Won't Start - Suspect Immobiliser
Discussion
Hi, I hope everyone is enjoying a lovely Christmas.
So, 8 years after selling my first Chimaera, as I had always promised myself that I would re-acquaint myself with the joys of owning another TVR, I finally took the plunge and purchased another car last Christmas. I live in Toronto now so I have had the pleasure of lots of interesting challenges that included sourcing, inspecting, updating, shipping and registering, but I eventually managed to get the car here and have been able to enjoy a few weeks driving. However after being away in for a couple of weeks in November during which time we had a really cold spell (-10c) I had the dreaded battery drain and haven’t been able to start the car since.
Whilst I’m no mechanic, I’m pretty sure that the issue is the immobilizer as there were no issues before the battery drained, although I'm open to suggestions otherwise. I have trawled the forums here to see if anything anyone else has tried might help - I charged the battery which didn’t make any difference and also tried jumping the car but nothing engaged or seemed to work, not even the fuel pump priming. I tried a suggested procedure in one of the previous threads that involved a number of steps that included disconnecting the battery and pressing the fob but this didn’t get me to the point where the car would start although I am now hearing the fuel pump prime when I turn the key which didn’t happen before. Someone suggested that there is a connection on one of the relays that can come loose when you move the battery but I can’t see any evidence of that either and I have also given the starter motor a couple of encouraging taps in case it was stuck but all without success. I still feel as though the immobilizer is the culprit but I have no idea how I can over-ride it to check.
It would be great if anyone has any suggestions on what else I might try? I'm happy to hear from anyone about over-riding the immobilizer if that’s possible via email rather than through the forum otherwise I’m going to have to get the car on a flatbed over to the folks at TVR North America which is an expensive trip that I’d really prefer to avoid.
Suggestions and/or ideas would be gratefully received.
So, 8 years after selling my first Chimaera, as I had always promised myself that I would re-acquaint myself with the joys of owning another TVR, I finally took the plunge and purchased another car last Christmas. I live in Toronto now so I have had the pleasure of lots of interesting challenges that included sourcing, inspecting, updating, shipping and registering, but I eventually managed to get the car here and have been able to enjoy a few weeks driving. However after being away in for a couple of weeks in November during which time we had a really cold spell (-10c) I had the dreaded battery drain and haven’t been able to start the car since.
Whilst I’m no mechanic, I’m pretty sure that the issue is the immobilizer as there were no issues before the battery drained, although I'm open to suggestions otherwise. I have trawled the forums here to see if anything anyone else has tried might help - I charged the battery which didn’t make any difference and also tried jumping the car but nothing engaged or seemed to work, not even the fuel pump priming. I tried a suggested procedure in one of the previous threads that involved a number of steps that included disconnecting the battery and pressing the fob but this didn’t get me to the point where the car would start although I am now hearing the fuel pump prime when I turn the key which didn’t happen before. Someone suggested that there is a connection on one of the relays that can come loose when you move the battery but I can’t see any evidence of that either and I have also given the starter motor a couple of encouraging taps in case it was stuck but all without success. I still feel as though the immobilizer is the culprit but I have no idea how I can over-ride it to check.
It would be great if anyone has any suggestions on what else I might try? I'm happy to hear from anyone about over-riding the immobilizer if that’s possible via email rather than through the forum otherwise I’m going to have to get the car on a flatbed over to the folks at TVR North America which is an expensive trip that I’d really prefer to avoid.
Suggestions and/or ideas would be gratefully received.
I had this exact same issue on my 95 400 and if you still have the fox gaurd system it can be by passed If you loop the ignition and fuel pump feeds together but someone on here will need to tell you which 4 cables they are as I wouldn't want to tell you wrong. After by passing the unit I posted it to bridgewater electronic who replaced the faulty relay inside the unit and any other items that may fail in the unit which cost a total of about £100 inc P&p and a new fob. http://www.bridgwater-electronics.co.uk
Hi Steve, the extreme cold may have siezed a relay. Bit of a shot in the dark but try putting a hair dryer or the like in the passenger footwell until everything is bone dry and warm.
What year is your car?
