Bob_Rich

Hi All Managed to ( I think ) post the scan of the Emerald book re the ECU to PC lead. Hope this is useful it also helps me to understand how 2 use the new website Hope it helps (and works) Bob

Hi Nigel I designed a simple circuit that interfaces the Emerla ECU withthe RVI current triggered tacho. I fitted to my Elan +2 and it works fine. It was detailed in a Club Lotus Mad acouple of years back . Will hapily send U a copy if You e-mail me. Would post it on this site But dont know how to ! It is not complex but does require a small electronics circuit to be made up and fitted on the rear of the tacho and does not require any mods to a working RVI tacho hope this may help Bob

Hi Folks Generally agree with Pauls reasoning but 16/0.2mm wire is around 35mohm/metre at 20C and at 70C rises 20% and at 100C rises around 40% above the 20C values. 11A for a PVC 16/0.2 is a bit high. Some "thin" wires are advertised with high current ratings but be careful. They may use high temperature insulation. Apropriate rules for grouping and ambient temperature will apply. But be careful if such wires are used grouped in with more traditional insulations that cannot run at high temperatures. Generally in 12V systems a starting point is for a 3% volts drop unless tempertaure rise becomse significant. For a standard Radio/Audio system unless a real "blaster" 30/0.2mm should be fine and a conventional PVC wire routed away from hot spots with a 5A fuse should be fine. Sometimes speaker wire needs a lower resistance so thicker conductors for audio peformnace issues and as such current ratings may not be of great importance. Hpe this helps best of luck Bob

Hi Attached is the details of the Emerald PC Cable PC 9way D socket ECU 9 way D type Plug colour 2 8 yellow 3 7 white 5 5 black 8 9 Red shield NOT connected shield connected to casing Best of Luck Bob I would post the scan of the page from the manual - But on the new website dont know 2 do that ! computors eh ! ! points and a dizzy never this tedious !

Hi Nigel Agree with Martyn let the PC sort itself with the adaptor B 4 connecting to the ECU. I use a small laptop running windows XP but when on the car I allways disable the wireless so that updates and other adds and junk dont get in your face when all you want to do is 2 sort out the car ! Emerald have a useful help guide in ther FAQ page on the website best of luck Bob

Hi testing ignition coil without some high voltage test gear is not easy. I suspect a resistance check will not help much. Break down under high voltage usually means that a check with a test meter that only has a voltage of a couple of volts will not break down the weak point. test on the leads resistance may help though as they age the resistance can change. all 4 should be around the same dont know what its should be on your can but 5 000 to 10000 ohms for each plug lead from dizzy cap post to plug cap similar value for coil output to dizzy post. hope this help best of luck Bob

Hi glad U fixed it OK. Just one question that may help in the future How did U measure the battery voltage ? was it a Digital Voltmeter DVM ? If so it may be the voltage reading is in error because DVMs can be very inaccurate if the voltage varies during measurement. When cranking I would expect the voltage to dip at the peak of each compression stroke by at least 2V this could confuse a DVM reading anyway glad it fixed hope this helps. best of luck Bob

Hi Where did U measure the battery voltage? Was it directly at the battery terminals? if so then it does seem a bit low. if it was via any lead with starting current in it ( usually 200A+)it may be the drop in that lead. I have measured drops across leads and there terminals of up to 3V on starting in some dodgy cases. 7V at the battery could be a even lower at the ECU and it is just possible that the ECU may not respond correctly if the supply to it went too low. If possibly try a separate battery for the car and keep your existing one wired only into the starter then if it starts OK even with low cranking speed it might be the ECU dropping out. hope this helps best of luck Bob

Hi Steve Perks at SPC near Reditch is good with Ford boxes he has done a couple of rebuilds of 2000E style boxesfor me. usua;;y has an add in low flying best of luck hope U fix it soon now good weather is coming along cheers Bob

Hi Brian Dont part with the 7! get an Elise as well! As well as my 69 series 3 7 I have an S1 Elise (10 years old now 32K miles) had it for 5 years done around 12K miles in it. been well pleased it is a non-VVC standard K16 engined one. fun and economy. probably has the lowest performance of any in the Elise range but still pretty good fun. Used regularly by wife and loaned to kids for W/E away and the like. Problem with the Rover K series in the ECU cannot be read by any of the low cost standard readers (Mems 1.9 system) so if U or anyone knows of a low cost reader for the ECU would like to hear. Touch wood have not needed this yet. Otherwise just standard service routines , couple of rear dampers, and new discs/pads all round. best of luck Bob

Hi I think it is one of two possibilities 1/8"NPT which is 27threads per inch (TPI) and the OD of the pipe or bush would be 0.405" diameter --this I think is the most likely. Could be 1/4"NPT which is 18tpi and0.54" for the OD. a check with a caliper should confirm which one it is. hope this helps but would check!! best of luck Bob

Hi I have found a light bulb does the trick I usually put the object under my bench light. just be careful that warming the glue does not make it temporarily less viscous while it cures and the parts it is holding slips from it desired position. BIt of tape to hold it perhaps? best of luck Bob

Hi I used an addative made by B&S to stop petrol going stale and gumming up works. after using pulled the string until felt the unit was at the top of compression stroke both valves shut so dont rust up. sometimes used bradex easy start. worked fine for 20 years with just one carb rebuild (when diaphragm pin holed). just sold it on to mate who still has no trouble with it. easy start or similar ether based product should start most things--only tinker with it if it dont!! best of luck Bob

