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2000 celica lights stay on


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metal_mulisha91
New User

Feb 23, 2010, 8:34 PM

Post #1 of 7 (3368 views)
2000 celica lights stay on Sign In

2000 toyota celica gts 1.8l. i am looking at buying this car from a guy but i was wondering if anyone could help me with what the problem is before i buy it. this is what he said.

I would like to elaborate on the problems I have been experiencing. The short circuit is the main problem. The headlights and dash lights fail to go off after the key is removed from the ignition. Also, I blame the short for distorting readings from the MAF, O2, and/or coolant temp sensors. This is resulting in lean misfirings that are very noticeable when the engine is cold and working at lower RPMs. The actual sensors are fine (I had them checked) and the problem is definitely electrical. The error code is P0171

if anyone could help that would be great i would like to know what i am getting into before i try to buy it and how much it is going to cost to fix it. thank you for your time.


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Feb 25, 2010, 4:18 AM

Post #2 of 7 (3359 views)
Re: 2000 celica lights stay on Sign In

Never mind the bull from the seller. If he knows so much about this problem why isn't it fixed? It's not easy to sell a vehicle with obvious problems. If this has been run a long time with engine issues you can expect converters to have suffered as well.

You haven't bought this car yet so let the seller deal with it or offer scrap value for it,

T



metal_mulisha91
New User

Feb 25, 2010, 6:37 AM

Post #3 of 7 (3355 views)
Re: 2000 celica lights stay on Sign In

yeah i haven't bought it yet i was just curious and wanted to know why the lights would be staying on after the car is turned off and whether this would be an easy fix or not...as of right now the car is 3000 off of the kbb value and it has a body kit and stuff on it so i thought it was worth it if i could the problem fixed but would like to know how much it would be and what exactly it is if you or anyone else knows. thank you for your time and replying hoping to hear back from you soon. also he had written me back and said that the misfirings are from disconecting the battery and reconecting is this true??


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Feb 25, 2010, 8:04 AM

Post #4 of 7 (3354 views)
Re: 2000 celica lights stay on Sign In

Trouble is now that disconnecting the battery is no doubt erasing codes and if not hard codes they may not show up fast with a retest. Seller knows there's trouble IMO.

Book values are so tricky as a car gets older. At much over about 5 years old it's a guess and each car would be on a one by one basis if looked real hard at.

Body Kit: May help but probably hurts the value. I'd pass just on that. Might mean even for parts that kit has wrecked body parts for another!

If you are still interested in this one or any car I strongly suggest ruling out the obvious, take it for a good run noting any issues and take it to a shop, even dealer for a total appraisal of what may need doing and how much money in a written document by the place so you have a real idea on how much for what. That may cost $100 or so and gone if you don't buy because of it but money well spent as you can blow thru hundreds, thousands sometimes in no time if there's enough wrong - way over the value of the cars to begin with.

I'm not there and it's not my money but I suggest you save up some more if needed and buy something in better shape to start out with,

T



metal_mulisha91
New User

Feb 25, 2010, 10:20 AM

Post #5 of 7 (3346 views)
Re: 2000 celica lights stay on Sign In

so you don't have any idea why the headlights and the dash lights would stay on after the key is removed and have to resolve to unhooking the battery?? the thing is with taking it to a shop is that the car is 1 hour and 40 min. away from where i live that is why i am trying to find out how to fix it now before i waste time going to look at it. and with it being so far away i don't know any shops or anything there. but i mean if i could figure this lights problem out then i would be ok and then could go look at it and see what else or anything. but i don't want to look without knowing about the lights. so if you have any idea why they would be doing that i would greatly appreciate the advice on what is wrong and how to fix it. thank you again.


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Feb 25, 2010, 11:28 AM

Post #6 of 7 (3343 views)
Re: 2000 celica lights stay on Sign In

With each bit of info about this from you there's more and more reasons for forget this car.

I can't really say why headlights stay on when battery is connected. Could be a stuck relay, bad switch, butchered wiring, an anti theft system gone bad - who knows?

It doesnt even run properly and that's chiefly unrelated - maybeCrazy

Some vehicle's computers need some time to "learn" to hold idle speed but that's not the skipping and misfiring issue which could be a wild assortment of problems. It's your call but if this seller won't get the car fixed first then I wouldn't deal with that trip and unknown area shops if any nearby the car at all??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Off this exact problematic to know car: I once was VERY interested in car 500 miles away from me. Sure - I can check it out and did drive the run to see it, checked a ton of things and decided not to buy it! Glad I drove and combined that run with seeing friends somewhat near it. Found one item the honest seller didn't know about that required repair to be able to drive it the 500 miles back or have it shipped at some insane price.

My hands are tied on how to advise you except that there are so many doubts known and now distance is a problem that I would default to the old saying "When in Doubt - don't" for that car,

T



nickwarner
Veteran / Moderator
nickwarner profile image

Feb 27, 2010, 11:13 AM

Post #7 of 7 (3333 views)
Re: 2000 celica lights stay on Sign In

Avoid this car like the plague. The seller already has put his money into the body kit to make it look nice instead of where it should go first, under the hood. Don't be too tempted by the body kit. Your best bet would be to find a bone stock Celica that is well maintained and driven gently. The money you won't be having to spend repairing it can go to finding a body kit for it, stereo system, performance parts, whatever you like. Then you also will know the quality of what you have. No telling what this guy has done to the car or how hard he's driven it, but I'd bet its pretty thrashed.






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