Help-how on earth do i remove my battery??

[Gav Samson]

My battery appears to be in a completely inaccessible location and i cannot figure out how to remove and replace it. It is located to the right of the engine block and low down. The carbs sit above it and certain immovable engine parts(to the untrained eye!)are below it. Does anyone else have this problem and would be able to offer advice as to how on earth i remove it?

Thanks

[I.Mupferit]

I believe the only way to remove it is to take the carbs. off!

 

Crap idea which is why they moved the battery on later cars to above or in front of (depending which type you have) the passenger footwell.

 

If I were you, I would look at re-siting the new battery to this location.

 

Brent

[Casbar]

Really depends on what year the car is and what chassis.

 

My battery is in the same place, but I can remove mine from underneath.

 

Mine is a 90/91 long cockpit.

 

If there are bracing bars in the way, then the only way is to remove the carbs and possibly unhook the steering column from the rack. If that is the case, do it once, and get the battery re-positioned.

[Gav Samson]

Mine is a 92 long cockpit De Dion. Is removing the carbs a big job for a novice like me?

[New Barbie]

I've seen sevens with the battery relocated to the passenger footwell area that still have a second battery in place where yours' is.

 

 

[Casbar]

Have you made sure that there is no way the battery can be taken out from underneath. ie, is there a cross bar towards the rear and under the battery, that will stop you dropping it down?

 

Taking the carbs off is fairly simple task, just remove the throttle linkage, take the air filters and plates off (for access), then undo the bolts (fiddly) that hold the carbs to the inlet manifold.

 

Where do you live?, someone will give you a hand!

[I.Mupferit]

Also don't forget that when you put the carbs. back on you will have to re-balance the airflow. You only need to tweek up the fixing nuts a bit more on one carb than the other to throw the balance right out!

Oh and be careful not to overtighten the flange nuts, they are meant to look as though they are loose!

 

Good luck with it. thumbsup.gif

 

Brent

[Chelspeed]

Did this on a Vauxhall engine car. We took the inlet manifold off complete. This saved messing with the linkage, fuel pipes, misabs etc, the whole manifold was unbolted and hinged back out of the way with throttle cable, fuel pipes etc still connected.

 

We also had to undo the bottom of the steering column to give clearance between the column and the starter motor but the Vauxhall engine is big....

[Paul Turner]

If its a x-flow remember to partly drain the cooling system before removing the manifold, you risk filling number 2 and 3 cylinders with water otherwise. Mine is a 92 spec. de-dion and the build manual stated that it was not possible to install (or presumably remove) the battery with the engine in the car. On my earlier 88 spec. live axle chassis it was fairly easy to remove the battery from below.

 

Paul

[CHRIS CLARK]

Is it a V/X ?

At one of the Se7ens net rolling road outings last year (Emerald) there was a V/X owner carrying out the same job. Sorry, can't remember your name, but the car had had the later battery position and battery fitted by Caterham over the passenger footwell. Problem was that they had left the old dead 'un still in place!

 

Having seen the carbs removed etc (with some additional problems) I would think that Chelspeeds manifold removal method would be favourite!!!

 

As a point of interest, they used to use the Exide 'Torque Starter' battery which was sealed lead acid type and square. Could tip it always round to fit it. Trouble was, if not kept charged up it went U/S very quickly and was eventually withdrawn.

[Jam Mad]

paul, i'm curious.. why would you need to partially drain the cooling system to take the carbs off ???

[Paul Turner]

Jam

 

You only need to partly drain the cooling system on a x-flow if you remove the manifold complete with carbs as the heater supply is fed from the head through the manifold casting.

 

Paul

[Casbar]

If it is a xflow, I would not recommend removing the inlet manifold.

 

It can be a real problem trying to get the manifold to seal when putting it back on.

 

Took me three attempts last time to stop the water leaking. Much easier to take the carbs off the manifold.

[I.Mupferit]

Isn't it strange how a job which you would think to be fairly straightforward suddenly turns into a right pain in the a**e!

 

I expect poor Gav. is now wishing he hadn't asked.

 

I can't imagine whos idea it was initially to mount the battery under the carbs. but I expect, over the years, his parentage has been called into question on numerous occasions. sad.gif

 

Brent teeth.gif

[Paul Turner]

Brent

 

I asked Caterham this question back in 89 when the scrutineer at the first sprint I competed at nearly refused to give me a scrutineering pass because of the battery being under the carbs, luckily for me there was another Caterham there with the same "problem" and with a 2 onto 1 scenario looming he relented.

