Evora S1 side indicator repeaters

[rob_499]

I've just had an MOT fail due to one of the side indicator repeaters not working on my 2014 Evora S. From reading through the forum it looks like "Evora" badged ones are no longer available, and the solution is to buy an "Evora" sticker to put over the Union Jack or Exige logo they now come with instead. Hence yesterday I attempted to order a new side repeater and sticker, but can't seem to find a repeater in stock anywhere - they seem to be on backorder until some time in October.

I've found a second hand one, but it's the wrong side (it's offside, my nearside one is gone). Looking at them they appear to be the same on both sides. E.g. you could fit an offside one to the nearside fine and the shape would be correct, just the 'Evora' text would be upside down (which could be addressed with the sticker). Does anyone know if that's correct for the original indicator repeaters?

It looks like the original parts from Lotus were C132M4015F (LH) & C132M4016F (RH), both of which have been superseded by A142M0015S which suggests they are now interchangeable (presumably as they now have no 'Evora' on them), but upside down text aside, were the original parts also interchangeable? 

Also - replacement of these - it looks like they're stuck on with tape. Can the whole job be done from outside the car, or do you need to somehow get inside the inner wing to do it? If so, any advice as to how to get at it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

PS: If anyone has an S1 passenger side/near side side repeater available please let me know!

 

[Rambo]

It does seem strange if they were "handed" but if it has the Lotus logo on it would have to be and your solution would work.

Unfortunately I don't have my Evora with me at present so can't check. In the past when I've had to do something to the indicators on my M100 Elan I have done it from the outside and pulled the gubbins through to the outside and then replaced. The orange indicator came off by a twist and pull after prying with a credit card.

I'm not sure if this will work for the Evora but worth a try? I'm sure Bibs or someone will be along with a better idea soon.

Good luck 🤞

[rob_499]

Cheers -  yup, I'm hoping they're only handed due to the text, and hence are interchangeable (logo aside). Looking at them on the car they look symmetrical apart from the logo, but it's hard to be totally sure, especially without being able to see the bit that's currently hidden inside the front wing.

[Rambo]

Sounds like Tom had a similar problem 2 years ago

https://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/108577-indicator-intermittent-fault/

 

[rob_499]

Thanks - although that looks like an issue the main indicator in the front headlight (which sounds like even more of a nightmare!). It's one of the little side repeaters on the wing that's failed in my case  

[hamza]

Any chance of being able to repair it? Maybe pull it out and see what's failed? I'm presuming its LED and not a bulb.

[rob_499]

Yup, I'll remove it at the weekend if I get time on the off-chance it's just a wire fallen off, but reading through the forum it looks like it's more likely to be a failure of the unit unfortunately which seems fairly common. They're all one sealed unit incorporating an LED (rather than a bulb), so it doesn't seem to be something that's designed to come apart. Even then you'd probably struggle to find the correct LED I expect. I can suck up paying £70 for a new one (reluctantly) - it's just that they seem to be impossible to get hold of, and the only one I can find is from the other side, hence my wondering if the two sides are essentially the same.

[hamza]

It would be nice for it to be as simple a wire failure but I was more expecting that you'd be replacing LEDs.

The sidelights in the front headlight unit officially require a whole new headlight but some people have soldered new LEDs in place and Lotus Silverstone now have a new LED ring to replace the failed one.

So yes while its supposed to be a non serviceable replacement part, it might be worth taking it apart and seeing if it can be repaired. Worst case it ends up the bin like it would have anyway.

[Rambo]

I'm sure if you pry out the side indicator with a credit card and then, carefully push in one side with a small screwdriver (there are usually 2 plastic lugs, one each side, holding the indicator unit in place) you will get the indicator unit out fairly easily to investigate further.

[JimH]

https://www.eliseparts.com/shop/discounted-items/used-parts/lighting/bodywork-br-styling/lighting/exterior-lighting/pair-of-s3-style-led-side-repeaters/

Eliseparts have some "pattern" parts listed online - pictures also show fitment with 3m tape and the wiring connectors. Note that they are wired as replacements for S2 Elise (which had the older-style square units) so may need their polarity reversing if they don't "plug and play" on an Evora - I guess it's a 50/50 chance!....

 

https://divinehandcraft.co.uk/collections/lotus-stickers/products/lotus-evora-logo-side-repeater-sticker-decal

Stickers are available at the above link from Dan if anyone needs them!

