Griffith intermittent misfire/conking out - what could it be
Discussion
Just an update for those interested! Managed to get a very good ex TVR main agent mechanic out to the house and he may have found the problem.
Waggling the scart like connector that goes into the MAF set the car off on its mis-fire again and perfectly replicated the symptoms it has had for years. Some cleaning up and re-alignment of the pins to secure the connection seems to have done the trick. He also replaced the fuel pump and ECU relays which were rusty and getting quite hot indicating excessive resistance - he suggested those relays are notoriously unreliable and a very likely culprit in many instances of rough running. He was very surprised to find mine looked like original old style ones fitted back in 1992!! He was puzzled why previous dealers hadn't changed these when trying to sort the issue.
Fuel pump had also taken a knock from the stone I hit earlier in the week so he cleaned up the terminal and reattached the wiring to the fuel pump. Also spotted a hesitation that the car exhibited when accelerating hard and seems to have tuned that out. Minor oil leak from sump plug sorted by tightening up - it was a bit loose.
I'm genuinely excited by the prospect that he may have finally got to the bottom of my Griff problems and at minimal cost. I need to drive the car around a bit now to check if the problem is indeed resolved but a quick wine run this evening to the local co-op confirmed the car now running well. He was I think genuinely impressed with the chassis condition and engine. Meanwhile I found myself marvelling at how much I genuinely love this car and have done for 24 years! I hope the neighbours enjoyed the soundtrack of a well revved precat this afternoon as he was tuning!
Lots of niggly bits still to sort from intermittent wipers not working, heater controls and fan blower not working and an electric wing mirror not working but the main thing is that the car is back on the road and rumbling again! Then there's the big issue of a full retrim being required which is likely to require a loan when I'm a bit more certain of my job security!
Saxon
Waggling the scart like connector that goes into the MAF set the car off on its mis-fire again and perfectly replicated the symptoms it has had for years. Some cleaning up and re-alignment of the pins to secure the connection seems to have done the trick. He also replaced the fuel pump and ECU relays which were rusty and getting quite hot indicating excessive resistance - he suggested those relays are notoriously unreliable and a very likely culprit in many instances of rough running. He was very surprised to find mine looked like original old style ones fitted back in 1992!! He was puzzled why previous dealers hadn't changed these when trying to sort the issue.
Fuel pump had also taken a knock from the stone I hit earlier in the week so he cleaned up the terminal and reattached the wiring to the fuel pump. Also spotted a hesitation that the car exhibited when accelerating hard and seems to have tuned that out. Minor oil leak from sump plug sorted by tightening up - it was a bit loose.
I'm genuinely excited by the prospect that he may have finally got to the bottom of my Griff problems and at minimal cost. I need to drive the car around a bit now to check if the problem is indeed resolved but a quick wine run this evening to the local co-op confirmed the car now running well. He was I think genuinely impressed with the chassis condition and engine. Meanwhile I found myself marvelling at how much I genuinely love this car and have done for 24 years! I hope the neighbours enjoyed the soundtrack of a well revved precat this afternoon as he was tuning!
Lots of niggly bits still to sort from intermittent wipers not working, heater controls and fan blower not working and an electric wing mirror not working but the main thing is that the car is back on the road and rumbling again! Then there's the big issue of a full retrim being required which is likely to require a loan when I'm a bit more certain of my job security!
Saxon
Penelope,
Yes thanks for the well wishes and thanks for your suggestions earlier. I have to say that having had him give it the once over so intelligently and knowledgeably where he found some very obvious electrical weaknesses in minutes does beg the question what the other two TVR garages who have maintained the car at vast cost in the 24 years I have owned it were doing with their time and my money...
They were repeatedly consulted on this very issue and despite some large bills and sometimes keeping the car for a whole week at a time were seemingly incapable of changing two cheap relays or spotting the MAF unit connection being wobbly. As he said to me if there's a strong smell of petrol everytime it does it (which I detailed extensively to every garage who looked at it) then logically it isn't related to issues with fuel delivery or the fuel pump for example, it's far more likely to be fuel/air mix related - and that immediately leads you to suspect MAF unit or ECU. Before replacing either of those the first thing to do is to check the connections to them - bingo he replicated the problem on demand with the MAF unit.
I only posted this really so that in future years somebody with a RV8 TVR with similar problems may find this thread and be pointed in the right direction. Lets just hope that this really is the end of a problem that had deterred me from enjoying my car for over 10 years now. It's a shame to have lost so many good years with it I could have enjoyed - basically my entire 40's, but I had pretty much reached the end of my tether and my finances to throw at it and got sick of breaking down and not feeling like there was even a 50% chance of being able to make a destination even 50 miles away.
Already thinking in terms of visiting a friend in Bristol 80 miles away and skirting into the Brecon Beacons for a bit of a tour. Once confidence is that high then I would dearly love to drive it in Ireland with my wife. It went over there with us for our wedding in 2000 (and broke down on my wedding day with a busted alternator) so on our 20 year anniversary I would dearly love to take it back over there to finally drive my wife away from the Church in it and back to the hotel we stayed in for dinner... At least one of us is as svelte and shapely as we all were in July 2000 (and it isn't me or the missus!)
