Lexus LX450 Electrical Break Down (1 Viewer)

[Beast of Berlin]

Hi guys,
last night I was driving down from Frankfurt to Switzerland in heavy rain. After less than 100 kms important electrical funktions went off in a sudden. Nothing worked on the dash-board (mileage, voltage, speedmeter, fuel, temp...) except its own light. No engine/charger control lamps, no ventilation, no wipers!!!, no power roofs/windows and so on. But power seats, head-/rear lights, turn signals, rev-gear light, sealing light were OK.
I had no chance to look very close at the fuses but a first sight they were not the cause.
Has anyone ever experienced that or similar?
I guess/hope just some wiring plug slipped off?!

 

[Road Apple]

There was another member that recently had a similar issue. He started by checked fuses, battery connects, ground connections, and the fusible link. I'll try to dig up the thread to see if he found the issue.

 

[retlaw]

Hi guys,
last night I was driving down from Frankfurt to Switzerland in heavy rain. After less than 100 kms important electrical funktions went off in a sudden. Nothing worked on the dash-board (mileage, voltage, speedmeter, fuel, temp...) except its own light. No engine/charger control lamps, no ventilation, no wipers!!!, no power roofs/windows and so on. But power seats, head-/rear lights, turn signals, rev-gear light, sealing light were OK.
I had no chance to look very close at the fuses but a first sight they were not the cause.
Has anyone ever experienced that or similar?
I guess/hope just some wiring plug slipped off?!

Are you saying the gauges didnt work but the gauge lights did? I cant quite narrow it down from your list of what works and what doesnt. Power seats and power windows are on the same circuit. It sounds like a main fuse or fusible link but the symptoms arent adding up.
Check again what works and what doesnt. No ventilation? Do you mean the blower (fan) ? Does it start?

 

[Beast of Berlin]

Are you saying the gauges didnt work but the gauge lights did? I cant quite narrow it down from your list of what works and what doesnt. Power seats and power windows are on the same circuit. It sounds like a main fuse or fusible link but the symptoms arent adding up.
Check again what works and what doesnt. No ventilation? Do you mean the blower (fan) ? Does it start?

 

[Bogart]

Truck still starts and runs?

 

[Beast of Berlin]

This was working: power seats, head-/rear lights, turn signals, rev-gear light, sealing light, starter.
The rest not. No gauge was working.
I made to my final destination. 4hrs ride with stationary wipers. Raining cats and dogs...

 

[Beast of Berlin]

This was working: power seats, head-/rear lights, turn signals, rev-gear light, sealing light, starter.
The rest not. No gauge was working.
I made to my final destination. 4hrs ride with stationary wipers. Raining cats and dogs...

Ingnition was working, too

 

[retlaw]

Symptoms still not adding up to a conclusion but the 20A wiper and 10A gauge fuses share a common wire to a splice point behind the knee fuse panel.
Is your drivers side carpet damp?

 

[BILT4ME]

I would start looking for water intrusion in the DS A pillar kick plate and all the harnesses and plugs in there.

Then look under the dash for water leaking from the windshield and dripping on on of the control units.

This sounds to me like wet shorted controls.

 

[Beast of Berlin]

Fluid intrusion - that is a good point! And I do not think it was the rain. A few days ago the A/C system was replenished with fresh refrigerant. The A/C went stable at first but than failed. The aim was to detect A/C leckages - an contrast additive was mixed into the refrigerant. When I opened the hood that night all refrigerant green colored was spilled around the A/C compresssor. That might have affected the electrical circuit somewhere. In a kind were refrigerant went into wiring connectors. The break-down was just before the heavy rain started. And gauges died one after another - not all at the same time. The last one was the fuel gauge. Than the wipers died....

 

[Beast of Berlin]

Fluid intrusion - that is a good point! And I do not think it was the rain. A few days ago the A/C system was replenished with fresh refrigerant. The A/C went stable at first but than failed. The aim was to detect A/C leckages - an contrast additive was mixed into the refrigerant. When I opened the hood that night all refrigerant green colored was spilled around the A/C

Fluid intrusion - that is a good point! And I do not think it was the rain. A few days ago the A/C system was replenished with fresh refrigerant. The A/C went stable at first but than failed. The aim was to detect A/C leckages - an contrast additive was mixed into the refrigerant. When I opened the hood that night all refrigerant green colored was spilled around the A/C compresssor. That might have affected the electrical circuit somewhere. In a kind were refrigerant went into wiring connectors. The break-down was just before the heavy rain started. And gauges died one after another - not all at the same time. The last one was the fuel gauge. Than the wipers died....

