No start, no OBD2 output

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wardbrook

Joined
Jun 12, 2025
Threads
2
Messages
11
Location
Moretown VT
My wife’s 2002 LC drove fine all weekend we took it on an over an hour each way trip on Saturday and she took it to the grocery store yesterday. No issues, no lights, ran great. This morning it would not start when she went to leave for work. It would crank but not even attempt to fire. My OBD reader was lost so I drove her to work and figured I’d deal with it after work. Searched around everywhere and finally found my reader (Innova 5310) plugged it in and the car was dead. This surprised me a bit it did seem like it was starting to get sluggish on my last attempt to start it this morning but it was still cranking it’s not like I cranked till it was totally dead. Put it on the charger and charged the battery up but the reader will not link. It powers up and try’s to connect but errors out and says can’t establish a connection. I am able to pull abs codes but it will not establish a connection to OBD. I hooked it to another vehicle to verify the scanner was working and it links fine to my Econoline.

I was originally expecting/hoping to find a crankshaft/camshaft position sensor code on the scanner causing the no start. Now I’m wondering if the ECU is fried?
 
wardbrook said:
My wife’s 2002 LC drove fine all weekend we took it on an over an hour each way trip on Saturday and she took it to the grocery store yesterday. No issues, no lights, ran great. This morning it would not start when she went to leave for work. It would crank but not even attempt to fire. My OBD reader was lost so I drove her to work and figured I’d deal with it after work. Searched around everywhere and finally found my reader (Innova 5310) plugged it in and the car was dead. This surprised me a bit it did seem like it was starting to get sluggish on my last attempt to start it this morning but it was still cranking it’s not like I cranked till it was totally dead. Put it on the charger and charged the battery up but the reader will not link. It powers up and try’s to connect but errors out and says can’t establish a connection. I am able to pull abs codes but it will not establish a connection to OBD. I hooked it to another vehicle to verify the scanner was working and it links fine to my Econoline.

I was originally expecting/hoping to find a crankshaft/camshaft position sensor code on the scanner causing the no start. Now I’m wondering if the ECU is fried?
Click to expand...
How long did it crank/no start for? Was it turning over pretty strong and then you just kept trying until it got sluggish?
Just a guess on where I would start :
- Check current voltage
- Charge battery and try to start again and note symptoms
- Monitor battery voltage and see if something is draining the battery with the key off

I've also seen a bunch of people reporting on a crank/no start issue and some people bypass the EFI relay. I don't know much about this but here
>>EFI Relay Bypass Kit (Immobilizer Fix) for UZJ100/LX470 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/efi-relay-bypass-kit-immobilizer-fix-for-uzj100-lx470.952811/
 
It cranked fine it only became sluggish after repeated long start attempts. I think running the battery low followed by it sitting all day at 30 degrees is why it was more dead when I got home to continue troubleshooting. Battery is still on charger but charged back up now. It will now crank over merrily it just won’t start. But more importantly it won’t communicate with the code reader.

I just pulled the kick panel and there’s clear moisture evidence around the ECU. I believe the windshield seal (despite looking fine?) is allowing water past it which is running down and into the passenger kick panel. It did rain yesterday. I ran out of daylight but tomorrow I will attempt to pull and clean the connectors and blow everything out with compressed air and contact cleaner. But I’m leaning towards the ecu being fried.

If I buy a used one on eBay is it plug and play or does it need to be programmed somehow?
 
Highly unlikely that the ECU is bad, and it's located behind the glovebox, not in the passenger kick panel. I would put a fresh battery in the truck or try jump starting it from another vehicle vs. relying on a charger. My Scanguage will not connect to OBD without the truck running, it will just stay in "connecting".
 
Trunk Monkey, To be clear I wasn’t running it off the charger, I put it on high amp fast charge while I ate dinner and an hour later switched it to trickle where I left it overnight. Either way the battery was back awake when I was doing further troubleshooting and this morning it’s fully charged charger disconnected same results.

