Toyota MR2 Roadster
2000 Toyota MR2 Roadster
Owned by Sam Dawson (sam.dawson@bauermedia.co.uk)
Time owned 16 months
Latest/total mileage 44/89,999
Latest/total costs £70/£1950
Previously De-pre-catted, but found battery drain
There’s a set of words no-one wants to find on their answerphone when their car’s in for work, ‘Can you give me a call please?’ Not a cheery, ‘Your car’s ready for collection,’ but a grim euphemism for, ‘I’ve found something that’s going to take up way more time and money than expected and you may want to consider getting it scrapped.’ In this case, having removed the old exhaust manifold, John at Automaster had found it concealing a rust hole in the all-important chassis crossmember running behind the engine. It seemed fine when I bought the car, but the nearby exhaust is prone to heating and cracking the rustproofing, and rot had started to eat it. For the time being, it just needed a patch-weld because it hadn’t got out of control, but in John’s estimation it’d only be four years before it needed doing again. Thankfully the crossmember unbolts, but a new one will have to go on the future shopping list.
And of course the source of the battery drain still needed tracing. John gave the car an almighty zap with his portable charger, enough to get it the one faltering mile home, I put the battery on charge overnight, then got out the multimeter and started pulling fuses that weekend.
It turns out whatever is draining the battery is associated with the ECU – the only fuse that prompted the multimeter’s readings to move significantly when pulled. This leads me to suspect the aftermarket Sigma alarm and immobiliser system.
Testing this hypothesis, I opted not to arm it, locking the car manually with the key instead – the Sigma system is activated by the car’s own remote central-locking fob – then using it on a semi-regular basis and keeping an eye on the electrics. Thankfully it seems OK, although ultimately I know a trip to Grimwood’s Auto Electricians looms in future. At least the manual-lock workaround is giving me time to save up.
But in the meantime, the new manifold means I can accelerate without fear of the engine detonating itself. It also looks great and sounds more tuneful, as well as curing a nasty rattle that a loose heat shield had developed. And the sun’s come out again!