Fluid intrusion - that is a good point! And I do not think it was the rain. A few days ago the A/C system was replenished with fresh refrigerant. The A/C went stable at first but than failed. The aim was to detect A/C leckages - an contrast additive was mixed into the refrigerant. When I opened the hood that night all refrigerant green colored was spilled around the A/C compresssor. That might have affected the electrical circuit somewhere. In a kind were refrigerant went into wiring connectors. The break-down was just before the heavy rain started. And gauges died one after another - not all at the same time. The last one was the fuel gauge. Than the wipers died....

. That might have affected the electrical circuit somewhere. In a kind were refrigerant went into wiring connectors. The break-down was just before the heavy rain started. And gauges died one after another - not all at the same time. The last one was the fuel gauge. Than the wipers died....

Fluid intrusion - that is a good point! And I do not think it was the rain. A few days ago the A/C system was replenished with fresh refrigerant. The A/C went stable at first but than failed. The aim was to detect A/C leckages - an contrast additive was mixed into the refrigerant. When I opened the hood that night all refrigerant green colored was spilled around the A/C compresssor. That might have affected the electrical circuit somewhere. In a kind were refrigerant went into wiring connectors. The break-down was just before the heavy rain started. And gauges died one after another - not all at the same time. The last one was the fuel gauge. Than the wipers died....

Just checked the A/C compressor environment. All flushed with green additive. Two ground leads are there. May-be there is the cause...

 

[Beast of Berlin]

When I plug off the connection to the wiper motor all other affected function recover. All gauges and power applications (seat, roof) came back to life again.
The wiper motor became very hot. Kind of short circuit inside there...

 

[retlaw]

Thats good news! Im still baffled how a short or a wiper motor malfunction would affect all of those other things. Did you mean to say the power seats came back to life? Previously you indicated that they worked during the failure.
Let us know if it was really just the wiper motor in the end. Its useful info.

 

[BILT4ME]

When I plug off the connection to the wiper motor all other affected function recover. All gauges and power applications (seat, roof) came back to life again.
The wiper motor became very hot. Kind of short circuit inside there...

That points to a bad ground to me.

Look for missing / corroded ground cables from engine to battery, engine to frame, frame to body. There are at least (6) total. Look at the body to frame connections first.

 

[Beast of Berlin]

Thats good news! Im still baffled how a short or a wiper motor malfunction would affect all of those other things. Did you mean to say the power seats came back to life? Previously you indicated that they worked during the failure.
Let us know if it was really just the wiper motor in the end. Its useful info.

Sorry, you are right. The power seats have been working throughout that whole break-down scenario. Got confused about the amount of malfunctions. Power windows, roof, fan did not work...

 

[Beast of Berlin]

Contributor to the electrical failure is the very exposed wiper motor. I plug in the wiring connector and switch on the wipers and a aweful mechanical freewheeling noise and vibration starts inside the motor housing. The wipers do work at all. Abnormal temperatur of the wiper engine housing is obvious. I will change the motor...
http://www.euro4x4parts.com/toyota_..._petrol_1992_1997/6_body_lights/L/wiper_motor

 

[Beast of Berlin]

Sorry .. the wipers do not work at all!!!

 

[Kernal]

Do you pay import duties if a part is ordered from the US? The discounted US price is about half what you're paying:

1991-1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Motor 85110-60141 | McGeorge Toyota Parts

1991-1997 Toyota Land Cruiser part # 85110-60141 - Motor

parts.mcgeorgetoyota.com

 

[retlaw]

The more I study the EWD the more I think BILT4ME is on the right track with a ground problem. There are main ground points in each kick panel.
The motor failure would be drawing excessive current (heat at motor) ....the excessive current also flows through the ground point and if the ground point was corroded (high resistance) power to the other devices sharing the ground point would be dropped or lost. This added resistance would also keep the wiper fuse from blowing. You likely have two problems. Motor failure and corrosion somewhere.
I asked earlier....is it possible your windshield leaks? Mine did. Even a slight drip on a ground point will be trouble.

 

[BILT4ME]

The more I study the EWD the more I think BILT4ME is on the right track with a ground problem. There are main ground points in each kick panel.
The motor failure would be drawing excessive current (heat at motor) ....the excessive current also flows through the ground point and if the ground point was corroded (high resistance) power to the other devices sharing the ground point would be dropped or lost. This added resistance would also keep the wiper fuse from blowing. You likely have two problems. Motor failure and corrosion somewhere.
I asked earlier....is it possible your windshield leaks? Mine did. Even a slight drip on a ground point will be trouble.

While I've been thinking about this it could also be the magnets in the motor have come loose and have stopped to overheat and draw huge amps.

My wiper motor did this.