won't run - HELP PLEASE

[tedtaylor]

H E L P !!!!
There won?t be a test drive if I can?t keep it running!!
Something strange, sudden and probably very simple happened. It?s not a gas issue. Car starts, but only runs in two ways, either by high revs (which lends me to think battery charging via alternator) or by hotwire and/or continuous cranking of starter (in other words, key in start/crank position). Perhaps the ignition switch or starter solenoid?

was running perfectly fine yesterday. I checked all connections to solenoid, coil, distributor, alternator. The only work i did was the clutch master and slave cylinders yesterday, so i don't think i disturbed anything knowingly.

Your thoughts please???

[pharriso]

Does the car still have the anti-theft switch in the Glove Box? If so bypass it for now...

[john.p.clegg]

Do you have a 6volt coil and feed it from the starter solenoid??

John

[tedtaylor]

BINGO!
Phil wins the prize! THANK YOU!!!
I didn't disconnect it (yet), but I operated the switch firmly in both directions, and it's now running!
now follow this. I had the ignition key on, and turned the switch in one position, and the red ignition light dimmed, and when i switched into the other position, the red light glowed normally.
of course, now writing this, i don't recall whether it was in the up or down (off or on) position, but regardless, that little switch in the glove box really controls some electrical power.

Should I just leave it alone now, or is disconnecting it the wise thing to do, in other words, is this switch "problematic" ?

thanks again Phil.

[mbell]

My understanding is that in the off position it should sound the horn when you try to start the engine.

Personally I'd lean to disconnect if it suspect dodgy. You don't want to be driving down the road and have complete ignition failure. I'd at least do a but of experimentation to see if the fault recurs.

[stugilmour]

I also suggest disconnecting the security switch and correctly wiring around it. The switch itself is known to be problematic. Back in the day a failure of this system caused a huge issue on my friend's Plus 2 after a drive up to Whistler Mountain, so this was an issue when the cars were newer. Slightly in jest, the last thing a vintage Lotus requires is an electrically based immobilizer.

Mbell is correct that the horn should sound if you try to start the car. However, when we had the issue at Whistler, either from a low battery / voltage while cranking or dodgy switch / wiring, the horn would not sound but the horn relay would click on rapidly..

I have had a slightly different issue with the ignition switch. In my case the ignition did not work while cranking. I would crank the car for a long while with no start, but it would fire as soon as I moved the key to the run position.

My car was in the shop and the mechanic noticed the issue, took the switch apart somehow and 'fixed' the issue. It failed again shortly after. A new switch solved the issue with no re-occurrence. I would just replace the switch to get rid of the issue, assuming you have already checked the spade connectors on the switch are all snug, etc.

HTH

Stu