Mod-Wise "Hot Start Kit"

[cerby4.5]

Great bit of kit, problem solved! Best £20 I have spent, highly recommended!
Cerby4.5

[theaxe]

What's the easiest way to get hold of one of these? I remember seeing a phone number / website on here somewhere...

Do all Chims have this problem (mine's a '98) or is it best to just do this mod anyway?

[edtvr]

I have a 99 Chim and had this problem before fitting the hot start relay from Modwise.
You can get it from www.mod-wise.co.uk. It pretty straight forward to fit but does involve some gymnastics getting down in the passenger footwell.
It is worth while to save the embarassment of being stuck on a garage forecourt after filling up.

Ed

[cerby4.5]

theaxe said:

Do all Chims have this problem (mine's a '98) or is it best to just do this mod anyway?

I was told by David who makes the kit, that the cause is a known design fault with the cars. So could potentially affect any of them! Mine is a '98 as well, and the problem had been getting more frequent as time went on!
Cerby4.5

[YamR1,V64motion]

just bought a Griff 500 which is suffering from hot starting problems, how hard is this kit to fit?
£20 is well worhtwhile for not having the inconvienence of been left stranded for 40 mins!!!!!

[cerby4.5]

According to David who makes them it is possible to DIY. But I had Tower View fit it for me, just to be sure it was done properly!

[WooHoo]

Had the old hot start issues on my '97 450, but all fine since kit fitted... I'm a raging incompetent when it comes to most electrical problems/fixes, but the kit comes with pretty simple instructions, and it only took even me two hours of footwell-grovelling!

[softtop]

It it in most cases a straight forward job to do. Mine took 30 minutes to do. Two hours probably includes a test drive afterwards!
Well worth the investment, the kit is well made, not worth trying to make one yourself for ther difference in price.

[ATG]

The mod-wise website appears to be only half built at the moment. There's no description of what the hot start problem is, nor how the kit fixes it. Is it temporarily overriding the ECU or a sender or something?

[Parrot of Doom]

Warm start problem:

Engine gets hot
Wire to starter motor solenoid gets hot
Wire resistance now too high due to temperature
Not enough current to starter
Car won't start

Solution:

Use original (hot) wire to feed a relay instead of solenoid
Get 12V direct from the battery, connect to relay
Connect relay to starter
Car starts every time

[YamR1,V64motion]

im going to put one of these kits on my griff this week so i will let you know how i get on with fitting it.

[ATG]

Thanks for that PoD. What a fabulous feature of the standard car that is! Must have taken a fair bit of time to put 2 and 2 together and diagnose that as the problem too.

[Parrot of Doom]

The sad thing is that there are still many posts in the TVR section where someone has had the same problem, and (usually a stealer) has replaced the starter motor.

I had the starter motor changed on mine, but only because it was sticking, and it was too weak anyway.

If the wiring in your footwell differs from the modwise picture (mine did), you can trace the wire in the engine bay, the loom runs quite close to the alternator. Thats where I put my kit.

[YamR1,V64motion]

thought i would update you all, i fitted this kit over the weekend and it works very well, would recomend to anyone who suffers the hot start problem.

[Fire99]

Hi All,

I've had the hot start issue during Mid Summer about half a dozen times but during the colder weather i've been fortunate and not had any.
I've been a bit lazy but will no doubt fit the hot-start kit before summer.

A point of interest, if you do unavoidably get stuck with the hot start issue at a petrol station, pour a small amount of water between the back 2 cylinders (between the exhaust outlets), that is enough to cool things and allow the car to start.

Best 89p Mineral Water purchase i've ever made.

Someone told me about it and it worked for me.

As a longer term solution methinks the Hot-Start kit would be better..

[edtvr]

Nick,
That happened to me (stuck on a petrol station forecourt) not knowing at the time what the cause was, just waited for 5 mins then it was ok.
I believe this mod is worth doing as its obviously a design oversight that was never
changed.
For less than the price of a taxi home and a couple of hours to fit. it will save any future hastle.

You can be sure then the weather starts getting warmer it will happen again.
I see your in Essex, me too if you have any problems fitting it email me.

Ed

[Fire99]

edtvr said:

Nick, That happened to me (stuck on a petrol station forecourt) not knowing at the time what the cause was, just waited for 5 mins then it was ok. I believe this mod is worth doing as its obviously a design oversight that was never changed. For less than the price of a taxi home and a couple of hours to fit. it will save any future hastle. You can be sure then the weather starts getting warmer it will happen again. I see your in Essex, me too if you have any problems fitting it email me. Ed

Yeah i must get it sorted. Yep im in Essex. Thanks, if i have any bother i'll do that. Very much appreciated!