HELP - completely dead!

[nyngiulia]

Hi all,

Just tried to rescue the chim from its winter hibernation. The battery had been disconnected all this time. Hooked it up and weird clicky noise emanates but nothing happens. Finally alarm/immobilizer sets and doors lock. Disengage immobilizer and turn ignition key. Nothing. No dash lights, no fuel pump, no starter motor. Nothing. Try this a few times. No luck.

Think might be short of juice, so go away to get my portable jump start unit. Come back in an hour and hook it up (after realising that the last time I disconnected the battey the central locking was on which meant I couldn't open the door had to climb into the car over the boot and dive headfirst into the footwell). Strange clicky noise again, but this time even the immobilizer and the alarm refuse to engage. Goes without saying there is no response to turning the ignition key.

The jump start unit was fully charged. Is there some sort of fuse that might have blown or is the ECU/immobiliser knackered???

Very very depressed. What's even worse is my copy of the TVR Bible is stuck in the boot which of course won't open unless until the system is live....

[jsc1976]

100 amp fuse?? Its a little black box fixed to one of the main chassis rails behind the engine (think they were fitted in different locations though). Sounds like this is the problem if you are getting no signs of life at all.

[tvrbob]

Not sure why the jump start wouldn't help but the battery is probably shot. Batteries will discharge through their internals so disconnecting won't prevent that. It is possible that the draw from the totally discharged battery is flattening the jump unit. Try disconnecting the battery and connecting the jump unit in place of the battery. That is if the jump start is OK. These devices fail in the same way that normal batteries fail.

If a battery is completely flat it may not be able to charge. In the days of unsealed batteries it was normal practice to drain the electrolyte to prepare a battery for storage. I guess that's not possible with modern sealed units

[nyngiulia]

thanks. I don't think it is the battey as I hooked up the jump start negative end of the jump start to the earth wire wire which had been disconnected from the battery instead of the battey terminal itself.

The jump start has has a built in volt meter which tells you the charge level and most most certainly not dead.

Would the 100 amp fuse going block everything - even power to the immobiliser - because something is definitely clicking?

[jsc1976]

hmmm not sure. I would have thought the 100amp fuse cuts everything, so this may not be the problem - certainly worth checking tho for the sake of a quid. Hopefully someone else will come along and suggest something else!!

[dodgyviper]

No the 100amp fuse doesn't block everything. When mine went I still had hazards/radio/relays et al. (in fact i was driving until the battery drained enough to stop the fuel pump/relay )

IIRC it sits between the battery and the alternator and protects said battery from surges. However once it goes you're running a lot of systems off the battery alone.

If your jumper unit isn't starting the car, then it doesn't sound like the 100A fuse - the fuel pump will prime and the starter will get juice.

I'd be looking at the immobiliser - where does the strange clicking come from?

Also have you tried the 'owners' way of getting into the boot?

[nyngiulia]

No not tried the "owner's way" but I will check my manual...

the clicking is coming from somewhere in the dash above the passenger footwell....

[Parrot of Doom]

The volts might be there, but the battery still may not hold any charge. It may well be duff - take it to a place that tests batteries, and see what they say.

[tvrbob]

Parrot of Doom said:

The volts might be there, but the battery still may not hold any charge. It may well be duff - take it to a place that tests batteries, and see what they say.

Agreed. Volt meters mean squat, you need to know how much energy can be dropped across the terminals. Take it to a motorfactor and ask them to do a drop test. That's the only way to know if they battery can turn a starter motor. Amp and volt meters will only tell you that the battery has enough power to move their internal coils.

[jonnyb]

in the dash above the pas foot well are a number of relays, most are associated with the flashers (flasher, hazard ect..) But the one your interested in is the central locking relay. Also up there is the control box for the immobilizer. The Meta alarm does not like being disconnected for any length of time.

Some people say you can reset it by repeatedly locking and unlocking the car several times. The other way is to call an expert, there is a chap that every one recommends but the name escapes me, I'm sure someone will be along soon to tell you who it is (I think hes called Carl at TVRUK or something like that!)

Now I hope I have labeled these right!


>> Edited by jonnyb on Friday 17th March 08:57

[V8 Kieran]

I believe the link you mean is this bloke

[bigdods]

The first place you need to look is the alarm - When it is reconnected it recharges its internal battery but it gets a bit upset and will behave in odd ways. The simple solution is to make sure its been connected for 5 or 10 minutes to a good power source (charged battery) then disconnect the battery, wait 5 seconds then reconnect. This will (in some magical way) reset the alarm and immobiliser - as soon as you reconnect the battery unlock and relock the car a few times to make sure its all healthy. If the problem persists at least you have eliminated the immobiliser and alarm.

[V8 Archie]

There's an 80 amp fuse in the footwell that kills pretty much everything when it goes. I can't remember the details, but it's basically there to save the rest of the fuse-board.

[david beer]

V8 Archie said:

There's an 80 amp fuse in the footwell that kills pretty much everything when it goes. I can't remember the details, but it's basically there to save the rest of the fuse-board.

It kills everything, its located about six inches from the battery positive, on the brown cable. Well thats where it is if fitted !!

[stegefal]

bigdods said:

The first place you need to look is the alarm - When it is reconnected it recharges its internal battery but it gets a bit upset and will behave in odd ways. The simple solution is to make sure its been connected for 5 or 10 minutes to a good power source (charged battery) then disconnect the battery, wait 5 seconds then reconnect. This will (in some magical way) reset the alarm and immobiliser - as soon as you reconnect the battery unlock and relock the car a few times to make sure its all healthy. If the problem persists at least you have eliminated the immobiliser and alarm.

I had the exact same problem and did the procedure described above and hey presto all works fine. Give it a try, its the least painful of the possible solutions and relatively easy. Hope it works.

[nyngiulia]

Thanks everyone.

I tried the procedure mentioned above. Sadly, it looks as though there might be a more fundamental problem with my alarm/immobiliser unit.

When I first hooked the battery up, there was a grinding/whirring noise from the dash above the passenger footwell. It stopped after a bit and the immobiliser light started flashing. I left it for 10 minutes and then disconnected the battery and reconnected. There were then a series of clicks and whirrs from the dash and the immobiliser light came on. I clicked the fob and the light went off, lots of clicking and whirring, but the doors did not unlock, nor would the ignition come on when the key was inserted and turned. Tried this a few times but same result.

any thoughts? It looks as if it must be the alarm. Presumably all the clicking are the central locking relays coming on but no juice going through them.