Cougar

Check the fusible links for a problem there. Make sure they are all good. If they are ok then measure the voltage of all the connections to the alternator with the engine running. They all should read close to the battery voltage if things are ok. Also make sure that the warning lights turn on when you turn the ignition to RUN and don't start the engine. You are most likely going to find the problem in one of these areas.

One of the benifits of owning a new car is that problems like this are covered under warranty and they are the dealers reasponsibility to fix. Hopefully they will have a loaner car for you to use while yours is in the shop.

It seems strange to me that both sensors would fail at the same time so I would have to wonder if something else is wrong. Due to the age of the sensors though it is reasonable to put new ones in. Hopefully coolant isn't getting into the exhaust and damaging the sensors. It would be interesting to do an exhaust gas analysis after the work is done to see how things stand. For you Toyota problems, I would look the igniton system over and check for bad plugwires, plugs, and connections.

I would guess the two are related though they may not be. I suppose a intake manifold leak may cause this to happen but I would think the O2 sensor would be showing something also. Before changing anything it may be good to have the exhaust analyzed to see what it looks like and if it indicates a lean condition. If it is ok then I would start by replacing the knock sensor. They do go bad and have a fairly high failure rate.

I doubt that the battery is bad and if it was, I would be very disappointed considering what they cost. They are very good batteries but I think due to their high cost there are better values using regular batteries, for normal use at least. I can buy two batteries that can last a total of around 12 years for the cost of one of them. If I owned an airplane I would use one in it. Those that like to take their cars into the rough hills may have some benefit also. Just my viewpoint. If you don't have a voltmeter in the dash then I would think about installing one, or get one that can inserted into the cigarette lighter. By watching the voltage of the system you will know when things aren't right. One good indicator of how good your battery is how well the starter works on a cold morning. If there isn't any sign of the starter turning slower than normal then the battery is most likely in good shape. I would hope that you wouldn't have to worry about changing batteries for at least another 3 years.

You stated that you have 12 volts on one side of the links. If the links are good then you should see the same voltage on the other side. This is just a piece of wire basically. Any links that don't show the same voltage on the other side when connected normally are open and need to be replaced.

The readings you gave are low. This means either the battery voltage is low (check the voltage across the battery posts) or you have a bad ground connection to the meter or from the battery to the car chassis. I assume the 122 reading was .122 volts since you were reading across the link and that would be normal if the link is good.

I have to think that the turn signal light has lost it's ground and is somehow finding a ground through the brake light filament (possibly with the new harness wiring). When power is then applied to the brake light the turn signal has power applied to each side of it and so it turns off until the brake is released. It would seem also that there must be a wiring error with the new wiring.

Opps. I missed your statement about the engine firing right up after setting the connector. Glad you got it going.

I'm not sure what you meant in response to my last post. Fuse #5 is important for the ignition system so you should check it. Since the horn is on this circuit also it would mean the fuse is ok if it works.

I would have it looked at to see what is going on. The headlights are grounded through the switch I believe so there may be a problem with the dash grounding that is causing the headlights to be dim.

The regulator may be having a problem in the alternator. I would have this checked as soon as you can to prevent further damage if this is the case. If you have a voltmeter or can barrow one then check the voltage at the battery while reving the engine. The voltage shouldn't go beyond 15 volts. If it does, then you need to replace the alternator.

Tiny Clark, After reading your post I am wondering if you suspect the turn indicator light is finding a ground through the brake light bulb. Perhaps there is a problem with the turn signal ground.

Check to see if fuse #5 is ok. If the horn works you should be ok there.

Good point Nipper. I forgot about the newer style of lights being different.

I think using WD-40 to clean with would do a good job and not cause any trouble to other things. It would be interesting to know what this coating that has been talked about, is for, inside the TB.

The cars seem to know when they are in the shop for trouble and then behave themselves. It's amazing. The easiest trick I know of to see if the ignition is firing without pulling any wires is to get a voltage tester that electricians use. It's a pocket sized tool that you only need to get about 10 inches away from the plugwire while trying to start the car. If the ignition is working, the light inside the tester will flash with the ignition pulses. You can get these at a good hardware store for around $20 dollars. They normally are used to test for power on AC outlets and such. I have thought about building a device that can check for the presence of ignition voltage by placing a pickup on the plugwire and a light that would flash above the hood. I think it would help a lot in problems like these. It could be left on the wire until it is proven good or bad.

That sounds like good pressure to me, especially if you get over 40 while driving.

If your lights are flashing like this after the power is reset then you most likely do have a keyless entry. Hopefully you have a owners manual to check with. If you can't find the keyless entry control module or button you may need to puchase a remote and program it to your cars system. Ebay has some good deals on remotes.

I would first want to know if the ignition is firing ok when this problem happens. Not every problem will set a code in the ECM. If that is ok then I would check the fuel system for a problem. There may be a leaky injector that is flooding the engine and causing this happen. I would have the dealer change out the PCV valve to see if that may be acting up. They should at least do that for you. This isn't a good thing to have happen on such a new car but that is what a warranty covers. It's just a real inconvienence for the owner. We get new cars so we won't have these kind of problems and it's real frustrating when it happens. Hopefully, your wife will find new passion for the car after this problem is solved and there will be many trouble free miles driven.

It would be good to know what year and model car you have. I'm sure someone here could verify that the regulator is internal with that info provided. It is pretty normal for the dash voltmeter to be around a volt lower than the charging circuit due to wire losses to the meter. The more things that are turned on, the more the loss will be. I would see what the battery voltage reads at idle using your meter and compare the dash reading with that. This will show you the amount of error between the two. It sounds like things are ok though the alternator is not putting out very well at idle. The idle RPM should be around 750-800 RPM. If you want the dash meter to indicate better you will need to run an additional wire between the fusible link and the dash power connection. This will cut the wire loss down and increase the voltage to the dash. I would guess using at least 12 ga. wire would do the trick. Another problem area that may be causing this is the connector to the ignition switch in the steering column. This is a fairly common problem.

If a valve isn't closing all the way due to a problem after the engine is warmed up it will make a big difference in pressure.

The reason the engine tries to fire when you turn it off is because the coil electrical field collapses when power is cut off. This means that the coil is not seeing the firing signal pulse which is a ground on the negative side of the coil. My guess is that you may have caused a connection problem to the distributor while working on the hoses. Look over the wiring to the disty for a problem.

Since you were reading pretty good voltages at the battery but the dash meter showed a low reading this means that the power wiring to the cars accessories has a problem. The small wire tied to the positive battery post supplies power the cars accessories. First, check all the fusible links for a bad connection. They are in the box mounted on the coolant reservoir. This is the most likely suspect of the trouble. You should measure each side of the links to make sure that they read close to the same voltage with reference to ground. I think the black link supplies most of the accessories though it may be one of the red ones that supplies power to the voltmeter. If those things check out ok then try running a ground jumper from the negative battery post to the dash ground to see if that clears things up or, measure the voltage between those points to see if there is a ground problem. If you measure more than 0.2 volts then there may be a bad ground connection causing this problem.

I would check the compression while the engine is at normal temperature since you stated that the problem happpens then. If the valves are sticking you will see a big difference in those readings you took cold. I wouldn't bother with the bill trick now that you have a tester. The pressures you gave are low but at least they are resonable for a old engine. To help out with the possible sticking valves you could try using a product called Tufoil. It has a Teflon base to it and helps with bearing surfaces. Another good cleaning product, I think, is called Auto-RX. Here is a link to the web site. http://www.auto-rx.com/