DESPERATELY NEED HELP! WONT START (long story/brief explanation)

[02SE]

First, I love that you topped up your reservoir as a test. Something about this has me chuckling. I would have been dumbfounded and elated if it had reproduced the event I described.

Second, I have no interest in diverting anyone else's further attention and energy towards my particular event. Maybe I will figure it out, maybe I won't, maybe I am forgetting something, maybe yadda yadda yadda.

Third, the reason I attributed the 3 successive engine shut downs to the overfilled reservoir is because I read some Googles about it. I had to to go 3 or 4 pages deep. Several results spoke of an overfilled coolant reservoir triggering the engine shut down and/or the A/T fluid temp light. I Googled on my phone as I sat in the stalled truck with the idiot light on. I removed some coolant from the reservoir, dropping the level a couple of inches below the full line. It never ever would have occurred to me that such a thing was possible had I not read about it (from more than one source). The most frustrating part of this whole thing is no matter how I vary my search terms I cannot find these. I know they exist because I read them. They are out there, somewhere…..

Fourth, I am interested in the more general matter of what 'fail safe' means as defined by Toyota. I appreciate your explanation. It is simple and clear. I understand the limp mode. Am I also to understand there is a second mode which will completely shut down the engine ("In some cases a safe assumed value for a failing sensor cannot be used and engine shutdown can occur")?

I haven't read the whole thread, but one thing to keep in mind, is that there is a lot of misinformation posted on the 'Net. Even on this board.

Not everyone has the schooling and experience to diagnose your problem correctly. It makes it even more difficult, as a Tech, if you aren't in the physical presence of the vehicle in question. There are so many different things a Tech would want to test, but writing it all out on here trying to explain the procedures in layman's terms, would be equivalent to writing a short novel.

If your problem is still unresolved, at this point you might be best served by having a qualified Tech diagnose your truck's issue, in person.

Good luck.

 

[dapslappy]

stay tuned. almost there.

I haven't read the whole thread, but one thing to keep in mind, is that there is a lot of misinformation posted on the 'Net. Even on this board.

Not everyone has the schooling and experience to diagnose your problem correctly. It makes it even more difficult, as a Tech, if you aren't in the physical presence of the vehicle in question. There are so many different things a Tech would want to test, but writing it all out on here trying to explain the procedures in layman's terms, would be equivalent to writing a short novel.

If your problem is still unresolved, at this point you might be best served by having a qualified Tech diagnose your truck's issue, in person.

Good luck.

I appreciate your sound advice. Yes, not all claims and beliefs are true.
All is well with my 4R.
We've been discussing the existence or lack of failsafes built into the ECM of our 3rd gens. I am the yes-there-are advocate. The Kid is advocating on behalf of the skeptics. EatonKyleH, a Mr. Dr. Professor Super Master Tech, has recently appeared and is our de facto Oracle. We are this "" close to resolving the issue.

 

[slapdappy]

1999 LTD 3rd Gen Failsafe confirmation

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My 99 definitely does have the fail safe system described in the 2002 Factory Electrical Wiring Diagram manual from which I sourced the pages I posted.
1) This 3rd gen 2002 EWD manual is applicable to my 3rd gen 1999. I have confirmed this with several reliable sources, including the service advisor and the parts guy at the dealership.
2) This Manual is the gold standard regarding particulars of our vehicles. It is the Official EWD compiled and published by Toyota.
3) The EWD uses the simple clear term 'FAIL-SAFE SYSTEM' and describes one of the two options: "the fail-safe system…stops the engine". (4. FAIL-SAFE SYSTEM, pg 64. Electrical Wiring Diagrams>ENGINE CONTROL section pages 58-67). The caps are not me shouting, they are as written in the manual.
"engine control system utilize a microcomputer and maintains overall control of the engine, transmission, etc."
4) Finally spoke with an actual service tech at Mt State's Toyota here in Denver. I told the parts guy about this discussion, asked who was the most knowledgeable, he referred me to Eric. He is the service manager or assistant service manger or something. I told Eric about this discussion. I showed him the EWD I have been referencing. I pointed out it is for a 2002 4R. He said in this case it doesn't matter, it is the same.
Without hesitation he said, "Yes, this fail safe system does exist in your 4R as described in the EWD." I am paraphrasing. I asked if he would have answered 'yes' as quickly and with as much confidence if I had not first shown him the EDW I have on my macbook. Again, without hesitation he said, "Yes." He said this does not occur very often, but it is a built in feature which is occasionally triggered by the ECM.
5) I actually experienced it. I assume it was related to transmission fluid temperature because the AT fluid temp light lit up concurrently with the engine stopping all three times. This light went out when the engine started up again each of the three times. Whether the fluid temp actually was dangerously high or the ECM just thought it was because something else triggered the AT temp sensor, the end result was the same. The ECM received data telling it the AT fluid was dangerously high so it shut down the engine.

 

[slapdappy]

Re reconfirmed at other dealership, Stevenson West. Parts guy pulled up 1999 EWD on computer, I pulled up my 2002 EWD on my laptop, and they were exactly the same. The font, the text, everything including the translation error where 'damage' is missing between "possibility of engine" __and__ "being caused by" in 4. FAIL-SAFE SYSTEM.
They referred me to, as one of them put it, "the smartest guy I know. He got the highest test score on the AES exam." The other service guys also believe him to be the most knowledgeable tech, ever. Gary nicely gave me a few minutes of his time. He agreed that yes, there is a fail-safe system as described in the Factory EWD which works as described in same.
:banana:

 

[SandwichRunner]

Similar issues on my limited 99

Sorry to revive this thing but just wanted to give another voice. I bought a 99 limited in rough shape and its currently running lean and has a rear main leak (long term fuel trims high, short term fuel trims normal, LT fuel trim goes down significantly with higher engine rpms so seems like vacuum leak but starting fluid trick didn’t uncover it) but that’s not the point just wanted to provide background info.
Anyway on a short trip (5miles) I noticed some steam coming from the radiator (gauge started cold and only went to halfway but was not reading hot) went to pull off the interstate (stop and go but up to ~35mph) and the CEL triggered a P0115 and the engine cut off... cruised into a grocery store. It’s worth mentioning when the engine cutoff all the lights come on (A/T temp included)
I’ll also mention that when I put headers on (trd knockoffs), the ones for a 99 do not fit well at all... turns out, the 2002 crossover pipe was the jam.
All this to say I’d love the pages slappy sent out on the 2002 because although there’s a lot of other things going on, the engine definitely turned itself off and I would love to know what condition caused this to happen.
No stuttering, knocking, or jolting occurred, I actually didn’t realize the engine turned off initially (big tires lots of road noise).
Any more insight on this would be very appreciated. It’s about to go down for some serious maintenance anyways.