I do find it odd your OBD scanner won’t link without the truck running. It should work with the key on position, truck off. I have scanned many vehicles including this one like that. I generally only have one running if I also want to monitor the live readings which my scanner allows me to do. I believe they are designed for this for a couple reasons, one it’s “safer” to reset the codes when a vehicle isn’t running but also for my exact scenario where you have a vehicle that won’t start and want to pull diagnostic codes to see what direction to go.

You are correct the ECU is behind the glovebox which I was very happy to see. Under the kick panel there’s a bunch of connectors buried against the inner fender going through a plastic cover, I thought this was the ecu back there which is why I didn’t want to deal with it last night in the dark. It’s in a way easier place to work on behind the glove box.

So if it does turn out to be the ecu is a used one plug and play or does it have to be linked at the dealer? I have found threads about an “immobilizer” but not a great description about what that is exactly or if all Land Cruisers 100 series have it. If the ecu does need to be linked is it something they can do with a loose ecu I bring in or do they need it installed in a vehicle?
 
Does the MIL (check engine light) illuminate when you turn the key to the run position?

Edit/Update: I ask this because it's very unlikely that the ECU is fried. It's more likely that "something" caused a fuse to blow on the same circuit that would allow the ECU to control spark / fuel / OBD comms.
 
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I would still try a fresh battery or jump starting. Been plenty of reports on here of people charging their battery and it still not being able to crank the truck. The ECU does need to be programmed, most dealers no longer will do this, you'd need to find a locksmith that has that capability.
 
I think I may have introduced a red herring by mentioning the battery at all. I was just trying to lay out all the facts. I believe the battery going dead was just a result of trying to turn it over too many times who knows how long my wife cranked it before she came into the house to tell me it was dead. The battery charged up fine holds charge and the car cranks over normally. I tried to swap in a battery from my truck just to 100% rule it out but the terminals are on the wrong side. I did put a jump pack on it rather than a charger and nothing changes, it turns over extremely quickly but it will not start and will not communicate with scanner. I feel pretty confident the battery is not the issue here.

Moving on, The check engine light does illuminate when key is in on position. I also ran some water over the windshield seal with the glove box out and confirmed water does run directly over the ECU…
 
Try EFI bypass mentioned earlier or try wiggling the appropriate connectors in the fuse box.
 
The check engine light does illuminate when key is in on position. I think I may have introduced a red herring by mentioning the battery at all. I was just trying to lay out all the facts. I believe the battery going dead was just a result of trying to turn it over too many times who knows how long my wife cranked it before she came into the house to tell me it was dead. The battery charged up fine and the car cranks over normally.

Here’s the water line in the ecu. Looks like I can order one preflashed with vin from fs1inc for $437 that seems like the move. Followed by a prompt windshield replacement

IMG_4136.webp
 
Follow up. I ordered a new ecu from Flagship One who will preprogram it to your VIN. Took about 2 weeks to arrive but when it finally did I installed it and the car started right up runs great. No codes. Here’s the rub though. I have two keys one is just a key Toyota branded but no buttons. The other which is usually the main key has the lock fob built into it. I happened to use the spare to start it when I installed the new ecu because that’s the one that was in my hand. Today went to start it with the fob key and it doesn’t work. Just cranks and cranks. Before the old ecu went bad both keys worked fine on that. And before someone asks yes I did try both keys when determining the old ecu was bad so the issue was definitely not just a bad key all along.

I’m confused though the keys should be chipped the same I would think the ecu would either work with both or none.

Any ideas?
 
Keys all have different transponder numbers, like MAC addresses and anything that connects to the internet.
If it wasn't like that any joe-shmo could just copy the cut of your key and steal your truck.

Go look at the security light. 90% that the FOB key isn't recognized at all.

Good thing is since you do have a working master (the regular non-FOB one) you can use that to enter programing mode and make the FOB key into another master.
 
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