LS - 1st and 2nd Gen (1990-2000) Discussion topics related to the 1990 - 2000 Lexus LS400

Car won’t start after ECU rebuild

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 11-27-22, 11:51 AM
  #1  
yukinon
Rookie
Thread Starter
 
yukinon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: IA
Posts: 46
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Default Car won’t start after ECU rebuild

i’m not sure if this has been posted or asked before but i’m having some issues with my car after getting my ecu rebuilt(by a reputable person) so i know he’s not a scam or fake. i plugged the ecu back in and everything and when i turn the car to the ignition there’s a loud beep that never stops and the ABS light and VSC light is on. none of the other lights turn on though which is strange, no CEL pops up at all. only light that illuminates is the ABS. I know for sure that the bulbs aren’t burnt out because they all worked before i sent my ECU out. another thing i noticed is the security light isn’t on at all, doesn’t blink or anything and yes it did work before. the car doesn’t crank or anything at all, the climate control lights turn off and come back on if i try and start it. everything else stays on though.

After a day passed, I went to try it again and it’s the same thing, but now i’m hearing some sort of clicking noise coming from the fuse box in the engine bay. I can physically feel the clicking if i put my finger on it. At this point i message the guy and he asks me some questions about the security light and asks if it’s on, and i say no. he tells me to check all the fuses (which i should get to today) and to send the ECU back. maybe it’s an immobilizer issue? he did post something on his page with a couple of pictures of an LS400 ecu (which is mine i think, has the same numbers and everything) saying along the lines “I can remove IMO off them now as well as update the hardware as the or hardware has met its lifespan.” i’m assuming IMO is immobilizer?

This whole thing sucks and was wondering if anyone has experienced this before? My key fob works and everything too, I can unlock and lock the door. hopefully i can get this figured out soon, maybe it’s an easy fix. worst thing i have to do is wait a couple of weeks while he gets to working on my ECU, if it’s the issue. This is my first post, so if there’s any questions or if did anything wrong let me know! thank you

right before i turn it to accessory mode, the gauges do light up.
Old 11-29-22, 10:35 PM
  #2  
Arsenii
Pole Position
 
Arsenii's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,792
Received 793 Likes on 665 Posts
Default

Hello,

It sounds like one of the issues I had a while back, nothing but some random systems were working, and the car wouldn't crank. The issue turned out being the 150A Fusible Link under the hood in the Fuse Box, not a lot of people pay close attention to it as it turned out.. Take a close look at it, you can even take the glass off of it, which is pretty easy to do.

Other thing you can try is getting a Test Light, and probing the exposed leads on all the Fuses under the hood to check not only if they are intact, but also if they are powered at all - if the light will come On at both terminals, the fuse is powered and intact, if at only one of the leads, the fuse is likely burnt out. If the light will not come on at any of the leads, it means that the fuse is not powered, check what it is responsible for and when it is supposed to be powered.

Hope this helps and best of luck!
The following 2 users liked this post by Arsenii:
BNastee (12-01-22), yukinon (12-02-22)
Old 11-30-22, 06:01 PM
  #3  
94V8coupe
Pit Crew
 
94V8coupe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Ontario
Posts: 155
Received 20 Likes on 16 Posts
Default

What was the car doing before the rebuild?
And what year is it?
Old 12-02-22, 06:57 PM
  #4  
yukinon
Rookie
Thread Starter
 
yukinon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: IA
Posts: 46
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Default

thank you! i will definitely check that out if it doesn't start when I get the ecu back again . he told me that there might be a slight possibility that he put the wrong capacitors in, I sent it back so we shall see if that was the issue or not.
Old 12-02-22, 07:05 PM
  #5  
yukinon
Rookie
Thread Starter
 
yukinon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: IA
Posts: 46
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by 94V8coupe
What was the car doing before the rebuild?
And what year is it?
is this how you reply?
it's a long story with this car, i pretty much just took an assumption it was the ecu before taking it to a shop. but my car started acting up one morning after putting a new battery in and it fell on it's face while driving to work, started misfiring and it had no power at all. i just thought it was the ecu because i've heard a bunch of stories of peoples ecus making their car not run properly , hopefully it is. this car hasn't given me any issues at all before i put the new battery in, this car is a champ for how many miles it has.
1999
Old 12-02-22, 07:23 PM
  #6  
Arsenii
Pole Position
 
Arsenii's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,792
Received 793 Likes on 665 Posts
Default

Even without ECU in place, you should see a major change if the issue will turn out being a bad fusible link as I suspect. The ECU is not responsible for most of the functions in the interior, majority of the systems like wipers, flashers, most of the instrument cluster should still be functional. Even the starter doesn't rely on the ECU, it is a pretty basic system that only relies on the Ignition Switch and Starter Relay, it should still work. Check the fuses as described above for the mentioned systems, see if they are powered.

