fuse panel

Hi, my wife has a 1995 Lexus ES300. We had a aftermarket remote start system put in about 4 years ago (don't know if that is related to this problem or not).   When it gets cold (coming into winter), the vehicle will crank and crank, but no start. The first time this happened, I noticed the check engine light was not coming on, so I pulled the ECU fuse and it was ok.   Still cranked and cranked. For some reason I banged on the fuse panel, and the car cranked and started fine.    Every now and then this would happen, and a bang on the fuse panel would cure it.     Last night we started it up fine, drove to store, as we were driving, I noticed the lights were really dim while driving and would get bright when I stepped on gas.   I parked, and left it run, while I went in store. While I was in the store, my wife said the heater controls started cutting on and off, so she shut the car down.   When I came out, it "clicked", battery was dead.   I got a friend to jump me.   With jumper cables hooked up, car cranked fine, and no start. Check engine light was on this time while cranking.   Seemed like ECU was getting power.   So I banged the fuse panel, and it started.   Lights bright, and everything acted fine. got home, shut off, started fine. Put a new battery in, and tested voltage, 14.4 at idle. Alternator seems fine.    Wife came out this morning. Cranked and cranked, no start. She hit the fuse panel, and no luck. I told her to "PUSH" on the fuse panel with the flash light while she was cranking, and it started.      Has anyone seen a problem like this?

Is the fuse panel hard to remove (how)?.   What in this fuse panel would cause this problem? Would it also cause the alternator not to charge if the ECU wasn't getting proper power?    Should I try to bypass the ECU fuses with external fuses?

Any help would be really appreciated. I have to address this when I get home, in the driveway, in 17 degree weather.   Hopefully someone with good direction can make this easy.

Thanks!

Step #1 - rotate all same sized fuses.

Usually, if you buy a maintenance manual for the year of your Jetta, they will have wiring schematics for the car in them.

That will be the best way.

jonyleaber wrote:

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Usually, if you buy a maintenance manual for the year of your Jetta, they will have wiring schematics for the car in them.

That will be the best way.

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Buy the manual for the ES300 and you will probably get better results

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This information is provided only as a reference.
All circuits should be verified with a digital multi-meter prior to making any connections.

Don't we love post jumpers! Give the poor bugger some leeway, first posting and he hit the wrong section!
Right the Lex problem.
I'll bet there's either a loose battery or ignition feed going to that fuse box.
Either that or there's a wire/or track break inside the fuse box.
Or disconnect a battery terminal and take the fuse box apart looking for anything obvious such as loose wiring or corrosion.
Unless your R/S has an IGNITION cut, it can be discounted as causing any problems.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

It is funny, I don't know how "Jetta" got mixed up with my Lexus! And with this problem, no owners manual would help anyway.

I did trace and fix the problem. It was a track break in the fuse panel on the "IGN" 7.5 amp fuse.   I was creative and fixed it perfectly. EVerything works great now.

The only odd think I can't figure out was what caused the alternator not to charge if the "IGN" fuse was not connected?

Anyhow, since I fixed, no problems with car, alternator, battery, at all. Thanks!

YES!!! Oldspark score 1 for the old country

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Thank you Mr H - though broken TRACKS should not occur & would be a btch to find, but would be found with tracing.... Well done italystyle!


The alternator didn't charge because (most) alternators require IGN power - normally through charge-lamp. One some alternators the charge- (and other-) lamp provides trickle or tickle current for the rotor in case it has no residual magnetism to initiate charging. Some simply require IGN voltage to enable the regulator.