TVR home haintenance - what a joke!
Discussion
My neighbour has a 2002 Tamora which suffered a flat battery (I think a garage that did some bodywork on the car left the boot open and the boot light discharged the battery).
Apart from trickle charging it through the cigar lighter socket, there doesn't appear to be any way of getting juice into the battery. You cannot see the alternator, starter, battery or anything else high-current to attach a charger/booster cable onto. None of my trolley jacks are low enough to get under and lift the car either!
Allegedly he needs some sort of booster cable to connect under the bonnet to give him something that you can jumpstart/charge the car off, but he has been waiting over a WEEK for it to arrive from the TVR garage!
He was locked out of the car with the roof up (electric door locks + flat battery = headache) and it took him all of 20 seconds to break in without damaging anything!!!
Nice looking car, but the impracticality goes much further than it being leaky and having no storage space!
Apart from trickle charging it through the cigar lighter socket, there doesn't appear to be any way of getting juice into the battery. You cannot see the alternator, starter, battery or anything else high-current to attach a charger/booster cable onto. None of my trolley jacks are low enough to get under and lift the car either!
Allegedly he needs some sort of booster cable to connect under the bonnet to give him something that you can jumpstart/charge the car off, but he has been waiting over a WEEK for it to arrive from the TVR garage!
He was locked out of the car with the roof up (electric door locks + flat battery = headache) and it took him all of 20 seconds to break in without damaging anything!!!
Nice looking car, but the impracticality goes much further than it being leaky and having no storage space!
blimey ... some people complain about the littlest things 
... scissor jack to raise the car a couple of inches, then trolley to get it up in the air .... and reverse the process to get the car down again. Of course if you aren't careful, the car misses the scissor jack on the way back down thus shagging the floor where the scissor jack rips through and knackering the bodywork which lands on top of the trolley jack. As for the battery, if it's anything like a Chimaera, which it probably isn't, you'll find it sealed inside a fibreglass box that has been rivetted shut and bolted through the floor of the car into captive nuts that have rusted solid and partially ripped through the fibre glass so that they rotate freely without actually falling out. All hidden at the back of the passenger footwell. How else would you do it?
... scissor jack to raise the car a couple of inches, then trolley to get it up in the air .... and reverse the process to get the car down again. Of course if you aren't careful, the car misses the scissor jack on the way back down thus shagging the floor where the scissor jack rips through and knackering the bodywork which lands on top of the trolley jack. As for the battery, if it's anything like a Chimaera, which it probably isn't, you'll find it sealed inside a fibreglass box that has been rivetted shut and bolted through the floor of the car into captive nuts that have rusted solid and partially ripped through the fibre glass so that they rotate freely without actually falling out. All hidden at the back of the passenger footwell. How else would you do it?
where are you based?
Suggest you post a politer request on TVR forum and It wont be an issue for one of us living locally to pop along with the charger..
he should have been supplied one with the car, the access point is under the passenger side front wheel. it takes 20 secs to unclip.
Alternatively, put the wheel on full lock and you can unscrew the complete panel and access the battery although that does takes longer...
Not being defensive, but typcial non-TVR owner comments about how poor the car is, yet is completely due to ignorance of the facts.
No, I havent dived in :-)
Suggest you post a politer request on TVR forum and It wont be an issue for one of us living locally to pop along with the charger..
he should have been supplied one with the car, the access point is under the passenger side front wheel. it takes 20 secs to unclip.
Alternatively, put the wheel on full lock and you can unscrew the complete panel and access the battery although that does takes longer...
Not being defensive, but typcial non-TVR owner comments about how poor the car is, yet is completely due to ignorance of the facts.
No, I havent dived in :-)
azc-uk said:
Stuff about <trickle charging it through the cigar lighter socket> and more stuff about <trolley jacks are low enough to get under and lift the car >
Well Mr AZC-UK you don't appear to have entered much about yourself in your profile but assuming you own a car you will realise that sports cars, especially specialist ones like TVRs tend to be lower than your average Euro-box. This why we either buy trolley jacks that are low enough to go under the cars or devise other means of getting under - personally I have a couple of scaffold planks cut in half and screwed together that I use to raise it a couple of inches although I also chose a decent low-rise trolley jack and have no trouble getting under my lowered Griff 500. Regards the boot lid being left open, well shit happens blame the dealer or your neighbour for not checking? They can all be charged via the cigarette lighter with an Accumate charger or as you say you can get an extension cable which makes it even easier. p.s have you looked inside the engine bay of your average Merc or BMW these days? See the alternator? no, thought not. All you see is a massive grey plastic shroud over the lot. Personally i think TVRs are much easier to maintain than mopst modern cars. 
Rich... Edited by richb on Friday 8th December 16:15
azc-uk said:
My neighbour has a 2002 Tamora which suffered a flat battery (I think a garage that did some bodywork on the car left the boot open and the boot light discharged the battery).
