graemesmith

Thanks

My 310 is ready for it's first MOT (actually it's overdue and running on the DVLA extension). I'm in the West of Scotland (Ayr/Troon area). Normally I'd take a run up to Dreadnaught in Callander but they are short staffed and I don't want to do a 200 mile round trip when they can't guarantee being able to do it without me leaving the car with them. I've had a recommendation for Autotec in Port Glasgow but wondered if anyone on here has used a center a bit closer to Ayr/Troon? I'd like somewhere that knows what a Caterham is and will, for example, be able to take the bonnet off without wrecking it! Thanks Graeme

I've updated my main post to include the Pin convention!

That one is wrong as well. I don't have a wiring diagram, just went with what Caerbont described. The B 37 looks like Pin 7, the earth so the one to the left on the bottom row should be Pin 8 although the colour is wrong in the diagram. If it helps, I think the BU157 is the correct pin. My numbers run clockwise from the top left. Pin 1 top left, Pin 6 top right, Pin 7 bottom right, Pin 12 bottom left.

Just got the official fix from Caerbont. There should not be a wire connected to the Tacho at the MIL pin location. If there is it will cause the light to illuminate. Mine had the wire connected. I cut it at the Tacho end and the Dim MIL problem went away. I assume the length of wire in the loom is suficient to pick up a low conductive voltage and dimly light the bulb. Anyway, problem solved. Unlike the other internet posts which report to have fixed it I'm happy to share the info. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!! The 12 way connector has 2 rows of 6 pins. The black one is Pin 7 - bottom right looking at the connector face. The one to the left is pin 8, the MIL pin. It was Grey/Red on mine. I just snipped it a bit up the cable in case I got it wrong as its easy to crimp a cable back together. Might not be the fix for all models but it works on the EET3-1B32-97B (30D145A) Caerbont Tacho as fitted to a January 2017 Sigma. Update: Pins run clockwise from top left 1 to 6, then bottom row furthest right is 7 and furthest left is 12.

Sorry to start an old thread again. Just wondered if anybody had come across a fix for the dimly glowing Check Engine Light on SIgma cars? Mine is a 2017 310S It is not actually an active system on UK cars but a lot of them experience a dim glow, sometimes quite bright if its been raining. Most of the time you can't see it in bright light so I've just been happy driving with the knowledge that it is just a random electric thing. Unfortunately the 2018 MOT regs state that if a car has a MIL it needs to be operative. Self build and Kit cars don't require a MIL so that's good. The problem will be trying to convince the MOT center that the dimly glowing MIL is not in fact fitted! It does not come on during self test which helps the case but I can just imagine the conversation "well it glows so it's there, it doesn't self test so it's broken - Major Category fault'! I've read quite a few reports on the Internet about it being fixed by a 'mod' which ranges from a simple resistor to a circuit board in the loom including quotes that the advice has come from Caterham. As with all things internet none of these reports are validated and no one can actually post the details of the 'fix'. Any one have more info or indeed experience of a recent MOT withe the light glowing dimly? I could always try and find an open air MOT center! Otherwise it looks like dismantling the Tacho and removing the LED.

One plus for getting a wheel with a ZZS is that the tyre comes fitted. I happily paid a premium price to get an undamaged wheel/tyre combination direct from Caterham rather than buy an expensive wheel and take it to the local cowboys to wreck while balancing/fitting a cheap tyre. If you buy from CC you can always return it if it arrives damaged. I think the car looks much better with the spare wheel fitted (I know most people would violently disagree but its a personal choice). Doesn't really matter that the tyre is handed as it's only on there to look the part and allow you to carry on driving after a major blowout. Gave up with the canned sticky stuff years ago and always insist on a full sized spare wheel on my tintops - legacy of many years commuting long distance by car.

I got mine from Amazon. A quick search for "Neoprene Stripping with adhesive 2.5 cm width, 3 mm thick, 15 m long" brings up what you need. The particular one I ordered isn't available in that size just now. The stuff was made by Cleverband and sold by Feltstore Europe. Sounds like it was made in Shenzhen but it was actually very good. Much cheaper on fleabay as already mentioned but if you want it tomorrow and need refunded straight away if you think its rubbish then Amazon is the way to go.

Thanks. Found an article on an MX5 site that said 3oz of oil in the turret. I'll have a look at it but I'm not changing the oil , just doing a standard service top up so I doubt the turret needs doing anyway.

Thanks, it was the turret bit I was not sure about. Any idea how much you put in there?

Might be a stupid question as I can't remember where I read this and I can't find it again. When re-filling the Mazda 5 Speed Gearbox do you also need to put oil in via the gear lever fitting? Could be total rubbish! If it is not, then how much do I put in?

