mikeeech 345 Posted April 24 Author Report Share Posted April 24 I've got 3 job interviews next week so need to get peep's. Nothing for months then suddenly everyone is interested! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony D 38 Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 That's a pretty good reason. Good luck with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
soldave 265 Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 23 hours ago, mikeeech said: I've got 3 job interviews next week so need to get peep's. Nothing for months then suddenly everyone is interested! Good luck with the interviews! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted April 27 Author Report Share Posted April 27 I had a slight problem after I put petrol in the car the other day... Later on in the evening my wife could smell petrol in one of the rooms next to our garage. When I went to investigate, one of the union's on the fuel pump was leaking and leaving a pool of petrol on the floor... No problem I thought, I will just disconnect the fuel pipe at the carbs and use the fuel pump to empty the tank into a few containers. So with the ignition on and the fuel pump running fuel into a container I started to smell a burning smell! It turns out my ballast resistor which I mounted next to the coil was glowing red hot. Not great to mix a flammable substance, a combustible car and a very hot source of ignition. Taking the feed of the resistor was enough to cool it down so only a little drama and not a full blown crisis! I fixed the leaking fuel pump today and it turns out the problem with the ballast resistor was straight forward also however searching the internet would have you believe that these ballast resistors are supposed to get hot. Warm maybe since there is only current flowing throught it when the points are closed, but not glowing red! The ignition coil should get a 12v supply when starting, to give the spark a big kick, rather than the coil being fed through the ballast resistor. I had wired this through the ignition switch since, when it turns to iii, you get 12volts to the starter however it also provides a route to earth which is why the ballast resistor was getting very hot. The positive side of the coil should be fed from the second terminal on the starter which is only live when the solenoid is engaged. I'll get the bonnet off tomorrow to check the timing. New seat belt clips arrived today with the switch in. My old ones didn't have the switch in so eBay and an old dmg provided replacement. New stickers for the button and a coat of satin black should get them looking like new. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tom kilner 199 Posted April 30 Report Share Posted April 30 On 27/04/2020 at 16:02, mikeeech said: only a little drama and not a full blown crisis! ... or flaming human cannonball! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted April 30 Author Report Share Posted April 30 Annoyingly I still have a slight leak from the fuel pump and I'm getting grief from the Mrs about a whiff of petrol. Oh and my sender unit is not working! I might as well take the whole tank out! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
UAB62 1 Posted May 1 Report Share Posted May 1 Well gentlemen, I must say thank you, I have enjoyed reading this. I have had my Elite 501 for over 20 years with all the tears and tantrums that go hand in hand with owning a classic car (especially a Lotus). This thread has given me many ideas for keeping her going in the future. The problems are never ending with the next thing being stopping the water ingress (passenger footwell) that appears to have developed since the weather changed. Onwards and upwards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted May 1 Author Report Share Posted May 1 Still plenty to go yet. After I've finished the rewiring I will need to do the interior since it has not lasted well in my shed over the years. This won't stop me driving it though and then there are the things that will fall off or break in the first 1000 miles or so.... This could run and run Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SimonOmeara 112 Posted May 1 Report Share Posted May 1 On 27/04/2020 at 16:02, mikeeech said: I had a slight problem after I put petrol in the car the other day... Later on in the evening my wife could smell petrol in one of the rooms next to our garage. When I went to investigate, one of the union's on the fuel pump was leaking and leaving a pool of petrol on the floor... No problem I thought, I will just disconnect the fuel pipe at the carbs and use the fuel pump to empty the tank into a few containers. So with the ignition on and the fuel pump running fuel into a container I started to smell a burning smell! It turns out my ballast resistor which I mounted next to the coil was glowing red hot. Not great to mix a flammable substance, a combustible car and a very hot source of ignition. Taking the feed of the resistor was enough to cool it down so only a little drama and not a full blown crisis! I fixed the leaking fuel pump today and it turns out the problem with the ballast resistor was straight forward also however searching the internet would have you believe that these ballast resistors are supposed to get hot. Warm maybe since there is only current flowing throught it when the points are closed, but not glowing red! The ignition coil should get a 12v supply when starting, to give the spark a big kick, rather than the coil being fed through the ballast resistor. I had wired this through the ignition switch since, when it turns to iii, you get 12volts to the starter however it also provides a route to earth which is why the ballast resistor was getting very hot. The positive side of the coil should be fed from the second terminal on the starter which is only live when the solenoid is engaged. I'll get the bonnet off tomorrow to check the timing. New seat belt clips arrived today with the switch in. My old ones didn't have the switch in so eBay and an old dmg provided replacement. New stickers for the button and a coat of satin black should get them looking like new. Hi Mike, I never put a put a ballast resistor on mine, I used those electronic points the hall effect ones and you don't need one I was told. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted May 1 Author Report Share Posted May 1 That's true. I still have points at the moment and had no plans to change just yet. Not for any idealogical reason, it's just not on the list Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted May 14 Author Report Share Posted May 14 My wiring is almost done now... Just need to wire up the rear windscreen wiper, the brake warning light (so hand brake, brake reservoir level and brake pressure switch) and the curtosey lights but have ploughed through another 100m roll of wire so will have to order more. I have ignored the heater for the time being since i may change it out for a different one at some future point. I guess my trip to the furka pass will have to wait or I may freeze at the top! Currently I still have 4 relay slots free. I guess a couple for the heater fans leave two free. Result! Lots of tidying up to do for iteration number two I think! With a bit of luck, new fittings for the fuel pump will turn up tomorrow which will sort the petrol leak. I also routed the screen wash pipe inside the car to keep this out of the engine bay for neatness and had to fix a leak on the new screen wash bottle. That reminds me, I must check the rear which is the same type. News on the windscreen wiper saga too... Paul Matty have a stock of 24inch stainless wiper blades... Hooray, but they fit the original wiper arm only... Boo. And they don't stock the original arm... Boo hoo! