The MR2 Owner's Club of New Zealand

JasonFriday13 wrote: Generally, no there isn't. The only rule of thumb is how many km's plugs have done since new. If you don't know that, I would suggest putting new plugs in. If you aren't doing plugs, it's kind of pointless doing leads, cap, and rotor. Generally it's plugs, then cap and rotor, then leads.

Thanks for the reply, I will throw in some copper plugs and see how we go.

Regarding the timing of the engine, I read that advancing it slightly will make a noticeable gain. I think its a bit out of my depth to do this, is there anyone/garage that is Auckland based and done this before? I feel like my mechanic would think I'm crazy if I suggested this. Or should I just avoid making any changes all together?

knuckles61 wrote:Regarding the timing of the engine, I read that advancing it slightly will make a noticeable gain. I think its a bit out of my depth to do this, is there anyone/garage that is Auckland based and done this before? I feel like my mechanic would think I'm crazy if I suggested this. Or should I just avoid making any changes all together?

The spark map for the SW20 is already advanced up enough, just leave the base timing at 10 degrees BTDC, otherwise you may start getting detonation.

JasonFriday13 wrote: The spark map for the SW20 is already advanced up enough, just leave the base timing at 10 degrees BTDC, otherwise you may start getting detonation.

Great! Cheers, thanks for the advice!!!

I managed to install all the parts sent over from Toyota NZ(distributor, rotor, coils and plugs), there was some issues with the distributor cap but that got sorted out and I was sent the right one! Car is running okay for the time being. Still doing all kinds of odd things but one step at a time!

The next project was to replace my drivers door, I looked into switching the key barrel but I don't think I can do that without putting the window up on the spare door. Does anyone have an idea of how I can go about doing that?

Unfortunately someone crashed into me and they are denying liability. Insurance was on my side but I only have third party so I have to go through disputes tribunal. Most of the damage was on the passengers door and the air scoop panel. So I am trying to source a few parts and get it done as I was really looking forward to doing a respray over the holidays. That's looking unlikely now though.

Try applying 12v and ground to the correct wires on the window motor.

Red and green wires. Apply 12v to red for up and ground to green. Switch around to go down.

Hi all,

Been having some issues with the car I can't seem to figure out. Hopefully I can get some ideas and see if I can get my MR2 back on the road. It's a bit of a story so here goes

Firstly the MR2 was parked for about 5 weeks while I was overseas. When I got back the battery was dead and so I got it charged up (the battery life wasn't great but the test said it still has some life in it) I placed it back in and had no luck. So I jumped the gun and went straight into seeing if it was the starter motor and disassembled the air intake. I tried the hammer and hope method but that didn't work either and I also drained the battery in the process. I then looked online and read about checking the relay and the ground for the starter, went out and checked the relay (continuity) which seemed fine and scuffed up the ground / battery terminals to be sure. This made a difference and I got the low battery ticking noise so I assumed that was now the issue.

I decided to just go for a push start tonight with the help of a friend and a kind stranger and managed to get the car running but while I left it to warm up the battery voltage on the dash dropped and the car stuttered a lot then turned off. I'm currently charging the battery again to see if it will start since I may have killed it by leaving it to warm up with the lights on.

As you may have guessed I am not well versed with cars! Does anyone have an idea what key things I should look for? My current plan for tomorrow is check how I reassembled the air intake (stock) in case I made a mistake with the sensor or something, then once the battery is in try again.

Sounds like it’s a connection issue such as a poor ground either from battery or between engine and chassis. Would certainly help to have a good battery to start with and monitor voltage once it’s running. If not st 14volts try a temp lead between engine and frame to see if it helps.

Benckj wrote:Sounds like it’s a connection issue such as a poor ground either from battery or between engine and chassis. Would certainly help to have a good battery to start with and monitor voltage once it’s running. If not st 14volts try a temp lead between engine and frame to see if it helps.

Only managed to charge the battery last night and get it in today, it was at 13.1v and couldn't get the car started, although the ticking noise sounded more intense. I also failed to put the airbox back together properly so the airflow sensor may have been confused and could be a reason why the car died.

From looking around one of the grounds from underneath the valve cover looked pretty dirty but I couldn't get the bolt off to clean it and there was another red cable which I assume was setup as a ground when the engine was switched out two years ago.

Will have a better look/attempt with the grounds when I get back from Blenheim this Wednesday. Until then we wait, thanks for the advice!

The GEN2 3SGE uses the MAP sensor and other sensors for fuelling and air flow/amount. They don't have an air flow meter so you can run the engine without the filter box or intake hose on. Just the throttle body. The sensor in the air box measures intake air temperature but does not need to be in the box to make the engine start or run.

The starter motor earths through the gearbox then through the cables to the chassis. Sounds like the starter is trying to work but having voltage issues.
Have you removed the starter and inspected it? It's only 2 bolts and a nut for the cables plus a plug.

GDII wrote:The GEN2 3SGE uses the MAP sensor and other sensors for fuelling and air flow/amount. They don't have an air flow meter so you can run the engine without the filter box or intake hose on. Just the throttle body. The sensor in the air box measures intake air temperature but does not need to be in the box to make the engine start or run.

