mr2-digest Monday, 8 January 1996 Volume 01 : Number 082 Help me Fill Base break in period and suspension questions... low boost in 4th gear redline transaxle oil, NS or not? light rheostat oil in intake runners RE: Rheostat light control in a Re: mr2-digest V1 #81 Interior lights Re: mr2-digest V1 #81 wet plug Re: mr2-digest V1 #81 RE: Joined the ranks, Re: Antenna in windshield Re: Security system Re: antenna Re: Power Antenna Operation stereo security codes, scratchy noise ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: uunet!aol.com!COMMANDOE Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 15:34:06 -0500 Subject: Help me Fill Base Hey everyone I know I wrote this before but am asking again. I am compiling an internet database which I will share with all that answer me. PLEASE send me just a little info about your Toyota MR2. Simply year, state you live and any mods you have done. Its that simply. Reply now to me directly. THANX Commandoe@aol.com Steve 88 SC MR2 ------------------------------ From: uunet!harvey.carol.net!bob (Robert Rogers) Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 00:53:55 -0500 Subject: break in period and suspension questions... BREAK IN PERIOD: i have reason to suspect my car was abused durring the break in period. the powertrain warranty is about to expire. are there things i should check before it does? SUSPENSION: my suspension is about 0.6 inches lower than indicated in the mr2 repair manual. with 56K miles could it mean i need to replace something?? also, the rubber boots on the shock absorbers are each in several pieces; should i worry about that? if i replace the shocks myself about how long will it take, and do i need any special tools? 93 NA bob rogers bob@carol.net ------------------------------ From: uunet!bendnet.com!jdshort (John & Diana Short) Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 21:46:56 -0800 Subject: low boost in 4th gear As for low boost (3/4 scale) in 4th gear, I have only seen that during the following conditions: 1. When outside air temp is cold, ECU seems to limit boost to about 3/4 of full scale. 2. When engine has been run really hard, boost won't max. out. 3. When my gas pedal was bent and so the throttle wasn't opening all the way. Happy Notes from the Short Family Frog Farm! 93T ------------------------------ From: uunet!bendnet.com!jdshort (John & Diana Short) Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 21:47:02 -0800 Subject: redline transaxle oil, NS or not? So I finally was passing through Portland and was able to actually find some redline oil. The guys at Race Central & I read the bottles and book and it sounded like I should NOT be using 75-90NS but rather just 75-90 for the limited slip. Halfway home I realized he had put 2 of each in the bag. The bottles talk of limited slip chatter if NS is used in limited slips but chatter may be minimized by mixing the two. NS is suggested for worn limited slips. Mine has only 28K miles and seems to work fine. I don't want to screw it up or cause undo wear by putting in half and half. What do you experts suggest? 93T Happy Notes from the Short Family Frog Farm! 93T ------------------------------ From: uunet!bendnet.com!jdshort (John & Diana Short) Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 21:46:53 -0800 Subject: light rheostat Hi Geoff, On the gauge lights, if by some miracle the lights have both a hot and ground wire, you could hook the ground wire to 12V and hot wire to your rheostat. But most gauges I've seen have the bulb holder and case grounded so only using a single wire for the bulb. Otherwise it could be done with a transistor but before I dive into attempting to remember my old electrical engineering, lets see what other ideas people have. John Happy Notes from the Short Family Frog Farm! 93T ------------------------------ From: uunet!bendnet.com!jdshort (John & Diana Short) Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 21:46:59 -0800 Subject: oil in intake runners I've noticed oil on the inside of the intake tubes just before the throttle body and also seeping out a bit around the rubber hose connecting the intake tube to the throttle body. Is this normal or suggesting a problem??? 