smurf

7 hours ago, Rephlection said:

@smurf Did you end up getting the aliexpress cable? I'm about to pull the trigger on a cable with techstream from Ali and am wary given the trouble others have had.

I have got it and I'm still getting similar faults with it dropping out on certain ECUs. I haven't got to the bottom of why yet.  The fact I am getting the same fault with very different leads suggests the issue is with my setup. 

The windows probably just need resetting. I'm sure the procedure is on here somewhere, but it is something like winding all the way down and holding the switch, and then the same back up. Once that is done they should work from the driver's door again, but double check the procedure. The fact this has happened points towards a problem with 12V battery, and it may have upset the rear door controls as well. There is possibly another reset procedure for the rear door to allow normal operation again. 

I don't know about locking the doors without setting the alarm, but none of the tents on a campsite will be locked so maybe just leaving it unlocked overnight is the simplest solution? Failing that, a short pole to reach to the lock button?

You need diagnostics that are capable of reading JOBD, or Techstream and a minivci cable. Most garages aren't going to have the equipment to read any codes on a Japanese market only vehicle sadly. 

Have the codes been read from the car? ABS is a system, not a code.  Without diagnostic codes you will be wasting money throwing parts at the vehicle. 

What are the codes, and what prompted the new parts?

Did the garage manage to read and clear the codes? If so, what was the fault code for the ABS?

Providing a paper copy of the emissions test is a requirement when it has failed on emissions. It could have failed on a number of different emission requirements so it makes it difficult to determine what the issue actually is without the report. A marginal fail could possibly be resolved with an "Italian tune up" or one of the catalyst cleaning products, but a bad fail may point towards component failure. Without the information, it is just guess work. 

Thanks Gareth. That is an option I hadn't considered

Thanks. I had spotted those on eBay (although it is 20% rather than 25%) but I scrolled on by because there was no mention of anything to back up the claims they are stronger. I might get in contact with them to see if they have the information to confirm the extra capacity, but the manufacturers in Sheffield may well be cheaper without a middleman. Wherever they are coming from it seems unlikely that anyone is buying in significant enough numbers to get a big discount. 

On 8/25/2022 at 11:07 AM, pcous said:

Hi all,
We run fully laden at around 2450kg, 2 people, gear, full LPG, 1/4 tank petrol & bikes on rear towbar rack - which feels OK for stability/braking etc. So the 3300kg GVW as an upper limit just gives peace of mind and, to be honest, I wasn't going to query the figures as they were above what we actually needed.
Re engineers, we tried SVTech, but they couldn't help because Alphards weren't in their dataset, then contacted John Ruffles at JRC Consultancy (based in Bury St Edmunds). Uprated rear springs were made by Springcoil in Sheffield. Process took a while, started before but then ran into the pandemic period...

Hi @pcous. Would you be willing to share the design spec for the springs? I'd love to get a proper uprating on my camper, but it seems difficult to find someone willing/able to do it. In absence of that, a decent set of springs made to the specification of a proper engineer would give me a bit more piece of mind that I'm not overloading the rear end. 

Thanks for showing this. I'm sure it would be easy enough on the ground with the use of additional jacks to help with lowering the beam, but obviously a lift is ideal. 

As an aside, you have also shown the method for renewing the rear springs as well. 

The exhaust is visibility moving, and the noise sounds like the exhaust is tapping against something or a loose heat shield, if it has heat shields anywhere. 

2 hours ago, big_boz said:

What do you get on petrol buddy?

Not a clue as I haven't run it on. I would assume 40mpg is achievable based upon 31 on LPG.

Mine is full camper conversion and I rarely push above 60mph on the motorway. 

I'm getting 31mpg on a long motorway run on a gen 1 hybrid running LPG

Did they give the print out from the emissions test with the readings on?

An issue you may come up against by fitting a 15mm spacer is whether there is enough thread available on the studs for the bolts to engage. 

Have you investigated other Toyota's of the same era? It is likely that compatible wheels were fitted to other big Toyota/Lexus cars of the same time as manufacturers love to standardise sizes, and the wheels might be plentiful if they were UK spec cars. 

I've got techstream, but if there was one of the secret button dance procedures it would save me the hassle of waiting for techstream to come alive. 

Does anyone know how to program a new gen 1 door fob like the one in the opening post? 

Have you tired contacting this seller on eBay? From their listings it looks like they have broken a hybrid Alphard. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/nipponautospares?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=uJUhQDGBSfe&sssrc=3418065&ssuid=ql8_keC9RJe&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

2 hours ago, Sorin said:

I do every day 10 mile to work and 10 miles back, sometimes I do also some short journeys too on top of my work travel

10 miles should be plenty to get some heat into the engine. 

A compression test is easy, and cheap. 

Using for lots of short journeys, or occasionally for longer trips? 

The reason lots short trips can cause it in winter is water vapour condenses in the breather pipes when they are cold and doesn't get evaporated again by the heat from the engine, then it builds up and emulsifiers with the oil vapours. Excessive oil vapours will also accelerate this mayo building up. That is why the engine needs testing to be sure.

Mayo in breather pipes can be caused by lots of short journeys in the colder months. Does this sound like your journeys?

I'd suggest a compression or blow by test be done before condemning the engine.

The cables seem to be a bit of minefield with no guaranteed way of getting a "good" one. Price seems to be no guarantee of sucess.

I bought one from Amazon and tried it on two different computers, one in a virtual machine and one directly on Windows Vista, and on both it had an update time of 11 seconds and kept dropping comms when getting data. That one is going back to Amazon and I've ordered a V2.0.4 lead from AliExpress to see if that is any better. 

In terms of getting a copy of techstream that isn't rammed full of malware, this is the best method of getting a virtual machine with techstream inside it. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/how-to-techstream-in-5-minutes.1034923/

Sounds like the inverter is overheating, but without some diagnostic information being taken from the car it is impossible to say for sure. If the inverter is overheating the possible culprit is the inverter coolant pump.