slap_ed

I've just drained and re-filled my Duratec cooling system due to changing the thermostat. From the system being empty it took 6.8 litres. I filled it slowly with the top radiator bleed bolt out and the plastic T-piece unscrewed off. After pouring in about 6 litres and the coolant level in the expansion bottle being at max I fitted the expansion cap. I then gently squeezed the top hose until the coolant came out of the radiator bleed bolt hole and quickly screwed the bolt back in. I then poured the remaining 0.8 litres in through the plastic tee until this filled to the top allowing quite a few bubble to slowly escape out. When these stopped I screwed the top on. Went for a test run and all was fine, so no problems from my point of view. Didn't have to top up either. This doesn't help you but it's another thumbs-up for filling a Duratec without problems. It's not something silly as the radiator cap that's not allowing the system to pressurise properly therefore allowing the water to boil if it gets to 100 deg which may introduce air into the system and for the level to rise. I know my Duratec fan doesn't come on until it gets to 98 deg so things can run quite hot.

Does anyone know if the DURATEC stock engines supplied by Ford to Caterham have the thermostat already fitted, or is the thermostat chosen and fitted by Caterham themselves? If it came from Ford already fitted, then obviously Ford know what they are doing and have a fully tested reason as to why this range/temperature of thermostat was needed. I think most of the mainstream thermostats available today come in the following ranges of 74, 82, 88 and 92 degrees. Logan said that the original thermostat removed from his engine didn't have any temperature markings. I'm guessing that it's probably a 92 deg which is quite close to the fan switch on temperature of 97/98 deg which is why Logan suggests that the fan coming on is allowing the thermostat to only partially open, therefore making things difficult for the engine to cool, hence leaving the bottom hose cool to touch. If we change the thermostat down to a 82 deg, it then takes it out of Ford's specification. On start-up, the engine will start to cool sooner and not reach its intended temperature which has premature wear and internal condensation issues etc. Are we not masking the problem in that it could be the fan cut-in temperature not being high enough? This would then allow the thermostat to open fully and then hopefully allow the radiator to do its job and cap the rising temperature? I know this is locked away in the ECU and can't be adjusted. Or am I talking bo**@cks?

Hi Logan, R400 DURATEC. Your problem sounds identical in every way to my cooling system. My bottom hose never gets very warm even when the fan is on. Stop in traffic and the fan is soon on. The ECU brings the fan on at 98 deg (reported by Easimap) and off again at 96 deg, just a 2 deg window. My water temperature gauge reports 83 deg as the fan kicks in, that's a big discrepancy. Something is way out and I think it's the ECU. What 82 deg CC part number thermostat did you order as I'm going to try what you've done I think? What degree thermostat did you remove when you changed it to a 82 deg? Does your bottom hose get hot now? Cheers

Mine is a 2011 year. I wouldn't have thought yours is getting any worse than from new. Your plastic is predominantly thinner causing it to flex more easily. The question is whether it is within the manufacturers tolerance. i must admit I've never noticed mine doing that until I checked after seeing yours.

Not sure if this video will work. 1st attempt ​ ​i don't think mine is as pronounced as yours. See what you think?

Also just to add.. As mentioned above by somebody else. The brighter the light the less likely the battery is charging and eventually you will grind to a halt. So if you can stay at a speed where the light doesn't show then you might be ok til you can get it looked at. Hope this helps.

If the easy checks fail then.... I thinks there's a diode pack (several diodes) in the back of the alternator which convert ac to dc so the battery can be charged with dc current. When one or more of these diodes fail it causes the warning light to glow at a varying brightness which can happens throughout the rev range. May not show at low revs and vice versa. I don't think it's the regulator though, but might be wrong. Good luck.

NOW SOLD I have 3 x 5w/50 5 litre Halfords Motorsport oil for sale. £50 Would anyone be interested? If yes I could bring it to Curborough on either /Sat or Sun. Thanks all.

Do both rear wheels rotate freely when jacked up? (Nothing binding) Is the disc on the dusty side particularly rough compared to the other side?

Hi Stuart I think at the GTKY7 meeting you organised it was said to use the grease you mentioned on the cailper sliders so that the rubber bellows wouldn't deteriorate. You would normally use copper slip grease on the backs of the pad and other metal contact points. Using copper slip in direct contact with rubber would gradually cause it to deteriorate. That was my understanding.

Do you know the exact part number? (Cr500dom) Is it the same fitting for all models of Caterham?

No it was me. Blowing away a few cobwebs after a heavy day. Where were you heading? See you tomorrow.