 

The reasons I was given were if I remember:

 

The smaller Torque Starter would fit there and use previously wasted space

The Torque Starter needs no maintenance

The Torque Starter is sealed and presents no fire risk

The exhaust caused problems when the battery was on the near side

 

After having had to replace a battery in the live axle car after a couple of years (easy) I decided that with the 92 chassis it would be a good idea to fit the battery elsewhere, bloody good job I did as it was replaced under warranty, doubt if Caterham would have paid several hours labour to remove the engine if that is really necessary.

 

Paul

[Jam Mad]

trust me gav, it's simple. i know VERY little about this mechanics lark, but a carb balancer can be had for cheap and is very simple to use, and the carbs can be whipped off in ten minutes..

 

i haven't seen your car, but i reckon taking off just the carbs s/b enough.

 

i recently had a carb problem, so fiddled around with them a bit.

 

in the unlikely event that you are less experienced than i am when it comes to this sort of thing, and you need any basic advice on carb removal and re-balancing, email me.

 

cheers,

 

j

[CHRIS CLARK]

Carb balancer (Weber type) was thirty quid at the A. S show.

Cheaper anywhere else?

[I.Mupferit]

Blimey Chris, if I had seen them at the show for that price I would have bought it. I was desperate to buy my 7 a reasonably priced little bauble that day but saw nothing appropriate!

 

I think the carb balancers are about 42ish quid in the D/T catalogue.

 

BTW Aren't you supposed to be in Canterbury General today?

 

Cheers

 

Brent

[Blatman]

BTW Aren't you supposed to be in Canterbury General today?

 

Yeah, what givesquestion.gifconfused.gif

 

[Graham Sewell]

If you are talking about the Gunson Carb Balancer - don't bother, they're not particularly good for twin Weber's as you have to raise the idle speed too high before you get a decent reading without the device causing the balance to change because of the restriction applied by the device.

 

However, the Synchrometer (sp?) sold by DT and others is a useful bit of bit, but usually around 50ukp. Make sure you buy the correct one as there are two versions.

 

Cheers,

 

Graham

[Blatman]

Make sure you buy the correct one as there are two versions.

 

I'm probably gonna make a purchase, so how do I tell if I have the right onequestion.gif

[The Stig]

I could remove the batt on my prev 7 (Long cockpit Live axle car

from 1988). You need to get the batt a fairly steep angle to clear the footwell and jack up the car a bit to get clearance but I managed it.

Short cockpit cars could be more hassle perhaps but I don't think the car is longer at that part of the chassis.

[Angus]

I have had exactly this battery removal problem on my x-flow 92 de-dion - the chassis has 'y' bracing underneath the battery tray.

The Torque Starter battery supplied as standard died, and the only way to remove it was to take of the carbs and the steering column.

 

The good news is that if you replace it with a 'Banner' type battery (available from James Whiting), you can install and remove it from underneath. The Banner battery is smaller and fits (just) between the engine and chassis. You will also need a new battery tray from James that has a fixing strap going round over the top of the battery, rather that the spring clip that the TS battery has.

 

However the fit is so tight that when removing the battery you must remove the bolts holding the tray to the chassis and slide the tray aside to allow enough clearance to wiggle the battery around between the block/sump and chassis tubes and out below.

 

However beats taking off the carbs / steering column every time !!

 

Angus Denny

(ex-Surrey AO and wishing Adrian all the best biggrin.gif)

 

 

[CHRIS CLARK]

Hi Guys. Op postponed 'till 4.30. Back now and feeling ugh.

 

Anyway, the balancer was the exact same one as sold by DT and slightly cheaper by Caterham direct. Silver plastic thingy with a softish tapered throat. I know it's the same 'cos I bought one from Cat. for a mate a while back!

The stand was just off to one side from the car with the built-in swimming pool behind; W*******d!

The Co selling these was the International Tool Co Ltd., 82 Tenter Road, Moulton Park, Northampton, NN3 6AX 01604 646433 fax 01604 643737

 

or:- www.international-tool.com

Orders over 50 ukp are post free, otherwise 3.95 p&p

 

May be of some use to you. I was very tempted, but resisted. Not sure why (skint?).

[venom7]

I live in the US now(from Canada) and have a RHD '92 HPC. I can take my battery out without taking off the carbs but you have to have small hands and slip it out between the rear carb and footwell. If you don't want to change the location of the battery for next time, think about a smaller one then