Living Inside My Brain
Both of my cars run well, and I drive them regularly. Naturally, this means there are minor issues on both that I’ve been meaning to fix but have been putting off. Now I have a deadline. My girlfriend is coming to Phoenix for Memorial Day weekend, and I have plans that will require fixing everything.
Here is an inexhaustive list of issues with my cars:
RAV4:
Wire the 4WD actuator
I have been meaning to do this for about a year. I never finished wiring it after I finished my swap, so it just sat idle to keep the center diff unlocked.
Rewire the foglights
Again, something I intended to do after the swap. I had to cut one wire when I pulled the 3SFE out and never reconnected it.
Fix the throttle pedal
This is a new one. Occasionally, about once a week, I’d get a CEL and my throttle would stop working. Each time, clearing the code allowed me to drive again without issue.
MR2:
Build new fog lights
In February 2023, I built custom fog lights with a halo LED ring. They broke shortly after installing them, and I never got around to making more.
Fix the high beams
This was a recent discovery. I can flash my high beams, but push the stalk to turn them on, and my lights turn off altogether. I thought I fixed that during my lobotomization, but apparently I didn’t fix it well enough.
I’m tackling these out of order from this list, but rest assured I fix everything.
The Fixening
MR2: High Beams
This past March I made my first ever trip up Mount Lemmon in Tucson, AZ, with none other than Nathan Thalhuber, a fellow 2GR MR2 owner. I’d met Nate before in Minnesota, our homeland, but this was his first time in Arizona. I made the 2 hour trek down to Tucson to take this guy up Lemmon. I’d never been before, and luckily another MR2 owner, my friend Matt McCurdy, lives in Tucson and has driven up the mountain numerous times. He was our tour guide. He led the way in his 91 Turbo, and I quickly realized that without high beams, I couldn’t see anything. I had to keep up with him doing exactly the speed limit and not even 1mph over in order to see what was coming up.
While that was a great time, I decided it was time to actually fix my high beams. Three months later.
I didn’t want to take my steering wheel and column off again, having just done that during my recent under-dash wiring project. I spent a lot of time making the clock spring work under a quick release, and I didn’t want to go through the effort of undoing that. I at least took the connector out and was able to diagnose that the high beam switch was not actually making contact. Getting to that switch would require removal of the quick release and short hub assembly, which again I didn’t want to do. I found a slightly hackish but totally valid solution to the problem.
If your switch doesn’t make contact, simply add a second switch in parallel! I bought this little switch on McMaster a while ago and just made a little 3D printed plate to stick it in one of the factory Toyota button locations. I don’t think this will be permanent, but it will at least hold me over for a good while. I’m sure I’ll have a reason to remove my steering hub at some point in the future and I’ll properly address the problem then. Once I do, I can just snip these wires and call it a day.
RAV4: 4WD Actuator
I actually had a good reason for putting this one off for so long. It needs a constant 12V (or at least switched with ignition) source, and the actual switch for the actuation. I’m using a GM actuator here, and GM fuses this for something crazy like 20A. I don’t see it drawing that much, though it might be shared with some other devices. Regardless, I can’t tap off of an existing power source. The Toyota 4WD actuator connectors only provide button-switched 12V, and there’s no convenient way to switch one of them to ignition-switched 12V. I decided my best course of action was to mount a relay and fuse near the battery, find a nearby ignition source to switch the relay, then use that as the primary power. Easy enough, tap off the battery terminal and call it a day.
I soon realized one error of my ways. I’m not the first person to do this, but I’m the first person to do this on a 1st gen. One person I know of has done this in a 2nd gen RAV4 using a transfer case from a 1st gen. Back when I started this project he gave me a wiring diagram which I actually used during testing, but I realized one critical oversight on my part.
So, if you have a close eye, you’ll realize the GM actuator is actually ground-switched, while Toyota is wired to be positive-switched. I did actually try both on the Actuator, on the off chance it would accept either signal. Nope, ground only. I tried several pinouts and nothing allowed a positive-switch to work. That sorta leaves me with two options. Either I could add a relay and use the Toyota 12V signal to switch a grounded connection, or I could rewire the Toyota switch to be ground-side, and actually fix a small behavior that I don’t really like.