Hi again Just had another thought. If there is a high current fault on some line when you try the battery again make the live (+ve connection assuming it is -ve earth) via a old head lamp bulb--this would limit the current to 7A or so. with ignition on, but engine not started, I guess you should only draw a modest current so this bulb would, or should, glow a little dim if it shot up to full light that may indicate a short hope this helps best of luck Bob

Hi Dont know the vehicle but agree with the other posts that overcharging due to regulator fault in the alternator circuit is the problem you have. Could it be that vehicle has a back stop thermal cut-out that kicked out just before things got really nasty? by the time you took out the battery things had cooled down and it had reset. hope U sort it OK best of luck Bob

Thanks for useful info folks. think I will have a go when I next need an exhaust gasket. regarding annealing copper it does get very soft if you carry out the heat and quench routine--had forgotten that trick! cheers Bob

Hi I understand that copper exhaust gaskets are available for the crossflow engine. Are these just made from sheet copper or are they some form of cunning mix of copper and some other material. Wondered if they could be made form a piece of sheet copper? cheers Bob

Hi On my series 3 seven with a standard 1600 cross flow I could remove the sump pan from the engine in situ. Bolts at the back were a bit difficult so had to remove the small cover at the bottom of the bell housing. Did have a pit so that made it easy but on ramps i think you should get it off OK. best of luck Bob

Hi If you make up a lead with a bulb ( 21/6W stop/tail should do) and a couple of short leads with croc clips. you can then test the voltage gets to the motor/relay when the problem occurs. when problem does occur jut clip the bulb one lead to a battery ground or good chassis point and the other the the lead to the lead that feeds to the starter relay ( usually on the starter itself). If the bulb operates when you hit the button then the problem is possibly the relay or the motor. If the relay is not clicking when power applied to it , it could be too hot , its resistance has gone up and it cannot get enough current to pull in properly . Dont use a test meter. Test meters, when reading voltage, draw very little current to read the voltage and a corroded terminal that should pass several amps can easily provide enough current to give a virtually correct voltage reading when un-loaded. hope this helps best of luck Bob

Hi A lead to the battery direct as above is a good idea but DONT touch the bare wire with you fingers you could get a (electric) belt from the motor back emf when you pull the lead off!! could be the brushes are a bit worn and sticking. try a sharp tap with a mallet on the motor body to see if it comes to life. To test the circuit to the fan remove the wire to the fan and wire a bulb to the lead with the other side of the bulb to a good chassis earth . operating the fan switch should make the bulb light. hope you sort it best of luck Bob

Hi Not sure what car engine option U have but 4 what follows I am assuming it has an ECU of some form. Switching on the headlights at idle may make the voltage change just a little. This may make the reference voltage that decided whether to enable (or dissable) the fan change just a tad and so the fan drops out. If you have a DVM ( volt meter) see how much the battery voltage changes when you switch on the headlamps at idle. The alternator will have minimum output at idle and when hot (close to exhaust?) it output may be a bit lower. It may pay to check the voltage to the ECU as due to wiring this may vary more than the battery voltage. I did think that a number of ECU's regulated the voltage used as the reference for the variuos "decisions" the ECU has to make. Of course if the fan is operated directly via a stat then all I have just written is of no help at all!! Hope it helps anyway best of luck bob

hi Steve Parker in Bradenham Norfolk. not really the midlands but is very expereinced with cross flows. has an ad each month in Low flying. Bob

Hi Assuming the battery voltage was measured at the terminals of the battery,( right at the battery NOT the leads on the terminals) and that the battery will crank the engine OK it probably is the alternator. Alternator output voltage can rise quite a bit above the actual battery terminal voltage depending upon the wiring resistance and other loads on the system. With many alternators it is possible to change the regulator module inside the alternator casing so that a complete new alternator may not be required. If it is overcharging at the rate described be careful that it does not "boil off" the electrolyte in the battery which would put up its internal resistance and maybe damage the cell plates. hope this helps best of luck bob

Hi IF you think the alternator wiring is not right a simple way to eliminate that possible problem is to make up a lead with a side lamp (2.5W) bulb in series. With ignition off remove the control lead to the alternator (the thinner lead brown/ yellow usually on a 1/4" Lucar connector). Connect one end of your made up bulb lead to the now empty alternator terminal. Connect the other end of the lead direct to the battery +ve terminal and the bulb should light. Start the engine if the bulb goes out U R charging if not then U R not. If U have a voltmeter connect this across the battery with just your extra lead and ignition off you should have around 12V. Once the engine starts if the bulb goes out you should have around 13.5V to 14V. I notice you mentioned an LED indicator for the the charging light. Not sure about that but an if it is an led it may not provide enough current to kick in the alternator regulator circuit so it may be the LED and its resistor are the problem Hope this helps best of luck Bob

hi again I still find it hard to see how the tacho could break the Aldon unit but no matter -we all live and learn though I would be interested in an explanation of what the interaction between them actually is. On the post subject of misfire at high output it could still be spark , or lack of, related. As the throttle is opened more air is drawn in so the compression pressure will rise and the required voltage to produce a spark will increase markedly. This may result in something else in the system breaking down rather than the plug gap so giving the misfire. Driving the car at night with the bonnet off and a passenger looking for "little blue sparks" can some times give a clue--BUT use a passenger! U need to keep your eyes wide open and on the road giving a 7 full blat in the dark!! hope this helps and you get your problem sorted best of luck Bob