93T Happy Notes from the Short Family Frog Farm! 93T ------------------------------ From: uunet!aol.com!AstonMrtn Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 01:43:07 -0500 Subject: RE: Rheostat light control in a >the dash guages so that I could control the amount of illumination >as with the other gauges. Why not tap into the power supply for one of the existing lights? Like the ashtray light, for example - that's not needed for most people, and I have a hunch you're installing the gauges where the ashtray used to be, right? - -Matt '91 White NA ------------------------------ From: "Kostas G. D. Chryssos " Date: Sun, 07 Jan 1996 13:11:10 +0200 Subject: Re: mr2-digest V1 #81 > >mr2-digest Saturday, 6 January 1996 Volume 01 : Number 081 > >Power Antenna Operation It is a radio facility NOT an antenna facility to extend only when plain radio is used. Any way you can add a simple on/off switch next to the fog light switch and wire it in series to the control wire from the radio to the antenna. Having it switched off will never extend the antenna, even with the radio on. Since some radios have the front glass embedded antenna connected also, using the extended on for diversity reception, I find that the glass one works fine and almost never use the collapsible one. ___________ ________________ ________ __ ___/__ | / /__< /___ __ )___ __/ _____ \ __ | / / __ / __ __ |__ / ____/ / __ |/ / _ / _ /_/ / _ / /____/ _____/ /_/ /_____/ /_/ (Kostas G. D. Chryssos Ph.D.) 30,Ikarias str. Glyfada GR16675, Athens, Hellas Tel: xx-301 9628212, Fax: xx-301 9628539 ------------------------------ From: uunet!arthor.cais.com!scott_maclean (Scott Maclean) Date: 7 Jan 1996 6:00 EST Subject: Interior lights Reply-To: scott_maclean@arthor.cais.com (Scott Maclean) > I recently installed a boost and oil pressure gauge in my MkII turbo. > I had planned on wiring the backlighting for these two gauges into the > rheostat for the dash guages so that I could control the amount of > illumination as with the other gauges. > > However, in investigating the voltages at the rheostat control, I > found that the voltage is 12V when the gauges are fully dimmed and 0V > when the gauges are at their brightest. This is normal - on most cars, the dimmer does not control the 12v supply - it controls the ground. What you are seeing when you dim it down all the way is that the current is going through your meter rather than the rheostat. When it's full bright, the rheostat is essentially at 0 ohms, so your meter shows 0 volts. This is how it's hooked up: Battery ----------- | | | + - | ----------- | | | |-------------------------------------------| | | | ------------- ---------- | |-----------------|dash lights|-----|rheostat|----| | ------------- | ---------- | | A B If the aftermarket gauges have two wires coming out - one positive and one negative, simply connect them in parallel with the existing gauges: connect one to "A" and one to "B". If they have only one wire (and the case is ground) the only thing you can do is insulate the case from everything else, connect the wire to positive at "A", and connect the case to the rheostat at "B". If you accidentally ground the case and hook it up to "B" you'll find that it and all your dash lights will be at full brightness and that the rheostat has no effect at all. Scott MacLean CASMEL-I Artificial Horizons BBS arthor@cais.com Aviation! (301) 417-9341 http://www.cais.com/arthor/www/index.html 300-33,600 bps V.FC/V.34+ * Free Access * Aviation Files * Usenet Newsgroups * CD-ROMs Online * ** Via PMail 2.3h Reg#658976 ------------------------------ From: "Kostas G. D. Chryssos " Date: Sun, 07 Jan 1996 13:22:50 +0200 Subject: Re: mr2-digest V1 #81 > >From: uunet!softwords.bc.ca!geoff (Geoff Seeley) >Date: Thu, 4 Jan 96 20:31:13 >Subject: Rheostat light control in a MkII > >I recently installed a boost and oil pressure gauge in my MkII turbo. I had >planned on wiring the backlighting for these two gauges into the rheostat for >the dash gauges so that I could control the amount of illumination as with the >other gauges. > >However, in investigating the voltages at the rheostat control, I found that >the voltage is 12V when the gauges are fully dimmed and 0V when the gauges are >at their brightest. > >This is of course opposite to what I need for the after market gauges, which >expect 12V for full bright and 0V for dim. > >Anyone know of a way I can invert(?) the voltage so that when the rheostat is >putting out 0V, I get 12V and vice-versa? (Basically reversing the way the >rheostat works) > >Thanks >Geoff >'91t, 160,500km Well here I am again.....the rheostat works fine controlling the voltage properly...your mistake is that you measure to ground. The rheostat does NOT operate with the car ground but with its own return line. You will have to obtain both wires ie. going to the lamp of the fog light switch and route them to the lamps of your additional instruments BUT those lamps make sure are NOT connected to ground on either ends of the lamp filaments. If so (usually with most instruments) find a way to install those small