Nigel Riches

Do you have access to an electric pump to by-pass the mechanical one? Ok, I understand you have a new mechanical pump installed, however, if, what was causing the original to be a problem is manifest with a brand new component I would be looking in a different direction. When you removed the original pump was the "lifter" arm worn? or was the pump drive cam worn? thus reducing the pump stroke and capacity, if a new pump behaves as the original one, driven from the same cam lobe I would be looking there. A Facet electric pump fixed my low fuel flow problem, but that was more down to demand / capacity. Good see a X flow question here these days, don't seem to be many about now. Nigel.

If the car has been stored over winter there may be a bit of corrosion where the friction plate has been in contact with the cover, however this would usually disappear quickly with a bit of use, next most awful reason might be a broken spring in the cover assembly, doesn't sound like a lot of fun, especially with summer big on the horizon. Nigel.

G'day Darren. As Johnathon says, disconnect the lambda, hopefully the ECU will default to a pre programmed figure, However after saying that my Zetec motor started playing up, rough running, cooling fan on and not cutting off, really bad smell of over fueling, turned out to be a duff coolant sensor sending incorrect signal to the ECU, and ECU trying to sort it out, fan on, to much fuel, etc. Have fun, at least you won't have to sort it yourself, but annoying and inconvenient. Nigel.

Hi Tim. Have you checked the excitation voltage at the alternator, is it within a small amount of the battery volts? Could be a case of insufficient excitation. Or, the other side of the conversation, check the alternator output voltage at the output terminal, with the "charge" light fully extinguished, (2k-3k rpm) should be in the order of 14 volts, if this is good, check the volts at the battery +ve post, if not within a few squidgions of a volt, check the resistance of the wire from alternator to battery, should be zilch resistance over that distance, if you find some resistance, make up a suitable jumper ( same gauge and length) to replace the "in car" wire and try again. Hopefully you can sort this problem. There are some really good battery chargers on the market these days, not the old full wave rectifier and a capacitor if you are lucky, I revived my wife's VW Golf battery, stop / start technology, AGM construction, with a Ctek MXS-5 charger, can be used as a charger conditioner, whilst the car is idle for a prolonged periods. Recommended. Hope some of this helps. Nigel.

Finmac, if you are going to replace the brake fluid after several years it might be prudent to remove the calipers and drain all the fluid out, thus removing any accumulated water from the bottom of the piston chamber, as if you just replace the fluid in the master cylinder reservoir, and flush it through to the wheel assemblies all that happens is the top of the wheel cylinders have fresh fluid, however the old fluid remains in the caliper, fluid feed and bleed points are often close together at the top of the caliper, flushing old, potentially water contaminated fluid would also remove the potential for corrosion to form in the cylinder bores, causing other problems, binding brakes, being one. Nigel.

Had a similar problem occasionally on my 1987 XR2, so years ago, turned out to be a hanging headlight relay not disconnecting when switching the lighting circuit off, didn't investigate very closely, but a whack with a mallet whilst it ran on stopped the motor, new relay, no more problem, so if Henry's car company can do this I'm sure Caterham could do it, good luck with this type of fault, usually tricky to track down. Nigel

Hi Nick. I posted here awhile ago about an issue with Emerald ecu and engine temps, had no replies, not like Blatchat of old. I found that the physical temp of the sensor was 70c, but the ecu was showing 95c on the live adjustments screen. I suspect the coolant temp sensor is out of whack, I carried out a temp vs resistance check and at 0c the readings where fine, however as temp increased the error between the expected and actual resistance increased, so, at 96c the resistance that the ecu would read was equal to a temp of 110c, the ecu was doing whatever it is designed to do at those temps, but of course the engine is not that hot, so an engine running poorly. I await a response from Emerald about my findings. I have tried to run the engine without the temp probe connected and encountered a reluctance to start, and when it did eventually fire, what a bag bolts, couldn't go near the throttle as it would die, this was probably due to the ecu trying to control fueling and ignition advance without the temp input, after several minutes as the engine warmed things got better to a point but then deteriorate to a rough running, I had wired the engine fan to switch from thermo switch in the thermostat housing, this a 93 on 87 off VW item, but I think the 92c stat is to hot for this set up, as eventually the fan ran continuously, and the engine ran poorly. Gawd, give me back the old Webers, none of this electricary jiggery pokery. Hope some of this may help you, seems most folks aim their first shots at the throttle pot, but their are other things at play here. Nigel.