What I never liked about the 4WD actuation in a 1st gen RAV4 is the C.Diff Lock light on the dash is powered by the button, not the sensor on the transmission. The sensor only powers the buzzer which beeps when the button is off but the gearbox is still engaged in 4WD. I find this to be a little redundant. Just show me the light then I can know when it is and isn’t engaged. If I powered the sensor with constant 12V, I could just move the pin on the gauge cluster to trigger the light instead of the buzzer. This way I would actually know that I’m in 4WD instead of a dummy light telling me I pressed the button. I could also then switch the button to a ground source instead of a 12V source. This would give me a ground switch in the engine bay! This would just require removing the gauge cluster, part of the dash, which requires removing the steering column—okay I’m doing the relay method. For now at least.
No, I’m not happy about it. I really dislike this. It’s very unlike me. I’ll redo this next time I decide to pull the gauge cluster. I have a few things under the dash I want to rewire anyway. Oh, how history repeats itself.
RAV4: Fog Lights
I had only cut the ignition switched power for this one. I have it going to a spot in the fuse box. I tied it in at the same time/location as the 4WD switched power. See the green wire in the image above.
MR2: Fog Lights
This one was a little more involved than the RAV4 section. About a year ago I made custom fog lights that broke a couple weeks after installing them. Funny enough, I made a mismatched pair, one clear and one yellow, because I was unsure on which I’d prefer. About a week later I decided yellow was the right choice. Shortly after that, the yellow one took a rock on the highway and broke.
It was actually already broken by the time I took those pictures. Because of the way I am, I was too in love with the design, so I have to split these open and install a new neon-like LED ring light following the shape of the fog light housing. I’ve actually gotten pretty quick again, I’ve made a few sets at this point. I’m always trying new things, so I actually clearcoated these lights and I’m adding a layer of paint protection film. Note how faded the yellow got in the sun compared to their appearance when new. The clearcoat should help with UV protection, and the PPF should help a little with UV but should help a lot against rock chips.
I keep leaning towards making and selling these but I haven’t perfected the technique enough to take on the liability of selling these parts. Alright, well that was pretty quick and I’m happy enough with the result for now.
RAV4: Throttle Pedal
This one was the strangest issue I’ve faced. So I’ve had this swap done for around a year now, and I’ve put around 10,000 miles on it. But recently for the past month, maybe about once a week, I’d get a check engine light. P2121, Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch D Circuit Range/Performance. That’s what my scanner called it anyway. When this happened, I’d almost entirely lose my pedal. I’d press it, and five seconds later my engine would start to rev slowly. I’d get maybe one-tenth of the power I was asking for. But I could clear the code, and keep driving for a while. Regardless, I needed to address this.
Disappointingly I don’t really have an answer for this one. It happens infrequently enough that I don’t know if my attempt actually solved the problem. I crimped new parallel connectors to all 6 wires, replacing those that I installed ~1 year ago. I also took the pedal apart and cleaned the inside. I don’t have pictures of this, so you’ll have to take my word for it. There was actually a small metal burr on the pedal arm. This is a hall effect sensor, so any magnetic disturbances could cause an issue. I believe this was the culprit. That P2121 code appears whenever the pedal circuits disagree with each other (there are multiple for redundancy), so a piece of steel in the magnetic field could easily throw that off.
The Adventures
I wouldn’t fix all of this in such a short timespan on a whim, I’m way too lazy for that. I had things planned that would require everything above (besides just wanting functional cars to impress this girl)
Martin Auto Museum
Our first adventure was to the Martin Auto Museum in Glendale, a really cool spot with a ton of old cars. The great part about this museum is it’s almost entirely interactive. You’re able to and encouraged to sit in and touch most cars they have on display. There are a select few cars that are roped off/locked. Some of these are movie cars or some particularly special cars. There is an entire section dedicated to abnormally small cars, notably those from Crosley, but many others. In the back of a ute on display, they even had one of MY go karts! Not exactly mine, but definitely from the same brand, Tiger. Mine is the “EL” model, which I believe stands for extended length. I know there is a shorter version of my kart, but this one is smaller still, and only one-wheel-drive. While the museum featured mostly classic Americana, which I’m not a particular fan of, it was cool nonetheless.
Estrella Mountain
Somewhat near me, there’s a nice little offroad park right off one of the main roads. It looks easy from an overhead view, but anyone who has done any offroading knows looks are decieving. There’s about 1200ft of elevation change depending on where you are on these trails. I’ve been here a number of times, both before and after my swap. I could actually get more places before, but that was simply because of my lack of 4WD. I knew I’d have to have that wired in totally to get where I wanted to go. Those of you who follow me on instagram would have seen me post some pictures from here a few weeks ago.
I took almost no pictures that night, we just drove around a bunch then went up to the highest peak and watched the sunset. Having 4WD was such a big difference, it makes me wonder why it took me this long to wire it in.