lamps with wire terminals and insulate both from any chassis ground. Connect the filament wires, both, to the wires from the lamps of the fog switch (this is the most convenient to get at) or any other panel lamp wires. ___________ ________________ ________ __ ___/__ | / /__< /___ __ )___ __/ _____ \ __ | / / __ / __ __ |__ / ____/ / __ |/ / _ / _ /_/ / _ / /____/ _____/ /_/ /_____/ /_/ (Kostas G. D. Chryssos Ph.D.) 30,Ikarias str. Glyfada GR16675, Athens, Hellas Tel: xx-301 9628212, Fax: xx-301 9628539 ------------------------------ From: uunet!netrunner.net!hkphoto (howard kuflik) Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 07:37:03 -0500 Subject: wet plug Well it's me again with the project car from hell....this time I have cylinder that seems to not fire at idle. I replaced the wire's, plugs, cap, rotor and the plug is still soaked with gas .But at high RPM's it seem to fire but the engine seem to lack power.....all the other plugs seem fine.It seem weird since the entire motor has been rebuilt 350 miles ago. My question is could the fuel injecter be bad by pouring or leaking fuel in the cylinder??? Thanks Howard 1986 MR-2 n/a ------------------------------ From: "Kostas G. D. Chryssos " Date: Sun, 07 Jan 1996 13:41:21 +0200 Subject: Re: mr2-digest V1 #81 > >From: uunet!idirect.com!mrtwo (Bill Chen) >Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 23:21:53 -0500 >Subject: 4th gear boost > > A couple of months ago I noticed that while on the highway, when I >would drop my car down to 4th gear at about 120kph to 140kph, I would only >receive about 3/4 boost. The Toyota guys tell me that on my 91 turbo the >computer reads the speed I'm going at and decides how much boost to run. >Should I be getting full boost? - ---------------------- There is something wrong with the turbo. There is no such thing as reading the speed of the car and automatically adjusting the turbo. How is the turbo performing at other speeds...say 60 does it come on fully flooring the gass pedal? If not, have the turbo checked properly and replaced before you run out of warrantee. The oil there is also a bad sign. Cover leaks do not splash so. It seems oil is been squirted out under pressure...have it checked.... >From: uunet!aol.com!SamuelsMA >Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 21:05:57 -0500 >Subject: security system malfunction (?) > >I ran into an unexpected electrical system malfunction last night. Maybe >someone out there can explain to me what happened. > >I have a 91T which I parked in a parking garage yesterday afternoon. I had >my headlights on while driving up through the garage, but I parked out in the >open on the roof and forgot that the lights were still on. Apparently, You should bless God that it works that way, otherwise removing voltage from your car and re-installing would render your security system out of operation and would NOT protect your car any more. Using your key without battery power did NOT reset the alarm as this requires power to do so. It seems that later on you must have turned the key again, with power available, which correctly re-set the alarm unit.> ___________ ________________ ________ __ ___/__ | / /__< /___ __ )___ __/ _____ \ __ | / / __ / __ __ |__ / ____/ / __ |/ / _ / _ /_/ / _ / /____/ _____/ /_/ /_____/ /_/ (Kostas G. D. Chryssos Ph.D.) 30,Ikarias str. Glyfada GR16675, Athens, Hellas Tel: xx-301 9628212, Fax: xx-301 9628539 ------------------------------ From: uunet!aol.com!AstonMrtn Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 13:36:45 -0500 Subject: RE: Joined the ranks, >There have been no special mods to this car with the exception of >the K&N filter addition. Speaking of that, do you have to use the >K&N recharge kit, or are there substitutes for the >leaner/treatment chemicals... someone once told me you could use >Simple Green and WD-40 respectively. > Paper filters like the K&N are very special...they use a coarse paper to reduce restriction, and a special oil to catch all the little particles you don't want in your engine. I'm sure you COULD clean it with Simple Green, and you COULD oil it with WD-40, and it may appear to work - but K&N designed it to work with a certain blend of oil...chances are, the WD-40 will not work the same. C'mon, you've only got 33000 miles on your engine - don't blow it by being cheap and not buying the $10 K&N recharge kit!!! For those of you out there considering foam filters (Ramair, HKS(?), etc), I heard something interesting about them - foam filters don't block water from entering the engine (or at least, not nearly as well as paper filters). So the best setup sounds like having a 'winter' and 