andrew lohaus

ok. my car is working fine. i driving along, and i slow down too uch in second gear. the car stalls. no big deal. i try to start it back up and nothing happens. ok, so i think its flooded. i crak it over a few times with the pedal floored. nothing happens. i crank it a few more times still nothing.

i go to check the ecu codes and nothing comes out when there deffinetly should be codes given regardless of the problem because i have pulled alot of emmisions stuff. ok, so i think to my self, **** the ecu is fried ( i was a dumb *** and left a few wires bare in the engine bay while i drove out to get some wire loom and finish up wiring in my electric aux&vdi rig) so i pull the ecu out thinking i could pop the back panel off, see the fried traces and at least know right off i need a new ecu. well pull the plugs out of it and relize it wont pop apart so i just plug it right back in.

ok. now it gets realy weird. when i put the key in and turn it on (dont even try to start it) none of the gauges turn on and none of the lights in the idiot display light up. nothing happens when i turn it to accesory circuit (the radio wont turn on) and the headlights wont turn on at all. it like there wasnt even a bettery in there except for the fact that when i turn the key i hear relays fliking and the door lights turn on when the doors are opened.

the realy strange thig is that when i have the key in the accesory position with the doors open, the clock will not come on. however if i close the doors, the clock will slowly dim on. but nothing else works.

its like i have a huge short somewhere.

somewhere in the course of all this the main efi fuse ( the one you pull to unflood) blew. but that shouldnt keep everything else from working would it?

i realy need help with this asap!

andrew lohaus

update! when i pull the ecu out entirely, i can get the idiot display to light up but only dimly. so what hapens when toggling between the acc. and on positions is that the clock will be on dimly, but no idiot lights. then when i switch to "on" the idiot lights dim on and the clock turns off. i think there is ahuge short somewhere. but where?

WAYNE88N/A

FIRST OFF, CHECK THE FUSES, especially the 80 amp main...secondly, inspect and repair the wiring before you really screw something up...

GTUser

From what you have described it sounds like you lost your alternator and then ran your battery down while driving the car. The car was getting all of its spark and electrical energy from the battery, but the alternator wasn't recharging the battery. This has happened to me years ago on another car, not my Rx, and it was the same thing. Fully charge your battery and see if things come on and lights are brighter.

It could also be a very severe short from a loose wire that is draining the battery or a poor or loose ground wire. Let us know what you find.

J-Rat

iTrader: (2)

Here is how I found my short:

I left the ECU check lights in the connector, and started wiggling wires EVERYWHERE! I wiggled the harness, whatever. Finally I saw the lights light up. Thats where the problem may lie.

Jarrett

Icemark

The idiot lights are controlled by the CPU, not the ECU.

Sounds like a loose connection or blown fuse, but not an ECU problem

rexman13b

iTrader: (7)

yeah sounds like dead alternator, but check all the engine bay fuses first.

J-Rat

iTrader: (2)

Well, he said he was cranking it, which kinda rules out a dead battery, eh?

HAILERS

Darn knowitall!

J-Rat

iTrader: (2)

Man, just thought I would point that out..

krazydru784

im guessing its doesnt have to do with ur ignition wires since u say it comes on sometimes..but theres another place to look. i just got a short there so u may want to check that out. once u find the circuit where u problem lies just follow that through and check all components of it..troubke shooting is a bitch with electrical and i feel your pain. but i agree with the alternator thing..voltmeter your battery while your car is running to see what kind of charge you are getting

andrew lohaus

the battery sits at 12 volts while its off, but it has either gotten extreamly week or has a huge short right now because well nothing turns on and the few thaings that do do so very weakly. i have been having hard starting issues lately but im prety sure thats due to a leaky injector. is there any way to check the alternator while the car is off?

andrew lohaus

ok guys im prety sure its the alternator now, but i wanted to check.

when everything was off. the battery held 12.5 volts. but when i put any sort of load o it (like open the doors, torn on the door light) it would fall to like 7 volts.

when i disconect the alternator the battery will hold 12.5 volts with the keys in and thi idiot lights turn on strong and bright like they are suposed to. the gages didnt turn on but im prety sure thats because i didnt plug the cpu back in yet.

i pluged the cpu back in and the gauges turn on, and all the idot light come on. the radio works all that good stuff and the bettery holds strong at 12.3-12.5 volts.

so im thinking there was a huge short circuit in the alternator and now i need to replace it. i hope it didnt take my battery out with it

sound about right?

Rotory

iTrader: (1)

looks like you hit the nail on the head...way to troubleshoot man!

SureShot

I just spotted this thread.
I assume you just disconnected the alternator wire & plug to isolate it.

Good job..

Maybe keep an eye on the battery, in case it is getting weak also.

Good luck..