Problems With My Car

[Jackal321]

Hello all,

Earlier on today after i finished college, I jumped into my car, started it up and noticed that the car was idling very low when the engine was cold. I thought i'd get it checked out when i got home but as i drove off the engine management light came on and TRC light was flashing, this got me a little more worried so i thought i'd drive straight over to a garage to get it checked. But every time i slowed to stop the car at junctions or traffic lights the car would stall, I started it up again and it kept stalling whenever i stopped.

So i get to a garage and asked the guy if he could check it, he said he was too busy and to come back next week. When i got back into the car, started it up, drove a little and all of a sudden it was fine, the engine managment light went off and TRC light stopped flashing and the car is now running fine.

the car is due a service, might get it done next weekend. but i changed the spark plugs about 8000 miles ago, and put a new air filter in maybe about 3000 miles ago, so not sure it'll be that.

So the question is, what happened? :duh: Has anyone ever had a problem like this before? Should i still take the car to a garage to get it checked out or just leave it?

Is it worth buying a OBD2 cable(think thats what its called) and the software so i can diagnose the problem myself? cos i dont think a garage would check it for me straight away if it happend again. or should i leave it to the professionals?

Thanks in advance for your advice

[Jackal321]

anyone?

[Steve_D]

Its definately worth having one of those OBD cables but before you do there might be a member near you with one? & I have no idea what could be wrong with your car but the fault codes should be stored.

[Jackal321]

Thanks for your reply, not sure if anyone near me has one....

I found this on eBay, it says thats its for petrol cars registered after 2001, mine is a 1999 but do u think it will still work? I have got the diagnostics socket under the bonnet, but i'm wondering if it will be a different size, any ideas?

ebay Link

Item number: 280216117493

[P38Aaron]

Sounds like a coil pack or spark plug failing.

[bridgerippa]

if its a coil pack or spark plug the manifold temperature will be way down on that particular cylinder compared to the rest. i had 2 coils fail on my engine and this how it was diagnosed. similar symptoms with the trc and engine light. coils are not cheap to buy- be warned!!! :tsktsk:

[Jackal321]

if its a coil pack or spark plug the manifold temperature will be way down on that particular cylinder compared to the rest. i had 2 coils fail on my engine and this how it was diagnosed. similar symptoms with the trc and engine light. coils are not cheap to buy- be warned!!! :tsktsk:

what did it cost you?

[Rob]

get an ELM323 reader and the socket is next to the bonnet release - the engine diagnostics is for different test equipment.

[84Stoney]

Right mate. Firstly, not a clue what your problem was, but good luck with it. I had a similar problem but that was found to be down to my supercharger conversion.

But on the OBDII issue. That is the correct one (eBay link) but i got the same one for under £30 including postage, so that one is a little over priced. You only really need the box and OBDII cable, the other cable is a USB the same as your printer probably uses and the software is Freeware and available to download many places. It does not plug under the bonnet, but inside the cabin. Behind the trim kinda behind the bonnet pull to the right of the steering column, the port is there (under a cover).

Also, if you have friendly independant local garage, they will prob read your codes for nothing, or a £5er.

[Jackal321]

whats the difference between the ELM323 and OBD2?

Stoney, on that eBay link it says its compatible with cars 2001 onwards, mine is 1999, will it still work on mine?

[Jackal321]

Called Lexus Birmingham for a quote on a 9 year service - £240 with my discount, which i thought was a bit high. So I called Lexus Hanley, and they quoted me £133 + my discount :D Well chuffed with that, dunno why the prices are so different :duh:

Asked the guy on the fone about the problem with my car, he said its nothing to worry about cos if it was serious the engine management light would've stayed on, but i think i might get a diagnostics kit just in case i need it again.

[Rob]

ELM 323 is just the name of the reader it is an obd2 reader.

[Jackal321]

So i got the obd kit today, hooked it up with my car and it gave the following error code "P1128" - Throttle Control Motor Lock Malfunction.

any ideas what thats about and why it would show up that error? i've not made any mods to the car at all

[Rob]

So i got the obd kit today, hooked it up with my car and it gave the following error code "P1128" - Throttle Control Motor Lock Malfunction.

any ideas what thats about and why it would show up that error? i've not made any mods to the car at all

go to http://www.bahamutcars.com/workshop/IS_98-...ents/index.html then repair manual > diagnostics > engine and the fault code is there - click it and read thru the trouble shooting guide...