92 lexus sc400 starts hard and no power

[jayjay]

I changed the anti freeze in my kids car. anti freeze gurgled all over motor trying to get the air out of the thing. figured out the plug ontop of the thermastat housing and all set. Now the car is hard start and hard idle and no power to drive . I put in a new fuel pump=not the problem. replaced the MAF sensor= Not the problem. I had a slight stumble at idle prior to this but you can hear the catalytics heating up so there is too much fuel getting to exhaust.
Any idea's ? and how can I get any codes out of this car ?

 

[Nacho_SC400T]

Sounds like that anti-freeze might of screwed with the ignition system.

I'd say check the coils/distributor/cables...

Best of luck,
Eric

 

[jayjay]

I thought of that but I replaced the wires and plugs about 4 months ago. I did not replace caps or coils though and I had it at a repair shop and they tried to get into the computer but couldn't . they said to bring it to a Lexus dealer. Trying to avoid a huge bill.

 

[Nacho_SC400T]

check the coils and lexus dealer do tend to be expensive...

 

[jayjay]

ok, I will , thank you

 

[gloverman]

Was the mechanic trying to communicate with the diagnostic connector on the motor? or under the dash?
Is the vehicle running on all cylinders? If you check for spark on cylinders 5 and 7 and see if they are both working.
To get codes from the ECU manually bridge the terminals E1 and TE1 on the underbonnet connector and count the flashes of the CEL. The codes are in the engine specs and diagrams section at the bottom of the page.

Cheers

 

[jayjay]

thanks very much. I will let them know and hopefully give it a shot. I just bought this car for my son and it was great. I put brand new snow tires on it 4 days ago, I wish I had waited.

 

[jayjay]

they tried hooking up under the dash. No check engine light was on. but they came up with only the low volume on the fuel pump. So I put in a new one. Still same problem. Then he said he couldn't get anything off of the computer but said that it was dumping excessive fuel into the car and it was cooking in the cats.(sounded like passenger side). Also sounds like the cats might be clogged, I just can't stand these problems. A simple thing turned into a nightmare.

 

[jayjay]

Any further help is appreciated. and does anyone know of a good tech in Massachusettes

 

[jayjay]

gloverman, thank you very much. First time on this site but I will try to get back and let you know how I made out.

Thanks again !

 

[jayjay]

I tested the maf. , got 5 volts with no resistance , 5 pins on it. 2 wires - B (brown) wires = ground . 1 y-b ( yellow w/ black stripe) 2.5 volts, 1 y-g (yellow w/green stripe) 5 volts. 1 L-R (light blue w/red stripe) 5 volts.
I tested volts at the ecu as well and got the same.
Flow chart says to replace the ECU.

 

[gloverman]

So what happens if you clear the codes? Does the AFM code return after a little while ( or even straight away)? Have you tried without the AFM pluged in? Have you checked live data with the scanner? Cheers

 

[jayjay]

Code will come back and yes , I have run it without the maf plugged in, it runs exactly the same (shity) . I pulled the plugs and they are fouled because of too much fuel being dumped in there. (5+ms the injectors are staying open).

 

[gloverman]

I change about 3 times as many air flow meters as I do ECUs. While a failed ECU is possible I would tend towards another AFM first. Cheers

 

[jayjay]

OK , HERE IT IS !!!!!
It was a bad coil .......................So if your car is hard to start and runs like a bag of crap and has no power...... change the coils.
My check engine light is still on and it codes out to be the maf . I tried swapping it with one from a junk yard but it still codes the same.
I sent my ecu out for repair , thinking my ecu was the problem , but it was a coil.
The car STILL has a problem of starting and stalling - starting and stalling 4 times and then it will run.
Now I have new problems. I will post a new thread for them..... gonna put the car up for sale soon..........

 

[jayjay]

Problem was a bad coil ...................