I picked up my new 1996 Chimaera today!

[BabyDriver]

Hi there

I picked up my new 1996 Chimaera today. It's a great car but the idle speed is 100 to 150 revs too high.

Please can anybody let me know how to slow down the tick over.

Thank you

[ianwayne]

If you read enough threads about tick over on here, 100 - 150 rpm too high is nothing!

Mine likes to sit at 2000 rpm frequently.

Sticky stepper motor, air leaks in the plenum, air flow meter, could be several things. slightly elevated idle speed is worth living with IMHO.

[BabyDriver]

No simple adjustment then?

[Rugbyfester]

Welcome to the fold and great to hear there's another TVR within the Warwickshire/Oxfordshire/Northamptonshire area there seems to quite a huddle gathering in this part of the country.

Cant really help with how to adjust the revs but cleaning the stepper motor would be my first stab at it. I am sure someone with more knowledge than me will be along very shortly.

[TV8]

How do you know that your idle is to high? does it sound fast? mine reads to high on tick-over when tested at the ecu, not ideal but not a problem either!

[QBee]

About 900 is normal on my TVR.
About 700 is normal on my Audi.

What's yours?

[ianwayne]

I have a page about tickover bookmarked. Covers cleaning the stepper motor and adjusting the base idle. I think it's worth a read:

http://www.rv8r.co.uk/tickover.html

[BabyDriver]

Thank you for the link. It all seems a little complicated. So I'm going to leave it as it is and just enjoy using the car.

[caduceus]

Congratulations on your new toy! Can't give you much advice on idle issue as I've not come across that problem before, and I've not had mine that long either.

[OleVix]

Just screw out the stepper and clean it with wd40 and cotton buds-sticks thingy. Easy and rewarding. One day you'll loose idle pulling up to a red light. Engine cuts out. Not fun.

[BabyDriver]

Yes I'll try cleaning the stepper motor sometime as the engine is revving at 900 revs which in my opinion is too high. But I will put up with it for now as driving it is more important. It's a great car goes well and I'm really pleased with it.

[QBee]

I have a feeling that the base idle is set at 900 rpm.......that's what the Steve Heath "Bible" says.

So boringly normal.......

[ChilliWhizz]

Beastie ticks over smoothly at 1000rpm, less than that and she hunts a bit, but cam is a bit on the wild side so it's about right. That said, if you're stationary long enough to be troubled by the idle speed, you're probably driving it in the wrong place

[Alun450]

Mine also idles at about 900 revs, its normal for a Chim. Enjoy your car Babydriver. Welcome to the nut home!

[Milky400]

900 is perfectly normal. Why do you think it's to high? Regularly cleaned my stepper when I had mine, carb cleaner and wd40 did the trick. Makes it all a little smoother

[BabyDriver]

I had a Rover V8 3.5 litre in my speedboat admittedly it had twin SU carburettors but that ticked over nicely at about 600 rpm. 900 seems too high to me. But hey I've only just got the car. But forget all this I've been out driving it all day today and it's brilliant. Takes me back to my younger days when I had a 1600M followed by a Taimar. I'm certainly reliving the memory.