Fastinmydreams

Thanks all! I didn't have to go further than base one. Multi meter revealed that the battery was only delivering 10.7 amps, so it was never going to start. I had assumed that it was fine as it had been run through a full recon cycle on my CTEK conditioner. and was showing green lights. Just goes to show. I think I had left the battery discharged for too long. The months slip by so quickly! Regards!

Thanks guys. Lots of leads there. I'll start working through the system tomorrow. 🤞

My 1.6 1996 Super Sport won't start. I was getting it ready for the driving season and just refitted a fully charged battery. All I get on pressing the starter button is clicking from the ECU. The starter is not jammed. ECU whirrs on switch off, so it's clearly getting power. Never had this problem before. Where should I start looking and what are the likely causes?

Thanks to all of you for your advice and leads. The problem is sorted. I left to car with the nose raised overnight with the header tank top loosened. This afternoon I removed the top rad bung and ran the engine. The thermostat opened, the fan triggered and the temperature stabilised. Topped up system and replaced bung. Whatever the problem was, it has now sorted itself out and I celebrated with a blat around my favourite local circuit. I assumed that the 'missing two litres must be in the block, so I doubled the concentration of the replacement coolant on the basis that it would be further diluted once poured into the system. Thanks again!

Thanks for the responses guys. I've got some leads to follow there when I can get back to the car. I read online that the cooling system has a capacity of 5 litres, but can only get 2.5 litres in or out. If it is 5 litres, how do I get it all out? The highest point of the cooling system on my car, which has no heater, is the top hose. I assume that the bleed T would be place in one of the smaller diameter hoses. Not sure if this would help.

I've tried searching Tecktalk on the club site and via Google, but I can't find the information that I know is out there. I have replaced the coolant in my 1.6 K series (no heater), but now have an airlock. How do I clear it? Engine temp rising beyond normal, yet no hot water in return hose to base of rad and electric fan not kicking in. All fine previously. As I have no heater, I naively thought that I wouldn't have a problem.

The Kays' site does look useful. That's one to bookmark. I was surprised that Caterham recommended a cap head bolt. The old ones are hex head and fully threaded. Kays have a UNF bolt listed in the correct size at a fraction of the cost, but I don't know if the thread pitch matches.

I was looking for new bolts for my uprated front calipers and have been advised by Caterham that these are what I need (7/16" x 1.5"): https://caterhamparts.co.uk/search?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=77158BOLT&submit_search= At nearly a tenner per bolt, they don't come cheap! Does anyone know of a less expensive source?

Thank you both for the suggestions. As Bromsgrove is not that far from me, I spoke to BG Developments this morning and they seem to be able to just what I need and are AP specialists. Their prices seem reasonable too!

My car is fitted with uprated AP calipers and I would like to have them overhauled. Can anyone suggest a suitable company? I am based in Warwickshire.

Hi ECR. That confirms what I thought and I seem to have gone for the right pad in the MDB1200. Mind you, they cost a bit more than in 2007 at £72 inc VAT. And the Ferodo version were nearly double that! I've also gone for MDB1287 on the rear and M1144 compound in both cases. I have had to replace the rear discs and the big delay now is waiting on new disc and caliper bolts. They're only mailing out on Thursdays and a week later, they haven't arrived.

Hi Jochen. My caliper is the one pictured on the right. This is the first time I have seen an image of it anywhere! Having checked the UP1749 - 14 pad online, it exactly matches the dimensions of the pads currently fitted, so that's a big help. The Mintex MDB1200 exactly matches these dimensions, so that looks like to way to go. Many thanks!

Thanks for your help. CP2399 is the pad linked to this caliper in the document and the AP website confirms that the pad is as illustrated in your post. Curiously, Though, the caliper number isn't recognised in a site search. It's a mystery! I think I'll go with the Mintex in spite of the delay.

