Angus

Hi Rog A couple of thoughts: Would have thought it would fire up and run, albeit very rough, if it was just one faulty cylinder ? Have you got a spark at every cylinder ? Check the state of the engine and ECU earths - MBE v sensitive to poor earthing. Angus

...spotted this morning about 11:30 on A25 through Merrow nr Guildford. Lovely day for a run, but a bit of a crawl when you passed me. I noticed one of you had a video mounted - got some good pics I hope. Angus

John The order is bolt, sensor bracket, calliper, hub. Gap between sensor and disc bolts 2-3 mm. The procedure is described in the assembly guide: section 16, p14 (p144 of the pdf) Angus

I think in Caterham's parts numbering scheme the final suffix letter refers to the latest engineering level of the part. So you have the same part but two different versions, version B is the later / most current of the two. Angus

If the fuel pipe is the same as the Duratec then all you need to do is to push on (compress) the locking ring on the opposite side to the small holes. You should be able to do it with your finger nails or failing that a pair of pliers. Angus

For extra security you can use 3 bigheads per stay (ie 6 per mudguard) rather than 2. Each with one medium-sized tie wrap. Angus

Thats interesting. There must be differences in the tanks that prevent some from being removed downwards. My car is a 2007 duratec, S3, metric chassis. The tank removes easily from the underneath, there is no 'wiggling' required.

I have had my tank out through the bottom a few times. Much easier than the top. Remove rear boot floor section, disconnect the filler pipework and breather, loosen and remove the retaining stap and bolts. Lift one end and tilt the tank and manoeuver it out downwards. Car is S3, metric and has the 'Sigma' tank with the fuel pump assembly mounted in the top. I didnt even need to jack it up or disconnect the fuel hose or electrical connections ! Angus

I think the 4-way stack connector system takes care of the 5v feed. Its just a case of connecting the sender unit to the spare stack terminal under the dash somewhere behind the display. I dont know if the supplied sender wire is long enough, or if you will need to obtain (or manufacture) an extension piece. Angus

To get the fuel pressure display working (on a Duratec with no fuel return), you need: 1)Stack fuel pressure sender 2) Caterham 'Z' connector pipe (ignore the picture - its incorrect 3) Fuel sampler adapter These last two parts are used in the race series I think to allow fuel samples to be taken, but they allow a pressure guage to be inserted into the Duratec push-fit fuel line adjacent to the rail. I am not sure what the thread size in the adapter is, just need to make sure that the stack guage matches. Regards Angus

Hi all and thanks for the responses. I have not had a chance today to do any further investigation, but in answer the of points: Paul - I think I do have a narrowband lambda, it is this one here, MG Rover part number MHK10006. So are you saying that the lambda and its oscillating voltage output visible on the trace is ignored by the ECU above idle speeds ? And therefore it cannot be causing the problem ? The R400 D uses a MAP sensor - this one here.. It is located on the plenum betwee No1 and No2 inlets. What does the MAP sensor do, and what is the best easimap trace to examine it with ? I have also suspected the TPS, which is this one here., but the traces look fine. I've also taken it off and using a multimeter checked for a smooth change in the resistance as it is rotated. As this is a Caterham standard engine, I have individual coils per plug, mounted direct on top of each plug. As per this - here. Is that COP ? However seems unlikely they would all fail at once. Is there a way of testing them, other than cranking with the plugs out, when they all work fine ? On the R400 duratec there is a single fuel line, ie no return line. If there is a regulator (and I am not sure there is), it is all contained within the fuel module - here. Geko - how did you trace your problem to the ignition ? Was it just by swapping components or did you use the diagnostic outputs from the ECU ? Many thanks everyone Angus

Jason I have not tried just unplugging the lambda. I guess I was thinking that it wouldn't start or just stop ! I will try it. If it works one wonders what is the benefit of a lambda ? Is it just emissions ? And another thought - if the ECU really needs it why not feed 1v into the ECU direct from the battery ? Easily achieved with a resistor, and would remove a failure point. Paul, I captured water and air temps on another plot I did. Both look sensible. Water gradually climbs to 90 or so after about 3 mins, and peaks at 100 at around 4 min 30. Air starts at around 50 and gradually declines and settles at around 40. Perhaps seems a bit high, but its smooth and not spiky so hard to see it causing the problem. As regards that air filter I have the caterham single plenum with the conical filter at the rear near the battery. Certainly doesnt appear clogged but I havent tried running it without. mic: I think from the plots I have (trace labelled 'Throttle Site 1') it is 1, but I cannot be absolutely certain as I may not have started the logging until the engine was running. I'll recheck that. Great ideas guys - keep them coming ! Thanks Angus Edited by - Angus on 2 Oct 2011 23:39:35

Pat In answer to your question - not usually. Looking closely at the trace I posted I can see that it looks I may have in this instance. Either way the poor running problem is the same, and it only happens when the car is warm - never from cold. Jason - thanks ! You say 'sounds like' - is that from reading my description of the problem, or looking at the trace, or both ? Angus

