Martin J Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 Quoting Stationary M25 Traveller: For the sake of the new customer, and the reputation of existing members Martin and Steve that persuaded him to buy this NEW car from CC, we need to mail a link to this thread to Graham MacDonald at CC. Or ... see a quick and reassuring post from CC before he collects the car from CC Midlands.[/pQuote To be fair we didn't persuade Alan, Ian, he is incredibly keen without our encouragement! I feel we just need to look out for him as he knows next to nothing about caterhams but is learning fast. CC do read blatchat & I don't want this thread to turn into a witch hunt (yet) give them a chance to sort the problems before collection & Alan will be a very happy bunny. If I hear he is being mucked about rest assured I will let you all know via this thread. If he is looked after & all is well, again I will post up the good news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ. Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Quoting John Hughes: Check the sender - a fellow LADS with a Sigma 150 is on his 3rd OP sender and they aren't cheap - but should be on warranty. They are also nigh on impossible to get at being under the inlet manifold between 1&2 cylinders and next to the plastic moulding for the crank breather Access to the oil pressure sender is actually Ok as long as you remove the oil filter first. Duncan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domus Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 That LADS member is me. First time no pressure at all, second time Max pressure all the time. The sender is a Danfoss unit, so should be good quality component. Third sender is working fine but I have a mechanical gauge ready on the shelf if it fails. Just wondering if these problems in this thread are all on factory built cars? Who would you rather build your car, someone who has lusted after one for years and lavishes time and loving care on the build, or a chap who has 50 hours to get it done and will never see it again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin J Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 Interesting, thanks for the info Peter Generally I thought the sender on the sigma was more reliable than on the K because it's not exposed to the elements like the rover installation. For my sins, I repair boilers for a living & a lot that are fitted to sealed systems now incorporate pressure sensors to tell the boiler electronics what is going on. They often fail or block with sludge where they connect to the boiler. A manual OPG must be the way forward. My 1972 mini had one!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john aston Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Bit of deja vu for me ; when I collected my car in late 2007 from Cat Midlands there were a number of isues which really should have been picked up- no oil temp showing , speedo over reading by up to 600%, door strap pulled out on day two, some trim falling off etc, To their credit all sorted out without a problem but why PDI couldn't pick these elementary problems up I really don't know. I had hoped matters had improved - maybe not it seems. We all make allowances but having spent £30k I was disappointed . That's history now- car great but the early days weren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin J Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 I have told Alan to take a tyre pressure gauge with him as I have heard stories of cars being collected & driven away with circa 30psi or more in the tyres & all hell breaks loose at the first damp roundabout. He has been briefed about the ZV3 ditch finders but at least at first I think they will be fine for him while he gets used to his first caterham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Yes .. have witnessed new cars with pressures varying from 18-30psi !!! Every one different I suspect DTA (tyres) inflate them and CC don't check on PDI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnForbes-Crisp Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 not just tyres,wheel nuts as well[all tyre companies guilty of this----we don't all carry pneumatic tools with us]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classic1952 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 "ZV3 ditch finders" This is the first time I have heard this term! Have just switched to some 14" Minators fitted with these and they seem OK. I would welcome comments!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Oh dear ..... how long have you got ? Settles into comfy chair with a bucket of popcorn ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 They are fun to play with because the grip levels are so low, but the improvement in grip when you fit good tyres (AO21, AO48, R888, CR500 etc) is astonishing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classic1952 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I was on CR322s on 13" wheels before and was not impressed by the grip. The ZV3s came nearly new with the wheels so I will have a bit of fun with them before I change to something more grippy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 My Academy car is on CR322's - they do make every drive 'interesting' when you're used to running CR500s! