jradley

Thanks - I will put a relay in and see what happens. I've not had a problem before and have started the car previously on a hot engine, but rarely after it is stood for just a few minutes hot - normally it's straight away after stalling or after it's cooled down. I have now cleaned up the contacts, they were ok but are better now, and also tightened up the top mounting bolt, which was falling out ! Something about the relay mod which is never mentioned - if the relay sticks on then this would be bad, as turning off the ignition wont stop the starter from running. I guess it's rare for a relay to fail in that way but in theory could happen. It's worth the risk if it means I don't get the click though. Off to Maplin :) Cheers, John

Sorry to hijack this thread, but having discovered my car suffering from the dreaded click this weekend I am all of a sudden interested in it..... In my case I am pretty sure the starter is engaging but then not powering the motor. Reason being on one occasion it went click, there was a slight pause and then the starter spun the engine over and it started fine. Is adding a relay likely to help in this situation or is it more likely something else ? Cheers, John

Thanks Dave - YHBM (2 actually, the first one sent blank ) John

Hi, When I got my car it came with only one remote for the immobiliser. It's a k series with original MEMS ECU and 5AS imobiliser. I didn't think much about it at the time, but now I'm beginning to think what a hassle it would be if my remote dies or gets lost. Does anyone know a cost effective way of getting an additional remote ? Cheers, John

Hi, Just fitted a set of 13" Minator wheels which I bought second hand that didn't come with centre caps. The diameter of the hole is the same as my 15" 10 spoke anthracite wheels, which is 55mm. The caps on the Anthracites are flat discs and on the Minators the hub sticks out and hence I need domed caps. I was going to buy these but I was told by CC that the diameter of those is smaller than the cpas off a 15" Anthracite - he reckoned by about 10mm but I can't see that as possible as then I doubt the wheel would fit the hub. Has anyone bought those caps that could kindly measure the diameter and let me know, or does anyone know which caps fit a Minator with 55mm hole ? Cheers, John

I'm pretty sure it is the MAP sensor pipe fitting. John

Numpty question, but where do you buy meths from ? Would white spirit work or is that likely to damage the paint ? Cheers, John

Hi, I want to replace the foam strip on the scuttle that the bonnet sits on, as the current one is very compressed and a bit tatty in palces. It is still well bonded to the scuttle though - any ideas how to get it off ? Cheers, John

You mentioned it is a fairly new CPS and plug leads - did you keep the wiring to the coil and CPS in the same position as it was before, ie not too close to the coil HT ? Also, do you have the old CPS that you can try, just in case the new one is faulty ? Good luck finding the issue. John

Hi, You have seen this thread haven't you ? Symptoms there not that far removed from yours. Out of interest how old is your foam ? Could also be faulty sender I suppose, they are a known failure point. Cheers, John

Thanks everyone - weather depending I may get out on Thursday night and try with the new pressures, failing that not sure when I'll next get chance to blat. Interesting point about the gauge - I don't really have anything to calibrate it against but it was consistent and seems to be about right. Naddy, the logic of using the A539's at Dunsfold was primarily to keep the CR500's in useable condition for touring later this year and also they're cheaper and on scruffy track day wheels, so scuffing the living daylights out of them won't make me wince quite so much as stripping rubber of the CR500's and dinging up my nice wheels. Cheers, John

Thanks for the info so far. Naddy, I don't have adjustable paltforms and I wouldn't have a clue how any of the other stuff is set up. I should have perhaps mentioned it is DeDion though. I am going to Dunsfold on May 30th so may get to try different pressures in a safe environment but still undecided if i'll put my spare set of 13" A538's on for that day or not, so may not necessarily get to try out the CR500's there. Cheers, John

Hi, A bit of background info - car is a 1.8SS with 15" CR500's. Only had the car since late last year and throughout winter on cold/damp roads treated the throttle with utmost respect to prevent any end swapping and have never had any issue. Until now.... Now that I have more confidence and have better weather I have been testing the boundaries somewhat, only to find they are nowhere near where I thought they'd be. Even with an open diff, on roundabouts at slow speed or even just pulling out of side roads the lightest use of throttle and the back end wants to get home before the front... I noticed the rear tyres were looking a bit soft so checked the pressures all round - both fronts were 22psi (no issues with grip at the front at all, though that would seem a little high perhaps ?) and the rears were only 12psi, which I think is really rather soft. I understand the rationale that more air = less grip, but is it possible the rears were so soft the sidewalls would deform under cornering forces and cause them to lose grip more easily ? I've put 18psi in them now but am wondering if they will be even more skittish when I'm next out or will they be better now ? Any thoughts ? Cheers, John

