Discussion
Hi, have just bought cerb sp6, great drive home - until aircon pulley fell off, never got home! Dealer picking up the tab. Need to ask advice though about first cold start on overnight stop going home - prob just below freezing - fired up great but no cold idle - just a tiny blip on throttle sent revs racing, only to fall back instantly towards zero. OK after 3 minutes. Any clues? TVR specialist sorting car says cold start OK now. Looking forward to getting car back - not disenchanted yet...............
Hi and welcome to the club 
Glad to see you're not disheartened!
FWIW the Speed 6 and AJP8 are fairly simple engines. My V8 is a little reluctant to idle from stone cold without some throttle. It's just mechanical stops on both and the butterfly bar is adjusted for idle position with a screw.
If it's idling now then they'll have given it a tweak. I wouldn't worry about that.
Glad to see you're not disheartened!
FWIW the Speed 6 and AJP8 are fairly simple engines. My V8 is a little reluctant to idle from stone cold without some throttle. It's just mechanical stops on both and the butterfly bar is adjusted for idle position with a screw.
If it's idling now then they'll have given it a tweak. I wouldn't worry about that.
Stalling on idle when cold after start-up
After starting on a cold morning, until the car has warmed up slightly, the engine will sometimes stutter and stall while idling. This is due to the fact that the Tuscan does not have a cold idle jet that would normally raise the revs to keep the engine turning over. It's best to either drive off as soon as possible to start warming up the engine or if that's not possible, regulate the idle revs to around 1,500 RPM with minimal use of throttle for about 15-20 seconds.
Taken from Tuscan pages very normal for a sp6 engine, my Tuscan did this also.
After starting on a cold morning, until the car has warmed up slightly, the engine will sometimes stutter and stall while idling. This is due to the fact that the Tuscan does not have a cold idle jet that would normally raise the revs to keep the engine turning over. It's best to either drive off as soon as possible to start warming up the engine or if that's not possible, regulate the idle revs to around 1,500 RPM with minimal use of throttle for about 15-20 seconds.
Taken from Tuscan pages very normal for a sp6 engine, my Tuscan did this also.
Thanks guys (and dolls??). Even minimal throttle sent revs racing, then they dropped like a stone towards zero. But maybe I need more time to get use to starting procedures. Car is over 400 miles away. Once threads re-drilled for pulley, dealer has offered to meet half way (which eats into my insurance allowance of 3k pa, but can't be helped). So far, the dealers have gone the extra mile to help out and they have taken responsibility for the main issue with the car.
DCerebrate said:
Thanks guys (and dolls??). Even minimal throttle sent revs racing, then they dropped like a stone towards zero. But maybe I need more time to get use to starting procedures. Car is over 400 miles away. Once threads re-drilled for pulley, dealer has offered to meet half way (which eats into my insurance allowance of 3k pa, but can't be helped). So far, the dealers have gone the extra mile to help out and they have taken responsibility for the main issue with the car.
Hi Robert 
and welcome to the Madhouse
It has been over 30 years since I lived in England
BUT
Isn't there still some law about "Fit for purpose" and if there is then the blummin' sales point MUST provide you with a vehicle that can get you back home, let alone to any distance covered by warranty insurance.
I'm sure they're being 'reasonable' but that's because they sold you something that didn't go through the requisite pre-sale tests and they know it.
Get 'em to deliver the vehicle on a trailer (thereby not eaking into your mileage cover) with a full tank of 98 (with receipt) and make them feel good that they got away with that.
It's b
ds like them who give Cerbs a bad rep, A$$hole$ !You can forget that 3000 mile limit. You'll have done that by April
Oh, and not sure about that cold, tickover prob
BUT
I always thought that the ECU receives messages about engine temp and air temp/pressure and regulates the amount of fuel entering the cylinders in order to control tickover speeds at all temperatures.
Sounds to me like at least one of the sensors isn't working/connected so
1) That's summat else the sales point have to regulate
2) there are several software solutions to check ECU readings to establish the problem/s.
