caterhamnut Posted October 19, 2003 Share Posted October 19, 2003 For those who don't know, if you have a 20A ECU fuse for your k-series engined car, replace it with a 30A fuse. Apparently Caterham now advise this anyway. Reason I have posted this very simple thing, which I expect a lot of you may know about already, is that a few months ago the 20A fuse blew left us stranded (it blew when I went to start the car) and a bit more recently we stopped to help a guy on the A303 who had had a fuse blow. He had been there 4 hours. It was a 10 second fix when we stopped because I now carry a couple of spare fuses in the car after our experiance. After fitting the 30A fuse in his car he was off with no problems. Just thought I would bring it up because it is one of those very simple things that can strand you by the side of the road and is very easily preventable. Forgot to mention - the sign that your fuse may have gone is that when you turn the key, you get NOTHING - most particularly, you will not hear the fuel pump buzz as you normally do. You WOULD hear the fuel pump if it was just the k-starter problem happening - although incidently it was just such a k-starter 'click' that actually caused the ECU fuse to go in the first place with us. Updated MODEL and Cartoon pictures at mycaterham.com here 50,000miles in 2 years Edited by - angus&tessa on 20 Oct 2003 09:30:46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Birtwisle Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Just been out and changed mine ... Thanks Angus S713UMY 1.8K Viper Blue and Black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Have you upgraded the wiring from 20A to 30A too? Seems odd to just increase the fuse spec without doing anything else. More than 20A is a lot of current, where is it going? Is it a transient thing that blows the fuse on switch on but then immediately drops to a more sensible number that the wiring can live with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 The additional current is only a momentary thing. The 30A fuse has to carry the current to the starter motor solenoid. Sometimes if the solenoid sticks a bit the current will increase enough to blow the 20A fuse. So there is nothing to worry about on the wiring. It is more than adequate. Angus - thanks for reminding everyone. Simple fault that gives BIG problems otherwise. Chris 2003 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david nelson Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 which one is the ecu fuse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinstripe pete Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Cheers Angus! Will add a 30A fuse to the spares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted October 20, 2003 Author Share Posted October 20, 2003 Phew - sorry Chelspeed - could not answer your tech questions! ECU fuse is the right hand one at the top of the fuse box. The other is a 15A fuel pump fuse. If you are not sure about this, that is fine - just carry a few fuses with in the car 'just in case', particularly if you have the 'k-series starter' problem every now and again. Its a 'pennies' component that totally cripples the car if it blows! Why not pop a few in rolled up piece of tape and tape it up under the scuttle above the passengers knees - then you know you always have spares! Updated MODEL and Cartoon pictures at mycaterham.com here 50,000miles in 2 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted October 20, 2003 Author Share Posted October 20, 2003 Pete - have a look at yours - I would have thought that as a new car you would already have a 30A fuse anyway. Updated MODEL and Cartoon pictures at mycaterham.com here 50,000miles in 2 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frying Pan Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Just had a look at my car (10 days into the build!) - It has a 30A fuse for the ECU, and the sticker also says 30A Guy See some pictures of the build here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted October 20, 2003 Author Share Posted October 20, 2003 yep - they have updated - its the older cars that have the 20A - thanks Guy Updated MODEL and Cartoon pictures at mycaterham.com here 50,000miles in 2 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobby from Cambridge Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 I'm also very grateful to you, as I have just experienced a similar problem. The initial problem was a flat battery, but having charged it overnight, the car still wouldn't start. I mistook the clicking relay for the solenoid initially, and then found the blown 20 amp fuse. I blew 4 more 20amp fuses whilst trying to find the short circuit. Then I upgraded the fuse to a 30amp one, and all seems fine. My only concern is what is pulling over 20amps??? That seems an aweful lot for just a solenoid. I'll put a meter on it later, and see. Many thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 I posted on a similar thread some weeks ago - I've replaced my fuse with a 25 amp circuit breaker (available from DT's and I'm sure other places as well). It has a manual cut-off button so can also be used as an additional securiy feature. Page 192 of the 2004 Motorsport catalogue - ETA series 1170, also available in 20 and 30 amp ratings. SV 52 CAT - moles fly - here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 Mole, A great tip. I read your previous post and have added it to the list of bits to get when rebuilding. *thumbup* Nifty. Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy65 Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Special thanks to Tessa and Angus for this old thread which I just looked up. Just broke down this morning, couldn't restart, and because I remembered this thread I was able to affect a quick repair. Will get hold of those 30amp fuses post haste now. Many thanks Also many thanks to Peter from Cadence for stopping to try to help. Kind regards Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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