first tvr break down, help needed

[rburnham11]

hi there
tonight on my way home i was driving along and all of a suddern i lost all power, the engine was still running but losing revs rapidly and pressing accelerator pedal did nothing. i pulled over then the engine cut out. i tried starting it again but it wouldnt run, the battery was turning the engine over but it wouldnt stay alive. i believe its the fuel pump thats gone kuput but havent investigated further yet. usually when i first turn the ignition on you can hear a loud whirring noise which i assume is the fuel pump, now however i cant hear it at all now, no whirring which is why i think its the fuel pump.
if somebody has experienced this before or has any advice on sorting it then i would love to hear from you. does anybody know what fuse the fuel pump runs off? does anybody know which fuel pump i need to buy if it is the pump? or have any advice on how to change it?

one more thing, when i pulled a bit of the carpet back by the fuel tank i noticed two connectors which had nothing connected to it, is this usual? id have thought it would be very unlikely the fuel pump could come unplugged like that.
as i said any help would be very much appriecated....

Rich

[5.0ltr]

Sorry to here this, check fuel pump relays first.

[rburnham11]

I have read that the relays are usually first check. Any idea where the cheapest place to buy them is?

[Meths]

Yes, check the relays first. I'd put a fiver on it.

Did you notice any change in pitch or did the fuel pumps get louder recently? I wouldn't expect the fuel pump to fail suddenly without any symptoms.

[limezed]

i see your fiver and put a tenner on it being the fuel pump relay. The exact same thing happened to me two weeks ago. Cheap to fix, and easy to get at. You won't even get dirty doing it.

[ButtonIt]

Same as that.. fuel pump relays. Euro car parts do them.

[Robert Lees]

For the numpty's amongst us. where are they (passenger footwell? ) and how do U identify them amongst the rest of the wires stuffed down there. Sounds like another item to add to the " just in case " list.

[V8 GRF]

Robert Lees said:

For the numpty's amongst us. where are they (passenger footwell? ) and how do U identify them amongst the rest of the wires stuffed down there. Sounds like another item to add to the " just in case " list.

They are the two relays that are 'loose' in the wiring, one is the fuel pump and the other the ignition and they are both the same type of relay. Indeed one test/fix is to pull them out and swap them over and all will be well as a temporary fix as the contacts can become oxidised and the movement can clean up the contacts and release a sticky relay.

[GasMunkey]

I would try the inertia switch first that sits above the glove box mine used to play up

The relays are two metal cased ones

[BliarOut]

Original relays are an aluminium package with a diagonal stripe (IIRC). Replacements will be a brown plastic package but are functionally identical.

Worth replacing them anyway as they're a common cause of breakdowns at this age.

[Julesprivate]

I agree with everyon else - most likely culprit is the fuel pump relay, i always carry a spare now..

But do check the inertia switch if that doesn't resolve it as that's the next cheap/simple thing to do..

[jimbo1812]

Also check to see if you have a blown fuse as well, I had fuel relay and fuse blow when mine stopped, now carry extra fuse and relays.

[EGB]

Clever Trever has the relays. £11 approx. Fuel pump relay is in the blue socket. Hope it's not the META imobiliser. Also check fuse not blown or becoming detached and falling out of socket.

Edited by EGB on Monday 4th February 15:50

[5.0ltr]

OP despite the title details you need in here. Hth.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[rburnham11]

Thanks for all the replies. Ok so relays are on the shopping list. Has anybody got a link to the cheapest place to buy them? Ebay the bosch ones are 15.99 plus 3 quid delivery each. On other threads I read people are saying they are like £5 each

[TJC46]

rburnham11 said:

Thanks for all the replies. Ok so relays are on the shopping list. Has anybody got a link to the cheapest place to buy them? Ebay the bosch ones are 15.99 plus 3 quid delivery each. On other threads I read people are saying they are like £5 each

Try Eurocarparts they sell genuine bosch relays approx £10 to £12 each.

[rburnham11]

Thanks for all the replies. Ok so relays are on the shopping list. Has anybody got a link to the cheapest place to buy them? Ebay the bosch ones are 15.99 plus 3 quid delivery each. On other threads I read people are saying they are like £5 each

[Robert Lees]

rburnham11 said:

Thanks for all the replies. Ok so relays are on the shopping list. Has anybody got a link to the cheapest place to buy them? Ebay the bosch ones are 15.99 plus 3 quid delivery each. On other threads I read people are saying they are like £5 each

After reading this post,I ordered one from racetech (£11) to keep as spare, also got 100 amp fuse and new door switch . Ordered yesterday, delivered today!

[5.0ltr]

rburnham11 said:

Thanks for all the replies. Ok so relays are on the shopping list. Has anybody got a link to the cheapest place to buy them? Ebay the bosch ones are 15.99 plus 3 quid delivery each. On other threads I read people are saying they are like £5 each

Just get some decent ones else you will be back here soon complaining about cheap relays.

[GTRene]

they could sell emergency kits for TVR's with in the 'spare' box the most common electric failures fixes as some important fuses and relais etc maybe specified to some TVR sorts?

what will be in the kit? could be handy for most TVR drivers.