Why didn't your neighbour shut the boot lid?azc-uk said:
Apart from trickle charging it through the cigar lighter socket, there doesn't appear to be any way of getting juice into the battery.
Wrong.azc-uk said:
You cannot see the alternator, starter, battery or anything else high-current to attach a charger/booster cable onto.
You can if you know where they are.azc-uk said:
None of my trolley jacks are low enough to get under and lift the car either!
Something about a workman and his tools?!!!azc-uk said:
Allegedly he needs some sort of booster cable to connect under the bonnet to give him something that you can jumpstart/charge the car off, but he has been waiting over a WEEK for it to arrive from the TVR garage!
Yes, but anyone capable of "home maintenance" would have spotted the Anderson connector themselves.azc-uk said:
He was locked out of the car with the roof up (electric door locks + flat battery = headache) and it took him all of 20 seconds to break in without damaging anything!!!
Good for him. I know how to do that too. But I bet he couldn't start the car could he?! azc-uk said:
Nice looking car, but the impracticality goes much further than it being leaky and having no storage space!
Now just f**k off. They don't leak and as for no storage space, did you actually look at / in the boot?!!!!!
Oh there's an idea. richb said:
xjsjohn said:
i always love the defensive nature of TVR (or any other quirky sports car) owners in the face of criticism
I know what you mean but if you bought say an Ultima or a Radical would you moan about the trolley jack not fitting underneath? if i owned an ultima or a radical i would just pick it up at the appropriate corner and fling said block of wood underneath
TBH, you are right though, it 'aint rocket science, jack wont fit - push car onto something so that its a bit higher. When working with the "quirlier" end of the automobile world, one has to do a little lateral thinking
i shudder to think at some of the lateral thinking (read bodges) that i did to the jag, still to the OP, 'tis an amusing story
So to actually be helpful now.
- Is anyone in either house in the RAC/AA/Greenflag? Easy way to solve the problem :-)
- There is a special connector under the battery - behind the passenger wheel. It does need a special adapter, readily available called an anderson connector.
- The battery is behind the passenger wheel - you need to remove the wheel to get at it properly.
- There is plenty of storage, door pockets, glovebox, space behind seats, rear shelf area, huuuge boot so I'm not sure what that rant was about.
- If he puts it on trickle charge (through the ligher socket) for a few days it might charge up OK, depends how drained it is. Also depends on whether the car is garaged and is needed.
- Is anyone in either house in the RAC/AA/Greenflag? Easy way to solve the problem :-)
- There is a special connector under the battery - behind the passenger wheel. It does need a special adapter, readily available called an anderson connector.
- The battery is behind the passenger wheel - you need to remove the wheel to get at it properly.
- There is plenty of storage, door pockets, glovebox, space behind seats, rear shelf area, huuuge boot so I'm not sure what that rant was about.
- If he puts it on trickle charge (through the ligher socket) for a few days it might charge up OK, depends how drained it is. Also depends on whether the car is garaged and is needed.
Leven Tecnology do a very nice line in heavy duty booster cables, with an Anderson connector already fitted - coupled with an Accumate battery conditioner, it's a very easy way to keep the battery in tip-top condition over winter, ot even to charge a flat battery. Works for me anyway (well, not me, the car really) 
LOL - my other half had a flat battery once in her Tuscan (her own fault - left the lights on in work car park) ...she came out, realised what shed done, and proceeded to sort it out.
Her Andersen jump lead kit was in the boot (came with the car) ..but of course you (offcially) cant get in with a flat battery...she range dealer who told her how to get into boot, got the kit, and jump started it from a colleagues car...all in under half an hour
...if thats what a girlie can do on her own it doesnt say much for a couple of car enthusisasts with the wrong tools !
..sorry...I just found this one very funny ...I mean it tells you how/where to attach the cables in the owners manual...and a quick post on here would have had a helpful local owner around with one for sure
...but of course...TVRs are crap, unreliable, and not practical.......
Her Andersen jump lead kit was in the boot (came with the car) ..but of course you (offcially) cant get in with a flat battery...she range dealer who told her how to get into boot, got the kit, and jump started it from a colleagues car...all in under half an hour
...if thats what a girlie can do on her own it doesnt say much for a couple of car enthusisasts with the wrong tools !
..sorry...I just found this one very funny ...I mean it tells you how/where to attach the cables in the owners manual...and a quick post on here would have had a helpful local owner around with one for sure
...but of course...TVRs are crap, unreliable, and not practical.......
for future reference you have 3 options:
1)alternator is under the air box - (10 min job to get to)
2)there are two battery posts in the passenger foot well under the carpet (40 sec job)
3)the anderson clip under the battery box (10sec to unclip the cover) very handy as most AA vans have the same clip pokeing out of the front and back of them!
probably easier to charge than most cars!
lesson over
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