Ok, this is the story...

For about a month now my car has been playing up.. at night whilst driving my dash lights and rear driving lights will dim, flick on and off continuosly or just completely turn off. Ive checked all fuses and all are fine. I have noticed though that whilst my lights are playing up the car seems to drop in power for a few seconds and acceleration will then go back to normal.

Ive enquired at a few places as to a reason why this has been occuring. Most of the people I've spoken to have said battery or alternator. Both have been checked and both are in excellent working order.

This morning on my way to an appointment, as im slowing down to turn right at an intersection, I go to turn the wheel and notice that its like ive suddenly lost power steering because its extremely hard to turn the car - after a few seconds I sheepishly realise that the car has died. So im smack bang in the middle of an intersection. I turn my hazard lights on and as my car is an auto, I put it in park and try to start it again without any luck. I have cars sitting up my ass beeping their horns and yelling abuse, as if I had just decided i might park my car there (its like some people dont think I swear).

FINALLY, a nice guy pulled over and helped me push it up a side street so its out of the way. (wish there were more people like this around)!! From there I rang a friend who is a mechanic, he came had a look... thought it was my fuel injection, he also looked at my spark plugs and said the spark was weak... after a good hour he decided he had no idea what the problem was. So I called a tow truck and my magna was taken to my local mechanic - where it is now sitting and waiting to be looked at.

I was just wondering if any one on here has experienced the same thing, if so any ideas as to what it could be? Also can the light problem and my car deciding to **** itself be related?

Any advice would be really appreciated. Ive always had my car worked on by my friend who is a mechanic, so im worried I might end up forking out heaps of dosh for something that might not be that big of a problem and because my mate has no idea, I was left with no other choice but to take it to the mechanics.

I hope this has made sense... I dont really think before I type.. it all just comes out...! :bowrofl:

Altenator/bush's? Does the check engine light come on?

I ask this because this is a symptom of a faulty altenator. (Yes you say you have had it checked but its best to have it checked at a auto electrician) IF its fine:

(Most likely) Ignition system, its likely the distributor is faulty or the cap is crap/ check this all out with leads, sparks cap, ROTOR and the wiring and overall condition of it.

Dosent sound like a ECU problem, sounds like one of the above which controls voltages...

Do the Revs sit perfect or keep jumping up and down? whats it idle at?

How much fuel was in the tank when taking the sharp turn? the power steering pump could be the problem. (Notice when you lock your steering wheel sharply theres major vibration, cant remember what causes that)

The engine light has never come on whilst the lights are playing up, and it never came on today. The only time it comes on is when i start the car for a few seconds, but im under the assumption thats normal?

The fuel was half way to empty. I topped it up about 5 mins before the car decided to stop running.

The revs jump up and down when its cold, but once its warm its right. I cant say i look at the revs all that much though.

My friend who looked at it said his best guess would be an ignition module.. whatever that is.

Yeah its normal for a few seconds when started. Sounds like the altenator is fine because its not comming up on check engine. Sounds like the distributor issue / ignition issue.

Not too mention ive had my wires fried before

I think ive gone through everything with my TR

Ok, this is the story...

For about a month now my car has been playing up.. at night whilst driving my dash lights and rear driving lights will dim, flick on and off continuosly or just completely turn off. Ive checked all fuses and all are fine. I have noticed though that whilst my lights are playing up the car seems to drop in power for a few seconds and acceleration will then go back to normal.

What about the headlights, do they dim too? Does the whole electrical system drop in voltage or only the lighting?

Could be a fair few things, but i'd bet that its not related to the car not starting. 2 seperate problems here i think.

If it has spark (doesnt really matter how strong) it should at least want to try to start... unless there is no fuel delivery.

The usual checks should be done first: spark (which you said it had), fuel pressure, injector pulse, ignition timing, and also check all fuses. If it has these, it should at least start, or sound like it wants to. Common problems for the 4cyls are; air flow meter, hall sensor plug/ or distributor, ECU...

Good luck, hope u get it sorted soon!

You may find that one of the fusible links is corroded at the joint.

When this happens you get a drop in voltage and all sorts of wierd **** like you describe occurs.

Usually the link (which looks like a piece of thick wire) gets very hot and discoloured.

It might be worth asking the mechanic to check em.:)

What about the headlights, do they dim too? Does the whole electrical system drop in voltage or only the lighting?

Could be a fair few things, but i'd bet that its not related to the car not starting. 2 seperate problems here i think.

If it has spark (doesnt really matter how strong) it should at least want to try to start... unless there is no fuel delivery.

The usual checks should be done first: spark (which you said it had), fuel pressure, injector pulse, ignition timing, and also check all fuses. If it has these, it should at least start, or sound like it wants to. Common problems for the 4cyls are; air flow meter, hall sensor plug/ or distributor, ECU...

Good luck, hope u get it sorted soon!

The headlights never dim, and always stay on and its only the lighting that is effected.

