FIRST BREAKDOWN !
Discussion
Well, I've had the "S" for nearly two months now and I still smile everytime I drive it!
However, I guess the inevitable happened tonight.....
For no obvious reason the engine just cut out! It would not restart although it would turn over.
Initial thoughts were immobiliser or the infamous yellow plug.
Luckily I pushed the car off the main road onto a petrol station forecourt (a VERY nice young lady even offered to help, if only I was twenty years younger!).
A Landrover owner offered the use of a screwdriver so the lower column shroud was removed, the yellow plug had been replaced by a 30A terminal block, good job I've bought a proper one to replace it...
That was obviously not the problem, as although crude, the terminal block looked ok.
TVR fuses are not very easy to see when the light is going so the man in the petrol station sold me a lovely "wind up lantern" (mental note, keep some tools and a torch in the car)and I eventually found the fuse board after moving a spaghetti of loose wires.
They initially looked ok so I thought it best to call the RAC and eventually got through to be told "within three hours sir!".
The wait began so I had a closer look at the fuses and the top left 15A fuse looked different to the others. It was difficult to remove and once out looked very poorly where it had begun to melt. Another visit to the shop and I bought a pack of fuses, replaced it, turned the key and it started so I drove home and cancelled the RAC man!
I have looked in the handbook and the diagram seems different to the fuseboard in my S3, but I think the blown fuse is the one for the ignition coil and rev counter. Coincidentally the speedo has not worked properly for a while yet when the car stopped it was showing 20mph! Does it's power supply come from the same source and could that be the reason the fuse blew?
I will investigate further but wondered if anyone else had experienced a similar problem? I am running the car as purchased and slowly gathering together a collection of parts and a huge "to do" list but I love the car even after its' first (?) breakdown.
Regards Chris.
However, I guess the inevitable happened tonight.....
For no obvious reason the engine just cut out! It would not restart although it would turn over.
Initial thoughts were immobiliser or the infamous yellow plug.
Luckily I pushed the car off the main road onto a petrol station forecourt (a VERY nice young lady even offered to help, if only I was twenty years younger!).
A Landrover owner offered the use of a screwdriver so the lower column shroud was removed, the yellow plug had been replaced by a 30A terminal block, good job I've bought a proper one to replace it...
That was obviously not the problem, as although crude, the terminal block looked ok.
TVR fuses are not very easy to see when the light is going so the man in the petrol station sold me a lovely "wind up lantern" (mental note, keep some tools and a torch in the car)and I eventually found the fuse board after moving a spaghetti of loose wires.
They initially looked ok so I thought it best to call the RAC and eventually got through to be told "within three hours sir!".
The wait began so I had a closer look at the fuses and the top left 15A fuse looked different to the others. It was difficult to remove and once out looked very poorly where it had begun to melt. Another visit to the shop and I bought a pack of fuses, replaced it, turned the key and it started so I drove home and cancelled the RAC man!
I have looked in the handbook and the diagram seems different to the fuseboard in my S3, but I think the blown fuse is the one for the ignition coil and rev counter. Coincidentally the speedo has not worked properly for a while yet when the car stopped it was showing 20mph! Does it's power supply come from the same source and could that be the reason the fuse blew?
I will investigate further but wondered if anyone else had experienced a similar problem? I am running the car as purchased and slowly gathering together a collection of parts and a huge "to do" list but I love the car even after its' first (?) breakdown.
Regards Chris.
Hello again.
I,ve had an enjoyable evening under the dash with a soldering iron!
On investigating the fusebox, the supply wire to the fuse was very brittle and virtually snapped off its' connector when I wiggled it about (!).
It was possible to remove the terminal from the fuse holder and a new length of wire was soldered directly to it and then to the 3 way junction from which it came. The car started instantly so hopefully that will be ok, fingers crossed.
Whilst messing around, I too have relocated the fuse board behind the dash like the one pictured. As a semi permanent measure I put a metal "P" clip under the screw holding the upper dash on and then put a cable tie through it and around the fuseboard. It is actually held better than before as the plastic brackets had broken off.The original piece of glovebox carpet went back in and it is a simple matter to pull this out to easily access the fuses. Thanks for the tip!
The wiring in these cars is certainly untidy, in mine a lot is due to the fitment of central locking from the factory, alarms and immobilisers etc. I will tidy this up properly as at some stage I'm sure the dash will need to come out...
A bonus of moving the fuses is that there is more space to push the loose wiring loom into and by cutting some off the original bracket, it no longer hits the ECU when the panel is closed.
Still lots more to do but at least it's running again! Next job, yellow plug.
Chris.
I,ve had an enjoyable evening under the dash with a soldering iron!
On investigating the fusebox, the supply wire to the fuse was very brittle and virtually snapped off its' connector when I wiggled it about (!).
It was possible to remove the terminal from the fuse holder and a new length of wire was soldered directly to it and then to the 3 way junction from which it came. The car started instantly so hopefully that will be ok, fingers crossed.
Whilst messing around, I too have relocated the fuse board behind the dash like the one pictured. As a semi permanent measure I put a metal "P" clip under the screw holding the upper dash on and then put a cable tie through it and around the fuseboard. It is actually held better than before as the plastic brackets had broken off.The original piece of glovebox carpet went back in and it is a simple matter to pull this out to easily access the fuses. Thanks for the tip!
The wiring in these cars is certainly untidy, in mine a lot is due to the fitment of central locking from the factory, alarms and immobilisers etc. I will tidy this up properly as at some stage I'm sure the dash will need to come out...
A bonus of moving the fuses is that there is more space to push the loose wiring loom into and by cutting some off the original bracket, it no longer hits the ECU when the panel is closed.
Still lots more to do but at least it's running again! Next job, yellow plug.
Chris.
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