Its Running! Oh no, it wont start. Hang on thats it, oh wait
Discussion
Well from about day 3 thats been my experience with the old Chimaera 500. All is well when it runs, I know I dont need to explain the sensation of driving one of these cars here, its just very good.
An ofcourse, because of the devious nature of the car it was behaving itself impecably while at TVR Eccosse.
I picked the car up today and drove it home over 100 miles. It drove perfectly, apart from not wanting to fire up after a stop at Stirling services. A few minutes of wire wiggling around the coil and ignition amp area and it started up and drove home.
After some dinner I took it back out for petrol and it stalled just as I pulled up to the pump. As expected it wouldn't start. So bonnet up and more fiddling with the wires around the coil area and I was good for the next 20/30 miles of towns and country roads, competely flawless!
Then after a brief stop at the house, back out, start up and is stalls in about 5 seconds, and again as expected, wont start. So bonnet up and, well, you can guess the rest.
Now the cars running Im just on my way up to the garage to put it away for the night and it starts jerking violently about stalling and then running again as Im trying to drvie it up the road. It eventualy cuts out completely, alowing me to demonstrate my expert TVR fixing techinque once again.
If anyone has managed to read this far, do you have any suggestions or have you had any similar experiences?
I dont have a photo but can anyone explain what all the wirings for?
Why is there a pair of diodes inline with 2 of the wires going to the coil? Why on every car are they folded back on themselves, taped up and cable tied to the breather hose?
What does the ignition amp actualy do?
What is the 3 pin plug behing the ignition amp for?
Does the MIL light only flash when you turn the key if the ECU has detected a fault?
Does anyone from the Topgear production team want to feature my car on the next series?
An ofcourse, because of the devious nature of the car it was behaving itself impecably while at TVR Eccosse.
I picked the car up today and drove it home over 100 miles. It drove perfectly, apart from not wanting to fire up after a stop at Stirling services. A few minutes of wire wiggling around the coil and ignition amp area and it started up and drove home.
After some dinner I took it back out for petrol and it stalled just as I pulled up to the pump. As expected it wouldn't start. So bonnet up and more fiddling with the wires around the coil area and I was good for the next 20/30 miles of towns and country roads, competely flawless!
Then after a brief stop at the house, back out, start up and is stalls in about 5 seconds, and again as expected, wont start. So bonnet up and, well, you can guess the rest.
Now the cars running Im just on my way up to the garage to put it away for the night and it starts jerking violently about stalling and then running again as Im trying to drvie it up the road. It eventualy cuts out completely, alowing me to demonstrate my expert TVR fixing techinque once again.
If anyone has managed to read this far, do you have any suggestions or have you had any similar experiences?
I dont have a photo but can anyone explain what all the wirings for?
Why is there a pair of diodes inline with 2 of the wires going to the coil? Why on every car are they folded back on themselves, taped up and cable tied to the breather hose?
What does the ignition amp actualy do?
What is the 3 pin plug behing the ignition amp for?
Does the MIL light only flash when you turn the key if the ECU has detected a fault?
Does anyone from the Topgear production team want to feature my car on the next series?
Sounds like your ignition amp is breaking down, just change it they're not mega bucks
http://www.racetechdirect.co.uk/tvr-car-part-e0411...
http://www.racetechdirect.co.uk/tvr-car-part-e0411...
I have only owned my Chim for nearly 3 weeks so I can't give a completely informed opinion.
But, whilst stripping it down so far, I can say that there is a wire that runs from the bulk head right past the o's exhaust manifold and onto the starter motor. Mine IS still intact but pretty much worthless as its brittle and missing insulation. So I'll be changing it and re-routing it away from direct heat. But shoddy design IMHO.
It's not the pos or neg as its too thin, but it does go to the starter. Could it be that wire on its last legs?
But, whilst stripping it down so far, I can say that there is a wire that runs from the bulk head right past the o's exhaust manifold and onto the starter motor. Mine IS still intact but pretty much worthless as its brittle and missing insulation. So I'll be changing it and re-routing it away from direct heat. But shoddy design IMHO.
It's not the pos or neg as its too thin, but it does go to the starter. Could it be that wire on its last legs?
MrSoundcraft said:
Q What does the ignition amp actualy do?
A It replaces the old points and condenser setup
Q What is the 3 pin plug behing the ignition amp for?
A It only has two pins connected, the + & - from the ignition amp to the low tension connections on the coil
Q Does the MIL light only flash when you turn the key if the ECU has detected a fault?
A The MIL light cycles at turn on to prove it is working if it goes out/stays out then there isn't a problem
RegardsA It replaces the old points and condenser setup
Q What is the 3 pin plug behing the ignition amp for?
A It only has two pins connected, the + & - from the ignition amp to the low tension connections on the coil
Q Does the MIL light only flash when you turn the key if the ECU has detected a fault?
A The MIL light cycles at turn on to prove it is working if it goes out/stays out then there isn't a problem
UKDJ
Mine never does any of the things you list, always starts, never lets me down (grabs a plank for safety). Stuff TG, they are as reliable as any other 15-20 year car, and far more fun.
Cheer up fella, you know you have a silly electrical fault, once fixed the car will give you a summer of huge pleasure and total reliability.
Cheer up fella, you know you have a silly electrical fault, once fixed the car will give you a summer of huge pleasure and total reliability.
Thanks UKDJ, its stuff like that that that I couldn't find out from the Steve Heath book.
Im pretty sure thats where the fault is, and yes my suspicion is that it is likely to be a broken wire. The positive it that It hasnt taken too long to narrow the fault down to this area, so Im not stuck by the side of the road for long.
Anyway Im not trying to slag the car off, and I know theyre not all like this and this ones very good when its good, no chassis or camshaft problems either. Atleast trying to trace the fault gives me an excuse to take it out all the time.
Im pretty sure thats where the fault is, and yes my suspicion is that it is likely to be a broken wire. The positive it that It hasnt taken too long to narrow the fault down to this area, so Im not stuck by the side of the road for long.
Anyway Im not trying to slag the car off, and I know theyre not all like this and this ones very good when its good, no chassis or camshaft problems either. Atleast trying to trace the fault gives me an excuse to take it out all the time.
Thanks UKDJ, its stuff like that that that I couldn't find out from the Steve Heath book.
Im pretty sure thats where the fault is, and yes my suspicion is that it is likely to be a broken wire. The positive it that It hasnt taken too long to narrow the fault down to this area, so Im not stuck by the side of the road for long.
Anyway Im not trying to slag the car off, and I know theyre not all like this and this ones very good when its good, no chassis or camshaft problems either. Atleast trying to trace the fault gives me an excuse to take it out all the time.
Im pretty sure thats where the fault is, and yes my suspicion is that it is likely to be a broken wire. The positive it that It hasnt taken too long to narrow the fault down to this area, so Im not stuck by the side of the road for long.
Anyway Im not trying to slag the car off, and I know theyre not all like this and this ones very good when its good, no chassis or camshaft problems either. Atleast trying to trace the fault gives me an excuse to take it out all the time.
Different line completely but is it over fuelling? I only say this as your scenario sounds very similar to mine when I was having fuelling issues. Would stall when coming off the revs or shortly after start up. Fiddle around for 5 mins and would then start again. Thing is the five minutes of fiddling is a placebo, it's just time for the fuel to clear and then you can start again before the cycle repeats.
You'll know if it is by the stink of petrol and sooty plugs.
As I said more likely the ignition amp or wiring but if that all check out...
You'll know if it is by the stink of petrol and sooty plugs.
As I said more likely the ignition amp or wiring but if that all check out...
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