Car is a 2007 R400 duratec with standard CC 210hp engine, done 13000 miles, standard CC (locked) MBE ECU. I am experiencing some very poor running that I am trying to sort out. The symptoms are serious hesitation when trickling along in traffic. Up to about 4000 rpm when pressing the accelerator there is a lot of hesitation, kangerooing and poor acceleration. Above 4000 its fine and pulls strongly. Also it is only evident when car is warm - from cold for the first mile or so it is fine. Also it idles fine, warm or cold. The plugs were really sooted up. Ironically I have just returned from 2000 miles through Spain and France without any problems at all. It all started on the first drive back in the UK. As this was the first problem I have had with the engine, I thought I would have a go with the MBE diagnostics from SBD and at the same time try to learn something about modern engine control systems. So I bought the connector box and downloaded the software. After a bit of trial and error trying to fathom the dozens of different parameters that one is presented with I have made some logs of some of the engine settings. See this link here. It shows the lamba reading in volts (the sqiggly green line in the centre and right axis) for different engine speeds (purple line and left axis). The blue line is the ignition advance. The dense areas of blue squiggle are periods of idle. Should the lambda reading be oscillating so much (between about 0.85v and 1.2v) My vague recollection from MoT emissions testing is that it doesn’t really vary. Am I right to suspect the lambda sensor or should I be looking elsewhere ? I have already checked the earths, checked all the engine loom connections, TPS wiring and changed the plugs – no effect. Any ideas much appreciated. Angus

Some suggestions: Check that the coil cover is not vibrating against the mounting legs of the fuel rail. I had this problem and it made a huge noise. I solved it by cutting clearance notches in the cover. Check that the engine mounts are not touching the chassis. There is very little clearance, especially on the LHS. (Certainly an S3 Duratec, not sure about the SV). Check the gearbox mount is not touching the chassis, and that there is clearance all around the gearbox. Any part of the gearbox / engine touching the chassis will cause vibration you describe. Dont rule out the suspension - incorrectly set front suspension or poor wheel balance will cause unpleasant high frequency vibration through the steering wheel. The general fit of the nose cone can be problematic. Check for general tightness and fit. Also check the bonnet for fit. I cured rattles and vibration by sticking thin foam tape onto the mounting faces along the sides of the bonnet. Hope you cure it ! Angus

Gary YHBM ref battery tray. Please send me pics if still avaulable. Angus

Richard The short answer is there isnt one. The Stack reading is completely spurious and should be ignored. Why Caterham didnt get Stack to zero out the reading as part of the changes they make I have never understood. However the wiring is present and so the facility exists to add a fuel pressure sensor if you want to. It will require a threaded boss to be brased into the fuel rail though, unless you can find a coupling that allows it to be inserted between the fuel pipe and the rail. Its a mod on my to-do list, but thats as far as its got. Angus

If its a Duratec carefully check the engine wiring loom for chafed / shorting / broken wires, especially under the coil cover and the exit point, and the TPS connector. An intermittent connection could cause these symptoms. On a Duratec it seems the engine wiring loom is particularly prone to vibration damage. Angus

David It is fixed by the two caliper mounting bolts. The sensor sits in the tube (IIRC) in the middle. Angus

The stack speed sensor picks up on the front disc mounting bolts - 4 per revolution. This is the bracket you need. Any good ? Angus

Check that the conical washer sits properly in the recess in the wheel. If the angles of the faces are the same thus allowing the clamping effect to be distributed evenly around the edge of the mounting hole I dont see why not. Angus

When you rotate the nose of the diff, it should be quite stiff to turn. If its loose and turns easily then the CWP are likely knackered. Road & Race are the best for diffs. Not aware of any particular problems with AP but I stand to be corrected. Angus

The problem with the current version of the build manual is that the wiring diagrams are chopped off. Send me a PM and I will send you a pdf of the diagram you need. Angus

Since I asked the original question on this thread I have found the answer. Apologies for not posting. It is actually really simple to remove the coupling. No special tools are needed. All you need to do is press in the flat section of the coupling on the side oposite the two holes and just pull off. Just use some snipe pliers or a screwdriver (or even your fingers if strong enough). The two holes are a red herring - you do not need to insert anything into them. A little fuel will leak so be prepared for that. Angus

John / Rattie Firstly, John you're welcome ! Back to the technical discussion. I think the Cap Housing is the corresponding mating part. If you look at the Application Specification (pdf, 342kB) the exploded diagram on page 1 shows the Plug Housing mating with the Cap Housing, along with the male and female pins (called Tab and Receptacle). The right part definitely exists, I think the challenge will be finding a supplier to supply in low volumes. However it might be possible to ask for samples ..... Rattie, interesting that the TPS race variant has soldered wires. Could this be to overcome the vibration-induced fractures to the wires that have been known ? Is there a CC part number ? Angus