Central Locking Issues - Fekin Pish Poor TVR Wiring Again!

Central Locking Issues - Fekin Pish Poor TVR Wiring Again!

Author
Discussion

ChimpOnGas

Original Poster:

9,637 posts

178 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
quotequote all
Brithunter said:
Meanwhile hope you get the locking sorted.
Brithunter, I don't think you could have read my last post fully, It is sorted; with the exception of losing the interior light coming on when I open to doors (hardly a big deal) the doors now lock and unlock perfectly, with the added bonus the car now drives better than it ever has. The fault was clearly causing a big voltage drop which in turn was influencing the ECU's ability to operate the injectors and the idle air control valve properly, it also seems my MSD coil packs may not have been charging fully as I'm also enjoying much better throttle response especially in the upper rev range.

Finally some pearls of wisdom from the Cerbera forum that uses the same Meta system as our Chimaeras....

Tanguero said:
While the alarm its self may be low drain the door lock signal that the alarm uses to lock both doors is by enabling a positive voltage to the control box rather than disconnecting the opening circuit. When I was tracking down the high battery drain on mine, that seemed to be the culprit. I don't have a cure for it and ended up just using an Optimate to keep the battery topped up if I was leaving it undriven for more than a couple of weeks.

Tarmacshredder said:
Mine will just start after 3 weeks being stood but any more and it is flat and having read previous posts that seams about right. Having spent years dealing with alfas nearly all the gtv's fitted with a meta alarm have the same problem of battery drain after 2001 they are slightly better. I would say it is the alarm but also check after market stereos and amps aren't being powered continuously on the accessory power source as these can also flatten the battery quickly.

fatjon said:
It's the alarm box behind the helmet holder. I unplugged mine and the current drain dropped instantly from 200ma to zero. I replaced the whole kit and caboodle with a Viper system with electronic door and boot popping and a proximity detection system and the battery still lasts for months without charging, although I do tend to leave it on a timed trickle charge over the winter months when it gets no outings. It is ridiculous that a modern vehicle should be fitted out from new with an alarm that can kill a fully charged battery in less than a month.

It comes as no surprise if you Google search Pistonheads using either 'battery drain' & 'Meta alarm' as your search terms you get literally pages and pages of people suffering such issues with their mid 90's Meta equipped TVRs, these post go back some 10 years or more right up to the present day.

I believe Carl Baker of 'TVR Alarms' is now in France but still offers his services from Taylor TVR on occasion, for many years he built a whole business around ripping out what TVR put in badly and reinstalling a newer Meta system properly, David of HF has also been around for years solving TVR alarm issues for the public and helping TVR repair specialists alike, he seems to have taken over where Carl left off. Finally you have Abacus Alarms in South London who offer a DIY plug & play Meta solution along with some good background on how TVR got the wiring wrong, and how to rectify their mistakes!

It's worth reading "The car fails to start when the engine is hot (TVR's)" in the link below where Abacus explain the wiring mistakes made by TVR.

Abacus goes on to say...."Problems arise because TVR have wired the immobiliser circuits the wrong way around"

http://www.abacuscaralarms.co.uk/tvr-alarms.html

This is probably why I still get at least three PMs a month asking for my bypass instructions that completely fixed my no-start issues some five years ago, an element of my Meta system that has remained 100% reliable ever since because it's actually doing nothing. These instructions have subsequently gone on the help hundreds of other TVR Griff & Chimaera owners with similar issues all for the cost of a few connectors. It's always nice to get the thank you emails when people follow my simple instructions and fix their no-start issue for absolutely nothing, rather than resorting to spending the £500 - £600 the TVR alarm specialists will charge you for a completely new and correctly installed system.... which by the way I'm always clear to point out always remains the best solution if you can afford it/justify the cost that is wink

As we all know TVR were massively ridiculed in period for producing unreliable cars, this unreliability stigma has actually been so permanently burnt into the national psyche that even today if you mention you own a TVR in a social setting people will suck their teeth and tell you TVRs are very unreliable cars, and I'm not even talking car people here, sadly it's the default piece of knowledge everyone seems to hold regarding the TVR brand.

