Dame

Thanks for the replies guys. All fuses are fine. We have also checked the discharge circuit which also works (we can illuminate the bulb from the alternator end). The battery is fully charged, and although the car does not charge, has plenty of power to run the engine for a sustained period of time. We have tried another (brand new) battery with the same result. I will have a look at the earth leads in the engine bay though, just to make sure they are all ok. I did give them the once over a few months ago and they were fine.... but I suppose it's worth another check. Cheers, Damien.

Hi all, I hope someone can help, I've got a major problem with the Charging system on my MK2 Turbo. Basically, the alternator died, so I took it into the garage and promptly ordered a reconned alternator which I had fitted to the car. This alternator worked for a few days then failed. We have since put on another two reconditioned alternators and a brand new one. We cannot get any of them to work. The problem now is that the battery light is not illuminating when the ignition is turned on. We have tested the charging circuit, and it all checks out. If we earth the terminal from the alternator to the battery light, it illuminates thus suggesting that the discharge warning circuit is working. However, we cannot get any of these alternators to charge. I'm now at a loss, the car has been off the road for two months, and this is getting serious since I need it for work. We have the workshop manuals, and every test points to there being a problem with the alternators. We have had them tested and while the reconned ones had faulty regulators, the new one checked out. Am I missing something!!?? Cheers.

All sorted, after investigation I discovered that these are two unrelated problems. Engine is now running fine again - turned out to be a split in the one of the pipes leading to the charcoal canister. I still have the electrical problem, but it doesn't seem to affect anything, so I'll give it a look over this weekend, more than likely to be a loose connection or dodgy earth. As long as the engine runs smoothly, that's good enough for me!!

Well as I knida guessed it isn't a problem with battery or alternator. The engine is now idling at 500 rpm, I did try resetting the ECU, but as expected didn't help. Battery teminals are nice and secure too. The strange thing is that when I power up the Air Con, rather than stalling, the car revs up as normal and correctly compensates for the incresed load. I'm wondering is there is something wrong with the idle speed sensor or something like that - I'll have to delve into the workshop manuals tonight. Strangely, so far, the car still performs as normal. There is no evidence of misfiring etc. and accelleration is smooth. I'm just hoping that it doesn't conk out in the M4 roadworks tonight, though running with the Air Con on keeps the revs up. A strange temporary fix, but one that will have to do for now. Does anyone know where the main earthing points are for the electrical system? P.S Thanks for all the feedback so far, much appreciated :)

Hello everyone, its been sometime since I posted on this forum! Unfortunately it's not to answer someone else’s question but to ask for some help. Yesterday evening, when I was driving home from work, the red engine light, CAT light and battery light started flickering intermittently (all on at the same time). Now this morning it started happening again. When sitting at idle, the car was fluctuating + - 250 rpm. In terms of performance the car seems fine, and the ECU hasn't picked up any faults. The lights flicker consistently when I turn on the ignition before starting the car and fairly frequently during driving. Taking into it happens before the engine has started, I have ruled out: Faulty alternator - since the engine would have to be running in order for the regulator to be providing power. Faulty coil - again the engine would need to be running. It all happened after some heavy rain yesterday, so I'm pretty sure that it could be water in some of the wires or of course our old friend the dodgy earth. I was wondering if anyone else has had the same experience as me, and whether they can offer any advice as to where to look. I'll have a long weekend ahead going through the whole car otherwise!! Thanks in advance, Damien.

£70 might not be too bad if they are modifying your stereo amplified outputs to attach the head unit to the amps. The main problem you will have if you have car amps is that you really need to attach the head unit via the preouts (which bypass the inbuilt amp). If your stereo doesn't have these, then you are going to have to lower the power output of the amplified outputs to bring the levels down those before amplification. I believe there is a device available for doing this (not sure since I always buy head units with preamp outputs), and I would guess it doesn't come cheap, even though a few resistors would do a the same job. As for wiring in the stereo it shouldn't take too, long, though it could take a couple of hours if they do it properly i.e. attach proper phono leads to the car end of the wiring and solder it all up insead of using nasty connection blocks. If they charge £25 per hour that would be £40 odd quid labour then add to that the parts they use. £70 may sound like a lot, but when you break it down, it isn't a huge amount. The best thing to do would be to do the job yourself, if you are able and search the web for how to build/buy a device to lower the speaker outputs of the head unit. Hope this helps :)

Are you sure the S03's are a hard compound? they don't feel very hard to me, and wear out quickly, I;ve only had mine for 6 months and replacement time is just around the corner. They are by far the best tyres I've ever had on the car though :)

I have a Sigma Catagory 1 fitted (can't remember the exact model) but the best thing about it is that it automatically rolls up the windows if they are leftopen. It was professionally fitted, and in the last 7 years it hasn't given me one ounce of trouble. I agree with Kiwi, if it is fitted properly, then you won't or shouldn't have any problems. At the end of the day it is indeed true that if someone really wants to nick something they will. The big plus point is that MR2's aren't really worth all that much nowadays, so theives will tend to steal cars of higher value. Having said that it is vandalism that is a real worry, and there isn't much an alarm can do about that! I always try and park the car as close to my bedroom window as possible. that way, if the alarm goes off, i can hear it and respond immediately, if only to shout accross the street!!

Strange, I always thought the blocks were the same and it was the head that was different.....

The dizzy cap on a UK rev 3 3SGE is identicle to that on a Rev1,2 3SGTE, I know because I've swapped them between cars. Not sure about earlier 3SGEs though or later 3SGTE's

I thought it may be a 4WD gearbox, just had a vague hope that the 4WD aspect might take place later on in the drive train like the older LandRovers. Are the Syncro's replacable, I presume it would be a complete box rebuild? Are there any specialist places that do this type of work, and if so what sort of cost would we be looking at?

I think you are looking at a fuse then. From memory, the rocker switch on the interior light has no effect on the door lights. If the fuses are ok, there is a dodgy wire somewhere in the circuit.

We have a '96 Rav 4 (the older model), and the syncro is going in 3rd gear. I have an MR2 that I am using as a parts bin. Is it possible to fit the gearbox to the Rav4, it is a UK spec REV 3 mr2 with 3SGE engine. I know the Rav 4 has a 3S-FE and that engine also appeared in some MR2s.

Have you tried playing around with the door switches? The contacts occasionally rust etc. causing a bad connection, unlikely to be both sides, but worth checking. Other than that I would say it is a fuse, most likely located in the box to the right of the accelerator.

Maybe it's time to get a fire extinguisher. This is bad :(. However, looking at the pictures, there is a lot he can salvage from the car, the wheels and tyres look ok, the wheels certainly, the rear and front lights are alright. The engine management unit is probably toast, but might have survived, just..... He needs to get a cheap replacement and transfer his surviving bits.