It may not "click" as you have some sort of sheet metal edge protection / grommet in the hole, if the channel for the fitting is only sheet metal wide I would remove the grommet, it may then click into place. Just a thought. Nigel.

I have been having a problem with the cooling fan on my Caterham not reliably switching on and off, so I brought home from my work a calibrated "K" type thermo couple and a Fluke 51 II. I taped the thermocouple to the coolant sensor reporting to the K3, not the temp. gauge sensor. I then watched on the "live adjustment screen", and the Fluke display as the engine warmed up, both initially report at 16c, however as the engine warmed up the live adjustment display indicated ahead of the calibrated thermo couple, by an increasing margin, at 95c live adjustment screen the cooling fan cut in, but the true temp at the sensor position was varying 72 - 76 c, the fan did not switch off at any point after this. I had a bit of a hands on feel around the pipes, the top hose was hot, surprise, but the return hose from the Radtec Ali radiator was a lot lower, some 20 c, measured. I can't recall the thermostat temp. but it isn't 70 c or 92 c, as those are on the bench, but i do recall drilling a 1/8" hole through the thermostat mounting plate, inline with the recommended thinking at the time I was installing the engine Now I am very much a techno dough brain numpty in this ecu stuff, I managed to find in the "events" page some temps set for the fan to cut in, out. Fan on at 96 c, off at 88 c, probably not unrealistic for a Zetec, The K3 drives a relay for the fan operation, so probably not a ECU problem, if it is seeing some skewed info from the sensor. I will endeavour to hook up an external relay from the thermo switch on the thermostat housing, not sure of the temp. trip point for this, but if the fan cuts in and out then I will have more idea about the sensor serviceability So, my learned 7 brothers, is there some other "thing" I should be looking at? This ECU business is the new version of the Weber / Dellorto carb stuff from years gone by. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, I am definitely in that area. Any info, as always, gratefully received, thanks. Nigel.

Well, that didn't go very well, so, on with the original question, I have a Lockheed M/C the casting number is 70 3211 426, and the ali tag attached has the numbers 4222 404 19 impressed on it, this appears to relate to installation on Vauxhall Victors, Ventora, and Viva, but I can't find much info or diagrams of this item. The component I need to replace is the pressure differential warning contact, a small plastic item fitted to the underside of the unit, I have some how got a number from somewhere, L4177-713, this is written on one of my many pieces of paper, as the number for this thing, but so far trawling tinternet has drawn a blank. I could probably just buy a plug and close the port off, but Mr. Inspector has to do some further tests to allow me to put the car on the road, and if the car has a switch / light / system it should work, and I would like to keep it as close to original as possible, mad, yes I know. So the great hunt for the unobtainium contact is on. Any pointers or info gratefully received. Nigel.

Hi Elie, thanks for the offer, I will probably just re-stick the plastic shims to the pads and see how things go, it would appear that one pad is still sticking, so I will remove it and dress the edges where it fits in the caliper for an slightly looser fit, just remove the paint, which does seem to be quite generous. However, things went from bad to worse earlier this afternoon, on the M/C there is an electrical spade terminal, to illuminate a pressure differential warning light, this was the cause of the leaking, it wasn't fully tightened, so I was a bit over generous with the spanner and the crappy plastic end broke off, just my luck, now the great hunt for a replacement, hens teeth and rocking horse poo, with large amounts of unobtainium come to mind, never mind flog on rewardless. Cheers, Nigel. P.S. Glad you got the camshaft tool does it do as you need?