'summer' filter - RamAir in the summer, and K&N when the rains start. congrats on your purchase....enjoy it! - -Matt '91 White NA ------------------------------ From: uunet!aol.com!KipAnderso Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 13:51:54 -0500 Subject: Re: Antenna in windshield In a message dated 96-01-06 23:23:40 EST, you write: >My 93T has a setup similar to the Supra mentioned i.e. the antenna only comes >up when the radio is on, not the CD or cassette unless the radio was on >first. What I really want to know is why it looks like there is an antenna >in the front windshield glass as well or ? My understanding is that it's for the AM part fo the radio. The power antenna is strictly for FM. Kip Anderson kca@interserv.com ------------------------------ From: uunet!aol.com!KipAnderso Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 13:51:56 -0500 Subject: Re: Security system In a message dated 96-01-06 23:23:40 EST, you write: >Why did the security system become confused after the battery discharge, and >why did it eventually return to normal? Overall, it seems to me that >security systems are a mixed blessing at best (witness the correspondence >over stereo security codes recently). This incident did not bolster my >confidence. Michael, What has apparently happened is that the security system came back on in the post alarm status (it was armed when you left it right?) with the starter kill enabled. According to the Manual all you have to do is (with power connected) put your key in the outside door lock and unlock the car. When you originally unlocked your car, the battery had no power. Thus the the switch in the door lock was not able to disarm the security system. So if you ever have trouble with the car not starting, try the key in the door lock before you call the wrecker. Kip Anderson 91 Turbo kca@interserv.com ------------------------------ From: uunet!illusion.magicno.com!marcus Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 22:56 MST Subject: Re: antenna John Short asks: >What I really want to know is why it looks like there is an antenna in the >front windshield glass as well or ? That is a "diversity antenna" system. If you look at the back of the radio, there are actually two antenna inputs. The system is supposed to combat FM multipath distortion. This happens when there are two paths that the radio signal could take to get to the receiver (perhaps one is direct from the antenna, and the other is reflected off of a building.) Since the paths are different lengths, the two radio waves are slightly out of phase with each other. Depending on where the receiver is, it is possible that the two waves could be 180 degrees out of phase and therefore they would effectively cancel each other out. These nulls in the interference pattern are very small, and moving a few feet is usually out of the null. Thus, the second antenna. If the radio looses the signal from the main antenna, it samples the second antenna. I think that it periodically samples the signal from the main antenna again and when it receives a signal from it, it stays there. marcus hall '94 Turbo (Solar Yellow) ------------------------------ From: uunet!keithley.com!marks (Mike Marks) Date: Mon, 8 Jan 96 09:31:28 EST Subject: Re: Power Antenna Operation >My '94T also has this feature, so I guess they did it on the newer MR2s. If >the antenna is down and you turn on the unit in CD or tape mode, the antenna >stays down. However, if you have the radio on and shift to CD or tape >without turning off the unit, then the antenna stays up until you turn off >the stereo or the ignition. >Brad Burns My '93T also does this, so maybe it's another change they made for '93. - -- Mike Marks ------------------------------ From: uunet!harvey.carol.net!bob (Robert Rogers) Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 22:13:23 -0500 Subject: stereo security codes, scratchy noise i know i set my stereo when i bought the car because i remember the flashing light. i just checked it and it was not set. the only thing i can figure is the dealer reset it when they changed the rings...or maybe they traded it for a reconditioned one. btw, the security feature is powered through the dome fuse, not the radio fuse. while investigating this, i notice that with the tape (but not the radio) with volume at minimum, the tape is audible, but low and scratchy, and only on the right (like you get on older home receivers with the wrong input selected). could this be a symptom of the imfamous driver's door wiring harnes problem? 93 NA 56,000 miles bob rogers bob@carol.net ------------------------------ End of mr2-digest V1 #82