Weird electrical glitch?

[coffeekid]

Collected a new 360S this week....

anyone any ideas? Happened a few times on my drive home. Called Oakmere, they told me to turn it off and on again and should be fine.  Didn’t reoccur on 200+ drive home.  Has happened once today again though.

Get what seems like a momentary electrical glitch....  car driving normal and all electrics seem to go off - split second later all dials sweep full and back to normal position and everything continues as normal

[John Vine]

Very difficult to diagnose at a distance, but...

Does absolutely everything go off, engine included?

Do you have a battery master switch?  If so, give that a good working on/off repeatedly.  If not, check the battery leads and terminals.  Then check fuses, relays, and ignition switch, including wires to/from.  Make sure everything is firmly connected and properly seated. 

JV

[DJ.]

Something is most likely cutting power briefly, a poor connection somewhere probably. Does it affect the engine running? Are the lights affected?

 

It's unlikely to fix itself, so the dealer should look into and sort it for you!

[coffeekid]

Engine seems to cut for a split second too. It’s very very brief though - then all seems to run as normal.

No master switch on the car.

my problem is I am over 200 miles and a ferry journey to the dealership 

i’m not technically enough minded to check everything but a mate of mine is.  I’ll get him to check relays and connections etc

[coffeekid]

Maybe a stupid question. But black loop around the ignition barrel has some bare copper showing - could this be shorting out or something?

 

[Frosty]

Hey, that wiring in your picture is the immobiliser antenna. It senses the fob then lets you start the engine. That looks ok, however some cars have had an intermittent problem similar to what you have described... it was caused by the immobiliser box vibrating with engine revs and cutting power/electrics. Have a look under the dash for a small black box and see if it’s a bit loose or cuts the power when you tap or move it.

[elie boone]

If it would be bare copper that is not good, it should be rectified. Is it possible you hit the ign barrel with your knee and in doing so cut the power momentarily ? 

[John Vine]

That's the induction loop for the immobilizer transponder.  Normally, the transponder (a black plastic "tear-drop")  is hooked onto the keyring so that it dangles close to that loop when you insert the key.  Worth checking that the insulation around the loop is sound, but I'd be surprised if that little bit of visible copper is causing your problem.

JV

[Jim 123]

Building on Elie's point I'd suspect that the ignition switch may also be the culprit and on a new car things might just need bedding in. Maybe try jiggling the key in the barrel whilst the engine is running to see if you get your temporary blip.  Cycling the ignition on / off in the barrel a good few times to get the key and lock "run in" and positively engaging is worth a try.  

[Wrightpayne]

Check the connections on the back of the ign switch too - there is a black shroud that slides back to reveal the wires. Not the easiest thing to get at!

Ian

[hampster]

Not very helpful to you but can I say how wonderful it is to see someone describe EXACTLY the problem I have had on my 160 from when it was new. The car was built by Caterham for us and they gave-up trying to find the cause. The cut-out of all power and the speedo and rev needles taking a dive to zero for a second could happen when overtaking a big truck in the outside lane of a motorway and was terrifying to experience, even though it all came back on a split second later. I always suspected the ignition switch and got Caterham to replace it with a key switch plus starter button. This cured it for a while but this week the curse was back.  I shall try all the things suggested but please keep reporting back, especially if you find the answer.

[hampster]

Just to add Coffeekid - your dealer will almost certainly refer this back to Caterham HQ. If so, don't take any rubbish from them.  After mine went back to Caterham for the fourth time, I had HRH the Chief Executive on the phone telling me the fault did not exist, no other car had had the problem and their technician could not replicate the fault. I pointed out that I had an email from their tech guy saying it had cut out on him on a test drive, but the ChX dismissed that fact and the best they offered (remember this was under warranty) was to sell it for me - complete with fault - on commission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hampster]

I wiggled every wire I could find around the immobiliser and the ignition barrel and did succeed in getting rid of the engine management orange light which is slightly encouraging. Have you had any further luck ?

[Jonathan Kay]

Possibly similar fault... with solution.

Jonathan

[ChrisC]

That looks like some copper grease on the wire to me (maybe from a dirty finger or glove during build), more that a chafed wire.  Hope you get it sorted.

[hampster]

You guys are being really helpful. I am in fingers crossed mode at present.

[coffeekid]

Havent had a chance to look at it yet but gonna apply some insulation tape over the exposed areas (exposed on 3 different points) this week.  Hopefully that should be it sorted. Will take a while to find out if it workes as it does happen quite infrequently anyway.

[hampster]

After a good wiggling around the ignition barrel the cut-out problem has not occurred again. How are you getting on with yours?
Cheers til the next time....

[Viblue7]

I have the same fault occurring since the engine and gearbox were out of the car recently. Rev counter and gauges drop to zero for a split second then pick back up again. Left hand indicator light in rev counter doesn’t work but indicator does. Weird indeed. “Expert” advice so far is that it is an earthing fault. Can’t get booked in for full electrical check for another 2 weeks. Car still drives ok apart from the very brief ‘stutter’ when the fault occurs.

All opinions welcome

[Jonathan Kay]

Car still drives ok apart from the very brief ‘stutter’ when the fault occurs.

Does it lose power for a short time or is the stutter only in the instruments?

Left hand indicator light in rev counter doesn’t work but indicator does.

With two indicator warning lights what normally shows with hazard warning lights? And what shows now?

Jonathan

[coffeekid]

So.... I have put some insulation tape around the 3 parts of the immobiliser antenna that had bare copper showing.  So far so good - have done about 250 miles and the problem has not reoccurred.  Fingers crossed

[Viblue7]

Hi Jonathan

In answer to your questions

The stutter seems to affect the engine as well albeit very briefly. A bit like a heart missing a beat. 

When hazards are on both lights in the Rev counter would normally work together. Only the R hand one works both at normal indication and hazards at the moment. However intermittently both indicator lights work ok as normal. I could start the car from cold and all will appear well, then I get going and the fault appears, often when I lift off to shift down a gear  

Hence it is all a bit odd and I am keen to get it sorted. 

Please let me know if you have any further thoughts and thank you for your interest 

Martin

[Jonathan Kay]

Start by cycling the hazard warning light switch a few times... does that make the indicators work normally? There's a known weakness* in the switch. If that's what it is you can clean the contacts or replace the switch.

Then I'd try and find the earthing point for the instruments and check that it's a good connection.

Then wiggle the "hazard warning lights" relay and check that it's seated properly.

Have you got a wiring diagram?

Jonathan

* Which afflicted my Seven yesterday!

[Viblue7]

Many thanks for the suggestions to try so will give them a go. 

I don’t have a wiring diagram however I think I know where the earthing points are on the car. 

Martin

[Jonathan Kay]

If you'd like one please send me a Private Message with your email address and details of the Seven.

Jonathan