abscholes

Hello, I recently purchased a 2002 SC 430. I would like to have a spare tire and was in the process of following the procedure outlined by Cadzila88 when I created a problem with the electric trunk release (no reflection on the solution to creating more trunk space while using a Mazda RX-8 spare tire). I removed the plastic tray and the two trim pieces on the left and right sides of the trunk ( which allow access to the inside of the rear fenders). In doing this, I somehow disabled the electric trunk release. I doesn't work with either the key or the button in the car. The trunk does release by using the manual release located in the bottom of the center consol under the carpet. Has anyone had a similar problem and possibly a solution? Thanks in advance for your help.

Habious

There's a 3-wire plug that is right in the area you were working in ( a ground, a wire that controls the solenoid for the trunk release, and a wire that hooks to a switch that the top computer uses to sense if the trunk is closed or not). It's on the very back "wall" of the trunk.

So, as a troubleshooting test, I'd ask this...does your top still go down?

If it doesn't, you probably did something with that wire and/or connector...I'd look there.

abscholes

Thanks, Habious, for the information. I discovered later on, when I tried to start the car, that the battery was dead. This, of course, would prevent the electric truck release from operating, so perhaps there is no problem with the trunk release. The store that tested the battery indicated this morning that the barttery is "good" (although it is an inexpensive 24 month battery). I may have a problem with the charging system, or I may have left a light on in the car. I'm reluctant to reinstall that battery. In any case, I'll have a charged battery in the car today so that at least I'll know if there is a trunk release problem. Thanks again for the reply and I'll post later on today after a batery is installed.

SC43052

It is possible that your battery is getting to the end of its life, but it is also possible that you had the trunk lid open long enough when you were messing with the spare tire that the battery ran down.

My wife has had similar problems with her SC430. When the trunk is opened (using the remote or from the manual switch on the dash) the trunk lid barely moves. It is then easy to forget that the trunk is open and the light is on. Left overnight the battery can run down to the point of requiring a jump.

Once you charge the battery drive it some and then let it sit for 30 minutes. Put a multimeter on the battery terminals and if your battery is healthy it should read 12.5-12.6V. Then start the car, and read across the battery terminals again (now with system voltage supplied by the alternator). Voltage across the terminals should read 13.2V to 14V for a healthy alternator.

If you don't have a multimeter or don't feel you can measure the voltage yourself, just take the car to any national auto parts store (Pep Boys, AutoZone, NAPA, etc.) and they will hook a hand-held computer tester to your battery and test both the battery and alternator for free! Nothin' beats free.

abscholes

Thanks, SC43052 for your suggestions for diagnosing the problem. I must be on edge about this car, because I am not doing a very good job of determining the problem before trying to fix it. I bought a battery and installed it - and then found that the passenger door was not closed completely. It was that way for 36 hours, so that is why the battery ran down. I wasn't too impressed with that battery that was in the car in any case, so perhaps it was not a complete waste of time to install a new battery of good quality. So, now the car starts and runs, the trunk release that is inside the car operates as it should, but the trunk release on the remote does not. I know that it did work a few days ago - prior to my "work" on the spare tire project. Any ideas re why the trunk release on the remote does not work. The door locking and unlocking function on the remote does work. I guess that I could go buy a new battery for the remote.....
Thanks.

SC43052

That was a good idea to get a new battery anyway. Now you can be be confident about leaving home without worrying about being stranded.

If the trunk release works from the car you can discount the wiring harness running to the trunk. And if the doors open you can probably eliminate the remote antenna, remote control module and probably the remote's battery.

I don't know the car's settings inside and out (my wife drives it) but there are user settings to control how the remote controls the trunk release (see attachment #7), with one of the options being to disable the remote's release of the trunk.

I am not positive this list is applicable to the 2002 so you will have to dive into your user's manual.

http://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/SC430_LPS.pdf

mdpuff

I know when I first got my SC that I didn't think the trunk function on the remote worked but found after looking through posts on this forum that you have to push and hold the button on the remote for about 3 to 4 seconds before the trunk would release. The door lock was instant but the trunk has a delay where you have to hold the button down longer. Hope this is all that's wrong.
Good luck!

abscholes

SC43052 & mdpuff, Thank you very much for your information. There was no problem with the remote trunk release once I held down the button for another couple of seconds. The car runs, the top goes up and down, the trunk releases, the remote works and the car has a new battery.
Now I will proceed, very, very carefully, to install the Mazda RX-8 spare tire as describled by Cadzilla88. Thanks again, and it is certainly nice to know that this forum has people who are willing to help.