S4s Rear Springs, Heater & ABS problems after Lay up!

[G_Reaper 169]

Hi Everyone,

On preparing my S4s for the road after being laid up I have noticed the drivers side rear is sitting lower than the passenger side, and lower than the rest of the car for that matter. Does anyone know what colour code or part number the rear springs should be for an early S4s?

The heater also seems to be not heating up or allowing the ventsdirection to be change. I know this is likely to be a vacum pipe having come loose but are there any common points to check.

I also am getting an the ABS warning light flashing after a mile or so, the pump on the ABS pump seems to run fine but the brake pedal seems very firm and wooden almost like there is no vacum assistance been given to the brakes.

Can anyone help please?

Regards Mike

Edited April 19, 2010 by G_Reaper

[sailorbob 199]

If the vacuum pump is running continuously then this would indicate a leak somewhere.

You can use Espritmon to check your ABS error code(s).

[G_Reaper 169]

Hi

The vacum pump is running constantly. Were can I get Espritmon from and at what cost?

Cheers Mike

[Bibs 9,067 4 Vehicles]

Click for links

It's free, you'll need a cable though...

http://www.thelotusforums.com/shop/10-freescan-usb-cable.html

[G_Reaper 169]

Hi

Is Espritmon seperate to Freescan?

Cheers Mike

[Bibs 9,067 4 Vehicles]

Yes but the cable to connect your car to a computer is the same for both.

[sailorbob 199]

If the pump is running continuously then I would disconnect the electrical connector to avoid the motor burning out.

The first thing to test is the sensor in the pump itself, disconnect the vacuum hose from the pump and put your finger over the inlet, if the pump stops then the sensor in the pump is OK.

The next thing is to try to identify where the leak is. It could be from either two splitters, two vacuum switches, two solenoids or four actuators. The vacuum line is hard wall and unlikely to have split.

There is a splitter that tees off to the EBPV/throttle jack solenoid actuators and the front of the car which is located over the right rear wheel arch (see S4 parts manual diagram 43.03A), disconnect each line in turn and blank off the line to see if the pump stops. If it does then somewhere on that line is the problem. There is another splitter below the steering wheel near the backbone tunnel that tees off to the mode and fresh air/recirculation flap actuators via the vacuum switches (see S4 parts manual diagram 18.11A).

[Jonathan 13]

Hate to say but the S4s doesn't have vacuum assisted brakes - it does have a vacuum pump though (in the bulkhead between the engine and the rear luggage bay - to be sure of what you mean...if the noise is coming from the front near the brake system its the brake accumulator pump.

If it's constantly on there is either an internal leak, the accumulator is defective and or the pressure switch is defective.

Switch the car off, press the brakes 40 odd times firmly to de-pressureise the system, you'll know when it's done as the brakes go hard.

Now switch the car on to position 2 and listen to the pump - if it runs at a steady tone for more than 1 minute then the accumulator is likely to have gone, air in the system, or you have an internal leak. If the pump runs, and then starts to labour then it's probably the switch.

Keep in mind the ABS on the early cars is an ASS in the pain to work on and often very expensive.

The pump running constantly is consistant with poor brake pedal and poor brake performance, as this provides the 'boost' power to the brakes - this leads me to think more along the lines of accumulator, leak, or air in the system - if the switch was not working the pump would most probably provide sufficient pressure to keep the brakes normal.

[fflyingdog 33 1 Vehicles]

Abs snag i would check the pressure switch,depresurize system remove switch and try giving it a clean if car has been sat for a long time maybe fluid has congealed etc,all as Jon said,Vacum leak depending on how long car has set doing nothing ,check by disconnecting unions one by one(and plugging the end of pipe) until vac pump stops running you can sometimes hear a hissing to give you an idea where it is leaking,you can try turning ventilation controls and see if this stops pump running it will point you in the right area.Lotus did a good job of making the vac system really easy to work on........if you are 3" tall,maybe borrow a 3 year old?

[G_Reaper 169]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for the help. It seems I have plenty to look at.

The vac pump in the rear luggage compartment is running constantly, and none of the heater controls are functioning so I will check the pump and the lines as suggested.

The ABS pump in the front only runs upon start up for a short while and occaisionally to top the accumulator up, I have a flashing ABS warning light and the brakes feel like they have no assistance they stop the car by nature of their size but you would not want to be travelling at any great speed.

I will start trying to work through the problems ASAP if the weather holds out(not much room in my garage).

This may sound numb to people in the know but I have to ask the question to save time If I buy the cable for Freescan and Espritmon does the ABS connect with the computer through the engine ECU or does it have a seperate connection?

Thanks Mike

[Bibs 9,067 4 Vehicles]

Seperate connection, very close to the ECU connection under the glove box

[Jonathan 13]

ABS problem is likely to be the Switch then - try taking it out cleaning and replacing if that is the case, Espritmon should help.

The pump should run for about 30-45 secs from totally depresurised - low boost pressure will result in poor brake power so that fits.

Vac pump has already been covered. Got a funny feeling mine runs all the time though on the GT3...

try and remove one of the connections and put your thumb on the end of the pipe, if it stays sucked on you know it's OK

It might be that the vac pump has an outomatic cut out ?

WRT to the Espritmon, it connects to the ABS computer via the car's ECU so it's on the same ALDL connection.