Off to a flying start, locked out fob doesn't work!

[john wyatt]

Picked up Cerb last night, tried battery on it and ih has closed the window and key fob does nothing despite functioning batteries, is there a means by which I can open her so I can least release hand raked and get off the trailer? I appreciate folks may not wish to share this on the forum, if anyone can point me in the right direction I am happy to verify my background and credentials, many thanks John

[iamrtl]

PM Sent John. Good luck

[TimJM]

iamrtl said:

PM Sent John. Good luck

If the car has been off the road for a number of years (I think you said this in another thread) and you have put a battery back on for this move there is a good chance you need to re-sync the fobs with the car. There should be the procedure on here somewhere but iirc when I did it it was just connect the new car battery and press/hold one of the key fobs for 10-15 seconds. The hazards will flash a bunch of times to say it has been re-synced.

Good luck on your new purchase.

[john wyatt]

Thanks for advice gents, thanks to Ron got inside, had fob in bits tonight then it showed to be working on pals tester, will hook up battery on car again tomorrow and see what it does, next to the insert on dash for the plastic "key" there is an additional metal key, is this non-standard?

[TimJM]

No the metal key is standard. You should put the key in, turn it 90deg clockwise and then never touch it again - don't even look at it if you can help it.

It is a manual ignition override. If you don't have the key in and turned on the car isn't going to start. It turn all the ignition controls on or off.

[john wyatt]

OK progress of sorts, can now get inside have now seen the electrics come to life which is reassuring, if anyone has link to sync my remote with entry/immobiliser that would be good? tried to turn her over, got briefest of turns on starter motor, now it is just clicking when trying starter button, engine is turning fine by hand.

[Jhonno]

Try putting 12v from the battery straight on the starter signal wire.. See what happens then. Could be your immobiliser is failing, or the starter solonoid isn't seeing 12v.

[Steve_T]

Sounds like the starter solenoid is clicking because the battery is not sufficiently charged. Do you hear the fuel pump prime when you push the black button to turn then the ignition on? If you do the immobiliser has been successfully disarmed.

[john wyatt]

Thanks guys, yes heard fuel pump prime and starter did cough briefly, got it on charge so will try again tonight

[Gazzab]

http://www.abacuscaralarms.co.uk/alarms/remote_con...

[john wyatt]

Thanks for link I will contact abacus and see I they can help, fuse to starter motor had blown yesterday hence the short burst of life I got from it.

[TimJM]

Just a quick check - you said this car had been standing for a while, have you have this car running/driving yet or are these problems related to the duration it has been standing?

If you have had the car recommissioned and staring/driving in your ownership then fine but if you haven't reached that point there is a whole bunch of things you should be doing before you attempt to start the engine. Draining fuel tank, blowing through all fuel lines, changing fuel filter, changing oil, fit new battery, change spark plugs and HT leads, running oil pump manually to build pressure then attempt to start it. If it starts great - then the real work returning it to the road begins!

[Steve_T]

Also the starter isn't fused, the feed from the alternator to the battery is but it is in the same area of the car.

[john wyatt]

Thanks for that, I have never seen a starter fused and thought it was odd, it is however most definitely fused, will need to have a good look and see what has been done.

[john wyatt]

The car has an engine which was rebuilt 2006/2007 by TVR power, they did not refurb heads which was done locally but did reassemble heads to motor, it has done zero miles since but was running briefly in workshop in 2010, then zero running since, it has only done 15000miles from new and one owner who stored it well, it initially came off the road due to overheating, this was found to be a blown head gasket which he thinks was a problem which began shortly after car went back to the factory for a red rose upgrade, he got bogged down however working on an air inlet system which never quite got finished, sadly he gave up after his TIG welder was stolen recently

[john wyatt]

Tim out of interest, I don't plan to drain tank but can see some merit in that, however the HT leads, plugs and battery all appear fine, it would seem a large expense to do this, is there some specific reason you suggest this?

[Steve_T]

john wyatt said:

Thanks for that, I have never seen a starter fused and thought it was odd, it is however most definitely fused, will need to have a good look and see what has been done.

Going from memory but I remember the fuse as being between the alternator and the post on the starter and the wiring then runs from the starter to the battery.

[john wyatt]

Had a look the wiring to alternator/starter all looks original and could not have been wired up wrongly unless wiring has been remade

[TimJM]

john wyatt said:

Tim out of interest, I don't plan to drain tank but can see some merit in that, however the HT leads, plugs and battery all appear fine, it would seem a large expense to do this, is there some specific reason you suggest this?

Yes, if the car has been off the road for any length of time as in your case the fuel may well be complete crap by now. You said it ran briefly in 2010 but was not run since 2006 when TVR power bolted the heads on. That is 8 years and unless the fuel has been drained and changed I think you will end up in a world of pain. You say it is a large expense to do this...well unless you are very lucky it will be a massive expense not to.

I would not pull 8 year old fuel through an AJP or any engine for that matter and I would hate to think of how dry those cams/followers etc. will be if the engine did catch and burst into life.

You also said the battery appears fine but it is at least 8 years old..it isn't fine. Your other thread when you said the starter was just clicking when attempting to start it (presumably after a charge) tells you the battery can't hold charge and needs replacing.

My opinion is if a car has been off the road for 8 years you need to buy it cheap and spend some money to make sure it is ready for that first push of the start button otherwise you are asking for trouble.

I don't mean to sound harsh or come down hard - ultimately it is your car and you can do as you please but when I recently returned a car to the road after just 4/5 years layup I specifically asked the seller not to attempt to start it so I could carry out all the necessary precautions before the first attempted start.

I honestly believe a little money spent now (or just a little work) will save you a fortune in the very near future.

[john wyatt]

Thanks for all advice so far, this is a really great forum, The blown fuse to the starter is the reason the car would not crank, not sure why fuse failed but think it was just too small, after birling over for a wee while to get oil pressure up , hooked ignition up an she fired up on second burst on the starter, however she won't take any revs at all, next step is to hook a laptop up and get throttle pot set up properly and see what that does, I have owned several classics but nothing I have been interested in which involves ecu's injectors etc, steep learning curve!