latest breakdown

[Hood38]

Just when I thought I had it sorted after my first month when the S2 broke down 3 times! I haven't broken down for 6 weeks but today the gremlins returned. Won't start now, stinks of unburned fuel. Too wet and miserable to open the bonnet, anyone any ideas? Most of my breakdowns to date have been problems common to the S2 -throttle pot, throttle cable etc, this one doesn't ring a bell. Probably my own fault for thinking I could use a Tiv in the winter!

[z_chromozonehome]

Unburnt fuel sounds like it will be electrical. Take out one of the spark plugs and turn it over, if it's sparking then you can rule out the coil. Of course if it's damp it may well be the HT leads, you can check each one in turn by taking out one plug and connecting it to each of the leads in turn to test for sparks. You may just have damp/cold plugs in which case heating them over the flame on your gas cooker will dry them out and heat them up. It used to work wonders for my old Austin.

Well there are a few checks to be getting on with, everyone else seems to be laid up with hangovers

Best of luck,

Z

[GreenV8S]

If the engine bay is damp, this will very often knacker the spark and give the symptoms you describe. Usually, you can cure the problem by wiping the distributor cap and all HT leads, spraying with water dispersant (WD40 is designed for this, but there are plenty of damp start sprays that do the same job) and leave it half an hour or so for the battery to recover and the engine to dry out. In some extreme cases the plugs can become so fouled that they have to be cleaned or replaced, and if you don't mind getting your hands dirty then fitting new clean gapped plugs which have been warmed up over a gas ring is the best way to get it to fire up straight away.

[Hood38]

Thanks for your suggestions, I found the problem. With the bonnet open in the dark I tried to start it again and saw a healthy spark jumping from the HT lead at the coil to the coil LT terminal. I think it must have been a bit loose. Pushed it in again, no more errant spark and it fired up first pop. Runs like a dream now and I wonder if all my rough running woes including replacement throttle pot were all down to this simple loose connection.
Worth giving the coil HT lead a push next time you open the bonnet!

[shauno]

the life with a tvr is full ........ of paying out So i'm finding out . next year going back to porsche it may cost more to run. But it starts and goes every time. Still wont sound and look like a TVR ,but shit happens