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K-click (relay mod vs brise)


mcerbm

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I used to occasionally suffer from k-click but recently I have had a battery master switch added to the car and then went on a track day. I then noticed the k-click was a lot more prominent. i.e. if the car has been running for more than 20mins it will fail to start every time until cooled.

 

Presumably its the extra wiring now installed for the master switch which has made the problem worse (although prolonged heat on the trackday probably didn't help).

 

Probably rather foolishly I read some posts and purchased a Brise starter motor (not fitted yet) before reading into the relay mod in any depth.

 

I now have a few queries:

 

The battery master switch was installed to allow me to compete in hill climbs and sprints. Does the relay mod invalidate this i.e. does it bypass the master switch and will cause the car to fail scrutineering? If not I will go down this route first before fitting the brise.

 

If it does bypass the master switch I will need to fit the brise starter motor to hopefully sort the k-click. I read on previous posts that some grinding of the engine block is required to get it to fit. this was from posts several years ago. I got the caterham k-series model on the brise website, has this been modified over the years so no grinding is required (car lives in a garage with no access to power)?

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

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The relay mod should cure your car for a couple of quid and won't by pass the master switch. The fact that the click got worse when you added a master switch is a sure sign that the relay mod will cure it.

I'd fit the relay and see how you get on. I'll bet it will work for you (it has done so for me for around 10 years).

You can then sell the Brise starter.

Blatmail me for details of the relay mod.

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Just to balance the thread *smile*

 

I had the same issues (minus the master switch), after a year on a new car. Changed to the brise from the Skoda starter and have covered 9K miles without a single issue. I found the brise took less space than the original due to the ability to rotate it on its connecting mount.

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just to hijack the thread *smile*

 

i did the relay mod a few days ago, fitted a new std starter, but i still have the click from time to time (cold or hot, doesn't really matter)

 

i have double checked battery, ground, loom, alternator but can't see why it is not working fine.

 

starter goes well everytime i put a direct feed on it.

 

any idea??

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There's different ways to wire the mod, mine is in the feed to the starter solenoid but still leaves the relay in the MFRU in use, but carrying a much lower load, ie. only enough to close the new relay. Mine works fine, but if your MFRU has suffered badly then there may still be an issue. Maybe replace the MFRU?

 

Stu.

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Quoting tonino: 
just to hijack the thread *smile*

 

i did the relay mod a few days ago, fitted a new std starter, but i still have the click from time to time (cold or hot, doesn't really matter)

 

i have double checked battery, ground, loom, alternator but can't see why it is not working fine.

 

starter goes well everytime i put a direct feed on it.

 

any idea??

 

As Stu says, it seems your MFRU may be too far gone. You can replace the MFRU - there's one in the for sale section. alternatively you can by pass the MFRU completely, replacing it with a new relay. You will find details if you do a search.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Ok I did the relay mod and used the method detailed at Alcester racing sevens website. I took the car for a quick blat and all was fine when I went to restart it.

 

I'm just back from a 100mile trip to a track day, after arriving I turned off the car and tried to restart it, all fine. Several times during the track day the car was restarted after being turned off for a few minutes (should be extreme heat during constant lapping) and all was fine.

 

But....

 

On the way home, the k-click returned in what I would of thought would of been less strenuous circumstances (same conditions as the trip down). Then, just as before the relay mod, it took approx 20mins before it would turn over.

 

Im guessing my next step is to re-condition the starter motor and solonoid (I sent the brise back as I thought the mod had worked!) but I am baffled to why it seemed to be working (certainly before I did the mod it would not of started after a long journey or at the track day) but now the problem is back.

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I have looked at this and do not think the issue is the relay. The issue is the power feed to the MFRU. I am going to run a feed directly from the battery to the MFRU power which is switched for the solenoid to see what happens.
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I had endless kcod issues in 2006, detailed elsewhere on here, the relay mod is great, but not a panacea - though I would not be without it. I found my greatest ally was a volt meter on hot wires (so to speak). The description above sounds like heat soak, takes time to bite. Do all your thick wires still flex properly? Mine snapped (!) when flexed (given a good bend) so the inner core was goosed, but looked fine from the outside and worked ok when cold... that's not including issues inside the starter motor itself, which is why I am curious about a Brise in the future.

 

Anthony

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