Good News & Bad News

[richardcox_lotus]

Hi Guys, time to report good news and bad news.

1st the bad news: Returning on a journey today, the Elan cut out, whilst accelerating gently in 2nd gear. Attempts at restarting have met with no success. (Car is now in the garage). Here are some facts:

- Petrol Tank 3/4 full
- Engine definitely cranks over and catches, but dies immediately.
- About 1 mile before it stopped, I heard the sound of, maybe, a nut coming loose, BUT the car ran fine after that until it ultimately died.
- When I peered under the bonnet I noticed that the throttle cable seemed to be not very firmly attached to the back-plate bracket between the carbs (Note car runs on Webers). I've re-attached it as seems logical but I've no real reference point to know what it should look like. It seems to me that the outer part of the cable seats in a small bucket-type holder attached to the throttle return spring spindles, & the inner part locks under said back-plate bracket. However are there any locking nuts I should be aware of ? Also, if the cable is the problem, shouldn't the car still run on idle settings ??? I'm assuming it's either petrol / electrical related, & I'll check for blocked carb jets but I would have thought that if one jet was blocked, the fact that there's another carb means the engine should still run, albeit erratically. So if it's electrical, where's a good place to start looking ??




Oh, here's the good news:

It occurred 80 yards from home.

TIA

Richard Cox
'72 DHC Sprint

["D.R. Maffei"]

So it starts while turning the key and then when you release the key it dies?

Don

----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Cox
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2001 12:02 PM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Good News & Bad News



Hi Guys, time to report good news and bad news.

1st the bad news: Returning on a journey today, the Elan cut out, whilstaccelerating gently in 2nd gear. Attempts at restarting have met with no success. (Car is now in the garage). Here are some facts:

- Petrol Tank 3/4 full
- Engine definitely cranks over and catches, but dies immediately.
- About 1 mile before it stopped, I heard the sound of, maybe, a nut coming loose, BUT the car ran fine after that until it ultimately died.
- When I peered under the bonnet I noticed that the throttle cable seemedto be not very firmly attached to the back-plate bracket between the carbs(Note car runs on Webers). I've re-attached it as seems logical but I've no real reference point to know what it should look like. It seems to me that the outer part of the cable seats in a small bucket-type holder attached to the throttle return spring spindles, & the inner part locks under saidback-plate bracket. However are there any locking nuts I should be aware of ? Also, if the cable is the problem, shouldn't the car still run on idle settings ??? I'm assuming it's either petrol / electrical related, & I'll check for blocked carb jets but I would have thought that if one jet was blocked, the fact that there's another carb means the engine should still run, albeit erratically. So if it's electrical, where's a good place to start looking ??




Oh, here's the good news:

It occurred 80 yards from home.

TIA

Richard Cox
'72 DHC Sprint

[richardcox_lotus]

I would say about a second or two after.

R

-----Original Message-----
From: D.R. Maffei <***@***.***>
To: ***@***.*** <***@***.***>
Date: 29 July 2001 20:05
Subject: Re: [LotusElan.net] Good News & Bad News


So it starts while turning the key and then when you release the key it
dies?

Don

----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Cox
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2001 12:02 PM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Good News & Bad News



Hi Guys, time to report good news and bad news.

1st the bad news: Returning on a journey today, the Elan cut out, whilst
accelerating gently in 2nd gear. Attempts at restarting have met with no
success. (Car is now in the garage). Here are some facts:

- Petrol Tank 3/4 full
- Engine definitely cranks over and catches, but dies immediately.
- About 1 mile before it stopped, I heard the sound of, maybe, a nut
coming loose, BUT the car ran fine after that until it ultimately died.
- When I peered under the bonnet I noticed that the throttle cable seemed
to be not very firmly attached to the back-plate bracket between the carbs
(Note car runs on Webers). I've re-attached it as seems logical but I've no
real reference point to know what it should look like. It seems to me that
the outer part of the cable seats in a small bucket-type holder attached to
the throttle return spring spindles, & the inner part locks under said
back-plate bracket. However are there any locking nuts I should be aware of
? Also, if the cable is the problem, shouldn't the car still run on idle
settings ??? I'm assuming it's either petrol / electrical related, & I'll
check for blocked carb jets but I would have thought that if one jet was
blocked, the fact that there's another carb means the engine should still
run, albeit erratically. So if it's electrical, where's a good place to
start looking ??