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugene Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 It's interesting that Caterham are yet to respond to this thread... I purchased 'Eugene' from Caterham some 25 years ago, when Guy was still with them - and have studiously avoided any contact with them since Guy left... There are far better independent '7' operators out there that meet my needs and provide great levels of customer service. As for Caterham - 😔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin J Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 Quoting classic1952: "ZV3 ditch finders" This is the first time I have heard this term! Have just switched to some 14" Minators fitted with these and they seem OK. I would welcome comments!! I don't mean to scare you but they were fitted to my car for the first year. They made the car nervous & the driver even more so! To be fair, you could find their limit quite easily but I just lost confidence in them if I was in a push ahead frame of mind. Yokohama AO21's for me & the by far the best upgrade I have made to my 7. Available as a direct replacement for the 14inch miniators (CR500 are not in this size) One draw back, more gravel rash to the rear wings, as when they are warmed up they really do pick up stones. Edited by - Martin Jeffrey on 23 Mar 2013 18:29:25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classic1952 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Note to self to flog the old wheels and the ZV3s and get some decent tyres! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone Rat Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Hi, Just been through the thread - I have a factory built Sigma 150 Roadsport 2011 vintage. The rev counter flicks a bit when idling & has always done so, steady when driving though. Didn't notice any change in running of the engine so just assumed it's iffy earthing. The OPG always gives a steady 2 bar at idle rising to 4.5 bar when driving. I can only reiterate the quality control issues, I picked mine up from CC south & immediately thought 'I'm sure it should be easier in traffic than this'. It was a pig to drive in stop start traffic, constantly surging & refusing to be driven smoothly. On return to S.Wales & giving it a few weeks to see if it was just the 'raw driving experience' I decided it wasn't right. Contacted CC 1) They all do that. 2) It's the accelerator cable - it's not fly by wire 3) Wear thinner shoes 4) Jam your foot aganst the side wall to prevent jerky movements. All utter BS & rather patronising to an experienced driver. Eventually sorted by a phone call to CC Midlands - immediate response was - 'Yeah- you need the throttles balanced & updated map - just bring it up'. (Cardiff to Midlands in rain is not a short trip & not fun). The return trip was a revelation - it ran properly for once! Would it really have been so difficult to bother to balance the throttle bodies before releasing it & not trying to fob off with rubbish excuses. I really expected better from a niche manufacturer. Sorry for the rant - but it's interesting to see others have had the same issues. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnockoff Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 When I bought my SV secondhand in 2008 there were a couple of issues which CC South were only too happy to sort out prior my driving the car away a couple of weeks later. No quibbles, accepted the faults and rectified as one would expect a dealer to do. Drove the car home, all loved up as you are! Couple of days later just before showing the thing off to family, I thought I'd check the tyre pressures, 7psi all round!!!!! Was not impressed. Some PDI, NOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve m Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Just thought I'd let you know how Alan got on today. The oil pressure problem was a faulty sender which was fixed. The rev counter still twitches but doesn't seem to be a problem. Overall he is really impressed with Callum at Caterham who dealt with everything. He asked me to say that he had a terrific run back, despite a spattering of snow! He didn't sleep last night and doesn't think he will tonight, he's so excited! A very pleased customer... everything he wanted has been done, and he loves the popping and banging from the Sigma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Auton Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Pleased to here it's been satisfactorily resolved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Good stuff. Will we see him posting on BC soon ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin J Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 That is great news Steve. Popping & banging is a 125 speciality. Alan.....get yourself a laptop, join the club & join in the madhouse that is blatchat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myothercarsa2cv Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Just to give another side to the CC service story... The diff issue was long winded and a pain in the behind. I took the 7 back after the SVA (I built it myself) as I wasn't happy with the noise after reading about it being a problem on here. After taking it for a little spin, CC took the car back, swapped the diff for me (FOC - no obligation to do this on self-builds) and when I collected it, I drove off and 20 miles later came straight back as the new diff sounded even worse. CC then swapped in another diff for me, tested it a little more extensively to make sure the noise didn't develop, and when it did, got one from Quaiffe and popped it in for me. Noise is now a distant memory and I can here the engine sing. We all know they had quality control issues with the diffs, but they gave me some exemplary service at Dartford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin J Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 Alan's is fitted with a BMW open diff (apparently modified so nothing touches where it shouldn't) hopefully it is nice & quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 That's good news if it is the case as it means mine should be sorted soon. Easy to test. Just go for a 2 up Blat, listen for the clonks and look at the dedion afterwards, the contact point is obvious if it happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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