Just the other day I was sat having a pint outside a local pub on a village green with the car parked right out front, two guys came out to smoke and started to talk about mt Chimaera, I just kept quiet and listened, sure enough the more alfa male of the two keen to show his superior car knowledge starts telling his mate how while he liked TVRs he would never own one because they're so unreliable. Of course the poor TVR reliability thing didn't just fall from the sky, it was based on fact and the thousands of posts on PH discussing starting/alarm or locking issues seem to point to much of it emanating from the Meta system and/or how TVR wired these cars, I guess that's how such a low volume sports car can effectively support three TVR alarm specialists in the UK.

With such a huge body of evidence I really can't see how anyone could defend the TVR wiring and remain credible, I'm not saying anything here we don't already know deep down ourselves, while we all understandably want to defend the brand because we love our TVRs the reality is 'denial gets you nowhere' and its my experience excepting something was badly done in the first place is always the best starting point to putting it right.

I titled this post.... "Fekin Pish Poor TVR Wiring Again!" ..... and I firmly stand by my words.



Edited by ChimpOnGas on Tuesday 18th April 11:55

Brithunter

599 posts

87 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
quotequote all
Dave sorry whilst I realised your Chimaera is running the best it has now perhaps I was not exact enough in my earlier reply.

Again sorry for that!

Honestly was not trying to be cryptic, snidey, or even just plain old bloody minded! With part of the system disconnected even if the car is running well just thought it's not really fixed and what with your obvious detrmination to get the LPG running correctly I mistakenly thought that this would carry over to the rest of the car.

Again sorry for my not understanding and there was no intention of giving offence.

Ribol

11,200 posts

257 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
quotequote all
ChimpOnGas said:
I titled this post.... "Fekin Pish Poor TVR Wiring Again!" ..... and I firmly stand by my words.
You have failed miserably to diagnose a simple central locking fault after untold goes at it, not a great qualification for running down the quality of TVR's wiring.

portzi

2,296 posts

174 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
quotequote all
Brithunter said:
Dave sorry whilst I realised your Chimaera is running the best it has now perhaps I was not exact enough in my earlier reply.

Again sorry for that!

Honestly was not trying to be cryptic, snidey, or even just plain old bloody minded! With part of the system disconnected even if the car is running well just thought it's not really fixed and what with your obvious detrmination to get the LPG running correctly I mistakenly thought that this would carry over to the rest of the car.

Again sorry for my not understanding and there was no intention of giving offence.
Grovel all you like Brithunter, this is an open forum so you deserve to be shamed, for giving Chimp on gas some grief , when he is asking the forum PHers for help.

"HOW DARE YOU" biglaugh

kerry11

111 posts

221 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
quotequote all
Ribol,

I read in an older thread that you have the re-syncing procedure for the older Foxguard alram system, Can you PM me the procedure if you can.

Ribol

11,200 posts

257 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
quotequote all
kerry11 said:
Ribol,

I read in an older thread that you have the re-syncing procedure for the older Foxguard alram system, Can you PM me the procedure if you can.
YHM

Brithunter

599 posts

87 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
quotequote all
portzi said:
Grovel all you like Brithunter, this is an open forum so you deserve to be shamed, for giving Chimp on gas some grief , when he is asking the forum PHers for help.

"HOW DARE YOU" biglaugh
Tis a cross that I have to bear. This natural gift for saying things in a way that seems to upset people............................. Sigh!


Penelope Stopit

11,209 posts

108 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
How are you getting on with solving this problem?

ChimpOnGas

Original Poster:

9,637 posts

178 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
quotequote all
Penelope Stopit said:
How are you getting on with solving this problem?
TBH I just disconnected the door switches and the locking & unlocking function returned as did the long lost panic button on the central door release. This panic button hasn't worked for years and clearly the central locking/alarm unit was creating a huge drain as the car's idle quality and drivability has greatly improved since I disconnected the door switches.

While admittedly I currently have no interior light when I open the doors this is the only negative to disconnecting the door switches and I can turn it on manually, the other results are just possessives and as the objective of all this was to get my car locking and unlocking without resorting to spending a big chunk of money this is the way it'll stay for the time being.

I also fitted my new 120 amp alternator which is performing much better than the old original that had been reconditioned once already some 10 years ago or more, when I removed it the bearing sounded nasty so clearly it was on the way out. The car is driving, idling and performing the best it ever has and all I've spent is £100 on the new Denso 120 amp alternator.

While I'd never argue disconnecting the door switches is a complete fix and I will as some point get David of HF to sort it properly, for now at least I'm more happy with my resolution to the immediate issue... and I see the drivability improvements as a fantastic unexpected bonus.