[rob_499]

Excellent - thanks all. I'll have a look this weekend and report back any findings!

[TomE]

If you decide it's beyond your capabilities, I found my local specialist auto-electrician was brilliant at finding solutions to this kind of thing.  Per the link above about the indicator in my headlight assembly, my local chap split the sealed unit, fixed the broken joint and re-sealed it all.  I'm sure opening up the side repeater and repairing wiring or replacing an LED would be feasible.  He also does repair and renovation of alternators and starter motors.

[rob_499]

Just a brief update on this for anybody needing to change an Evora side indicator repeater in future:

Firstly, as suspected, the only thing that makes the indicator repeaters 'handed' is the text saying 'Evora', which is within the plastic moulding on the original items. Other than that, left and right hand ones are the same. As mentioned above, it seems that these repeaters now come from Lotus either plain or with a union jack logo on them, which implies that Lotus have realised having separate indicators for each side of the last model Elise, Exige and Evora is a lot of separate parts when one part and some stickers would do for the lot.

As Lotus seem to have no stock until late October I found a new old stock Evora one on eBay. It was for the wrong side, but a sticker from the link above sorted that (excellent quality and quickly delivered - recommended).

In terms of fitting, they're just stuck on to the wing with heavy duty tape, so can be gently peeled off with a credit card or similar. Mine left some sticky reside behind which I managed to gently rub/scrape off. However, for a reason best known to Lotus, there's not enough slack in the wiring loom to pull the cable out through the hole in the inner wing to reach the connector. Consequently, I had to jack the front of the car up, remove the front wheel, and undo a couple of screws holding the wheel arch liner in place. I didn't have to remove the liner completely - by removing a couple of screws near the back of the front wheel arch I was able to gently bend the liner back enough to just get at the connector and disconnect it. 

From then on it's just reverse of reassembly - feed the new wire through the hole in the wing, clip the connector together behind the wheel arch liner. Check it works, then stick it carefully to the wing (they come with self-adhesive tape on the back), screw the liner back in place, refit the front wheel and you're all set. The whole process took less than an hour.

Hopefully that's of use to anyone else in the same situation.

Now the old one's off the car, it does look like it may be possible, if difficult, to gently prise it apart (though I've not tried yet). It looks like it'd be very difficult to remove and replace the two orange LEDs fitted within it though. I guess in theory it would be possible if these lights ever get impossible to source, but whilst they're still available it looks a lot easier to replace the whole unit.

 

[jep]

Lord knows why Lotus wasted money ordering 3 different type of side repeaters instead of using stickers. They then compound this idiocy by issuing naff Union Jack stickers instead of having the correct stickers made for each model when they realised their mistake. 

This came to my attention when B&C replaced my side indicator with a new one with Union Jack. I protested but they had no answer and had thrown away my original repeater. 

I asked Dan at Divine to make the Evora sticker, sending him the Union Jack to give size guide. He has listed them ever since and B&C then ordered some. 

Teamwork, though why no-one thought of this earlier I have no idea. 

Justin 

 

 

[Rambo]

Well done Rob and thanks for updating and sharing your solution 👍

[rob_499]

No problem - hope its of help to someone in future. What amazes me is why Lotus didn't use stickers in the first place given the small volume of the cars concerned. It looks like both sides of Evora, Exige and late Elise are now all covered by the same 'text-free' part, whereas previously there were 6 separate parts for that lot, each with the model name text inside the repeater one way up or the other.

If there was about 6" more slack in the wiring loom you could do the whole job from outside the car too 🙄

[TdM]

That's 6" more weight... (or we can use that as the excuse at least)

[azim]

Thanks for the above guide! Fitted a replacement to mine today (although got mine from eliseparts). Simply required swapping the pins over in the new connector.

I also managed to fit the new repeater without removing the wheel. Turned the wheel full lock to the left and then pulled back part of the wheel arch lining to find the connector (annoyingly the connector for the old repeater was zip tied down so was a bit fiddly to cut). Pasting a pic here of the connector in case it helps anyone locate it.

Edited November 19, 2022 by azim

[Spanky3]

When Silverstone replaced one of mine they just chopped off the old repeater and presumably joined the new one using a wago or automotive equivalent. If it was me I'd have found and used the plug but guess they've found a quicker approach.