Many thanks for your research. However, the mystery only deepens. The pads I have in at the moment have identical dimensions to those listed by Demon Tweeks at the link in my post, but they have no record of my calipers and think that they must have been made especially for Caterham. Your catalogue specifies pads for my caliper number. but they are a totally different shape! A bit weird!

I'm trying to find the right pads for this caliper. (I have a 1997 Supersport and these were a later upgrade before I bought the car.). It bears the model number CP3876-115C, but I can't find it anywhere on line. Having measured the existing pads, I found these that seem to match perfectly: https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/mintex-m1144-brake-pads-minmdb1200m1144/ However they are listed for another caliper and on five or six weeks delivery. The nearest Ferodo option FRP218 , which are in stock, have a slightly smaller depth (2-3 mm), so not sure if these would be OK. If you can help me to identify the right pad, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks all; very helpful! I will be changing the pads front and rear as part of the overhaul. I'm assuming that the rear calipers are standard. I take it that the Mintex 1144 is the pad type and that I will need parts numbers for each set of pads or a knowledgeable supplier!

Hi Jonathan. Road and track. I haven't used it much in the last two years, hence overhaul. I would mostly use it on the track, but my son does some road work in the summer, so pads don't need to be too hard to get working.

I need to replace my front brake pads on my Super Sport. It is fitted with the uprated Caterham calipers. Can someone let me know what pads I need to replace them? Can't find this information in my searches.

The good news is that the problem is sorted. The bad news is that I have created one where ! didn't have one at all! This is embarrassing. The car was fine; it was out of fuel. Yeah, I feel like a complete prat. But I learned something in investigating the idle air control valve (IAVC). I opened this up to see if it was operating. It seemed to make slight movements, and the car ran a bit longer without it in place. Then the lack of petrol was discovered and remedied. When I came to replace the valve, its extending valve seemed to have fallen out of the housing along with the spring and the plastic shroud. They went back together, but would not fit back in the housing. (On reflection, the stepper motor must have been winding out to the point that the valve fell out.) Leaving this loosely in place, I thought I would see if the engine would start. It sure did, and the revs built steadily until I killed it. Problem sorted; time to refit valve properly. Problem. Valve core and spring had completely disappeared and, search as I might, I could not find them anywhere. Now that is slightly worrying. Finding a replacement was not straightforward. Caterham don't stock it. They suggested Redline, but they were out of stock. Elise Parts.com (sorry about that!) do, however. Caterham and Redline were quite helpful, but could not tell a self confessed wally whether it was a good idea to mess about with the IACV in this fashion or whether it was faulty in some way. Any guidance would be interesting to said wally and, no doubt others!

Thanks all. Useful stuff and lots to work on, so it's into the garage!

Jonathan, tanks for responding. I'll test the battery, though, as it won't start, doing this at 3000 rpm will be tricky No fade before the stall in the start/stall sequence. It fires as usual with plenty of revs, then abruptly cuts out.

Got my '96 1.6 K series out from the garage for the season last week to find that the battery was low. After a charge, it started without problem and I took it for a run. It ran perfectly. This week, it needed an MoT, so I got it out of the garage and parked it on my drive ticking over while I collected things from the house. As I got back to the car, the engine faded to a stop. I could restart it, but it would immediately die. Left it for a few minutes, whereupon it started and I drove to MoT station some six miles away. I thought I noticed occasional power loss, but it was otherwise fine. It stalled once at the MoT station, but restarted to get on to the ramps and again to return home. A mile into the journey, it lost power and we came to a halt at the side of a road. Same problem: started, but immediately died. It started after a few minutes and I limped home with several stuttery moments and cut outs that I drove through. The next morning, I attempted to start it to visit my local garage. Again, it started, but stalled as I was closing garage and repeated the start stall sequence which could not be overcome by leaving it. So, it's fuelling to start and has power. It cranks well on the battery. I guess that something is causing it to cut out. All hoses in good order, so no vacuum leaks as far as I can see. Is it IACV or ECU? Or something else? Suggestions welcomed!