Chimera cold starting issue

[theoden]

Hi All,

Bought a Chimera 4.5/2001 model last June, started first time until Nov when it needed a couple of goes.

It overfuelled itself a few weeks ago. AA man said he has about 6 cars a week (various types/makes) do this in cold weather. He recommended spark plugs to be checked if old (they arent), or if I do a lot of short journeys (I dont). Car is in a garage (not heated as no power there).

He got the car started by taking out fuse nr 13 (fuel pump), and turning ignition over until it caught. It ran ok from there.

Took it out after that day, but it struggled a bit when starting.

Didnt start again last weekend. Caught once, but wouldnt hold, died, and wouldnt re-start. My Garage has said use more revs when it starts until it will keep going on its own, but I dont want to thrash it from cold.

Should my car be starting better than it is?, I effectively only get 1 chance to get it right, otherwise it just wont go due to over fuelling. Do I just have to accept more revs/wear are what's needed on cold days?

Thanks for your replies,
E

[nawarne]

Shooting from hip here, but I'd be looking to change the battery.

If you haven't got power where you store the car - and hence can't put it on a Ctek or equivalent smart charger, then you are probably asking for too much from the battery by using the car infrequently and then expecting it to start after ?several? weeks non-use.

If you consider that you are trying to turn over 8 pistons, fuel pimp and whirry bits plus provide power to spark...then it might be just a bit too much for a below 'par' battery.

Clearly it's fuelling - hence flooding - but the issue is with the spark.

My 2p's worth anyway.
Nick

[rigga]

Replace the plugs, once they foul up from overfuelling then they are useless, never managed to clean a set up that still work good.
Never touch the throttle when cold starting, tvr`s are notorious for being very rich on cold start, adding even more fuel just makes the situation worse, let it idle for 30 seconds to a minute for the lambdas to take control of the fuel and then you can use the throttle.

[theoden]

Thanks for replies.

Battery is new/replaced last year. One of the things I was trying to avoid was niggly electrical problems!

Car always gets a run out every 2-3 weeks, so oil moving about, parts moving, hot air going through etc. It does take a bit longer to warm up in this weather.

I'll look at getting the plugs changed then! AA man & Garage just said 'give it some more revs'. I did take it for a run on the motorway straight after last time to try and give it a blast through (after engine had warmed up etc), but perhaps this isnt enough.

Thanks again,
Rgds
T

[rigga]

theoden said:

AA man & Garage just said 'give it some more revs'.

AA man and garage know jack about tvr`s then .....

[TV8]

Assuming all of the basics around the ignition are ok, and you have tried swapping or testing the relays on fuel and ignition, I would listen to the stepper motor and have a read of these posts. If the stepper motor is in the wrong position that isnt going to help you get the right mix in.

If you switch the ignition on but dont start it, you get a whirr from the fuel pump, then when that stops, switch the igntion off and should get a small one-time noise from the stepper motor resetting.

When I didnt have the noise, I had a cold start problem but the car ran well, now I have the noise and it starts fine.

Dan Taylor proved to be the AFM. I havent checked the fueling but it has always run well and the plugs look a good colour, so happy days.

Good luck

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...


http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[quattrophenia]

One problem that does seem to effect most cars in cold weather is if you touch the throttle within a minute or two of starting her up, she will try to stall. If it does stall at this point the ECU will dump a load of fuel in and it is a pig to restart. I tend to let it stand for 1-2 minutes and then only use very light amounts of throttle for the first mile. However this problem doesn't prevent the car from starting in the first place, so if this is the case with yours the above is probably not very helpful!

[blaze_away]

I had exact same symptoms early December. Cured with new plugs, dist cap, rotor arm, ignition leads. Car now starts easy as you like first time everytime

Edited by blaze_away on Monday 28th January 20:45

[taylormj4]

quattrophenia said:

One problem that does seem to effect most cars in cold weather is if you touch the throttle within a minute or two of starting her up, she will try to stall. If it does stall at this point the ECU will dump a load of fuel in and it is a pig to restart. I tend to let it stand for 1-2 minutes and then only use very light amounts of throttle for the first mile. However this problem doesn't prevent the car from starting in the first place, so if this is the case with yours the above is probably not very helpful!

Yep, exactly the same for my 45. Needs around 5-10secs at idle to warm up in very cold weather and if you try to pull off normally it'll try to stall. Doesn't stop the car starting though as quattrophenia said. On the odd occasion it does stall, it can be a pain to restart. However, I would agree with the AA guy that, with my car anyhow, flooding is cured by turning over with a mid-to-wide open throttle position until it catches and then backing off the throttle to allow the engine to start before throttling up to clear it's throat.
Under normal starts (non-flooded but cold) I just slip the clutch on the first pull off the drive and only use light and gentle throttle opening to start with. Open the throttle gradually and slowly, keeping it not to far ahead of the engine revs. If you get spluttering and the revs don't increase, hold the throttle opening constant or back off slightly then re-open throttle as revs pick up.

Edited by taylormj4 on Tuesday 29th January 13:17