Saxon
Yes thanks for the well wishes and thanks for your suggestions earlier. I have to say that having had him give it the once over so intelligently and knowledgeably where he found some very obvious electrical weaknesses in minutes does beg the question what the other two TVR garages who have maintained the car at vast cost in the 24 years I have owned it were doing with their time and my money...
They were repeatedly consulted on this very issue and despite some large bills and sometimes keeping the car for a whole week at a time were seemingly incapable of changing two cheap relays or spotting the MAF unit connection being wobbly. As he said to me if there's a strong smell of petrol everytime it does it (which I detailed extensively to every garage who looked at it) then logically it isn't related to issues with fuel delivery or the fuel pump for example, it's far more likely to be fuel/air mix related - and that immediately leads you to suspect MAF unit or ECU. Before replacing either of those the first thing to do is to check the connections to them - bingo he replicated the problem on demand with the MAF unit.
I only posted this really so that in future years somebody with a RV8 TVR with similar problems may find this thread and be pointed in the right direction. Lets just hope that this really is the end of a problem that had deterred me from enjoying my car for over 10 years now. It's a shame to have lost so many good years with it I could have enjoyed - basically my entire 40's, but I had pretty much reached the end of my tether and my finances to throw at it and got sick of breaking down and not feeling like there was even a 50% chance of being able to make a destination even 50 miles away.
Already thinking in terms of visiting a friend in Bristol 80 miles away and skirting into the Brecon Beacons for a bit of a tour. Once confidence is that high then I would dearly love to drive it in Ireland with my wife. It went over there with us for our wedding in 2000 (and broke down on my wedding day with a busted alternator) so on our 20 year anniversary I would dearly love to take it back over there to finally drive my wife away from the Church in it and back to the hotel we stayed in for dinner... At least one of us is as svelte and shapely as we all were in July 2000 (and it isn't me or the missus!)
Saxon
That was an interesting read about your misfortune
Hoping that all is well now and you have a pleasant trip over to Ireland in the not too distant future
Good news that you've found somebody that seems to know the ins and outs of the car
Is important that you don't give up on the car should the problem persist
Having got to the position you're now in, there will be a further fix if needed
As you are aware, the problem with intermittent faults is knowing someone capable of finding and fixing them, your new found technician will very likely be that person
Enjoy driving her in the future
Hoping that all is well now and you have a pleasant trip over to Ireland in the not too distant future
Good news that you've found somebody that seems to know the ins and outs of the car
Is important that you don't give up on the car should the problem persist
Having got to the position you're now in, there will be a further fix if needed
As you are aware, the problem with intermittent faults is knowing someone capable of finding and fixing them, your new found technician will very likely be that person
Enjoy driving her in the future
saxon said:
Interesting - the fuel pump isn't priming! No reply yet from APM Automotive - keen to get it sorted though. Car did start momentarily and then died.
Saxon
One thing I have learnt over the years, never assume a component is good just because it has been replaced. There is a lot of crap parts around. I speak from bitter experience.Saxon
I hope you get it sorted soon. Unfortunately lack of use is the enemy of reliability on these cars.
I appreciate why you don't feel like driving it; I have been there, but you could be storing up other issues.
It's good that the fault is now solid, as someone else said, it does make finding the fault easier.
Start from the basics and work your way through the different systems of the car.
Good luck with both the car and your job.
Oldred V8S
Many thanks for your good wishes. Well good news - just been for a 40-50 mile drive and she hasn't missed a beat and is running like a dream - looks like my mechanic has finally achieved what I thought was almost impossible and sorted problems that Fernhurst, APM Automotive and another non-TVR garage never could. I'm absolutely grinning my head off right now at the thought of having a Summer of fun in my beloved Griff!!
What an absolutely epic car it is to drive!
Saxon
Many thanks for your good wishes. Well good news - just been for a 40-50 mile drive and she hasn't missed a beat and is running like a dream - looks like my mechanic has finally achieved what I thought was almost impossible and sorted problems that Fernhurst, APM Automotive and another non-TVR garage never could. I'm absolutely grinning my head off right now at the thought of having a Summer of fun in my beloved Griff!!
What an absolutely epic car it is to drive!
Saxon
That’s great, well done.
I also suffer similar problems but not as severe as you had, my issues could be weeks or months apart and don’t stop me driving anywhere, but being able to shake a connector and create the fault is great, I will try mine very carefully. , I hope you enjoy the fun again and it stays stable now
I also suffer similar problems but not as severe as you had, my issues could be weeks or months apart and don’t stop me driving anywhere, but being able to shake a connector and create the fault is great, I will try mine very carefully. , I hope you enjoy the fun again and it stays stable now
Great result Saxon !
I has really poor running issues a few years back due to a contaminated AFM (Air Flow Meter) which spoilt a trip to Spa. Easy test is to disconnect and try again. Powers eventually upgraded the an MBE system which does away with the dissie, AFM, Stepper Motor, etc and is a great upgrade.
