£50 to whoever fixes this problem!!!

[afennell]

Problems back and driving me crazy.
Sun is out and I can drive my car as its go worse.


I checked the three pin plug, cleaned it out and I did not seem to help.
I also checked if the car was charging when it was happening and she was always running over 14v.

Any more help would be greatly appreciated.

Where do the three pins on the alternator go to?????

[afennell]

For the interest of anyone searching with the same problem, i have replaced the igniter and she seems to have fixed the problem.

[afennell]

Still got this problem. Car runs fine most of the time.

So far I have checked all fuses,
Checked charging,
Checked for error codes,
Bypassed the uni chip
Had the wiring loom re fitted and a diferent uni chip fitted and re-mapped.
New coil and ignitor.

This is killing me, its been over 2 months now!!!

[afennell]

thought I had fixed this, but it has come back again.

Anyone any ideas, please

[afennell]

All the following parts have been replaced,

HT leeds,
Coil
Distributor
Cap and arm
ignitor
ecu
uni chip
wiring to uni chip
plugs.
charging checked.
ignition relay.

And I’m still stuck with the same problem.

Driving normally, rev counter dies first (does not read or move at all) then car starts running really rough and stalls on tick over.
This problem then sorts itself out further down the road or after been left.

The only thing left I can think of is the wiring loom. GArages can't find the problem as its too intermittent.

[pintovit]

My bet still goes to the alternator...

[afennell]

My bet still goes to the alternator...

I'm willing to change anything at mo.

Could it still be the alternator even though its always running over 14v even when the fault happens and my clock or sterio don't dimm?

[pintovit]

That's a good question.

On my Alfa Romeo when the battery died, the alternator could not provide enough juice for everything. The dials went dead randomly, engine was running roughly and almost died on me a couple of times. Was lucky to make the 10 miles or so journey home to replace the battery next time.

The symptoms matched yours more or less. Although it is a different car.

If it is producing a good voltage, it doesn't seam to be it dough... and it can't be the battery or you would notice it...

Good luck with the hunt...

Regards,
Vítor

[RyanRs]

could it be due to bad earthing? check none of the earth wires have burnt out or are broken.

also check the wires that connect to the coil....

[afennell]

Have checked all the earths I could find, and the loom going through the boot wall, along with fuses and relays.

I was thinking of replacing the c open relay.

[SwissHeavy]

Battery and alternator. Everyone's said alternator and this is one thing you've not changed. Get one, and if it doesn't cure it, return it to seller! Remember there's different ones, round plugs and oval plugs, so be aware of that.

[Zippy]

When I started reading this thread i was thinking alternator too.

Had a similar problem about a year ago. One of the three wires into the alternator is a feed from the ignition live. In effect it's a signal wire to tell the alternator to output the current its producing. This wire was cracked in my case and would result in a very similar intermitent problem. When the battery eventually died, i would get very similar results. (incedentaly because the alternator is not "switched on" you dont get the dash lit up like a christmas tree warning)

What moves me away from the alternator are a couple of things. Firstly the car runs fine on just the battery until it is drained. When it's drained the first thing that went for me was the power steering. I would typically have about a quarter of a mile before the engine died.
Secondly i would be very suprised if the car would start again if the battery was discharged to the extent that the speedo/ignition stops.

I left a multimeter wired across ignition live and ground to show the voltage as i was driving - could tell when the alternator was switching off. This would at least tell you what the alternator is putting out. If this still reads ~14v when your speedo goes, i would rule out the alternator (subject to more knowledgable member happening by )

edit to add: voltage would be ~11v if alternator is not working

[steve---o]

i had a similar problem to this last year, turned out to be the battery fluid was low but bought a new battery to be on the safe side.

didn't read anywhere that you had changed the battery yet so you could try this maybe or just temporary borrow one??

may not be the same problem as mine but worth a try anyhow.

steve

[Driftlimits Performance]

Check the continuity between the yellow and black wire at the alternator to the end in the fuse box in the engine bay. Try running new wire, often causes intermitent faults, which will progressively will get worse.

[Rossyboy99]

my mate just had same problem with a focus weird one but revs went mental then speedo rev needles fell then whilst driving slowly it would cut out.

[Rossyboy99]

its a faulty speedo sensor behind the dash get a dyo test done in a garage it will confirm this, sounds weird but trust me and seem's as you've nearly bought a new car in parts you should try this

[G-LimitedGav]

Thought id try and help out even tho i've never owned a tubby mr2. I had a 200sx turbo last year, had exactly the same problem, turned out that one of the air piping tubes going from the turbo 2 the engine had a hole in it under a jubalee clip, patched it up with some tape and it fixed the problem straight away. The problem was intermitent because the clip covered the hole depending on how hot it was or something? Dont know if its worth checking, apparently the smallest holes can cause problems.

[afennell]

Thanks for the help people,

I have checked the voltage when the rev counter was dead and it was always over 14v.

If there is still a possibility it could be the alternator even though I’m getting 14v someone let me know and I will change it over.

[afennell]

Check the continuity between the yellow and black wire at the alternator to the end in the fuse box in the engine bay. Try running new wire, often causes intermitent faults, which will progressively will get worse.

Will do thanks,

Where are you based?

[afennell]

its a faulty speedo sensor behind the dash get a dyo test done in a garage it will confirm this, sounds weird but trust me and seem's as you've nearly bought a new car in parts you should try this

Interesting, please tell me more. Where is this sensor?

Just checking there is no confusion, My speedo is working fine, its the rev counter that dies.