A couple of searches on this forum will produce solutions.
Edited by Mr Cerbera on Friday 13th February 11:08
r8black said:
Mr Cerbera said:
r8black said:
Oh crap I'm picking my cerb up tonight 70 mile drive home
FRIDAY 13th st
Better go down The Pub first then, make sure that you've got all bases covered FRIDAY 13th s
t
Wet roads,
Agreed on the cold idle thing, and welcome to sp6 Cerb ownership, I bought mine in October.
Lack of an idle jet is carburettor talk, these engines are EFI, but with no active idle control except a little ignition advance.
Fit for purpose could be argued on something the dealer should have known about but a pulley? Should they have dismantled the rest of the car to find anything that might have been about to fail? As someone who has restored a lot of classics, most with substantial rebuilds, you have to draw the line somewhere and these infernal automobiles we love so much ALWAYS bite you on the arse by going wrong on the ONE thing you didn't replace because it looked and worked fine.
I've improved my engine's behaviour vastly by balancing and re-sealing the throttles, and giving the lambda sensors new grounds. ECU interrogation software is a must! Whereabouts are you in the country?
Lack of an idle jet is carburettor talk, these engines are EFI, but with no active idle control except a little ignition advance.
Fit for purpose could be argued on something the dealer should have known about but a pulley? Should they have dismantled the rest of the car to find anything that might have been about to fail? As someone who has restored a lot of classics, most with substantial rebuilds, you have to draw the line somewhere and these infernal automobiles we love so much ALWAYS bite you on the arse by going wrong on the ONE thing you didn't replace because it looked and worked fine.
I've improved my engine's behaviour vastly by balancing and re-sealing the throttles, and giving the lambda sensors new grounds. ECU interrogation software is a must! Whereabouts are you in the country?
Edited by Stunned Monkey on Friday 13th February 21:49
Stunned Monkey - Useful advice, and I note your mechanical background. I need more time to get to know the car and starting technique. Am in South of Scotland. Not sure where to go for servicing yet - Dreadnought or HHC. In reply to previous post, if dealer drives 300 miles to meet me then at least this is a sign of confidence that it is sorted. Dealer v. helpful and sorting out some very minor issues too, also great at communicating.
I could not fault the Cerb's performance or handling once warmed up. Have purchased to recreate memories of Capri MkI with Cologne kit and tuned Rover V8, from many moons ago - and this it does admirably.
I could not fault the Cerb's performance or handling once warmed up. Have purchased to recreate memories of Capri MkI with Cologne kit and tuned Rover V8, from many moons ago - and this it does admirably.
DCerebrate said:
To R8black, how did you get on? Better than the driver of the Pagani Zonda in London the other day I trust. 'With great power comes great responsibility'.
All good mate They take a lot of getting use to especially that clutch its very snappy and need lots of practice to even pull away
And the throttle is soooooo long
My sp6 clutch is very easy to control - actually one of the pleasant surprises when I bought my car.
The throttle really could use a rising rate linkage, that's for sure... But when I had my quiet(er) exhaust made, it got a lot less embarrassing revving it too hard when pulling away...
The throttle really could use a rising rate linkage, that's for sure... But when I had my quiet(er) exhaust made, it got a lot less embarrassing revving it too hard when pulling away...
r8black said:
All good mate
They take a lot of getting use to especially that clutch its very snappy and need lots of practice to even pull away
And the throttle is soooooo long
My clutch was really unpleasant when I bought the car. Eventually I swapped it out for a new clutch pack and RP slave - difference is Night and Day. Clutch is now so light and progressive that the whole driving experience has been transformed. Don't get me wrong, this isn't cheap, parts alone are now £1,400, if you are paying someone else then add several hours at £60 ish plus vat. Worth every penny.They take a lot of getting use to especially that clutch its very snappy and need lots of practice to even pull away
And the throttle is soooooo long
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