Hot start issue - help needed
Discussion
I have a 94 plate Chimaera that I have owned for just over a week. On 3 occasions now it has failed to start when hot. Once when the car had been locked and left, and twice when it had just been left unlocked. It has started every other time, hot and cold without any issues. I know from reading previous posts that the hot start issue has been well discussed, but I am not convinced that my problem fits the previously discussed Meta Alarm issues or not.
When I purchased the car I was relatively confident I would not have the host start problem given it appeared to be running a Scorpion rather than Meta alarm.
When it fails the fuel pump is running (fairly sure about that - but questioning my recollection as I write this), but the engine does not turn over at all and the bottom red LED between the speedo and rev counter stays lit. Arming and disarming the alarm makes no difference and it appears to arm and disarm ok. There is a blue LED next to the ignition key that flashes when the key fob lock and unlock is pressed and that appears to work as normal and the doors lock and unlock but the car will not start.
The alarm key fobs say Scopion on the back, and have 4 buttons - boot release, unlock, lock and siren (flash lights) the main key appears to be just a key and nothing special. The boot release works about 75% of the time - not sure if that is me or the system. The door unlocking works every time.
The car has a megasquirt ECU - not sure if that has any bearing on this problem.
Each time it has failed I have not been in a position to start doing any fault finding while it is faulty, and after a few (no more than 10) minutes the car starts as normal.
Over the last two days, armed with loads of useful advice from the forums I have started trying to work out what is wrong, which is difficult when then car starts every time while I am trying to find the issue.
I cannot find any sign of a previously fitted hot start kit relay. Based on what I have read, there may well be other issues that need resolving anyway, but I accept this may be a solution.
What is slightly more odd, is that I cannot find any sign of an alarm box or siren. I tried starting the car with the doors locked using the key fob, and it does not start and no siren either. I know therefore that an immobiliser is hidden somewhere. I have lifted the left side of the top dash and found the door control box, various relays but no alarm box as expected. Also lifted the centre console and found a small alarm sensor box but not sure if that is part of the current system or not. There were two in my S3 and neither were live. Finally I remove the stereo and had a look behind that, and nothing. It is entirely possible that the alarm box is very well disguised and I have just missed it or mistaken it for something else.
What I did find behind the passenger side footwell end panel was that somebody had zip tied the wiring loom to the heating pipes, which is surely asking for trouble, or is that normal?
I also found that several fuses were not pushed all the way in, and were partly out. Not enough not to work, but I have pushed everything in tightly.
Any advice on what to try next would be appreciated? I am reluctant to start throwing money at buying replacement start motor, alarms, etc without really knowing where the fault is.
Does anyone have a circuit diagram for the hot start fix - it might be worth giving that a try.
Although I like the central locking and key fob door unlock, I am less bothered about retaining the immobiliser especially if it is going to cause problems. The car does not appear to have a siren anyway. How easy/practical is to remove the immobiliser feature but retain the door locking?
Annoyingly I will not know if it is fixed or not until it fails again.
When I purchased the car I was relatively confident I would not have the host start problem given it appeared to be running a Scorpion rather than Meta alarm.
When it fails the fuel pump is running (fairly sure about that - but questioning my recollection as I write this), but the engine does not turn over at all and the bottom red LED between the speedo and rev counter stays lit. Arming and disarming the alarm makes no difference and it appears to arm and disarm ok. There is a blue LED next to the ignition key that flashes when the key fob lock and unlock is pressed and that appears to work as normal and the doors lock and unlock but the car will not start.
The alarm key fobs say Scopion on the back, and have 4 buttons - boot release, unlock, lock and siren (flash lights) the main key appears to be just a key and nothing special. The boot release works about 75% of the time - not sure if that is me or the system. The door unlocking works every time.
The car has a megasquirt ECU - not sure if that has any bearing on this problem.
Each time it has failed I have not been in a position to start doing any fault finding while it is faulty, and after a few (no more than 10) minutes the car starts as normal.
Over the last two days, armed with loads of useful advice from the forums I have started trying to work out what is wrong, which is difficult when then car starts every time while I am trying to find the issue.
I cannot find any sign of a previously fitted hot start kit relay. Based on what I have read, there may well be other issues that need resolving anyway, but I accept this may be a solution.
What is slightly more odd, is that I cannot find any sign of an alarm box or siren. I tried starting the car with the doors locked using the key fob, and it does not start and no siren either. I know therefore that an immobiliser is hidden somewhere. I have lifted the left side of the top dash and found the door control box, various relays but no alarm box as expected. Also lifted the centre console and found a small alarm sensor box but not sure if that is part of the current system or not. There were two in my S3 and neither were live. Finally I remove the stereo and had a look behind that, and nothing. It is entirely possible that the alarm box is very well disguised and I have just missed it or mistaken it for something else.
What I did find behind the passenger side footwell end panel was that somebody had zip tied the wiring loom to the heating pipes, which is surely asking for trouble, or is that normal?
I also found that several fuses were not pushed all the way in, and were partly out. Not enough not to work, but I have pushed everything in tightly.
Any advice on what to try next would be appreciated? I am reluctant to start throwing money at buying replacement start motor, alarms, etc without really knowing where the fault is.
Does anyone have a circuit diagram for the hot start fix - it might be worth giving that a try.
Although I like the central locking and key fob door unlock, I am less bothered about retaining the immobiliser especially if it is going to cause problems. The car does not appear to have a siren anyway. How easy/practical is to remove the immobiliser feature but retain the door locking?
Annoyingly I will not know if it is fixed or not until it fails again.
this might help with identification http://www.chimaerapages.com/install-hot-start-kit...
Thanks for all the suggestions, and to QBEE for offering to help out with some bits. I have plenty to go on now for the diagnostics and will keep you all updated on progress when I have some time to work on the car again over the next few evenings (weather permitting as I can only just open the car doors in the garage.)
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