Hi Stuart I quite often go that way just to see if you are tinkering out on the front. Obviously I didn't look very well this time because I didn't see you What were you up to?

Hi Stuart, Oil seal leaking where props shaft enters the gearbox extension. When cold the engine would struggle to tickover without blipping the throttle. Diff carrier upgrade so that it won't hit the Dedion tubing when suspension is under compression.

Hi Stuart, No not me I'm afraid. Mines orange with a grey stripe and is having some warranty work done on it at Caterham Donnington. Its now fixed though and ready to go, but I'm struggling to find time to get over there and pick it up. Did you get your brakes bled and sorted in the end? Are they much better?

Thanks guys, very handy.

/sites/default/files/images/users/3729/xlarge_image_7.jpeg Just for information. 2011 R400 standard dash with round buttons

Just for information.... Same car and it sounds the same dash. Mine does the same as yours in that all the dial will sweep fully round and then settle back on zero or at the temperature if the engine is hot. What is strange on mine is that when the ignition is off and you press the button for the side lights, the gauges sweep fully and just stop and leave the needles pointing high on all of the gauges. They will stay there indefinitely until you put the ignition on where they'll sweep fully and then settle back to zero. If anyone can explain why this happens and whether this need fixing or not? My hazards haven't been a problem but I'll give the switch a wiggle next time I'm in the garage.

Aerobod By correcting the crankshaft sensor pins alone, did this help smooth out the rough running at all?

John, Where did you put your oil temperature sender on your R400D? and did you hide the switch under the dash or place it into the dash?

How did you get on trying to eliminate your rough running? Did you re-wire the camshaft position sensor pins? How do you test for noise/variability in the alternator supply?

It's a little bit Heath Robinson really. I trapped each of the temperature sensor wires against the brass body of the senders using a small piece of square rubber. All held tightly together using a cable tie. I thought the rubber would hold the temperature sensor wire firmly onto the brass without it being affected by external temperatures. (Manifold etc) /sites/default/files/images/users/3729/xlarge_image_6.jpeg

Thanks for that John

Hi John, What sort of problems were you having before you changed the thermostats? I've recently checked all of the hose clips and I'm not losing any coolant so I'm happy that the system is pressurising as it normally should. In fact the car runs fine and I could just get on and drive it, but certain thing bug me and I would ideally like to get to the bottom of this. What does your water gauge read when everything is up to temperature? Does your car have the alloy housing behind the radiator with the rubber flaps? Thanks for the reply.

Thread resurrections 2011 R400D 210bhp I was initially trying to adjust (using resistors) my water temperature gauge reading to match what I thought was the correct ECU temperature (via Easymap). Now I'm not so sure that the Easymap ECU reading is the actual true temperature. I've probably muddied the water even further by also measuring the actual temperature of each of the two temperature sender brass bodies. (ECU and gauge temperature senders) Example The ECU suggest 100 deg. (Easymap) The ECU sender suggests 79.2 deg. (Dual output digital temp gauge) The dash gauge indicates 83 deg. The dash gauge sender suggests 92.6 deg. (Dual output temp gauge) Similar to a previous post above, if you come to a standstill in traffic it's only seconds before the fan comes on and then tends to stay on until you get moving again. Suggesting that the fan struggles to keep a cap on the rising temperatures of around 100/101 deg. It certainly can't bring the temperatures down to the fan switching off point of 96 deg. Does anyone know of a ECU software update that they've had which made the ECU figures more accurate? Has any one removed the alloy cowling from around the rear of the radiator or removed the rubber flaps in order to help the fan dissipate the heat more readily when stationary? Below is a sample of readings for every rise of 5 degrees reported by the ECU. I had a plumbers dual temperature gauge with quite a fast temperature refresh display attached to both senders, a laptop with Easymap running and vidioed all of these at the same time, including the dash water temperature gauge. Then I could look back at the video and pause to note all the readings. I have a set of readings for every degree increase reported by the ECU between 50 and 101 degrees, but here's the 5 degree increments version. Fan kicks in at 98 deg and switches off at 96 deg as reported by Easymap. ECU Engine sender Gauge sender Gauge reading 50 44.0 45.6 - 55 45.3 49.0 - 60 47.7 53.8 48 65 50.7 58.4 54 70 54.0 63.6 61 75 57.6 67.2 65 80 61.7 72.9 69 85 65.7 77.1 72 90 71.3 82.8 76 95 74.3 87.9 79 100 79.2 92.6 83 Has anyone managed to get to the bottom of the gauges not reading accurately? My attempt with resistors proved unsuccessful. Any other comments about any of the above would be appreciated.