Zulu10 Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Having owned this (in my eyes) beautiful 1997 GT3 for a little over a year I thought that it was about time that I made myself known on this Forum. From what I can tell it has been around the block in terms of number of owners (I’m the sixth) although it has only just passed 20,000 miles (and I’ve got enough documentation to support that figure). In my ownership it’s had a few niggles: A weeping N/S driveshaft oil seal. It was actually surprisingly easy to change: three hours from start to finish and that included the time on the lathe to turn a simple press tool to fit the seal. (By the way am I the only one who thinks that Lotus spares pricing is erratic? £18 + VAT for the main seal is not completely unreasonable, but £12.66+VAT for a simple O Ring is absolutely outrageous – I’ve now sourced Viton O Rings in the correct size for significantly less). A disintegrating driver’s door mirror – but it turned out that brand new Citroen CX mirrors were readily available on Le E Bay at sensible money. The battery seems to go from full to flat after only a couple of weeks of non use. I’ve checked with an ammeter but the drain only seems to of the order of tens of milliAmps so I’m still slightly baffled. The original ‘security’ system had been fitted in such a naïve way that it would have been far too easy to by-pass. There’s now a far more comprehensive system… It had also been fitted with a DVD Player and a screen in each pull down sun visor – someone must have thought it a good idea, but it’s beyond me…. That’s it for now – will no doubt be on the Forums (Fora?) asking for help/sympathy/parts in the not too distant. Regards all Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibs Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Welcome to TLF, stunning looking car Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arbell9 Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Great choice in car. Did you remove the decals or did it come that way when you bought it? And welcome to the forum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu10 Posted November 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks gentlemen. To answer your question Alex; the car is cosmetically exactly as I bought it. There are no obvious signs of shading where any decals once were, so I can only assume that it was 'clean' from new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramjet Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Welcome to TLF Zulu10. (sounds like I'm talking to a military unit. You got a name?) For some reason, I can't see the pic of your car. It's not loading. Anyway, any issues or questions with forum use, feel free to ask one of us mods. We're here to help. Quote All we know is that when they stop making this, we will be properly, properly sad.Jeremy Clarkson on the Esprit. Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has them, some just stink more than others. For forum issues, please contact one of us Moderators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_kirkham Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Welcome to TLF. Lovely looking car in that colour. Regarding your battery issue I don't have a solution, but wanted to mention that I have a very similar problem. Recently my battery went flat after a couple of weeks sitting in the garage -- car hadn't done that much mileage in the past few years before I bought the car so my 'solution' was to simply replace the battery, but I suspect there is something draining the battery and I don't know what that might be. When I turn on the ignition in the morning the headlights pop up and down momentarily which I've read elsewhere on this forum indicates the battery is being drained. Do you see the same thing with the headlights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibs Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 The headlamp lift specifically means 'low voltage' so something is draining the battery or it's losing it's capacity (!) to hold charge. Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimbers Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Welcome to the site! I had similar problems with my S4 throughout my ownership. I even had the factory look at it and they came to the conclusion that it was the alarm, which was factory fitted. Even after a new heavy duty battery it would drain in a couple of weeks of inactivity. In the end they recommended a trickle charger as it was impossible to fix. It just needed to be driven regularly. Good excuse to tell the Mrs why you are off out again!! Quote Possibly save your life. Check out this website.http://everyman-campaign.org/ Distributor for 'Every Male' grooming products. (Discounts for any TLF members hairier than I am!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu10 Posted November 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Thanks chaps. Sounds as though the battery drain could be an interesting problem to solve. I've already found out about the "key in relay" which explained 50mA of drain, and it's just occurred to me that maybe the radio has been wired 'back to front' so that the ign switched +12V and the permanent +12V are reversed - that would definitely cause a higher than intended, but not ridiculously high, drain - I shall go and check later on to see whether the radio remembers its pre-set stations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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