Whilst trying to start the car after leaving it for a bit, it sounded like it was going to start but didn't. You can tell its trying to click over (i dont know how to explain this correctly) but no matter how long we held the key on start it didnt do much else.

The headlights never dim, and always stay on and its only the lighting that is effected.

Whilst trying to start the car after leaving it for a bit, it sounded like it was going to start but didn't. You can tell its trying to click over (i dont know how to explain this correctly) but no matter how long we held the key on start it didnt do much else.

Oh ok.. so it was cranking the starter over ok, and was 'almost' starting.. like it would sort of cough & splutter etc.. ? If thats the case it might need a fuel pressure test.

As for the dashlights, i'd start with ruling out all the simple stuff first... umm do you have an aftermarket head unit/cd player installed at all?
Could be related the wiring with that, if it was a poor job. Or, could be related to the boot light wiring shorting somewhere.

Oh ok.. so it was cranking the starter over ok, and was 'almost' starting.. like it would sort of cough & splutter etc.. ? If thats the case it might need a fuel pressure test.

As for the dashlights, i'd start with ruling out all the simple stuff first... umm do you have an aftermarket head unit/cd player installed at all?
Could be related the wiring with that, if it was a poor job. Or, could be related to the boot light wiring shorting somewhere.

Like I said before im not to sure how to explain it, im a chick after all.. :bowrofl:
But it was making noise and shaking a bit and the belt was spinning etc (if that has nething to do with nething im not sure) like how it normally does as it goes to start, it just never started.

I do have an aftermarket head unit and if that has anything to do with my lights it could explain a lot. The guy who installed it is a friend and it was his old headunit, his day job is definatly not installing them either lol. Every time i start the car the headunit is on standby i have to press buttons to get it to go to tuner etc.. so I can never save stations because they're lost once I turn off the car.

a mate of mine had a 91 wagon and had the same power steering problem for a wile....but it started working fine after about 2 weeks..he had it checked out a few times but couldnt pin point the problem...it was the old family car but now it sits at the wreckers!!

Like I said before im not to sure how to explain it, im a chick after all.. :bowrofl:
But it was making noise and shaking a bit and the belt was spinning etc (if that has nething to do with nething im not sure) like how it normally does as it goes to start, it just never started.

I do have an aftermarket head unit and if that has anything to do with my lights it could explain a lot. The guy who installed it is a friend and it was his old headunit, his day job is definatly not installing them either lol. Every time i start the car the headunit is on standby i have to press buttons to get it to go to tuner etc.. so I can never save stations because they're lost once I turn off the car.

He's connected the 12V+ wire to the accessory wire instead.. so when the car's off, it doesnt have any power to keep its memory. The 12v+ needs to be connected to the battery, and the Acc wire to the ignition switch. Id get that fixed up and it'll be a good chance to check out the rest of the wiring under there too.

a mate of mine had a 91 wagon and had the same power steering problem for a wile....but it started working fine after about 2 weeks..he had it checked out a few times but couldnt pin point the problem...it was the old family car but now it sits at the wreckers!!

Ive never had a powersteering problem, in my first post I mentioned that when the car died as I was trying to turn the corner it felt like I didnt have powersteering. But i think that all cuts out once the car is off... ??

Ive never had a powersteering problem, in my first post I mentioned that when the car died as I was trying to turn the corner it felt like I didnt have powersteering. But i think that all cuts out once the car is off... ??

Yep thats exactly right. So its definately not power steering related.

He's connected the 12V+ wire to the accessory wire instead.. so when the car's off, it doesnt have any power to keep its memory. The 12v+ needs to be connected to the battery, and the Acc wire to the ignition switch. Id get that fixed up and it'll be a good chance to check out the rest of the wiring under there too.

Will definately have to get a professional to check it out for me. Thanks for letting me know all about the wiring etc. :)

Will definately have to get a professional to check it out for me. Thanks for letting me know all about the wiring etc. :)

No worries :) .. yeah its just a matter of swapping 2 wires over. I think he got confused because the magna wiring colours are alot different to the general Red/yellow/black basic config.

No worries :) .. yeah its just a matter of swapping 2 wires over. I think he got confused because the magna wiring colours are alot different to the general Red/yellow/black basic config.

Ah k, im gunna have to tell him he stuffed up....he said it was the cars fault.. - yay (his Mr.AlwaysRight) :bowrofl:


as for the car, i hope whatever is wrong with it, its a cheap fix.

Ah k, im gunna have to tell him he stuffed up....he said it was the cars fault.. - yay (his Mr.AlwaysRight) :bowrofl:


as for the car, i hope whatever is wrong with it, its a cheap fix.

Haha.. cool, i think there was some wiring diagrams floating around these forums for 2nd gens too if you need them.

Good luck with the mechaincal problem.. hope its all up & running again soon.

No one has suggested crap fuel.. you live in syndey.. yes?
Its been raining and its common for water to get into the underground tanks.

You said you filled up 5 mins earlier?

