Steviewevie

I really don't know enough about the IS250 to know if you would be able to install, say, the HID units from a HID-equipped IS250 into it and get that to work. I'm sure someone else will be able to comment though. As to those HID-looking halogens, all they're really doing is giving you the bluish look of HIDs, they won't really be any brighter though. IMHO they're a total waste of money where aftermarket HID kits are available, but if that isn't an option then maybe they're better than nothing ?

The Midlands Meet is on today, and redz should have taken the clock surround prototype with him if he'd received it. So hopefully there should be some feedback soon.

The MoT doesn't check for self-levelling/headlamp washers whether you've got HIDs or not, all they really check is that the beam is ok. I'm not sure that you can retro-fit HIDs onto the IS250, I have an IS200 (with aftermarket HIDs).

Is the car cutting out while driving along, or just while idling ? So everything was fine before the plugs were changed ? Is this the only thing that was done at the time ? Has the cam belt been changed ? Has it had any kind of accident repair at the front end recently ?

Sorry to hear about your bad news mate, life can be very cruel sometimes

What type of plugs are they exactly ? Not just the make, but the exact model. So the plugs were changed since this first started happening ? What else is the car doing, does it seem to be misfiring/running rough ? Is the engine check light actually on at the moment, any other warning lights ?

Did this problem only start happening when the plugs were changed ? What type of plugs are in there (there should be something on the plug which says, if you take one out). Do they look in good condition ? What colour is the tip ?

I've just realised that you're the same guy that posted this thread. It would probably have been useful to keep all the information in one thread. Given that you seem to keep having these sort of symptoms it seems unlikely to me to be the coil packs. What is the story with the plugs, as I asked in your previous thread. Have those been changed recently ? Have you checked to see what condition they seem to be in ?

Did you definitely replace the right ones ? With number 1 cylinder starting at the front of the car, so you replaced 1 and 3 ? Are you still getting exactly the same codes ? Does the car appear to be running normally or is it in "limp" mode and significantly underpowered ? How about the spark plugs, did you check the condition of those, have they been replaced recently ?

Yeah I had a feeling it was a used Lexus one that Dan used, thanks Ormi, I just couldn't remember for sure. I wonder if a brand new Lexus one would have been fine. But then of course that would have been *very* expensive (I wouldn't have gone down that route either).

Hmm. It sounds like you've definitely got the classic electrical problems caused by water getting in through a leaky replacement windscreen. The lights on your dash may well be something to do with that. Best bet it to connect up an OBDII reader as Asi suggested, and see if you've got any codes. If not then it's almost certainly an electrical glitch caused by water ingress. OBDII readers are cheap on eBay. Whereabuts in London/Berkshire are you ? There might be a member near you with a reader who can read the codes for you.

It would be worth buying a cheap multimeter, you can get basic ones from most DIY stores in the electrical section, or Maplin have loads of them. You just need something that can check voltages, then put the probes into the connectors and see if there's 12V coming through them or not. It's probably something very simple, and as has been suggested maybe just something to do with the latch, i.e. the boot light switches on when the boot is open.

Yeah, the police were obviously waiting on the route home, I saw that too, several cars pulled over. I wonder what that was for ? I did see one of them with an illegal number plate (font too small), I wonder if it was for that ?

What if you press the button that sets the air to recirculate, not come in from outside, does that make any difference ?

ok. I'm only trying to make an educated guess here, from looking at the online workshop manual. But I wonder if there's something wrong with the air mix servo motor, which is responsible for mixing the cold and hot air. There's a troubleshooting guide here with details on how to test this motor to see if it's working properly. I wonder if it's only half opening or something like that, although I don't really know if that would lead to the problem you're describing. Might be worth checking though, especially if the alternative is an expensive trip to Lexus. Trouble is, the instructions involve removing the dash. I don't really know how much of it you'd need to take out just to get to this one bit.

It sounds very strange that so many lights are flashing. Do you have any problem with the headlights etc coming on when the car is parked and locked up ?

Any more info or progress on this ?

Any luck ?

By the way, have you seen my walkthrough on changing the spark plugs, here ? Even though the old spark plug may appear to be very tight, this is probably to do with the fact that it's been in there and subject to all the high stresses of the engine constantly firing etc. Resist the temptation to do the new one up again just as tight, only do it up to the correct torque setting, which is in my walkthrough.

The plugs can be very tight. Are you using a socket set with a handle ? i.e. are you gettting some leverage ? They unscrew in the usual direction, i.e. anti-clockwise, but may be stiff till you can get it started. If you are not sure, try a different one and then come back to the stubborn one.

A few pics : LOC stand After seeing the supercharger installation at JAE last year, Dave decides to go one better and do a turbo installation at Japfest (*) (*) ok, not really, but apparently it's getting installed next week, and the manifold does look like a real work of art, lovely ! :D

Yeah that's great news, well done, and a good example of how you can save a *lot* of money doing jobs yourself, and it is often pretty straightforward ! :D

Great day at Japfest. Nice to meet icemahn, Rolex, spikes and LEX11S for the first time. Also nice to see edeath, w481ggc and masterjokay again. Also really good to have a chat with Wayne and Phil from SPC Horsham, sounds like they've got lots of cool plans for making IS200s go faster ! :D Dave's turbo manifold looks very nice, will be very interesting to hear how that goes, nice one Dave (and SPC for making it in the first place !) :D Think we were very lucky with the weather, it stayed dry all day except at the end, at which point I was going anyway. The drifting demos were particularly cool to watch. Quite a big accident at one point though right near where edeath and I were watching , apparently a photographer was injured but not seriously. Must have been an even more brown-trouser-moment for the passenger (all of whom had won their seats in a competition !) than normal ! I only took a handful of photos, will post them up later.

I would just go for the cheapest ones out of those, which I think is what Asi is saying too. 55W will be even brighter than 35W, but will be more expensive. Even 35W will be miles brighter than your current halogens.

Do you mean the R reg LS400 ? Looks nice. I wonder if it's coming up for a big (expensive) service if it's on 97K miles ? I don't know anything about LS400s though, might be worth asking in the LS400 forum about it if no-one ends up being able to help you here. Edit - Doh ! Hadn't noticed before you put the car in the subtitle of your posting !