Hello all good people,
i am a student, I got this car from a backyard. 1996 Lexus Es300. Front driver side window does not open. Other than that engine light comes on after driving for some time. turning a/c on and pushing the accelerator hard. Okey so that was the condition i got the car. I drove it to my home 40kms.. drove it around couple of times ..no problems. it had no fuel by then.

Next thing, Car trying to start it feels engine, Turing on then immediately shuts off. i thought maybe it just ran our of fuel. to test i put about 4L of petrol in. Car started right away then for one time.

Next day i went , this time the car u can only hear engine cranking, no start..... one observation : i tired 3-4 times with turning key, if i keep holding on ..the car vibrates nd gives the sound you get when engine starts but this is for one sec only,, and again back to where it was... engine only cranking. the radio cuts power when starting btw.

What things should i try to get an idea ..whats wrong with the car ? fuel pump, sparks etc. Looked in few forums ,,from my search i found this one as such my first post here ...

Greetings from a humble person
Thanks !! Please help




For anyone seeing this : I had a bad battery, had to change battery with 600CCA, Car working good now. thanks all

 

From what you wrote I'm guessing the car was in a backyard and not run for an unspecified period of time. If that is true what was the state of the car beforehand? There could be multiple old problems and new problems with a car that was not properly stored. Not knowing your abilities do you have a friend with any experience working on cars that help you?

 

Hello Sir, thanks a lot for your reply. yes it was in a backyard means they kept it without using. front driver window not working.other power windows working.
here is the situation --------

So i test drive it, all ok Drove it home 40kms..
only engine light came on after some driving/ turning A/C on, goes away after shut down engine. i wanted to do servicing on it altogether since i have got the car recently for the engine light maybe sensor issue or so i thought . it had no fuel then ..fuel light was on.

Next thing is it worked fine for few days... i drove it short distances.
It didn't start you could feel the engine crank and starting up 2 sec then gone. i thought no fuel at all. so i put 4L of fuel only just to test. It started at one go .

after that one time, it is not starting .no fuel light. radio cuts off power as it should. now it cranks only does not start like before.. if i turn the key few times. hold it long enough .. i could feel the engine starting just for 1 sec. For diagnosis, yes i have cousin who does not know these things but we could work on it ... look into simple things

Actually wanted to know why this happens, should i test again after putting more fuel in ? I am thinking to get an OBD2 scanner to read codes,,, will that help in this situation? since the car does not start now

 

If the tank was empty 4 liters may not be enough gas, especially if the car is not on level ground. Add more gas, (16 liters) and see what happens. What does the fuel gauge indicate?

 

low fuel light indicator off... alright sir thanks, i shall put more fuel and check , let you know

 

I got a 92 es300 that would run for a few seconds and then die too. I figured out that it was the Mass Air flow sensor keeping the fuel pump from working. The fuel pump is wired so that when the starter is being used it's powered from that, but then once the car is running it switches over to the fuel pump switch in the MAF sensor.

Hopefully this helps you.

 

Hello there,,,, right now the car is not starting.. ill put some more fuel and try. looking at vidoes on youtube... will it prevent from starting also ? I shall clean this MAF sensor thing ;p

 

A bad MAF can effect the engine because it will be unable to correctly measure the air fuel ratio, and cause your car to not start or exhibit other unusual symptoms.

This is not correct:
"The fuel pump is wired so that when the starter is being used it's powered from that, but then once the car is running it switches over to the fuel pump switch in the MAF sensor".

 

Yes it is correct, YOU are wrong this is exactly how it works on a 1992-1993 ES. On a 1994+ ES it effectively functions the same way although uses different inputs to decide when the fuel pump runs.

 

I know it is correct because I have a factory electrical manual for my 92 and before I changed out the sensor the car would run for a few seconds and then die. When I jumpered b+ and FP in the diagnostic connector in the engine compartment it stayed running and when I changed out the MAF sensor it stayed running and I have not had any other issues since then. I don't know if they changed it for latter engines though.