athens7

After checking the alternator (13.8 volts with a 63 amp load) and battery, my mechanic checked the ground at the front right of the car (at the brake line into the car from the right front wheel). He found no obvious corrosion or other contaminant, but cleaned it anyway. He then checked other grounds under the dash, and removed/inspected/replaced the flasher relay at the fuse block. There was no evidence of any problem with connections or condition of any items. When I took the car in, it was misbehaving in an easily replicable fashion. After the mechanic was done, he was unable to duplicate the problem, and I have now driven the car around 50 miles with no recurrence of either problem (glowing light or headlight/fan conflict). I guess it's fixed... 🤔 Brad 2005 SV SVT(st170) Zetec

While chasing my little green turn signal indicator light problem, I find that when the car is at hot idle, turning on the headlights will shut down the radiator fan. As soon as I cut the headlights off (parking lights still on), the fan turns back on. This was replicable 100% of the time. Is it part of the car's design to do this, or is this a sign of a problem? It would seem to me that the car should be able to run both lights and fan simultaneously while running, especially at a hot idle when the car needs the fan the most. I am wondering if my alternator is having a problem. I have heard that as Banner batteries die, they can take the alternator with them, perhaps as the result of constantly trying to charge the battery. What test might I perform to check the alternator, and what other issues might cause the car to not be able to power all of it's electrical systems while the engine is running? Brad 2005 SV SVT(st170) Zetec

The little green turn signal light (center of three lights on the tach face) on my car has taken to glowing and/or flickering when the turn signals are not in use. The glow waxes and wanes, and is never as bright as when the signals are in operation. It happens whether the main/parking lights are on or off, but is more likely when they are on. Manipulating the headlight switch does seem to affect the glow. All turn signals and lights are functioning normally. I have just replaced the Banner battery with an Odyssey PC680MJ. The Banner had not shown obvious signs of failing, but it was drawing down to around 8 volts on starting, causing problems with my gauges. Any ideas as to causes/cures? Brad 2005 SV SVT(st170) Zetec

It is important to note that Toyo is somewhat flexible with their size measurements on these tires. My 205/45ZR16s are a little (approx 5mm) wider than the same size Avon ZZ3s, as well as slightly smaller in overall diameter. I have also found that the 195/55ZR15 is the same width as the 205 16s. Brad 2005 SV SVT(st170) Zetec

Not sure I understand, HTH. The way I understand the Stack custom calibration, it only recognizes the full and empty marks. I assume once these are identified, the gauge moves progressively from one to the other. Your post seems to indicate that you set up multiple calibration points. How did you accomplish this? Brad 2005 SV SVT(st170) Zetec

A long time later, after quite a few tanks of fuel, as well as ohm-ing the tank sender (while replacing a dodgy sender gasket), I have learned a couple of things: -The Caterham sender does not progress evenly from full to empty. On my car, the full reading is about 11.6 ohms. The sender ball hits the slope of the tank, with about 2 gallons left, at 113 ohms. The sender moves fairly evenly throughout this range, but then goes from 113 ohms to 250 ohms in a very short amount of travel. If the sender arm is bent to allow readings when the tank is nearly empty, the gauge readings swing wildly as the empty mark is approached. -On the custom calibration, the gauge reads far too full until the last 1/4 of a tank, then the reading drops precipitously, reflecting the uneven rate of resistance through the range. -The calibration for 131-12 ohms (sensor select 3/4 tank position by the instructions) works well from full to less than 1/4 of a tank. It reads empty at 200 miles. My car will go 250 miles on a tank of fuel (40 Liters/10.56 Gallons), so I have about a 2 US gallon reserve. This seems to be the best compromise for me between accuracy within the gauge range vs accuracy at empty, at least until someone produces a solid state sender for the Caterham fuel tank. Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

Sorry I'm late to this thread, but here are my posts on usa7s.com about these tires: I installed a set of Toyo R1Rs. We bent the wing stays very slightly to accommodate the tires, something I found to be a simple matter, as noted earlier in this thread. The tires are UTQG 140 AA A, so street legal and not requiring race mods to run in D Modified (prop shroud, external cut off, etc.). I have been warned that the tires will wear fairly quickly for street use on most cars, but most cars are a lot heavier than 1420 lbs. I drive about 4000 miles per year, plus about 15 autocross events. If I have to put on a new set each year, it seems a fair price to pay in terms of cost to compete. I have put a couple of hundred miles on the tires and run one autocross so far, and the tires are great! They ride softer than the Avon ZZ3s on the highway, with a slightly higher tendency to react to road crown as well as a little more jiggle in the wheel on uneven road surfaces. These traits are only noticable with hands off the wheel, and they do not cause the car to react uncomfortably in normal driving. As an autocross tire, they transform the car: turn in is dramatically sharper, and the back end just sticks. Previously, the car was very easy to overdrive, oversteering on throttle and brake, but also capable of plowing as the front end lost grip. Now you just point and the car goes there, and lateral grip is very high. In my first event on these tires, with no practice, I won my class by almost 3 seconds against a CRX running 255 series DOT slicks, and was fast modified in any class (including beating an E Mod Cobra with a 500 hp turbo V8 and Ecsta V710s). On a 60 degree day, the tires never got above 90 degrees F, and the pyrometer I used showed a 5 degree spread from edge to edge at 21 psi (I run 18 psi on the road), with sidewall roll over just barely on the vertical side of the tread edge. I don't know that these would be the best choice as a road only tire due to the softness of the compund, but for my purposes I am very pleased. I find the Toyo R1R to be a very good wet weather tire, based on the VERY wet SoloPro school I attended today. Very good grip, both off the line with 2000 rpm standing starts (needs 3000 rpm in the dry), and in transient maneuvers. Breaks away progressively, and easy to catch. The tires also handled standing water on course without hydroplaning or snatching the wheel out of my hand. I have now run 5 autocross events and a school day. I have won all 5 events, against drivers using Kumho 710 and Hoosier A06 DOT slicks. Tire wear is negligible, and they fit on my 16" Caterham "wagon wheel" rims (205/45 ZR16). Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

