Rev3 Mk2 3S-GTE Turbo - Cuts out when hot and won't restart til cold

[Foggy188]

Am I right in thinking that on a Rev3 the cold start and temperature sensor for the ECU is the green plug ?

[benckj]

There is not cold start injector on the rev 3 and yes I believe the green connector on the coolant neck is engine temp.

[MR2DI4]

Did you replace the fuel filter when you did the pump ? its not going to cause the issue but if its never been changed then its clogged by now with brush wear from the old pump. I was pretty shocked when I cut my old one in half to see what was in it.

Cold start injector should not cause it to cut out. My cold start injector was coming back in for about 15 years every time the turbo timer kicked in after the car was turned off. I only noticed the problem after upping the fuel pressure and it caused a erratic idle during the turbo timer phase. The 20msec relay changeover dropping power to the ECU was enough to think the car was restarting. Put a couple of Electrolytic caps on the supply at the ECU to hold over the power long enough and problem solved.

Other problems like yours can be caused by valve clearances. As the engine heats up it looses some clearance and it can be enough to start to hold the valves open. had the problem on a motorbike once, it just died on idle or the idle was erratic. This needs to be sorted pretty quickly or it will just burn out your valve seats.

Got given a head from a Toyota KE70 once, the seats were eaten away and the head was stuffed but I just used it for other parts.

[Foggy188]

Yep, replaced the fuel filter when I changed the fuel pump. Fitted a new temperature coolant sensor ( green plug ) and a new set of platinum plugs and took it out for a run for about an hour, mixture of high speed and slow driving and it seem s to be running ok. Will take It out for a longer run in the week and let you know how it's going

[Foggy188]

Ok, had a problem starting the car the other day. Took out the plugs and they were all sooted up. Cleaned and put plugs back in started up fine for about 20 mins then the ECU light came on the idle was erratic for about one minute then all was fine again. Drove it for about 20mins Let it tickover for a couple of minutes and it cut out. Checked for fault codes come up with codes 12 & 14 a distributor fault. So changed the distributor started the car, set the timing and went for a drive. Run fine for 15mins then started idling rough, Rev counter needle started jumping up and down between 0-2000 revs was like this for about a minute then started run fine again for 20 mins, stopped and let it tickover for a couple of minutes and it cut out. Checked fault codes and it come back with 12 & 14 again. Started it up and it ran but was missing. Checked the plugs and all sooted up again !! I’ve fitted new plugs, coil, igniter, fuel pump, all HT leads all check out fine, distributor, timing is fine, valve clearances are fine and I’ve check for split hoses etc and all is good. Also checked lambada sensor and checked green ecu temperature sensor. Ideas please??

[Snorkie]

Check the electrical plug that goes onto distributor.

Look very closely at the wires where they go in to back of the plug.

Heat can damage the insulation and cause the bare wires to short to each other.

[notroubleclubber]

Also check ecu for bulging or blown capacitors

Did u reset the ecu before the second time you checked the codes as they wont clear till u do

[Foggy188]

Opened the ECU up and there are no bulging, blown or leaking capacitors, all looks good. I reset the codes and it produced the same codes. I have checked the connector on the distributor wires and the wiring back to the ECU for continuity and insulation resistance and all is good. I disconnected the idle valve and it made no difference to the running of the car would that cause this issue ?

[Foggy188]

Hi all, quick update on cutting out issues. After checking every connection and relay and running every test known to man !! I sent the ECU to MR2Ben so they could run it on a car with no other issues and yep that too starting cutting out etc. They opened the ECU and even though it looked ok and there was no electrolyte or corrosion something just wasn’t right and a few of the tracks were damaged. Ben managed to source a replacement which I’ve installed and 500 miles later no issues, runs like a dream. Thanks to everyone for their advice in trying to sort out the issues. Got it sorted in the end and hopefully this will help others out if they have the same or similar issues. Thanks all

[benckj]

After I got flamed at the start it gives me no pleasure to say I told you so. Glad you got it sorted in the end and others should take note of your problem as it’s becoming more common.

[benckj]

My money is on faulty caps in ECU. They all seem to be playing up now.

Jim

That's a pretty sweeping statement, what evidence is there to back it up ? The odd one here and there doesn't quite fit with "they all seem to be playing up now"
I don't recall many posts (if any) on here of faults that came down to leaking capacitors or even ECU faults

Hope your reading this ‘Jimi’

[Payney]

Hi I’m new here I have the same fault car starts fine for a minute or so then the revs start dying down and cuts out. On trying to restart it attempts to fire but doesn’t start.
I had a problem about a year ago where it was running rough and the engine light was flashing on every time it miss fired. Turned out to be the capacitors in the ecu so had a mate replace them (rough job but worked) but now I’m left wondering if it’s the ecu at fault again or something else