Hi, Spotted in the car park tonight (Wed). I saw you too in the restaurant (identified by wearing Caterham Motorsport jacket) but it seemed you were busy discussing launch point procedures so I didn't want to interrupt. If I see you again I will be sure to give you a John

A little o/t maybe, but do you know the owner of the car in pics 88 & 89 - it seems to me (I could be wrong) that the front tyres are on the wrong sides Edited to say photo 75 shows it better. John Edited by - jradley on 19 Apr 2010 00:04:13

No, and if it's a 5AS then it doesn't inhibit the engine from starting either. Sure it won't run for long, but if you don't want it to start at all then it's not a good idea to rely on the immobiliser. Also, the inertia switch only inhibits the fuel pump and not ignition too, as I found out once when I wanted to crank for oil pressure and the thing started and ran for about 6 seconds before the fuel pressure ran out. If you really want to crank for pressure I'd do it with the plugs out and inertia switch disconnected (to inhibit the fuel pump) so that you don't wash the bores. John Edited by - jradley on 17 Apr 2010 01:58:58

Spotted 2 white 7's in quick succession heading towards the A31 from the A3 junction on the B3000, about 11:30 am on Sunday. I got the distinct feeling the driver of the first was somewhat puzzled by why I was waving frantically - I was just saying hi. Cheers, John

I was just thinking what a gorgeous day to be out in a 7 (but couldn't due to other commitments) when you appeared at the roundabout on the A327 just as I went passed. I gave a "7" symbol wave but think you missed it. John

Thanks guys - I installed the new cable in the same position as where the old one was - that is with just about all the thread sticking into the pedal box. I'll adjust that as recommended above at the earliest opportunity. When they say "4 threads showing through the yellow bush" do they mean on the inside of the bell housing side of the bush, or on the outside side ? I don't want to poke so much through that the release arm is pulled into the end of thread when the clutch pedal is pushed down, as that would obviously be bad too. Edited to add - should I grease the cable too ? Cheers, John Edited by - jradley on 8 Apr 2010 17:24:37

Update - and good news... Took car out on the road and all seems good - clutch feels absolutely fine, just like it was before the bang. I was interested to see if I could find fault with the old cable, since when it was still on the car visually it seemed ok. Got it cleaned up and found the problem... Photo 1 shows a break in the plastic sleeve - not really an issue but means the grease got inside making things harder to see... Photo 2 and Photo 3 show the break, though it's hard to see with all the grease inside the plastic sleeve. This is at the pedal end of the cable but in a section normally hidden inside the outer sleeve when installed on the car. I can now see how the cable may have stretched after the initial failure, hence the degradation in amount of disengage. One or two more presses of the pedal and it seems it would have snapped completely. Mystery solved Cheers, John

Hi Paul, I'm colour blind and wasn't sure of the colour, but "off yellow" as I see it so almost certainly you. A very distinctive car so will be easy to spot again. Cheers, John

Was there some possibility of a dark blue 7 following the green with yellow stripe ?? I was there, on that road at that time, in my blue 7 right behind Lazerbrain - I'm kind of upset you spotted him but not me as well 😬 It was seconds later my clutch cable went bang, after which he got away 🙆🏻 Cheers, John

I have an update, and I have to say this is stranger than a strange thing on a strange day... New clutch cable installed and it seems fine - not taken it on the road yet but have moved the car up and down the driveway with no problem. The only odd thing now is the clutch bite postition seems to be with the clutch pedal higher than it was - not sure if that's due to adjustment of the cable or what, but I've got it so the clutch pedal rests at the same height as the brake pedal which I think is where it was before. There doesn't seem anything wrong with the old cable per se, however the nipple on the clutch end of the cable is not flush with the plastic liner and it does look like it may have been partially pulled off the end of the cable - I don't know if it was like that before though so don't know if that is actually the problem. If it is then it has the effect of lengthening the cable by about 0.5cm and would account for the extra pedal travel to disengage. I'll have more confidence once I get the car on the road for a proper test but at the moment it's looking good - hopefully it stays that way ! Cheers, John

I can try a spare clutch cable and I guess it may then become obvious, but in case it isn''t obvious I was wondering what else it could be. Broken spring on the clutch itself was one thing I wondered too, though not the answer I was hoping for. Cheers, John

Hi, Sorry should have said, standard wet sump K series 1.8. Cheers, John