From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtick over phrasal verb British English1 TTCif an engine ticks over, it works while the vehicle is not moving Mark left the engine ticking over and went back inside.2 CONTINUE/NOT STOPif a system, business etc ticks over, it continues working but without producing very much or without much happening The business is just about ticking over. Jane will keep things ticking over while I’m away. → tick→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
keep things ticking over• The parasympathetic is responsible for the day-to-day running of the body, for keeping things ticking over nicely.From Longman Business Dictionarytick over phrasal verb [intransitive] British English if a system, business etc ticks over, it goes on working but without producing much or without much happeningThe market did little more than tick over. → tick→ See Verb table 