Loss of power and shut off while driving

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R

RatherBeRacing

Joined
Dec 29, 2016
Threads
7
Messages
96
Location
New Jersey
2011 LX570 143k miles that I have had for 6 years or so.

Was cruising on a highway. Felt hesitation then a few more than complete loss of power. While rolling to the shoulder the engine shut off. Several warning lights and VSGR and VSC warnings msgs.

My initial thought is alternator stopped charging battery and it got too low.

I charged battery but when I put it back I still had all the warnings and my icarsoft would not connect. Will try to install techstream and troubleshoot next weekend.

In meantime, if there are any ideas or sources of info someone can point me to would be great.
 
Icarsoft has worked for you in the past?

I’d verify battery voltage at the posts even after charging. Alternator issues aren’t common but who knows.
 
bloc said:
Icarsoft has worked for you in the past?

I’d verify battery voltage at the posts even after charging. Alternator issues aren’t common but who knows.
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I recall being able to connect. It's been a while.

Could be a wiring issue too I guess. Car has more rust than I would like.
 
Any water where it shouldn’t be? It does seem like a wiring issue and corroded connectors from windshield or sunroof drains are not unheard of.
 
Could be anything and needs a bit more diagnostics to isolate potential causes. If you were getting warning lights at the moment it shut-off, the battery wouldn't be my first guess. You would generally see a battery/alternator CEL prior to this mode of failure.

If I had stretch and guess, I would check the fuel subsystem. Either you're completely out of fuel due to a false fuel float reading, or failed fuel pump.
 
Would running out of gas cause dash light up like xmas tree?

I was low on gas but should've comfortably made it - but now I read that level can be wrong. Interesting.

Is there and easy way to reset the warnings after I refuel?

After I removed and charged the battery warnings came back as soon as I connected the battery. Strangely dash was on when I reconnected the battery. That was odd to me as the car was off when I took it out.
 
RatherBeRacing said:
Would running out of gas cause dash light up like xmas tree?

I was low on gas but should've comfortably made it - but now I read that level can be wrong. Interesting.

Is there and easy way to reset the warnings after I refuel?

After I removed and charged the battery warnings came back as soon as I connected the battery. Strangely dash was on when I reconnected the battery. That was odd to me as the car was off when I took it out.
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Are you a crank no start? If so, splash in 3-5 gallons of fuel.
 
I think the plan will be...
Add 5 gallons and check fuel cap
Double check battery voltage (probably will replace battery as it's almost 6 years old)
Disconnect battery with car off trying to reset stuff.
Then try to connect obd2 scanner or icarsoft or techstream if I get it to work on new laptop.
If car starts then will check voltage to see of alternator is charging.
 
There are also fuel fuses / relays to check in the main underhood box.
 
No crank is not a fuel issue, no matter how low it was

Does dash go blank when you attempt to crank?
 
bloc said:
No crank is not a fuel issue, no matter how low it was

Does dash go blank when you attempt to crank?
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When the car died on the highway it would crank for a bit but not start. After a few tries it did not crank at all. It would not even try. I thought that was because voltage dropped further and computer doesn't let it.

Couple days later when I put freshly charged battery back, it still doesn't crank, not even try, no clicking, no dimming.

It seems to me that whatever happened, caused a bunch of warnings and they need to be cleared first before it will start. Total uneducated guess.
So right now even it I put gas in, I'm sure nothing is going to happen unless that magically clears the warnings.
 
Might also be in immobilizer jail. I don’t recall the exact procedure to reset but it was on the board not to long ago.
 
RatherBeRacing said:
When the car died on the highway it would crank for a bit but not start. After a few tries it did not crank at all. It would not even try. I thought that was because voltage dropped further and computer doesn't let it.

Couple days later when I put freshly charged battery back, it still doesn't crank, not even try, no clicking, no dimming.

It seems to me that whatever happened, caused a bunch of warnings and they need to be cleared first before it will start. Total uneducated guess.
So right now even it I put gas in, I'm sure nothing is going to happen unless that magically clears the warnings.
Click to expand...

It's possible that it started as one thing but turned into a cascade of at least 2 issues.

The fuel pumps on these are susceptible to the same Denso recall issues, even if they are outside of the stated window. It happened to my 2009 @ ~145k miles. Just as likely is the fuel float or fuel pump ECU.

From there, it's possible the starter then failed after being pushed to restart several times, with lower power from series of restarts and older battery. The starter relay is another known failure item at 100-150k miles if you've never replaced that. A worn battery is part of that catalyst as voltage sag will cause the starter to pull more current through an already worn relay causing it to finally fail.

I would recommend a new battery. If there's no crank at that point, it's highly likely you'll need to replace the starter solenoid. Lookup threads for clarifying symptoms of that.

If it doesn't restart then, even adding some fuel, you'll need to take a closer look at the fuel pump or fuel pump ECU.
 
I’d also confirm immobilizer isn’t engaged before spending money/time on other things.
 
It'd be helpful to read the codes to see what systems are giving issues. Get a cheap code reader and start there. I've never seen a situation where a basic code reader won't at least give you the codes. Other Bluetooth and computer/app based systems seem more temperamental.

The VSC/VSGR and other assorted lights are likely just the "christmas tree" of lights that all illuminate to indicate a trouble code, and don't tell you much of anything other than there's a code.
 
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