Is that like a "chair / keyboard interface error" ? Nigel.

Thanks for the quick reply Guy. So am I right in thinking just use the plastic backing, toss out the metal shim, and for the weight conscious, a saving. Back in the shed tomorrow after time on the tread mill, will toss the shims and re-instate the plastic backings, then deal to the master cylinder, bastard! Nigel.

If you wanted Loctite 242 I could send some time expired stuff from my garage, chuck out loads of this sort of stuff from work, into the garage . Perfectly good for homers. Nigel.

Hello out there in 7 wonderland. I have just been doing some maintenance on the front brakes of my 1982 Caterham, the discs had started to drag, so something had to be done. Off with the wheels, and remove the pads, de grunge all the pins, anti squeal shims, pads, and the aperture in which the pads reside, all cleaned with commercial brake cleaner. However I noticed a plastic "shim" or "packing" on the back of the pads, one of which on both calipers had been partially torn by the anti squeal shim, I have removed these in the interim, as the previously removed pads, not M1144 type, didn't have these, and I can't recall why I left them in place at original installation. So with a good clean and some judicious application of copper ease to the sliding surfaces, after a quick blat, the wheels are now free, no more dragging, this is all really important, as the car is due for the final installment of its inspection to put it back on the road. And further to all this, when I returned to the garage after the test I found the new master cylinder had been leaking, so more fun and frolics another day, probably leaking from the "pressure loss" contact, stupid plastic thing screwed into the M/C body, to indicate to dim wits there is a pressure loss on one of the brake circuits, if you can't feel this give up driving. Anyway, any info on the plastic backing or shim gratefully received. Thanks. Nigel.

Interesting reading, as I am now putting my car through an inspection procedure to allow it on the road, one of the checks is for "bump steer" apparently way out of allowable limits, and it did move about a lot on bumpy bends or uneven road surfaces. Turns out it left the factory in 1982 with the steering rack mounting blocks upside down, so the rack was "high" (different size mounting blocks, about 8mm originally taller block below the rack) simple fix, use the shorter mounting blocks below the rack tube, bringing the tie rods and track rod ends into alignment with the centre line of the rack, when viewed from the front all are horizontal, and after Mr. Inspector had me subject the car to a wheel alignment check, which didn't need any adjustment, I went for a quick drive, and can confirm the drive is much improved. Aim to get the track rod end ball joint inline with the centreline of the rack when viewed from ahead, made all the difference to my car. Hope this helps. Nigel.

Thanks for the new info about the switch part of the lock assembly, my first online search was to Caterham parts site, no luck, just the whole lock unit, and surprise, nil stock, and at GBP 91 I can imagine why. So further trawling through the interweb brought up an article about someone restoring a Lotus Excel, and there was a photo of the switch with a part number, Lucas (Lord of Darkness) 157 sa, which is readily available from loads of suppliers, and is identified as fitting dozens of older British brand cars, Triumph, MG, Land Rover and also Aston Martin, I've got to have one these. Next step now the car is back on home turf, and by the way has started faultlessly each time I needed to fire it up, get the switch off and look for any numbers thereon. The battery is connected to its life support system, but still shows "red" after 3 hours now, previously it would be "green" after this time, so a new battery is on the menu. Got some work to do before I can get the special plate to allow me to drive the car on the road, but it's not to serious, so should be sorted in a couple of weeks. Thanks for your assistance, much appreciated. Nigel.

So the continuing story, I got a message from Mr. Inspector saying he had turned the key and the motor fired up as it should, so he conducted the noise and emission checks and I presume did the brake check also, the car was then parked outside, and of course when I turn up it failed to start, good strong cranking, pumps running etc. However whilst he and I were messing about trying to understand whats happening he again turned the key but kind of wiggled the key in the ignition lock, and that seems to be the problem, the 37 year old ignition switch is intermittent at the ignition power position, even though any higher current circuits are connected via relays, so when I get it back tomorrow afternoon I'll have an upside down session under the dash, possibly place a toggle switch for the ignition circuit, see if that gets this problem sorted. Then of course need to find a replacement barrel for the lock, not interested in big red buttons, probably try some of the kit car supply places mentioned on the pages. Thank you all for your assistance, and hopefully this is soon to be resolved. Nigel.

