lwasson

Starting up cold (with choke on) it sounds like the carbs needs some twiking. Sounds like one carb is running rich. Do you have a manometer to check the carbs? Can you tell if both chokes are opening the same amount? From the beginning the plugs were wet with fuel but she wouldn't start. Now it starts with the chokes on that means its getting even more fuel. Strange.... I guess she demands it and if she ain't getting it she isn't going to start until she gets it. Another unique Lotus learning experience. Louis

Hi Marc I don't see the valve on your diffuser. It would be located between the turbo and the word TURBO stamped on the diffuser. To set the engine at TDC remove the plugs and put the car in 5th gear. Lean over trunk to look down to the timing pointer on bell housing (it may have a rubber grommet cover, mine didn't). Push the car forward (NEVER BACKWARDS!) until the pointer is lined up with TDC mark stamped on the flywheel. You could also jack up the car and turn the crank pully. You may have to turn it two revolutions. Double check that the TDC mark in lined up with pointer on bell housing. Now check your timing marks on the cam pulleys. Some pulleys have colored dots, mine is just punch marks with no color. Louis 83 Turbo

The diffuser valve is located at the inlet on the diffuser as it comes off the turbo. On the outside of the diffuser is a vacuum actuated pot that moves the valve lever arm. Maybe someone has a picture handy that shows the valve. From my experience if your plugs are wet then its flooding. Try taking the plenum cover off or at least loosen the bolts to where you can get a good gap and see what happens. Be careful not to tear the gasket. If she cranks up then there is an air intake restriction somewhere. Also check the chock lever that connects the chokes on the two carbs. Double check and make sure it allows the chokes to fully close. Louis 83 Turbo

My 83 Turbo had similar starting issues with the plugs being wet. Couldn't figure why the carbs were flooding? Checked float clearances, needle valves, etc but she still flooded. Took the plenum off a bam she started up like it was fuel injected. The problem ended up being the set screw on the vacuum actuated diffuser valve was loose so the valve remained closed causing the flooding at start up. Since the valve is an emission device to prevent fuel vapors from the carbs coming back thru the turbo and out the air filter I removed the valve and plugged the vacuum line. Car starts great even on cool to cold mornings. Louis 83 Turbo

The problem was the engine rev limiter. I ran a new wire from the tach to the coil and engine fired right up and the tach was working properly. So the problem is in the wiring. Following the wiring diagram the tach wire goes to an alarm and the rev-limiter. Disconnected the rev-limiter and hooked the original wire to the coil and all is well. Regarding the alarm I've never seen one unless it is buried somewhere darkest parts of the body. I could replace the rev-limiter but it cuts in at 7100rpm and I'm pretty sure I will never do that, at least not on purpose. Louis 83 Turbo

Thanks Clay. It gives me hope I will find the solution. On the bright side it does make one heck of an anti-theft device! Louis 83 Turbo

Hi Everyone Finally got my Pertronix ignition and installed it yesterday. Spin test on the bench showed all was working correctly. After re- installing the distributor on the car the ignition had no spark. Scratching our heads and after eliminating this-and-that we disconnected the tach and she fired right up. After it was running you could plug the tach back on the coil and all seemed well. Shut her off but again with the tach connected it had no spark. So why does the system no have enough juice with the tach connected? The gap between the module pick-up and magnet may be off a little is all I can figure? The car has not run since mid-July so I took her out for a spin and it was nice to be driving the Esprit again. This is the 3rd Pertronix unit I've tried. The 1st didn't fit. The 2nd was bad and now this 3rd one seems to be working but obviously needs some fine tuning with the tach issue. One other observation is that all Pertronix modules are not made the same. On this 3rd unit the pick-up in the module is off-center making my new mounting holes on the points plate measured from the 2nd unit useless. So I had to notch the 3rd unit's base plate to the new mounting holes in the points plate. Any ideas from anyone on this tach issue? Thank you, Louis 83 Turbo

Thanks Dom I'll see if I can come across a 45DM4 for comparison. A friend has a Spitfire but not sure on the year. Louis '83 Turbo I just got a call from Pertronix and they said the points plate on my 45DM4 is not stock. I wonder when a PO put in the Luminetion system the kit came with a new plate to mount the Luminetion optical eye? Off to find an original points plate for my dizzy. Louis '83 Turbo

I got my Pertronix LU-147 ignition but it will not fit. I have a 41953 B 45DM4 distributor. I'm wondering if the plate (I call it the points plate) in the dizzy has been changed by a PO? I've contacted Pertronix and JAE and sent the attached photos of the points plate to see if it had been changed. JAE didn't have a dizzy for comparison and Pertronix hasn't gotten back with me. Can someone tell me from the picture if my points plate is correct? If it is I will have to drill some new holes in the LU-147 mount plate to mate with my points plate. Thank you, Louis '83 Turbo

The 001 JPS is owned by a gentleman named James and is a member of the Lotus Ltd. South East chapter here in the USA. Louis '83 Turbo

Hi The JPS 001 is owned by someone in Atlanta. He brought it to the Rolex 250 race in Birmingham AL, USA two years ago and to LOG24 also held in Birmingham, AL. Had a note on the dash from Mario saying he was glad the car was in the hands of a good owner and thanks for keeping it in the Lotus family. I have pictures of it somewhere. I will see if I can find more info. Louis '83 Turbo

Thanks Hilly There is nothing on the other side of the board. It is covered with a paper thin, smooth flat material so the board can be glued to the aluminum block for heat transfer. I will go to Radio Shack and pick the transitor and see if we can make this thing work. Great story too Molemot. Louis '83 Turbo

Just in case anyone is curious about what's inside the Luminetion control box see the attached pic. I couple of resistors and diodes and a control chip. With the distributor out of the car waiting to be fitted with the Petronix system we hooked up a battery, coil and the Luminetion system back up to the distributor and the coil still would not fire. We also made sure all the connectors were clean and fitted tight together. The chip could be crossed referenced at Radio Shack and a new one installed. It might be good to have a backup ignition system. Louis '83 Turbo

Thanks All The system is shot. Holding the coil lead to ground it began to fire randomly even if the optical eye was blocked or not. So I'm going to get a Petronix from JAE for $114. For kicks we decided to look into the control box. It was completely filled with a resin like soft rubber. I can understand how it would still work even after being underwater as Molemot mentioned. I guess the resin is to keep out moisture and prevent vibration. Anyway, we dug all the resin out and its just a simple circuit board with what I would call controller chip mounted to the board. Louis '83 Turbo

Thanks Wayne for the info and replacement suggestions. We're going to go thru everything again tonight. Got an extra hand to to make testing a little easier and make sure I'm doing the test correctly. You say the LED eye is out. What confuses me is one test says the eye is sensing the infrared light (block eye HT lead sparks) but the other test measured at the blue and black wires from Luminetion box says it doesn't work (voltage does not drop from 2.67v to 1.8v). Will go thru it again to make sure I'm doing it right. Louis '83 Turbo