HELP Broke it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HELP Broke it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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FergusG

Original Poster:

76 posts

247 months

Tuesday 26th June 2007
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Stuck at work waiting for the AA to arrive. Went through some standign water yesterday and the car cut out. Managed to get it started fater a tow to a safe location nearby. Left it overnight to come back to it in the morning. Everything seemed OK this morning, but when I came to leave work I started it and it will only tick over at 2000rpm and if I try and drive it, it kangeroos pretty badly. So I've called the AA to see if they can help. Any ideas anyone? Has this happened to you? What was the problem? I'm guessing it'#s probably a sensor on the air side that has got damaged, but who knows.

350Matt

3,909 posts

309 months

Tuesday 26th June 2007
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Try resetting the ECU, delve into the passenger footwell, disconnect the battery leave off for about 5 min then re-connect.

Make sure you've got the keys handy as this often makes the alarm go off.

also have a good look around the engine bay to make sure no hoses are hanging off on the air side after the airflow meter.

Might also be worth having the inlet hose off and looking inside the airflow meter if this is sopping wet it won't be happy

Matt

Edited by 350Matt on Tuesday 26th June 18:37

glow worm

7,463 posts

257 months

Tuesday 26th June 2007
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I hope you've not sucked water in your air intake, isn't it called hydraulic seizure. I just know Tivs and deep water don't mix....Good Luck.

Dave N500 CHM

810 posts

281 months

Tuesday 26th June 2007
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TVR Chimaera 400HC (1995)

Start by taking the dizzy cap off and checking internals for water, spray with wd40.

TT Tim

4,168 posts

277 months

Tuesday 26th June 2007
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Yep, the air intake on the Chim' is horribly low down at the front of the car.

It should be obvious if the engine has been hydraulised (Sp?), as water doesn't compress as air does, so you tend to get bent rods and other major engine problems/damage.

I have my fingers crossed that it's simply water in the electrics.

Good luck

Tim

FergusG

Original Poster:

76 posts

247 months

Tuesday 26th June 2007
quotequote all
Sure it's not hydraulic seizure, as it is ticking over OK, if at high revs and ran fine earlier on.

FergusG

Original Poster:

76 posts

247 months

Tuesday 26th June 2007
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3 1/2 hours later AA still not here

Jasper Gilder

2,166 posts

303 months

Wednesday 27th June 2007
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Had this a couple of times on Griffs after driving for hours in heavy rain - leave it to dry out and it should be fine. I thnk what happens is water hits the airflow meter and scrambles it so the ECU goes onto limp mode to get you home. If it's ticking over at 2k without dire mechanical clattering I wouldn't have thought the engine is toast. I called the RAC out first time it happened - they hadn't really got a clue. It's just a dry out thing.

FergusG

Original Poster:

76 posts

247 months

Wednesday 27th June 2007
quotequote all
HAd AA out this morning. In the end I found the fault while the AA man was looking elsewhere. He gave me the vital cluie when he said it sounded like an air leak. I pinched the hose to the stepper motor and hey presto, it came back down to 800rpm idle. We took off the stepper motor, and that seems to have had some water on it. It is not moving at all when the ignition is put on and the AA man could not find a live feed to it from the ECU, so we think the stepper motor is toast, and it looks like it may have taken the stepper motor control circuit with it in it's death throes. Anyway, I now have a brake pipe clamp on the stepper motor air line courtesy of the nice AA man. So it is driveable, although tickover is a bit slow and unsteady without the stpper motor. I need to nudge it up a bit I think.

Sounds like I need a new stepper motor and ECU repair. Going into Dan Melladay's next week to get sorted. Dan has just got some new ECU diagnosis gear to play with, so hopefully he'll be able to find the problem and send the ECU away for repair.