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SimonOmeara 112 Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 Lotus bits have plenty of the stainless steel arms or they did. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony D 38 Posted May 16 Report Share Posted May 16 Mike, regarding seat runners, on the ones I left you there's an up turned U "guide" on the indirectly unlocked channel. Other than to chew up your upholstery, it would appear to do nothing. I assume Lotus intended it to give the seat some additional lateral support when driving. These runners were off a very early car. The runners off a slightly later car do not have the U, so unless any one on the forum has other experience they would seem to be more trouble than they're worth and I'd suggest introducing them to a grinder. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted May 16 Author Report Share Posted May 16 Thanks for this Tony. I was great to see you today and thanks for the runners. It's much appreciated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EXCEL V8 126 Posted May 17 Report Share Posted May 17 Thanks for the tip Tony. I'll have a look at mine. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony D 38 Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 On 09/09/2015 at 19:38, mikeeech said: (including a heavy duty solenoid for my electric boot opener) Just been reading back through your thread. Very informative. Still not a quarter through , but did come across above comment. Did you fit it and does it work? I've tried similar, but could never find powerful enough solenoid. Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted May 25 Author Report Share Posted May 25 I have a 30amp cable in the loom, I have a switch on the dash, I have 3 central locking solonoids but had nowhere to site it in the boot space without adding some kind of rocker lever type thing so I have parked it for the time being, in order to focus on getting the car largely finished Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted May 26 Author Report Share Posted May 26 (edited) A bit of an update on things... My fuel pump is now leak free. I needed new union's on the pump feed which took a while to turn up which fixed the original leak. When I pressure tested it the air bottle cover screws had come loose and this was a much more significant problem. I have no idea why these came loose as its a new pump but reseating the oring and tightening everything down saw this part leak free. The boot trim is all back in after I fixed a leak in the washer bottle which was leaking from the same place as the washer bottle in the front! The power steering seems fine leak free now too after I tightened up the jubilee clips from the reservoir. They were pretty tight to begin with and I didn't tighten them by much but I don't have a puddle of fluid on the floor of the garage now so that's another win. A check on the timing belt position with the bonnet off showed that, indeed, it was one tooth out after I had adjusted the tension so that's now resolved. The rewiring is coming on too with the curtosey lights now wired up and a full contingent of working warning lights and gauges. I'll take a photo of the interior lights this evening and post it up since it should be a cool mix of up lighters and down lighters as i haven't seen it I the dark yet! In terms of wiring I now only have the rear wiper, rear boot interior light and the dash board illumination to go. The dash board is in although not screwed in. Oh and I did get a new reversing lamp switch for my getrag gearbox from sj sports cars... On this particular topic the reversing light switch for the getrag box could cost £50 (I say this since there are many that look the same) but sj sell a similar item for £16 that is identical with the exception that the thread is an M14 thread (not M12) and was for the Citroen gearbox as used in the esprit. Since it's aluminium I have filed the threads off to re cut them. I have also made up some thick copper busbars for the fuse box with tapped M4 holes for a proper connections rather than the choc blocks I have used for the time being! Edited May 26 by mikeeech Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Straker 40 Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 Have you found any suitable bulkhead connectors yet? I noticed that 12vplanet have waterproof bulkhead connectors for convoluted trunking which look like a neat way of dealing with the bulkhead. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted May 26 Author Report Share Posted May 26 I haven't looked yet. I only wired in the brake warning light yesterday. Now this is done know need a 13way bulkhead connector to suit a hole diameter of 37mm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post mikeeech 345 Posted May 26 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted May 26 Uplighters and downlighters... Only downlighters... Cool 3 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony D 38 Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 Looks the business. Sets off nicely against your light trim. Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EXCEL V8 126 Posted May 29 Report Share Posted May 29 Mike - check out trigger-wheels.com for military-spec bulkhead connectors. Spotted while ordering a trigger wheel. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeeech 345 Posted May 29 Author Report Share Posted May 29 That's the ones and the cheapest I have seen. I have a 19way on order since it's good to have a few spare connections. Thanks for that Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post mikeeech 345 Posted May 30 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted May 30 Can't get my wing mirrors to play ball! The drivers side works on only 3 solonoids so I get some movement and the passenger's side stopped working altogether as I was testing it! This brings me back to the modern wing mirror motors I brought! Driver seat is now in and I have sat in the seat for the first time ever! Now I'll get the engine started tomorrow to test the clutch as this feels funny! Perhaps I'm just not used to it but to get it moving under its own power would be a big step forward. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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