Thanks for the info people. I will be back to the inspectors shed tomorrow afternoon. I have the 650cca battery from my Landcruiser in the car and some heavy duty jump leads, I feel the battery, which is not anywhere near new, has packed a sad, so possibly time for a new one, If I can get the engine to run with this set up, I'll put the battery on charge at the workshop, and leave it for him to complete his checks, if not then it's a case of winch it on to the trailer and return to the garage at home for some other investigations. Happy daze. Nigel.

So in the long and tawdry process of getting the Caterham back on the road here in NZ, I have presented it for the inspectors pleasure, ok it's only been pinged on some minor issues. However, the car has now failed to start, and the battery is below cranking level, there is plenty of "fuel pump" sounds, and if a jump start is applied plenty of vigorous cranking, but no starting of the engine. So my learned colleagues out there in 7 land, what would be your call on first things to look for, ok, time was tight this afternoon and I didn't get a look at the green LED on the K3, indicating power available, I think. Given the above, and the old suck, squeeze, bang, blow sequence, well it's obviously sucking when a decent battery is applied, there is apparently fuel being delivered to the system if the pump noises are to be relied on, so the last item is the bang bit, not lighting off the fuel? however there may also be non activated injectors, so no bang. The inspector assures me the car had been starting fine prior to the Christmas break, 2 weeks laid up in his workshop, and now it doesn't, start and between the two of them they had managed to flatten the battery, "A" grade motor mechanics? Any pointers gratefully received. Regards. Nigel.

Just remember that if you use an air horn fit out, the compressor would benefit from a drop of air tool oil every once in a while, to make the compressed air leave via the horns, not just swish around in the compressor housing. Nigel.

Good evening sevenista's. Does anyone out there know if there are different frame strengths for the various models of the 7 vehicle range. I have heard from a fellow 7 owner here in NZ that if the car he has, a 1992 live axle, and my 1982 version, have an engine in excess of 200 bhp they won't be certified for road use as the frame won't be strong enough for that power. How these certifying turkeys arrive at this is not disclosed. So, do the later, Arch and Cage frames have different tube wall thickness (Colin is turning in his grave) for different frames for higher powered cars? Any info gratefully received, just trying to get some ammo to fire back. Regards. Nigel.

I had exactly the same failure on my 1982 Caterham, however my was whilst braking when reversing out of a parking place at work, the entire lower "A" frame locating bracket under the diff detached from the axle casing. I contacted Caterham, when I eventually got the car home, thanks AA, and they said to return the axle to them in Dartford, where they would repair it "on the spot" and I could take it away el pronto. This little episode would have been after 1987, as I can recall lugging the axle in and out of the XR2, (remember those) Not a good look if this lets go at any significant speed, seems to be a recurring problem, did the apprentice do the bracket welding? Nigel.

Hi 7 Wonders. I am not sure, but. I don't think you can just install a rose joint to a previously non rose jointed A frame, if that is what you are aiming to achieve. I have a number somewhere in the garage for the Live axle A frame part, this might be the same part for a De Dion A frame, and the normal price is expensive. 65 GBP last one I bought, if I recall correctly. I think CC went away from supplying Rose jointed A frames, don't know the reason why. Regards, Nigel.

If you want to do it enough, all those obstacles could be overcome, it is only a pile of metal things. However, I feel after changing the x fllow in my 1982 car to a Zetec I have a mongrel of a car, and it has cost a large wodge of wonga to get here, but being an inveterate fiddler with things, the actual doing was more interesting than the end product, so am torn between hauling it all out and putting the old Ford motor back in, or keep on fiddling with the later motor, a different flywheel, shorter gear ratios, and so it goes on, keep throwing money at it and it can be fixed. Your choice with your car. Best of luck. Nigel.