Meta Immobiliser hot start probs
Discussion
I bought my first Griff (1998 reg) last week and soooo pleased with it. However on the way home... first filling station pitstop and couldn't get it started. All returned to normal after 10 mins and from what I gather it's the Meta immobilizer losing its brains when everything gets hot in the engine bay. I've read some stuff in the forums about this being a well known problem so before I get this sorted I'd appreciate some advice. I assume the root cause is something to do with the control box getting too warm so sorry if this sounds like a dumb question but is there an easy option to relocate the control logic away from the under-bonnet area? (BTW where exactly is it located - I hear it is just in front of the bulkhead/offside)
Finally anyone know of an immobilizer guru in the Herts area?
Finally anyone know of an immobilizer guru in the Herts area?
I'd relocate it to the bin if I were you, well what I mean is bypass the barsteward.
Short of fitting a new system, a bypass is your cheapest & most robust solution.
I'm in Watford, shout if you want to know more about the bypass.
Or if you prefer to address it properly there's a very well respected Meta trained alarm engineer here in Watford who can fit you a more updated Meta system with a boot release button on the fob for reasonable money.
Actually the Meta stuff TVR used wasn't too bad, it's just they wired it back to front which meant the relays inside the immobiliser had a very short life indeed.
The Meta alarm engineer I'm talking about here in Watford knows all about this, his services are used by all the TVR specialists locally.
You're probably looking at £600 though, and a bypass is free.
You pays your money and all that, but bypassing the immobiliser on the problematic starter solenoid circuit solves the problem & leaves the rest of the alarm system working as normal.
The immobiliser controls two circuits, fuel pump & starter solenoid, so just bypassing the starter solenoid the fuel pump is still running through the Meta immobiliser.
In truth this means just bypassing the starter solenoid circuit has no real impact on the car's protection against theft, it just means when you want to start it yourself you can.
And it'll be way less likely to let you down just when least expect it.
Dave.
Short of fitting a new system, a bypass is your cheapest & most robust solution.
I'm in Watford, shout if you want to know more about the bypass.
Or if you prefer to address it properly there's a very well respected Meta trained alarm engineer here in Watford who can fit you a more updated Meta system with a boot release button on the fob for reasonable money.
Actually the Meta stuff TVR used wasn't too bad, it's just they wired it back to front which meant the relays inside the immobiliser had a very short life indeed.
The Meta alarm engineer I'm talking about here in Watford knows all about this, his services are used by all the TVR specialists locally.
You're probably looking at £600 though, and a bypass is free.
You pays your money and all that, but bypassing the immobiliser on the problematic starter solenoid circuit solves the problem & leaves the rest of the alarm system working as normal.
The immobiliser controls two circuits, fuel pump & starter solenoid, so just bypassing the starter solenoid the fuel pump is still running through the Meta immobiliser.
In truth this means just bypassing the starter solenoid circuit has no real impact on the car's protection against theft, it just means when you want to start it yourself you can.
And it'll be way less likely to let you down just when least expect it.
Dave.
OK the starter bypass makes sense. Only thing is when I get the hot start problem it's not only the starter that is dead - when turning on the ignition there is no fuel pump kicking in. In other words it appears to be both the starter and fuel pump out of the game till everything cools down.
I still don't understand why the ambient temperature would always affect two circuits/relays at the same time unless its a silicon problem at the heart of the system....
In any case I'd like to try out the starter bypass - is there an idiots guide for Griff noobs like me?
I still don't understand why the ambient temperature would always affect two circuits/relays at the same time unless its a silicon problem at the heart of the system....
In any case I'd like to try out the starter bypass - is there an idiots guide for Griff noobs like me?
Well there's no reason why you cant bypass both circuits, the car will still lock & the alarm will still be activated.
It's just a thief (in theory) could start it with a screwdriver forced in the ignition barrel.
If that bothers you, you could always add a hidden switch to serve the function of the immobiliser.
But none of this is a proper solution, for that you'd be far better off with a new professionally fitted alarm from someone that knows TVRs.
PM me if you want more info on the bypass & the Watford based Meta expert.
Dave.
It's just a thief (in theory) could start it with a screwdriver forced in the ignition barrel.
If that bothers you, you could always add a hidden switch to serve the function of the immobiliser.
But none of this is a proper solution, for that you'd be far better off with a new professionally fitted alarm from someone that knows TVRs.
PM me if you want more info on the bypass & the Watford based Meta expert.
Dave.
[quote=Hedgehopper]If I de-activate the starter function of the immobiliser, as Chimpongas suggests, can I then remove the Hot Start kit or is it still required?[/
Bypass the immobiliser by all means but it still means the solenoid is not getting the full voltage without the relay fitted. Keep the relay there, you can not supply a circuit with half power!!
Bypass the immobiliser by all means but it still means the solenoid is not getting the full voltage without the relay fitted. Keep the relay there, you can not supply a circuit with half power!!
Just to conclude my Hot Start Saga.... I decided not to go down the immobilizer bypass route but to get a new immobilizer box. I used Dave Fairclough of HF Solutions who I'm sure many of you know. I've got to say Dave did a fabulous job at around half the price I expected to pay. As an ex Meta engineer he is able to pair the old alarm box with the replacement immobilizer by wiping the old alarm's firmware. Doing that saved me from having to buy a new alarm box to go with the nw immob. saving me a couple of hundred ££. Not only that that he traveled out to me and spent quite a bit of time giving answers to daft questions that as a new TVR owner I would ask. Touch wood my immob probs seem to be in the past....... :-)
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