Hope this helps and best of luck!
Old 12-03-22, 05:36 PM
  #7  
94V8coupe
Pit Crew
 
94V8coupe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Ontario
Posts: 155
Received 20 Likes on 16 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by yukinon
is this how you reply?
Was wondering why you had the computer rebuilt in the first place. Now seeing the other sequence of events that led up to where you are now ... I have a bunch of ideas. But since you don't like "how I reply" ... good luck
Old 02-05-23, 04:22 PM
  #8  
yukinon
Rookie
Thread Starter
 
yukinon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: IA
Posts: 46
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by 94V8coupe
Was wondering why you had the computer rebuilt in the first place. Now seeing the other sequence of events that led up to where you are now ... I have a bunch of ideas. But since you don't like "how I reply" ... good luck
sorry i thought i replied to you, I wasn't purposefully trying to ignore you.
Old 03-07-23, 10:28 PM
  #9  
twrain
3rd Gear
 
twrain's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2023
Location: co
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

I’ve been having issues and have narrowed it done to this. Have you replaced this? The one i need to replace is the one that needs to be unbolted
Old 03-08-23, 09:39 AM
  #10  
timmy0tool
Moderator
iTrader: (7)
 
timmy0tool's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: 714/949, SoCal
Posts: 6,970
Received 421 Likes on 375 Posts
Default

typically the ECU caps plague the 1st gen models (90-94) and some 95-97, and rarely 98-00. if you have a later model, i would do other checks first before going the ECU route, starting with the battery and alternator condition checks.

more info on the ECU are in the stickies at the top of the forum threads.
Old 10-04-23, 04:54 PM
  #11  
ovas
3rd Gear
 
ovas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2023
Location: CA
Posts: 3
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default Any solutions?

My car is doing the same thing as the original posters did. I purchased a new ecu, used from the same model year and had the same model number, plugged it all in after disconnecting the battery and now it wont start has the abs light on and is beeping loudly with the check VSC on too. I see a couple different people saying to check fuses. I put my old ecu back in and still same issue. No check engine light and the car just won’t start. This is my daily car so I’m kinda screwed. Hoping someone has a solution.
Old 10-04-23, 09:30 PM
  #12  
yukinon
Rookie
Thread Starter
 
yukinon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: IA
Posts: 46
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by ovas
My car is doing the same thing as the original posters did. I purchased a new ecu, used from the same model year and had the same model number, plugged it all in after disconnecting the battery and now it wont start has the abs light on and is beeping loudly with the check VSC on too. I see a couple different people saying to check fuses. I put my old ecu back in and still same issue. No check engine light and the car just won’t start. This is my daily car so I’m kinda screwed. Hoping someone has a solution.
yes i figured it out, probably the biggest and smallest mistake i could’ve made. check the ecu connections and where it’s connected. i don’t remember which color is which, but the ecu and abs have the same exact plug ins but one’s black and the other is white. i had the white plugs in the black and black in the white. after i noticed that it was good from there. also after you get that checked out, check the ign fuse too it kept blowing before swapping the wires. hoping that this is your issue, if it is then mistakes happen. took me almost a month to notice that

Last edited by yukinon; 10-04-23 at 09:35 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by yukinon:
400fanboy (10-05-23), ovas (10-05-23)
Old 10-05-23, 07:50 AM
  #13  
ovas
3rd Gear
 
ovas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2023
Location: CA
Posts: 3
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Thank you bro that was it. Such a small thing I feel dumb for messing that up. Any idea which fuses you had to change and where. Car isn’t beeping anymore but still won’t start guessing I blew a couple fuses
Old 10-05-23, 08:15 AM
  #14  
yukinon
Rookie
Thread Starter
 
yukinon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: IA
Posts: 46
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by ovas
Thank you bro that was it. Such a small thing I feel dumb for messing that up. Any idea which fuses you had to change and where. Car isn’t beeping anymore but still won’t start guessing I blew a couple fuses
only fuse i noticed that was blown was the IGN fuse, it’s the fuse box located underneath the footwell area. i would just check all of them and make sure
The following users liked this post:
ovas (10-05-23)
Old 10-05-23, 08:17 AM
  #15  
yukinon
Rookie
Thread Starter
 
yukinon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: IA
Posts: 46
Received 6 Likes on 5 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by ovas
Thank you bro that was it. Such a small thing I feel dumb for messing that up. Any idea which fuses you had to change and where. Car isn’t beeping anymore but still won’t start guessing I blew a couple fuses
your car might have an immobilizer too, won’t start but will crank. best way to check is to see if the security light is still blinking when you put the key in. if it’s blinking when you put it in then it won’t start, but if it goes away it should be fine
The following users liked this post:
ovas (10-05-23)
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
UTsleeper
LS - 1st and 2nd Gen (1990-2000)
41
07-29-18 03:15 PM
Rickbean
SC- 1st Gen (1992-2000)
25
04-21-16 06:04 AM
kellyrene
Performance & Maintenance
0
03-03-14 01:32 PM
bowen.chau
RX - 1st Gen (1999-2003)
4
11-28-10 01:36 AM
Jace_91
SC430 - 2nd Gen (2001-2010)
2
05-28-09 04:55 PM



Quick Reply: Car won’t start after ECU rebuild



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:31 PM.