RobinB5

'f' to toggle between mph and kph (for Espritmon) RTFM!

I don't suppose anyone wants to share a typical/standard/reference Espritmon or Freescan recording of a standard(ish) drive cycle or idling warmup? Having just got Espritmon up and running (thanks @internets, USB cable is working fine) I'd be interested in doing a comparison with another Esprit (S4 if poss). I'm not tracking down any errors or faults, it's a great tool just to learn about the engine management system. Would be good though to cross check against other Esprits. Sure, there will be differences in the logs due to varying ambient temperature and pressure etc. There were some sample Freescan logs by Andy Whittaker (http://dnn.andywhittaker.com/ECU) but the links seem to be dead now.

Thanks all! This is excellent advice I assume the regular checks are all visual? Or do you use any instruments? What generally do you look for? Connections? Any leaks (obvs)? Anything else? Any common go-to points that you focus on?

Does anyone use Espritmon for anything more than fault finding once a fault has been identified?

@Jacques, @Chillidoggy, beyond just the standard maintenance schedule, what diagnostics do you perform to identify any required preemptive maintenance?

Had this with the brake pedal switch. Original was assumed faulty, bought a new one (from SJ), it failed. Went back and cleaned the connectors of the original, all fine now. Lotus might be accused of using cheap parts sometimes, but compared to modern cheaper equivalents, maybe not so bad.

Had to Google that, brilliant!

Points well taken @Sparkyregarding the service schedule. I suppose that was evolved based on assumed required maintenance to start with and adapted over the years by Lotus based on experience and warranty claims. I'm not au fait with all the service schedule items but I do wonder if fuel tank breather tube integrity and fuel tank corrosion were specifically covered for example? Or what other somewhat common faults required at least checking. Maybe put it another way, if the service schedule was to be defined today in conjunction with a 20+ year warranty (if only), I wonder what the complete list of those items might be and checked on what time frequency?

Was wondering what people's opinions are with regards 2 opposing schools of thought about maintenance: On the one side there is a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach, which is fine and cost effective until something does brake, possibly when you're driving, leaving you stranded. On the other side is a more preemptive approach, fixing things that have a higher probability of failure, a priori, to hopefully ensure each and every journey is breakdown free. But sure, potentially more costly in the long run. The far extreme being a nuts and bolts restoration, most costly by far, but recreating production level reliability. With the wealth of knowledge and experience documented on TLF, and given an Esprit with a documented maintenance history, I'd have thought someone might have created a 'to do' list of pressing required maintenance activities? Although reading TLF posts is somewhat akin to reading the reviews on TripAdvisor (if you only did that you'd never go on holiday), there are common issues that arise, each with their own probability. Has anyone considered creating a probability list of commonly encountered failures, derived from the 1000s of TLF posts? (I'm sure regular and long term contributors to TLF have an intuitive feeling of such a list already?) Would be fascinating. Might even form the basis of a business model should anyone be so inclined! There are those of us who might like to invest in a preemptive maintenance schedule as we don't have the mechanical skills to perform them ourselves but would be willing to annually invest in such preemptive work, if nothing else to to pay for peace of mind!

Love reading this thread, to own an Esprit whose maintenance was so well documented is great. In the 3 months and ~300 miles since I bought PRA of @Barrykearley I've needed to do precious little. Bought a new gear stick gator from @Steve V8 as the original one looked uncannily like the sorting hat. And fitted the heat shield in the rear arch. Both tasks being at about the limit of my (current) mechanical competence. Also got an ALDL USB cable from @internets to at least be prepared to diagnose any problems should they arise, which to date they haven't. Car's been great, quite speedy

The Delco-Moraine ABS replacement has resulted in a brake pedal response that doesn't need the weedy return spring as well. The brake upgrade that keeps on giving

Diver's cod piece?

Yep, confirmed the return spring is required. As weedy as it is, it does just enough to ensure the brake light switch is closed at default brake pedal position. Looks like it's also cured the intermittent ABS warning light as well

Perfect, thanks @sailorbob

Brake lights were only coming on intermittently so replaced the brake light switch (spring loaded rod type switch at the top of the pedal that screws in with a 1/4 turn). Found that there was a return spring attached to the pedal. I've not reconnected it, just ensured that the brake light switch is seated down far enough so that it's depressed when the pedal is in its default position. Was wondering if the return spring is standard? Can't see it in the parts manual. Also hoping that this might cure an intermittent ABS light issue (heard that non-working brake lights will trigger it), let's see!