Oh, here's the good news:

It occurred 80 yards from home.

TIA

Richard Cox
'72 DHC Sprint

[Arno Church]

Richard
1. Electrical
check for power on coil
check if there is a spark when cranking- I do it with an old plug fitted to on plug lead and then shorting it on a cam cover stud
while cranking
check points gap in distributor
Check timing, distributors can move
replace points and condensor
2 Petrol- remove a fuel line from one carb , crank the engine to see if fule pump is working ( be careful not to spill fuel on dizzy or starter
Arno

[wgrainge]

I'd try hot wiring it. Use an alligator clip to bring power to the
positive side of the coil. This turns the ignition ON. Then crank it
over and see if it runs. If it does, you've narrowed the problem.

Will Grainger
1970 Elan S4 45/9693



--

[richardcox_lotus]

Thanks for all the replies. I will go back & double-check following the suggestions, however I'm pleased to report that the car is running again. Not too sure why !! I tried it maybe 3 hours or so since my original post - the following are additional likely culprits:

When checking how the throttle cable went together, I was moving the throttle spindles a bit. It was likely that I flooded the engine for a little while.
I also thought I ought to check the "cut-out" switch in the glove box & I don't believe it was fully switched off. It's possible that it got knocked when I moved off uphill. I'll still check the other stuff, though.

Thanks for the help,

Richard

[elansprint71]

Only ever do one thing to a Lotus at once, if you do more than one, you will
never track down the original fault and will possibly induce many more
problems.
If you have an ignition aberration and decide to change the spark plugs, do
not be tempted to adjust the boot (trunk) latch at the same time, or you may
find that your brakes have developed a judder, or that you have water in
the footwell.
Trust me, I am a Doctor.

Pete.

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Cox [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: 30 July 2001 22:01
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Now mainly good news (I hope)




Thanks for all the replies. I will go back & double-check following the
suggestions, however I'm pleased to report that the car is running again.
Not too sure why !! I tried it maybe 3 hours or so since my original post -
the following are additional likely culprits:

When checking how the throttle cable went together, I was moving the
throttle spindles a bit. It was likely that I flooded the engine for a
little while.
I also thought I ought to check the "cut-out" switch in the glove box & I
don't believe it was fully switched off. It's possible that it got knocked
when I moved off uphill. I'll still check the other stuff, though.

Thanks for the help,

Richard












Copyright) 1999, 2000, 2001 LotusElan.net and the email author, all rights
reserved.

["D.R. Maffei"]

Along the same lines, we have a saying, "If your on property to work on a server and the water cooler breaks, it is you fault , fix it!"

Don

----- Original Message -----
From: peteandjanet
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2001 4:03 PM
Subject: RE: [LotusElan.net] Now mainly good news (I hope)


Only ever do one thing to a Lotus at once, if you do more than one, you will
never track down the original fault and will possibly induce many more
problems.
If you have an ignition aberration and decide to change the spark plugs, do
not be tempted to adjust the boot (trunk) latch at the same time, or you may
find that your brakes have developed a judder, or that you have water in
the footwell.
Trust me, I am a Doctor.

Pete.

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Cox [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: 30 July 2001 22:01
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Now mainly good news (I hope)




Thanks for all the replies. I will go back & double-check following the
suggestions, however I'm pleased to report that the car is running again.
Not too sure why !! I tried it maybe 3 hours or so since my original post -
the following are additional likely culprits:

When checking how the throttle cable went together, I was moving the
throttle spindles a bit. It was likely that I flooded the engine for a
little while.
I also thought I ought to check the "cut-out" switch in the glove box & I
don't believe it was fully switched off. It's possible that it got knocked
when I moved off uphill. I'll still check the other stuff, though.

Thanks for the help,

Richard












Copyright) 1999, 2000, 2001 LotusElan.net and the email author, all rights
reserved.