsewhere that disconnecting the negative battery cable for a half hour or so would reset the ECU.

Does anyone know if this is accurate?
 
Is there nothing in the owners manual about the blinking - I seem to remember there was. Sorry I am not able to get to mine as I am many miles away from my cruiser now.
I would disconnect the battery and let the ECU attempt to reset and get that answer yourself.
 
If the ECU does not recognize your key as a the original key(I mean the correct key) then disconecting the main battery won't make any diffrence. The point is when u insert your key to the ignition, the blinking red light should disappear. If it stayes blinking that means ECU does not recognize the key and truck won't start

Do u have a original valet key? Did u try with your wife's key yet?
 
TXLX470 said:
If the ECU does not recognize your key as a the original key(I mean the correct key) then disconecting the main battery won't make any diffrence. The point is when u insert your key to the ignition, the blinking red light should disappear. If it stayes blinking that means ECU does not recognize the key and truck won't start

Do u have a original valet key? Did u try with your wife's key yet?
Click to expand...


Update:

The truck is back in the garage and the tech has told me that although the alarm indicator light continues to blink after the key is inserted, he isn't "getting an Immobilization code" (which he normally does in this type of situation).

His next order of business is to test with Timing Position Sensor....


Regarding my keys, below are pictured numbers 1, 2, and 3.
#1 and #2 will work in the ignition ONLY, and will not manually unlock the doors, trunk, or golve box.
#3 will manually unlock the doors and trunk, NOT the glove box, and WILL NOT work in the ignition. (So, yes, I cannot lock the glove box at all)
(Damage to "unlock" button on #2 has been present since purchase, without consequence)
DSC_0007.JPG
 
Did any of your keys ever unlock the glove box?

Did the fact that keys 1 and 2 don't manually unlock the doors or glove box ever come to your attention before?

Are you the original owner?

The reason I ask is that it sounds like the ignition cyclinder was changed in the past, and you DID NOT get the metal key blanks replaced in the remote control keys 1 and 2.

Key 3 is the valet key. It never unlocks the glove box, but it should manually unlock the doors and liftgate, and start the car. So it sounds like you still have the old one that still works in the doors.

So, if all 3 keys, or at least the 2 remote control keys, did work at one time to start the car, then they MUST have been learned at one time by the Immobilizer control circuit.

So i would bet that the Immobilizer circuit is shot/forgot your key codes, or the coil antenna around the ignition key cylinder wiggled loose or is broken. Or else, maybe somebody monkeyed around with your Toyota LC trying to learn some new keys in your truck (up to 6 can be stored) and electrically forced your keys out of memory.

If it's intermittent, I would lean toward the broken coil in the ignition cylinder.
 
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ZJ2UZJ100 said:
Did any of your keys ever unlock the glove box? No.

Did the fact that keys 1 and 2 don't manually unlock the doors or glove box ever come to your attention before? Yes, but I didn't seem important as far as operating the vehicle goes.

Are you the original owner? No. Third owner.

The reason I ask is that it sounds like the ignition cyclinder was changed in the past, and you DID NOT get the metal key blanks replaced in the remote control keys 1 and 2.

Key 3 is the valet key. It never unlocks the glove box, but it should manually unlock the doors and liftgate, and start the car. So it sounds like you still have the old one that still works in the doors. Yes, it works in the doors, but does NOT work in the ignition.

So, if all 3 keys, or at least the 2 remote control keys, did work at one time to start the car, then they MUST have been learned at one time by the Immobilizer control circuit. #1 and #2 have worked until recently.

So i would bet that the Immobilizer circuit is shot/forgot your key codes, or the coil antenna around the ignition key cylinder wiggled loose or is broken. Or else, maybe somebody monkeyed around with your Toyota LC trying to learn some new keys in your truck (up to 6 can be stored) and electrically forced your keys out of memory. Extremely unlikely.

If it's intermittent, I would lean toward the broken coil in the ignition cylinder.
Click to expand...
If this turns out to be the case, I am offering you a bottle of scotch of your choice.
 
Hope it helps.

I think the explanation of the keys and cyclinders is solid. Your ignition cyclinder was changed in the past, but they didn't change the door lock cylinders or the glove box cylinder to match them all up again. ( That's typical. It's a long expensive job to have to swap out all 3 door cyclinders when they are working just fine. And the remote control USUALLY works 99% of the time. If your battery ever dies when you are in the mall, you will need that Valet key to get into your car.) So the previous owner just got the new metal key blanks for the Remote Control keys so that they would mechanically turn the new ignition cylinder, and then learned those new Remote keys.



When I insert a valid key into the ignition cylinder, the red security icon on the center dashboard stops blinking. That's why I think you keys are no longer being recognized by the Immobilizer.

You should still check whether an immobilizer controller is supposed to allow you to crank the starter (even though it doesn't catch) if the key is not recognized. I would have thought that the immobilizer would cut off the starter motor AND fuel pump if they key didn't match. But I'm not sure about that one.

Scotch not necessary. Buy your wife a huge vase of flowers instead.
 
An unrecognized key will crank the starter but not allow the engine to fire. I know this because I have a cut key to match my LC, but it is not yet programmed into the ECU. As stated earlier, the red security light just continues to blink when it is inserted.

It definitely sounds like there is a fault with the immobilizer portion of the ignition cylinder, the signal line from that to the ECU, or the ECU itself. It is not sensing that a correct transponder key has been inserted.

Whether this is the same problem one of the previous owners had which necessitated a replacement ignition cylinder, who knows.

rich
 
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