Lake Pleasant
The next place I wanted to go offroading was surrounding Lake Pleasant. It’s very isolated and there’s a lot of varied terrain to see. I had a rough route planned, but saw that there’s so much to explore we’ll just go in any direction that looks interesting. All of those tan dotted lines mark offroad trails.
We didn’t end up following that route to a T. Our first stop was supposed to be Old China Dam, but apparently somebody (me) can’t read a map and set a route properly. I took the South route into Rich Gulch, and I was supposed to take the North side. That gulch ended up getting way too rocky for my car to handle. Honestly it was steep enough getting in that I’m slightly surprised I got out so easily. There were rocks with big 8” drops going in. I guess my short wheelbase and approach/breakover angle helped a lot here.
The lake must have been higher than normal, because that mapped part that appears to cross over water was nowhere to be found. We could seemingly drive up to the water but obviously not cross. Unfortunately, shortly after we parked and got in the water, park rangers decided we couldn’t park or recreate there. I wish I had taken more pictures or even video because I am extremely surprised I got back up the hill we went down with nearly zero effort. I slid the whole way down. I definitely used the most of my 4WD on this excursion. I definitely want to go back and explore more. We’ll pack for a picnic next time.
Heritage District
Any car enthusiast who has been to the East valley of Phoenix knows exactly the spot I’m going to mention. The Heritage District in Downtown Gilbert is full of neon lights and vibrant dining. There’s a bunch of shopping and experimental/yuppie restaurants really. There’s even a classic arcade. We couldn’t resist stopping to play the best arcade game ever, Ms. Pac-Man. It's a cool place to walk around and a popular spot for car photography. Most notably, Hearne Way.
The overhead RGB ring lights are a detailer’s dream. I have little experience with photography, and don’t claim to be good by any stretch. I like these, though I may be slightly biased. Those halo foglights are just too good, I wish they showed better on camera. I’ve never gotten any pictures that show them accurately. The overhead lights were doing some funny stuff to this camera too.
Mount Lemmon
A great way to round out the trip was a jaunt down to Tucson to drive up Mount Lemmon. For those of you not in Arizona, Tucson is about 2 hours from Phoenix. Not crazy by American standards, but far enough where you don’t just run down there for fun. Not to mention, the base of Lemmon is another 30 minutes off the freeway. But, it’s absolutely worth it. What’s the big deal with mount lemmon anyway? It’s a 30+ mile twisty road with over 6000ft of elevation change. You can drive up to around 9100ft, and the surrounding city is at 2500ft.
This overhead view actually shows the windiness of the road pretty well. There are many places to stop and take in the view. Following the speed limit bottom to top takes about an hour, with spirited driving you can get down to 20 minutes or even less. I’m not here to set records, I just enjoy the drive and the scenery. I decided to meet up with Matt once again, this time he brought his 93 Turbo, which is less modified than his 91. We started briefly after sunset, leaving the sky a nice deep purple.
We stopped at a couple of the overlooks. Since we went after sunset, a lot of the traffic died off. Tons of people go up just to see watch. The scenery and the g-forces really make this fun. You’re always on your toes, never know what’s coming next. It’s a constant game of “How fast can I go, and what direction is the next turn?” I could really see a rally copilot being useful here. Maybe with enough time I’d get a better intuition from memory.
Matt pulled an Icarus and drove too close to the edge. I watched his tires drop off the road, and he blew both right side tires. I heard it happen, and after he stopped I noticed the right rear looked low. I get out to help him look, and he was looking at the front tire. We decided to turn around and head to the previous parking lot, and that’s when he realized BOTH tires were flat. We changed our mind to head up to the parking lot to the Mount Lemmon observatory. Note- this is literally the highest point you can drive to on Lemmon. You cannot keep driving. Of course that’s where we get stuck. Neither of us have spare tires either. So we have one driveable MR2, and three passengers.
We decided the best course of action was for Esen to sit on my lap in the passenger seat while Matt drove my car down. We ended up stopping at Windy Point Vista while one of Matt’s local friends met us up there and took him the rest of the way. That’s about halfway down the mountain. About 14 miles, and about 2600ft of elevation change. We waited there, and parted ways once Matt got picked up. He went back up the next day and realized that instead of blowing the tires, he actually bent both wheels. Well, at least they’re just RPF1s. We drove back to Phoenix that night, sadly marking the end of our trip. At least that was a weekend full of fun adventures! All of my fixes worked, and nothing left damaged. Clearly my cars are proving themselves too reliable. I’ll have to change that.
If we owe anything to the world, it's to allow the world to be experienced.