Steve, the only solution I've heard is TADTS. Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

I just had my alignment checked and the rear toe, which used to be about 7 minutes out on both sides, is now 7 minutes out on the right and 22 minutes out on the left. Is there any way to adjust rear toe on a De Dion car? Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

A little over a year ago I changed the transmission fluid that came in the transmission (Castrol 80W90) with Redline MT-90 (75W90). The shift action is smoother, particularly in the winter, but I still have the problem (?). Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

10,000 miles on my T-9, the cover has been off once to fit a fill plug. Occasionally, the transmission balks shifting from neutral into first, as well as into 3rd (either up- or down- shifting). There is no grinding noise or feeling of gear clashing, just a feeling of hitting a barrier before the shifter engages the gear. It is more likely to happen when the box is cold. All other gears operate normally. Are there any adjustments that can be made, is it the first sign of an internal problem or is this a case of TADTS? Engine is a Zetec st170 with an annular slave on the clutch. Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

The Zetec kit pictured doesn't look anything like the hoses I need. Two of the three necessary hoses are stock Samco race hose pieces, and the third looks to be build-able from 2 90 degree elbows and an alloy connector. Merlin Motorsports had the pieces I needed in stock, unlike the US distributors. The trick with my installation is that two of the three hoses are 32mm on one end and 35mm on the other. The original hoses were 35mm on both ends, crimped down to fit the 32mm 3 pass ali radiator outlets, which, unsurprisingly, is where they are leaking. Thank goodness for reducer elbows! Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

I have replaced all three of my auxiliary gauges with Stack units: mechanical OPG, electric stepper motor water temperature and fuel gauges. The sender for the water temperature gauge is 1/8 NPT thread, with an adapter to convert to M10x1 if you need it. The stock Caterham water temp sender is also 1/8 NPT. The mechanical gauge is a straight forward installation, once you know the thread pitch of the pressure sender hole in your block (mine is 1/8 BSP). I too used Teflon/stainless hose instead of the plastic line supplied with the gauge. As to the water temperature gauge, Stack recommends but does not include a 1 amp fusible link to protect the stepper motor in the gauge, so you will need a 1 amp fuse and holder to wire in. Also, the wiring harness is not shielded and must be kept at least 6 inches away from the ignition wires and related items in order to avoid interference. The fuel gauge also calls for a fusible link, as well as a momentary switch (push button, 2 pole) in order to set the gauge, neither of which is supplied. One can set the gauge by touching the 2 switch wires together, but a momentary switch is much better, especially if the gauge has to be re-calibrated in the future. My switch is mounted to a metal strap on the back of the fuel gauge. So far, I am very happy with the gauges, except for the fuel gauge. It stays on full for far too long, and is not dropping as the tank empties. Several members have posted here about the fuel gauge setting not matching any of the factory Stack presets, but no one has posted about successfully using the custom setting either. I have heard that the stock Caterham fuel tank sender does not provide enough resistance to properly operate the Stack fuel gauge; I will ohm the sender out after I empty the tank to get the ohm range. Resistance is easy enough to increase, if the stock sender has too little. The gauge lights are LED, whiter and brighter than the stock Caterham gauges by several factors. I have not yet found comparable, replacement bulbs for the tach and speedo, but the 74-xHP3 in warm white (the whites are too blue) found here are the closest I've found. They are not as bright, but the color match is good-much better than stock. Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

There seems to be no Samco hose kit for a Caterham with a Zetec motor. Has anyone installed Samco hoses on a Zetec 7 (especially an st170 Zetec), and if so, which part numbers? I have a triple pass Caterham ali radiator, btw. Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec

I've seen several threads recently about Stack fuel gauge calibration, where people have asked if the accessory fuel gauge can be properly matched to a Caterham tank sender. In none of them has anyone responded yes or no. I have an early 2005 model car, and my new Stack gauge allowed me to calibrate the custom settings per the manual, but the gauge seems stuck on full. It has moved slightly off the peg after about 1 1/2 gallons used, but then seems to drift back to the full peg while driving. If the SV tank is about 10 gallons, and the Stack gauge is separated into 1/16 segments, I should be getting a reading of 7/8ths, not full. I noticed while searching that older tank senders may not work with the Stack fuel gauge; does anyone know when the changeover to the "new" tank sender occurred? Has anyone successfully calibrated a Stack fuel gauge on a Caterham yet? Brad 2005 SV SVT Zetec