Mick Day

What is this thing with clear lenses. I think they look hideous!

Ian ACOT01 says it fits a K series, S3 SV ACOT04 says it fits S3 SV, not R500. I think you need the ACOT01. I wonder whther CC are starting to recomend an Apollo for the Ford engines? Mick

If you tell Think the engine age they'll be able to tell you what thread for the sender.

How do you know the Snap-On gauge was accurate? At the end of the day these things are only a "gauge" of what 's happening. That's why they're called worry gauges & why mainstream manufactures no longer have figures on their gauges. Incidentaly have you noticed that all mainstream temperature gauges go up half way & then never shift even when stuck in traffic on a hot day?

Glad you've got progress. Pete is a really nice guy; a bit laid back so you may need to ensure you agree a time-frame for all this. However the winter's coming.................

Marine ply costs about £10 to do this. Plus take the winch off the A frame & deck this triangular area. Can then carry 4 wheels on end. As they're low down it doesn't increase fuel consumption. And for those who insist on a winch, I've never needed one in 9 years. If the car's dead there are plenty of people around to push the car onto the trailer!

There are probably a number of reasons why these senders fail : vibration & location are 2 possible reasons; & others have cited quaility. I used to have a VDO sendor & gauge. The sender continued to work satisfactorily for a few years even after it contacted some concrete at a track day. It was touching the ground for lap after lap & part of the casing got worn away. After that I resited using a remote extension. it continued in service until I replaced the gauge with an SPA one, again with the sensor mounted remotely. So if you want to continue with the CC branded gauge (made by Caerbont) you will have to scout around for a sender which produces the correct reading at the gauge. However many have moved to a mechanical gauge such as Mocal & Racetech.

Take the scuttle off as it will make life easier getting to the underdash wiring. Good luck.

My 1994 1.4 SS had a rev limit at 7600rpm. Max power, according to CC, was at 7400rpm. 7600 rpm is probably a bit high for the standard pistons.

So you already have the throttle bodies. With some good porting work, bigger valves & BP285M cams my old cylinder head made 200BHP on an 1800. I'm not too sure whether the new owner upgraded the pistons or not. When it was on my 1600 block it made less than this but I ran it with standard pistons & as Dave said "I was bl££dy lucky". Lucky that is that the pistons didn't fail! Edited by - Mick Day on 13 Sep 2008 16:14:51

Duratec???? Hmmmmm..... I wonder: is the alternator controlled by the ECU? If so then the wiring may/will be different to my suggestions. What has Pete McEwen said?

Dennis You need some knowledge so your 1st port of call should be: here. Once you've completed your education you should then be in a better situation to understand what is needed for a certain level of power. There are no easy bolt-on-ways to more power but you're on the right track by improving the breathing.. Mick

Just one tiny thing to factor into all this: it would be a terrible shame to change the CRB only to find the clutch expiring a few months later! If the provenance of the CRB is in doubt then maybe the clutch........................

To be honest an alternator either works, ie charges, or it doesn't. However there can be a twilight period, when failing, when it will charge one minute & then not the next. I think your current drain is down to the alternator not being wired correctly as evidenced by this However did you also remove any other leads from the positive battery terminal? Because if you did it's not surprising the current drain stopped as then nothing was connected to the battery! So you must check that that all the wiring to the alternator is correct: So: 1. Lead to the ignition warning light. 2. Is there 12 v present on the other side of the ignition warning light when the ignition is turned on. Whe'll call this the 1st small lead. 3. Is the 2nd small lead connected to 12v +ve & switched through the ignition? Assuming of course that this is what this terminal is for. 4. Big red lead: nothing should be jumped off here to any other terminals unless it's to the starter. Now having mentioned the starter the usual route for the big red battery lead is battery >starter>alternator. It is possible of course that the starter has an internal fault which could be draining the battery? Paul: where in W Sx are you?

One other thing has just occurred to me: If you have the latest Caterham gauge, with an LED as the ignition light, then there will be some more complex circuitry to allow this to work. LED's only work with current applied one way & also present as a v v small resistance. So another resistor will be used to allow it to work as an ignition light. You also mention that the wiring was professional but it doesn't look neat. It sounds like an enthusiastic amateur did it & maybe some of the basics haven't been adhered to?