No one has suggested crap fuel.. you live in syndey.. yes?
Its been raining and its common for water to get into the underground tanks.

You said you filled up 5 mins earlier?

Good point there.

Although i think you'd more likely notice symptoms of poor running before the car stopped, ie; spluttering, missing etc... not just a straight engine stall. Sounds almost, electrical or ignition related.

She lives in Maitland actually, Near Newcastle.

I had the exact same problems with my old TR, the dimming part was fixed by replacing the voltage regulator on the Alternator.

The cutting out/not starting bull**** was a corroded plug on something, it was up the back of the engine bay on the passenger side, NRMA dude put some cleaner stuff on it and gave it a hit with a wire brush and the problem went away for good.

Hopefully you get a cheap fix.

She lives in Maitland actually, Near Newcastle.

I had the exact same problems with my old TR, the dimming part was fixed by replacing the voltage regulator on the Alternator.

The cutting out/not starting bull**** was a corroded plug on something, it was up the back of the engine bay on the passenger side, NRMA dude put some cleaner stuff on it and gave it a hit with a wire brush and the problem went away for good.

Hopefully you get a cheap fix.

Thats the Hall sensor plug i mentioned.. its on top of the distributor.

Well just got home from the mechanics.... and i feel like ****.

The problem is that because of my cars rough idling its eventually fried the computer. So now I need a new idle module and computer. All up the cost is going to be anywhere from 800 - 900 dollars. I dont know where to go to look for cheaper parts if anyone knows of any places it would be appreciated. This place has already charged me $300 just for looking at it.

NOT HAPPY JAN!!

So is it the ECU or TCU that is broken?

Its a TR 2.6L EFI Auto correct?

They usually go for ~$50-100 on ebay, the ECU is easy to replace, the TCU is a bit of fiddling but doable. Youll need to ask if the TCU is a 2 plug or 3 plug unit.

If need be I can replace either of them, and Im not far from maitland.

Local wreckers may want a little more for the parts though.

JAP PARTS in lambton will have heaps of them, but can be a bit expensive sometimes.

If you can get details I can ring if required, and I work near them so can pickup if Im feeling nice.

So is it the ECU or TCU that is broken?

Its a TR 2.6L EFI Auto correct?

They usually go for ~$50-100 on ebay, the ECU is easy to replace, the TCU is a bit of fiddling but doable. Youll need to ask if the TCU is a 2 plug or 3 plug unit.

If need be I can replace either of them, and Im not far from maitland.

Local wreckers may want a little more for the parts though.

Yeah its a TR 2.6L EFI Auto.

Just rang beresfield spares and for the ECU second hand it was $125 - the mechanics said the one they found was for $400.

What is the TCU? lol

If i can get someone else to do it other then the mechanics, I will because the mechanics will be charging me a **** load in labour.

Only thing is it doesnt go at all, so id have to get it towed. That will cost me money.

Yeah its a TR 2.6L EFI Auto.

Just rang beresfield spares and for the ECU second hand it was $125 - the mechanics said the one they found was for $400.

What is the TCU? lol

If i can get someone else to do it other then the mechanics, I will because the mechanics will be charging me a **** load in labour.

Only thing is it doesnt go at all, so id have to get it towed. That will cost me money.

transmission control unit.

ECU are easy as to get out. Simply dismantle the glove box and to the lower left area of your car and then unplug it and pull the old ecu out.
Id be cracking it open too to see weather the caps have actually leaked too (will smell)

If i can get someone else to do it other then the mechanics, I will because the mechanics will be charging me a **** load in labour.


As I said, I can replace either one for you, the ECU is porbably 1/2 hours work max. The TCU is maybe an hour as they are located in the worst spot possible.

If you get one from Bero spares, take a philips screwdriver with you and see if the capacitors are leaking in it as this is most likely the issue with your current one.

As I said, I can replace either one for you, the ECU is porbably 1/2 hours work max. The TCU is maybe an hour as they are located in the worst spot possible.

If you get one from Bero spares, take a philips screwdriver with you and see if the capacitors are leaking in it as this is most likely the issue with your current one.

omg so much i have to do and i dont know what im doing lol...
so take a screwdriver and before buying the secondhand one take it apart or something??

I hope matt knows what 2 do..

Okay think its time I update everyone on whats been happening...

This morning I went and bought a second hand ecu from beresfield spares for $125, dropped it off at the mechanics. Called this arvo to see how it was going they said since the ecu i bought was put in the car is running, but the idle module still needs to be fixed so they're getting the part in on monday and it will be ready to pick up monday arvo.

The mechanic has been extremely helpful and every question ive asked however stupid it may have been they have answered me in detail and in easy terms for me to understand. I will definately be going back there if in the future something goes wrong with my car, again. Touch wood nothing will.

Id like to thank everyone on here who offered me some awesome advice. I really appreciate it.

A special thanks to Adz who sat on the phone with me and explained everything that could possibly be wrong with it.. when i kept saying whats that, i dont know.. lol - your a trooper!