Battery

More work last night! The battery in the car (probably the original, as it was a factory Panasonic) was struggling - particularly on the cold mornings - to turn the engine over. Alas the MX-5 is a hard car to find batteries for, as they are mounted in the boot and vented so the boot doesn't fill up with corrosive or explosive gases.

After some research I found a local supplier of Odyssey batteries, a brand of compact sealed units - perfect not only for the enclosed mounting environment, but also good for shedding a couple of kilos! I chose the PC680MJT model, which is quite small and therefore lacking in some capacity, but I never really run the accessories with the engine off, so that shouldn't be a big issue.



The alarm has been false triggering constantly since purchase (and before apparently) - the previous owner said it was due to the movement sensors but the code said it was due to the bonnet switch. So a trip to Jaycar found me a new pin switch, which was installed and the wiring fixed up (a twisted joint soldered properly) at the same time.

Lastly (for today!) the idle dip (to about 400 rpm) was fixed. The usual method was used - earth the TEN pin to GND in the Diagnostics box, and adjust the TB bypass screw.