I has really poor running issues a few years back due to a contaminated AFM (Air Flow Meter) which spoilt a trip to Spa. Easy test is to disconnect and try again. Powers eventually upgraded the an MBE system which does away with the dissie, AFM, Stepper Motor, etc and is a great upgrade.
saxon said:
Oldred V8S
Many thanks for your good wishes. Well good news - just been for a 40-50 mile drive and she hasn't missed a beat and is running like a dream - looks like my mechanic has finally achieved what I thought was almost impossible and sorted problems that Fernhurst, APM Automotive and another non-TVR garage never could. I'm absolutely grinning my head off right now at the thought of having a Summer of fun in my beloved Griff!!
What an absolutely epic car it is to drive!
Saxon
Excellent news, I hope you get the chance to put some miles on it in decent weather. Many thanks for your good wishes. Well good news - just been for a 40-50 mile drive and she hasn't missed a beat and is running like a dream - looks like my mechanic has finally achieved what I thought was almost impossible and sorted problems that Fernhurst, APM Automotive and another non-TVR garage never could. I'm absolutely grinning my head off right now at the thought of having a Summer of fun in my beloved Griff!!
What an absolutely epic car it is to drive!
Saxon
Thanks guys!! Really fab support on this group and I really hope my experience documented here helps somebody in the future avoid what I suffered which was having a pretty much unusable car for 10 years!! I'm still flabbergasted my newly discovered TVR engineer found it in 10 minutes!!
As for putting some miles on it I have been using it for everything these past few days - local runs, dropping teenage daughter off, shopping, some spirited country driving just for the hell of it but soon I plan to drive it back to it's birthplace in Blackpool for a retrim at D&C trim.
I've been longing to have it retrimmed for about 10 years but haven't been able to afford it. My 82 year old Mum who heard my beloved car was now trustworthy again and rumbling has stepped in and offered £3000 towards it. I haven't taken anything off her since 1991 when I was a student so it feels a bit weird but also really exciting!! I haven't ever been back to the factory in it although I have been there to a back home event in our old Landy around 2003 because we were camping in the Lake District at the same time that year.
I can't wait to drive it along the golden mile to the strains of 'Bittersweet Symphony' - it's going to be quite a moment!!
I have loved this car more than any single material possession for 24 years and hung on to it through some pretty barren financial struggles simply because I couldn't bear to part with it. Quite simply it made every single journey memorable, it took me on voyages of discovery to ancient forests, castles, coastlines and pubs and it was a cornerstone of my wife and my early years dating and getting to know each other. Some of our best days together ever involved this car as we set out on another adventure and now we are looking forward to doing so again. One thing that I always loved about the Griff is the fact that it is a supercar for people like me who aren't wealthy but are absolutely working class. It's blue jeans and terraced streets, backstreets and northern soul. The fact it was handbuilt in a 'ramshackle collection of sheds' in a Northern seaside town around the coast from my hometown only adds to its appeal.
That probably explains why my favourite picture ever of a Griffith is this one - it looks the same colour as mine but it really speaks to me about the struggles to achieve something so achingly beautiful. It's like the stunningly beautiful first love you can't believe you once dated and never can forget...
Does anybody know who took that picture and how I might go about getting a poster of it? It also features in Roger Shackleton's book on the Griffith.
Saxon
As for putting some miles on it I have been using it for everything these past few days - local runs, dropping teenage daughter off, shopping, some spirited country driving just for the hell of it but soon I plan to drive it back to it's birthplace in Blackpool for a retrim at D&C trim.
I've been longing to have it retrimmed for about 10 years but haven't been able to afford it. My 82 year old Mum who heard my beloved car was now trustworthy again and rumbling has stepped in and offered £3000 towards it. I haven't taken anything off her since 1991 when I was a student so it feels a bit weird but also really exciting!! I haven't ever been back to the factory in it although I have been there to a back home event in our old Landy around 2003 because we were camping in the Lake District at the same time that year.
I can't wait to drive it along the golden mile to the strains of 'Bittersweet Symphony' - it's going to be quite a moment!!
I have loved this car more than any single material possession for 24 years and hung on to it through some pretty barren financial struggles simply because I couldn't bear to part with it. Quite simply it made every single journey memorable, it took me on voyages of discovery to ancient forests, castles, coastlines and pubs and it was a cornerstone of my wife and my early years dating and getting to know each other. Some of our best days together ever involved this car as we set out on another adventure and now we are looking forward to doing so again. One thing that I always loved about the Griff is the fact that it is a supercar for people like me who aren't wealthy but are absolutely working class. It's blue jeans and terraced streets, backstreets and northern soul. The fact it was handbuilt in a 'ramshackle collection of sheds' in a Northern seaside town around the coast from my hometown only adds to its appeal.
That probably explains why my favourite picture ever of a Griffith is this one - it looks the same colour as mine but it really speaks to me about the struggles to achieve something so achingly beautiful. It's like the stunningly beautiful first love you can't believe you once dated and never can forget...
Does anybody know who took that picture and how I might go about getting a poster of it? It also features in Roger Shackleton's book on the Griffith.
Saxon
Edited by saxon on Thursday 28th May 08:37
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