The starter motor earths through the gearbox then through the cables to the chassis. Sounds like the starter is trying to work but having voltage issues.
Have you removed the starter and inspected it? It's only 2 bolts and a nut for the cables plus a plug.

I will remove the starter on Saturday and have a look, is there anything in particular that I should be looking for? To be honest I've never seen one before. Also will a standard socket set with an extension be enough? I have to go and buy tools since my cheap spanner set seems to be bending rather easily and everything is very much stuck on the MR2.

Other than that I plan to try tidy up all the ground points mentioned and see how I go. Is having a bad battery going to hamper my troubleshooting? I don't really want to spend money on a new battery right now since I don't know what else I will have to replace/fix.

Thanks for all the advice so far, hopefully I can sort a fix over the weekend.

You need to check if the gear pops out and spins when 12v is applied to it.

A 1/2" socket set will work well. 3/8 might be ok too.

Bad batteries don't help looking for staring problems. They can run out easily if you crank for long enough.

GDII wrote:You need to check if the gear pops out and spins when 12v is applied to it.

A 1/2" socket set will work well. 3/8 might be ok too.

Bad batteries don't help looking for staring problems. They can run out easily if you crank for long enough.

I accidentally removed the starter motor without the solenoid then spent another hour getting the solenoid out . Now I have everything ready to test but have to do some work before I can do that. Does the power go to the screw and then negative/ground to where the body would meet the engine? do I need to also supply power to the little spade terminal?

I also have some photos that I will upload with more questions but work comes first. Cheers!

knuckles61 wrote:

GDII wrote:You need to check if the gear pops out and spins when 12v is applied to it.

A 1/2" socket set will work well. 3/8 might be ok too.

Bad batteries don't help looking for staring problems. They can run out easily if you crank for long enough.

I accidentally removed the starter motor without the solenoid then spent another hour getting the solenoid out . Now I have everything ready to test but have to do some work before I can do that. Does the power go to the screw and then negative/ground to where the body would meet the engine? do I need to also supply power to the little spade terminal?

I also have some photos that I will upload with more questions but work comes first. Cheers!

The starter is bolted to the gearbox and the solenoid (black smaller diameter part on top) is bolted to the starter. Not sure how you'd remove the starter without the solenoid but good effort if you did.

You are best to download the wiring diagram for the 1993 SW20. I can take some phone screen shots of it for the pages you need to look at however I'll do my best to describe how it works and what power should go where.

You need to connect ground/negative to the starter housing. Best place would be one of the two large bolt holes holding it to the gearbox.
12V gets connected to the stud.
To activate the starter you need to apply a wire from the spade connector to the stud you connected 12V to. Be very careful as the starter has a lot of torque so will move a lot when you do this. Clamp it down to something. Also the small gear will pop out the end and spin if everything is working properly. Don't put your hand in front of it.

GDII wrote: The starter is bolted to the gearbox and the solenoid (black smaller diameter part on top) is bolted to the starter. Not sure how you'd remove the starter without the solenoid but good effort if you did.

You are best to download the wiring diagram for the 1993 SW20. I can take some phone screen shots of it for the pages you need to look at however I'll do my best to describe how it works and what power should go where.

You need to connect ground/negative to the starter housing. Best place would be one of the two large bolt holes holding it to the gearbox.
12V gets connected to the stud.
To activate the starter you need to apply a wire from the spade connector to the stud you connected 12V to. Be very careful as the starter has a lot of torque so will move a lot when you do this. Clamp it down to something. Also the small gear will pop out the end and spin if everything is working properly. Don't put your hand in front of it.

I did a lot of things that were very much unnecessary, after a few hours I managed to get the starter motor attached back to the solenoid and body, unfortunately I crossed threaded a screw for the brush holder so I will have to also add that to the list of things to do.

I believe everything is ready to test (going off your comments and the BGB) but I don't have a clamp and was hoping to just quickly test it on the ground. Is this a bad idea?

Can't thank you enough for your help!!! Below are some photos of my dirty engine bay and progress (or lack of) thus far.
this is what I was left with after my mistakes
What is this for circled in red? Does it need to be blocked off?
I believe the red wire is the ground from the engine to chassis, this is where I think it joins up to chassis - underneath the air box. I spent some time cleaning this up with sandpaper. I have also sanded down the dirt and bubbling off the paint, do I need to protect the paint with something before putting grounding cables back on?
You can't quite see it but this is where the red wire/ground leads to in the engine bay

Yeah it's meant to be one piece. Best put it back together. You only need to remove 2 bolts, the wires from the stud and the spade connector to get it off the car.

You could stand on it to hold in in place. You'll know if this not enough if it gets away on you.

That should be connected to the EVAP system. See image 3 in this link. I assume your car is a 92?
http://jp-carparts.com/toyota/partlist. ... 3&fig=1708

The red wire appears to be your ground strap however that is not the factory wire. It might be too long and too thin.
This image shows it encased in the plastic loom tube and runs from top right to bottom left. It seems to be the right location on your car. If the starter bench tests then reinstall it and see what else might be stopping it working. You do need good earths as the whole engine and gearbox are part of the engines electrical system.