Erratic idle

[shanra]

One small tip when fitting this or anything else with a washer into a recess a couple of very small dabs of super glue under the washer and it won't be falling off.

[shanra]

Well having had the ECU Capacitors replaced (thanks Steve) I fitted it and had a run of about five miles and all seemed good. I went for a short run today of under two miles with a stop halfway of five minutes and when I got back home revs were at 650 rpm so I would have to say the temperature sensor was the culprit! Steve did say the ECU was in excellent condition and no leaking caps but I think it's now future proofed. Whilst I was fitting the temp sensor I took the opportunity of cleaning the throttle body again. I will also run some Redline fuel system cleaner through a tank full of petrol.

[Razor61]

2 hours ago, shanra said:

I would have to say the temperature sensor was the culprit!

That's the conclusion I came to and Ambermarine confirmed it as well, the sensor must degrade over time and give slightly wrong readings to the ECU. Glad you have got it sorted👍

[shanra]

A journey tonight of a quarter of a mile and starting out at 1200rpm by the time I had reached my destination it was 900rpm and the heater had kicked in. The temperature sensor had obviously been misreading for some time as I had always wondered why the heating took so long to turn on, and I am talking as long as I can remember and I have owned the car for nearly five years. My car has 216,000 miles on it so it could have been the original sensor but the point is if your car is staying at high revs too long or taking forever for the heating to turn on maybe it's time for a new original Lexus temperature sensor. As Paul says this is one of the most important sensors on your car and effects the running massively. A big thank you for all the help I have received for this and other problems I have encountered in the past.

I had to drive my Mercedes C220 w124 from 1996 for the last week or so and all I can say is if that was the last well built Mercedes well I don't know! Getting back into the Lexus you actually realise why they invented the word 'Luxury' , which I believe came to be understood perfectly in 1989! I paid £800 for my armchair on wheels and I left the previous owner outside of his house with a look so forlorn I felt I should send a grief counsellor to him that very afternoon! The poor man was moving to some island in the middle of nowhere and had to part with his well loved conveyance. I will not tell you what I paid for the Mercedes as I may well need a counsellor of some denomination myself!

[shanra]

Well an update on this I also cleaned the air mass controller and replaced the air filter and with a tankful of Redline fuel system cleaner SI-1 (which has high polyether amines content) now run through and that temperature sensor replaced  the car now nearly always ticks over at 600 rpm . I also checked the mpg and I got nearly 27 to the gallon and that's with mixed driving. I will have to check that again on the next tank as I have never gotten anywhere near that figure before even on a long run! Oh and I had the fuel filter replaced which was quite dirty which the mechanic showed me with petrol running up his arm. I was glad I got him to do it!

[Malc]

3 minutes ago, shanra said:

never gotten anywhere near that figure before even on a long run!

when I used to think about fuel costs and consumption I found that motoring hard at 70mph with a car full of people and luggage returned that magic 30mpg 

I'm thinking that's pretty darned good for a 4ltr limo

the rest never worried me ........  guess it's much much less than that poodling around, shopping etc

Malc

[shanra]

On 4/25/2021 at 4:53 PM, shanra said:

Well an update on this I also cleaned the air mass controller and replaced the air filter and with a tankful of Redline fuel system cleaner SI-1 (which has high polyether amines content) now run through and that temperature sensor replaced  the car now nearly always ticks over at 600 rpm . I also checked the mpg and I got nearly 27 to the gallon and that's with mixed driving. I will have to check that again on the next tank as I have never gotten anywhere near that figure before even on a long run! Oh and I had the fuel filter replaced which was quite dirty which the mechanic showed me with petrol running up his arm. I was glad I got him to do it!

Well I thought that 27mpg was a bit high and having gotten through another tank of fuel I find it is 22mpg which is better than the average of about 19mpg I was getting before. That's doing six 1/4 mile to work and 1/4 back again a week mixed with 15 miles to the golf course and back again a few times and a number of five mile journeys. Not taking it easy either so a pretty good result. I was complaining to my mechanic the other day that the engine was slightly noisy and he said not to his ears it wasn't and gave me a very quiziccal look! I remember my Toyota Soarer with the previous incarnation of the 4 litre v8 which had 90,000 miles on it was dead silent you could not hear it running.

[BigBoomer]

1/4 mile commute?  I'd walk that, even in the rain (with a brolly), and I'm mahoosively unfit.
It hardly seems worth starting the car for that.
You are not doing the car any favours doing short runs like that.
Glad yer idle is back to normal. 

[Malc]

5 minutes ago, BigBoomer said:

and I'm mahoosively unfit.

2 x 0.25 mile walks a day will help you immensely  ............. that's about a 5min walk each ......  a mile's about 20 mins normal walking  .......... do that if you can, even if it's just down to the local shop or whatever .......  I'm going back to swimming now the pool is open ............... 

Malc

[shanra]

Unfortunately I have to carry a fair amount of stuff with me which is too much by hand. When this season ends I revert back to riding to work on a bicycle as nothing to carry. I play golf twice a week and that gives me plenty of walking thanks!