Built my 310 last year on CJ Autos larger mobile axle stands with the nylon wheels. They give you a really nice height to work at and the car moves around easily even when complete. Getting the engine/gearbox in was quite tricky though. Limited headroom in the garage and I couldn't get the crane past the axle stands. I ended up putting the front on normal stands at a low setting. Did this all myself and it took about 3 hours in total. Since then I've seen the correct way to do it. When you are ready to put the engine in drop the front of the car onto a single axle stand positioned at the star joint (or whatever its called). You can then move the crane around very easily. There are some videos and photos on various blogs of people doing it this way. Initially I didn't like the idea of a single stand supporting the car at the front but now I happily jack it up using that part of the chassis as it is really very strong. Big tip: Make sure you have a jack tall enough to get the car off the stands once you have built it! Sounds obvious but it wasn't to me..... Took me 3 different jacks and 2 sets of axle stands to lower it. Basically, a jack which has the reach to lift that high is rarely low enough when retracted to fit under the jacking points. Having just looked at the video of my build I now remembered I actually used the crane to lift and lower the car to get the mobile axle stands back on after I fitted the engine. There is just enough room between the crane legs to get the mobile stands back under the car if you crane it up from the very front with a strop. You can't do that once the radiator is fitted though.

Mine comes on Dim all the time and bright after I wash the car (which isn't too often). I spoke to Caterham and they confirmed that no stock Sigma has ever had this light enabled and that it is a known problem. They didn't offer to share any Mods with me though!

The instructions for the Speedo are here: http://www.caigauge.com/documents//product-instructions/spedometers/speedometers/pil042-460-435.pdf It also includes a description of the 'Drive to Set' option where you set it up then drive exactly one mile and it works out the calibration itself .

As per the previous post. I used Bigheads and Stainless Steel tyraps. Did that mainly for the IVA as I'd heard some centres fail the nylon ones. No issues at all with mine - IVA'd fine just a couple of months ago. Used Sikaflex 292i as it is the recommended one for bonding keels onto yachts!

Thanks John. I think I've tracked one down now.

You're probably right but I prefer the look of the High Level Light mounted above the spare wheel.

Thanks, I realise that. Unfortunately I live in the West of Scotland and will be using the hood quite a lot. I reckon I'll quickly tire of the whole interior lighting up every time I brake in the wet! That's why I need an 'external' solution.

I can't find this anywhere on the Online Parts site. Looking for the light assembly that fits on top of the newer type High Vis/Level Bracket 30P184B. The only reference to it is as part of the (out of stock) kit HLB01K. I'm assuming as the bracket for that kit is also out of stock and a special order item that this is the old style bracket and has been superseded by the 30P184B? Anyone know the actual part number or even better, the original supplier? Thanks.

Got a definitive answer from Caterham. No Sigma models have the Check Engine Light implemented as has been previously stated in this thread. I'll just have to ignore it!

Thanks Chris, I'll email Caterham for some definitive advice.

It looks like the standard Sigma ECU's on the website. I'm not really interested in what it can, or cannot do via the OBD port, I just popped a scan tool on to check the idle RPM as the Tacho said 1200 but the scan tool says 850 which is probably closer. The code came up when I did a fault scan just to see if it would work. The OBD scan tool appears to be communicating using the CAN protocol via the OBD port as you say as it runs through various protocols to try and communicate finally settling on 'CAN OBD2'. It gives me what I want so I don't need to delve into Easymap. The Engine Check Light seems to be a red herring. I have only done 390 miles so far and I always saw 2 bright lights when I switched the ignition on and both went out after start. This time I saw one bright and one dim which sent me down this path. Having played about a bit I now realise that the 2 bright lights were the battery and brakes. The handbrake was off in the garage so only the battery light lit up bright! Never actually noticed the colours or I would have realised this much sooner. As with the ear plug mod for clunks and rattles I'll probably go for the black tape mod for the light if it gets annoying.

It definitely has an OBD2 port. Its a 2017 Sigma engined UK spec 310S. There is a thread on here somewhere about the OBD2 port and mine confirms to the standard logic. It is behind the knee panel on the drivers side and connects as a 'CAN OBD2' and I can read all the usual live parameters such as RPM etc. edit - Just checked the SBD Site and the MBE ECU's from 9A-Release-be400 onwards can interface with a standard OBD2 scan tool. You are correct, it does not have a MAF sensor. I've managed to identify most of the other bits on the carb and engine body and there is no MAF sensor. I'll probably invest in a better OBD2 reader as this one caused me hours of heartache last time I tried to diagnose anything with it.

Thanks Jonathan Remember reading that thread a while ago but couldn't find it again. Looks like I have a dampness warning light! Graeme

Just washed my 310S (1600 Sigma) and now the Engine Check Light is on permanently. Comes on Dim when ignition turned on and stays Dim with the engine running. My OBD2 tester comes up with the generic P0100 Mass Airflow Sensor as a fault code but it won't reset the fault. The Autel tester I've got wouldn't reset any faults on my wives Fiat either so I'm pretty sure it is cheap rubbish. Once the car has dried out is there any other way to reset Engine Check Lights with the standard Caterham Sigma ECU? Not that impressed as it didn't get any wetter than driving in the rain!