It may have the Meta alarm
These do have a problematic immobiliser
It may also help to bang the dash lightly,
Sounds bad but it can sometimes trigger a stuck relay.
I've got issues with my alarm and it often causes the car to engage fuel pump but the immobiliser circuit stays locked!
On and off with the key fob etc and it eventually works.
You've tried re setting the alarm with the fob.
I'm hardly an expert but it seems the answer is to remove old system and have something else fitted,,, not cheap!
Surely someone will be along to give better advice. Goodluck
What year is your car?
It may have the Meta alarm
These do have a problematic immobiliser
It may also help to bang the dash lightly,
Sounds bad but it can sometimes trigger a stuck relay.
I've got issues with my alarm and it often causes the car to engage fuel pump but the immobiliser circuit stays locked!
On and off with the key fob etc and it eventually works.
You've tried re setting the alarm with the fob.
I'm hardly an expert but it seems the answer is to remove old system and have something else fitted,,, not cheap!
Surely someone will be along to give better advice. Goodluck
Try disconnecting the battery for a couple of minutes. When reconnected reset alarm a few times with fob.
The system does get out of synch when battery has gone flat. Did you remove battery when charging. I usually have not when I have had to re canard but have to reset alarm/immobiliser afterwards
Good luck
Do you have the small plug in override key that goes in by the steering column
The system does get out of synch when battery has gone flat. Did you remove battery when charging. I usually have not when I have had to re canard but have to reset alarm/immobiliser afterwards
Good luck
Do you have the small plug in override key that goes in by the steering column
How old is the car, do you know if it has a Meta or Foxguard alarm?
The fuel pump is priming but nothing happens when you turn the key further, no click, nothing? If that's the case the first thing that I would do is look at the ignition switch, they're well known for failing. Simple quick try is to whack the ignition barrel a couple of times, if that does nothing take the switch off the end of the barrel, have a play about with it and test it's working with a multimeter.
Seeing as you're far away from any support I'd recommend getting yourself rovergauge, it helps to narrow down quite a lot of problems.
The immobiliser is fairly easy to bypass but try the ignition switch first, there's no point in ripping it out if it's not the problem. Look at the interior light for your battery drain problem too, the switches in the door get a bit sticky and cause all sorts of trouble.
The fuel pump is priming but nothing happens when you turn the key further, no click, nothing? If that's the case the first thing that I would do is look at the ignition switch, they're well known for failing. Simple quick try is to whack the ignition barrel a couple of times, if that does nothing take the switch off the end of the barrel, have a play about with it and test it's working with a multimeter.
Seeing as you're far away from any support I'd recommend getting yourself rovergauge, it helps to narrow down quite a lot of problems.
The immobiliser is fairly easy to bypass but try the ignition switch first, there's no point in ripping it out if it's not the problem. Look at the interior light for your battery drain problem too, the switches in the door get a bit sticky and cause all sorts of trouble.
Hi Everyone – thanks for the suggestions. I have tried warming up the footwell (my wife wasn’t too chuffed when she found out what is was doing with her hair drier though.! 
) and given the underside of the dash a couple of reasonable bangs but no luck unfortunately. The small steering column mounted over-ride key doesn’t make any difference. I am getting a buzz occasionally from the engine bay when turning the key back after trying to start it too but not sure what it might be.
The car is a ’97 400HC so I believe it’s the Meta alarm that’s fitted? There’s only one button on the fob so not sure if that helps identify it? Interestingly, after recharging the battery a couple of weeks ago, it’s not drained again and seems to be holding its power reasonable well.
I’ll have a look at the ignition switch and see if that’s the culprit – thanks again everyone.
) and given the underside of the dash a couple of reasonable bangs but no luck unfortunately. The small steering column mounted over-ride key doesn’t make any difference. I am getting a buzz occasionally from the engine bay when turning the key back after trying to start it too but not sure what it might be.The car is a ’97 400HC so I believe it’s the Meta alarm that’s fitted? There’s only one button on the fob so not sure if that helps identify it? Interestingly, after recharging the battery a couple of weeks ago, it’s not drained again and seems to be holding its power reasonable well.
I’ll have a look at the ignition switch and see if that’s the culprit – thanks again everyone.
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff