4.0 won't start
Discussion
Quietlybonkers said:
edo said:
Carl is not far from you - nr Petersfield down the A3.
I know not a lot about immobilisers..........but, if he has fuel pump priming and fuel arriving in the pistons, and a spark, can it still be the immobiliser?
Marlboro said:
No luck,
Just replaced ignition unit next to coil and plugs.
It started but would not idle.
Ran it for 10 mins at 2000 to 2500 rpm. Sounded like it was running on 6 or 7 cylinders.
Checked plugs, flooded again.
Appears to be running far too rich fuel mixture.
What can cause this?
Brian
Just replaced ignition unit next to coil and plugs.
It started but would not idle.
Ran it for 10 mins at 2000 to 2500 rpm. Sounded like it was running on 6 or 7 cylinders.
Checked plugs, flooded again.
Appears to be running far too rich fuel mixture.
What can cause this?
Brian
- Firstly check your engine earth strap is in good nick and well connected.
- Secondly new plugs is a must if you have flooded them.
- Thirdly check all the leads are round the right way(you would be surprised how easy it is to get one wrong which would cause it to run on 6)
- lastly give the battery a really good charge.
Edited by slideways on Tuesday 23 October 05:56
Quietlybonkers said:
I had trouble with the number 8 lead popping off at will. It's the one nearest to the driver
When I change my plugs its always a struggle to remove the plug caps, this may be part of your problem if the contact between the plug and cap is weak. Might be worth trying to start it in the dark and having a look under the bonnet and see if any tracking is taking place around the plug leads.At last!!!!!!!
Just been for a 30min drive with no problems, just a slight miss under load.
Last thing I did was to clean the 'new' flooded plugs and add Wynn's Injector cleaner to the fuel.
Took a while to start then burst into life.
Guess the slight missfire must be a dodgy lead or heatshield.
Much happier again.
Regards
Brian
Just been for a 30min drive with no problems, just a slight miss under load.
Last thing I did was to clean the 'new' flooded plugs and add Wynn's Injector cleaner to the fuel.
Took a while to start then burst into life.
Guess the slight missfire must be a dodgy lead or heatshield.
Much happier again.
Regards
Brian
ChimpofDarkness said:
SILICONEKID340HP said:
Don`t know why i bother with alarm systems ,mine goes off when a car goes by .For two pins i would rip it all out and fit a secret switch just like on all my old classic cars ..
Words of wisdom Daz 
SILICONEKID340HP said:
ChimpofDarkness said:
SILICONEKID340HP said:
Don`t know why i bother with alarm systems ,mine goes off when a car goes by .For two pins i would rip it all out and fit a secret switch just like on all my old classic cars ..
Words of wisdom Daz Which wouldn't be a bad idea if it wasn't so impractical.
No
, you're far better off thinking selective bypassing 
I was reading an ancient internet site the other day, I think it was some sort of transcript from the TVR owners club back in the day Griff & Chims were still being sold new.
On this site they canvassed a group of TVR owners about the reliability of their cars, some 15 owners took part in the survey.
It makes for interesting reading, when the owners were quizzed what was revealed is exactly the same as you regularly see here on PH.
The biggest issue with the sampled cars centred around the alarm!
In fact 25% of reliability problems were the result of alarm faults, remember this was a sample of cars just a few years young.
I strongly suspect some of the other starting faults were actually caused by the alarm too; just badly diagnosed as something else.
The situation was/is so dire that people like Carl Baker actually made a modest living out of sorting out the faults wired in by TVR.
In my humble opinion the very best thing you can do to dramatically improve the reliability of any Chimaera or Griffith is to bypass the alarm/immobiliser.
That's a bold statement but I stand by it, in fact there's fundamentally no reason why our cars should be unreliable, at the end of the day they are actually just a compilation of tough as old boots proven engineering.
Schoolboy errors were made by TVR when they installed the alarm/immobiliser, get it replaced or bypassed before the car lets you down at the most inconvenient moment.
If it hasn't been done already it'll absolutely be the very best thing you do for the car's reliability, no question!
ChimpofDarkness said:
...in fact there's fundamentally no reason why our cars should be unreliable, at the end of the day they are actually just a compilation of tough as old boots proven engineering.
This is why I persist with my "baby" ... I'm determined that she *WILL* be an utterly reliable daily driver!Phil
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
See what I mean
Although the alarm was replaced as some point (almost certainly due to the original TVR wiring faults) it was probably done badly with the TVR schoolboy errors left in place.
I bet this guy is still suffering the original faults TVR hard wired in at the factory.
Even today you get two or three posts a month on PH like this, I bet 95% of them are alarm/immobiliser related.
I rest my case.
The good news is it's not really the fault of the alarm/immobiliser at all, the true cause is the way TVR wired it up.
Better still it's all very easily fixable and for next to nothing (if you know how)
See what I mean
Although the alarm was replaced as some point (almost certainly due to the original TVR wiring faults) it was probably done badly with the TVR schoolboy errors left in place.
I bet this guy is still suffering the original faults TVR hard wired in at the factory.
Even today you get two or three posts a month on PH like this, I bet 95% of them are alarm/immobiliser related.
I rest my case.
The good news is it's not really the fault of the alarm/immobiliser at all, the true cause is the way TVR wired it up.
Better still it's all very easily fixable and for next to nothing (if you know how)
I have an after market Cobra Globe 3100 fitted ,it works but it even goes off in the garage ..A rearly weird thing is they have conected a wire to the bottom red light between the speedo and rev counter leaving a dim red light even with the ignition off ..
If it were to be removed would it help the hot start problem .?
http://www.cobra.com.my/at-3100.htm
If it were to be removed would it help the hot start problem .?
http://www.cobra.com.my/at-3100.htm
Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Wednesday 24th October 21:43
SILICONEKID340HP said:
I have an after market Cobra Globe 3100 fitted ,it works but it even goes off in the garage ..A rearly weird thing is they have conected a wire to the bottom red light between the speedo and rev counter leaving a dim red light even with the ignition off ..
If it were to be removed would it help the hot start problem .?
http://www.cobra.com.my/at-3100.htm
Daz that lower LED should have been replaced with the Cobra supplied unit If it were to be removed would it help the hot start problem .?
http://www.cobra.com.my/at-3100.htm
Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Wednesday 24th October 21:43
sounds like they have piggy backed off the factory fitted alarm LED 
one of the biggest problems with after market alarms I have witnessed over the years is crap installs 
I have fitted many Cobra alarms over the years to my own cars and never had any problems to date 4 in total inc the TVR but that is the top of the range unit with all the bells and whistles & absolutely trouble free in over 5 years I was fortunate enough not to have to tidy up shoddy previous installs thankfully in other words Daz no ripping out your alarm will not cure your hot-starting unless as mentioned its a crap install 
SILICONEKID340HP said:
I have an after market Cobra Globe 3100 fitted ,it works but it even goes off in the garage ..A rearly weird thing is they have conected a wire to the bottom red light between the speedo and rev counter leaving a dim red light even with the ignition off ..
If it were to be removed would it help the hot start problem .?
http://www.cobra.com.my/at-3100.htm
I'd say they've made a hash of fitting it Daz.If it were to be removed would it help the hot start problem .?
http://www.cobra.com.my/at-3100.htm
Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Wednesday 24th October 21:43
I suspect a lot of replacement alarms have been fitted in the attempt to solve the original faults TVR hard wired in at the factory.
Unknowingly the alarm fitter may well have left the TVR schoolboy errors in place, sometimes all these untrained alarm fitters do is make the problems worse.
I bet Carl Baker has seen this many times and dreads the site of such installations as it makes putting things right 10 times harder for him than if the owner had just left it as TVR fitted it.
At least he can then put it all right without having to work out what some well meaning but unskilled alarm fitter did.
I still say a simple bypass is the best value for money solution, but if an after market alarm fitter has been in there already even a simple bypass could end up being be real a headache.
Oh, and if you have hot start issues Daz, you may want to replace that ancient & weedy 7ft battery to starter lead.
ChimpofDarkness said:
I bet this guy is still suffering the original faults TVR hard wired in at the factory.
I'm not so sure. I'm pretty confident it is a simple starter/solenoid issue and the alarm is a bit of a red herring in my case. That may prove to be wishful thinking but I'm willing to take that chance for now.Having an alarm/immobiliser fitted certainly clouds the issue and complicates the diagnosis but often the simplest explanation for a problem is the correct one.
Fingers crossed.
Simon says said:
SILICONEKID340HP said:
I have an after market Cobra Globe 3100 fitted ,it works but it even goes off in the garage ..A rearly weird thing is they have conected a wire to the bottom red light between the speedo and rev counter leaving a dim red light even with the ignition off ..
If it were to be removed would it help the hot start problem .?
http://www.cobra.com.my/at-3100.htm
Daz that lower LED should have been replaced with the Cobra supplied unit If it were to be removed would it help the hot start problem .?
http://www.cobra.com.my/at-3100.htm
Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Wednesday 24th October 21:43
sounds like they have piggy backed off the factory fitted alarm LED one of the biggest problems with after market alarms I have witnessed over the years is crap installs I have fitted many Cobra alarms over the years to my own cars and never had any problems to date 4 in total inc the TVR but that is the top of the range unit with all the bells and whistles & absolutely trouble free in over 5 years I was fortunate enough not to have to tidy up shoddy previous installs thankfully in other words Daz no ripping out your alarm will not cure your hot-starting unless as mentioned its a crap install Must be causing a ground problem ..what is the bottom light for on the Mk1 for any way..There are two wires connected to the bottom light ..
Edited by SILICONEKID340HP on Wednesday 24th October 22:36
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