From: here "Make sure all the accessories on your car are turned off (lights, radio etc.) and then rev up the cars engine to a fast idle (say 2000-2500 rpm). Set the Voltmeter to the DC scale and measure the voltage across the battery terminals - red lead of the voltmeter on the positive terminal, black on the negative. You will need someone to rev the engine whilst you connect the meter to the battery. With the engine at a fast idle, the voltage on the meter should read around 14 volts (13.5 to 14.4). The alternator needs to generate a larger voltage than the battery's rated voltage to overcome the internal resistance of the battery. The current needed to recharge the battery would not flow at all if the alternator output voltage was the same. The larger the difference between the alternator output and the battery voltage, then the quicker the battery will charge. So as you can imagine, if your car is quite old and the alternator and the battery are too, problems can occur with the battery getting enough charge and making the car more difficult to start and less reliable. If the reading on the volt meter is less than 12 volts then you may have a failed alternator." Really if it passes this test it's working. However over time the brushes will wear & possibly break up. The brushes can be replaced & I've had this done by these guys.. The regulator/diode pack is also replaceable but at some point one has to think of a new alternator if it's seen a lot of service & heat. Testing out of the car is not feasable unless one has equipment to "spin it up" so to speak. I suppose one could measure the resistance of the windings, & the function of the diode pack, but I wouldn't have a clue as to the correct figures. Why not ask Pete?

Pete McEwen will sort it out. Might be a good idea to get him to check & tidy as much as possible.

Just to drop something else in here I think you have to investigate the alternator. Some alternators have 3 terminals & some have 2. If 2 then there is a big red wire terminal that goes to the battery +ve terminal & the other terminal goes to 1 side of the ignition light. With 3 terminals the 3rd terminal should be an ignition switched +ve. If this has been jumped from the big red wire (or another always on +ve feed) it will lead to your battery draining. Another point: if the ignition light doesn't light up with the ignition on, & go out when the engine runs, there is a strong possibility that your alternator will not charge. With the ignition off you should at best only be seeing a few milli-amps current draw, anything more means something is draining the battery. Coming back to the ignition light this should be wired so that there is a 12v +ve (ignition switched) to 1 side & the other side goes straight to the alternator. Turn the ignition on & the light should glow as it is now earthed through the alternator. As soon as the engine starts there is now 12v on the other side of the light (from the alternator) & the light goes out. So you need to find out the correct wiring & ensure it is OK. You need a competent auto electrician to look it over if you don’t feel confident yourself. Maybe relocating the alternator to the other side with a Raceline loom is the answer? However doing it yourself is possible if you have the time & patience. Good luck! Edited by - Mick Day on 11 Sep 2008 12:22:04

The Apollo drain plug should have a bonded (dowty) seal on it. I've seen many without & this could be the cause of the leak.

Whenever something like this happens it's always a bad earth. I'm surprised no one has said so! 😬

Why don't you put all these ideas to Tony at TSK; it's surprising what he can do in house.

I did this during my rebuild a couple of years back. Out of the 4 relays in the MFRU only the Injector & the fuel pump relays are still operational. Some day I intend to rewire the engine loom etc & rationalise everything. The MFRU will go to be replaced with individual relays.

All the carbon canister does is to pass the fumes from the fuel tank through some charcoal & then vent to the inlet manifold. All modern cars have one since circa early 90's. The ecu controls this by opening a valve periodically to dump into the manifold. So if you remove it you are left with a vent pipe in the engine compartment from the fuel tank. There should be a convenient one way valve somewhere up by the tank so no fuel as such can pass down this pipe. So just place the end somewhere out of the way; I put mine into the oil catch tank. There is no need to do the mod as listed previously, unless you want to. If you do this I wouldn't throw the canister away. Why? Well all modern cars have to pass emissions testing & although I've never seen a check on this system at MOT time it could figure at some time in the future. It's easy to reinstate.

I'm sorry but there is no easy answer to this as the front dampers are inclined & the back ones are upright. I take it you want to either raise or lower the car & want to keep the rake as before? This is what you do: 1. Measure the height of the 4 corners of the car with the car on a flat level garage floor. Write these values down & ideally mark the garage floor where you measure. 2. Bounce the car up & down on the suspension & roll it backwards & forwards. 3. Check the measurements again & take the average of maybe 3 such episodes. You should now be able to work out the rake for left & right. Don't worry about the rake being different right to left as you're measuring this without a driver/pessenger. 4. Decide on what change is necessary. Often drivers want a certain ride height under the sump. So alter the front, equal turns both sides, until you obtain the correct ride height. Remember to bounce/roll the car after each measurement 5.When at the correct front ride height repeat for the rear to get the correct rake. 6. 1 turn on the rear will raise/lower the car more than 1 turn on the front. 7. Where to measure? Doesn't really matter so long as you always measure at the same points. I use the point where the A frame fixes at the chassis at the rear & the engine mount points at the front. 8. If you really want to be pedantic any change in ride height will alter front camber & toe-in but I doubt if you will notice or that it will make any difference.

Build manual here: http://www.caterham.co.uk but this is for the Sigma & not the K. So try this: ftp://ftp.se7ens.net/data/ log on as anonymous & no password