Belts, battery....and the K click............
Discussion
Only had my 2001 R/sport VVC 1.8 for a few weeks and I realise there is lots to learn, hence this query:
1. Belts - it has (old) 4 pt harnesses but I plan to use it more for road use rather than track days (if at all). I plan to fit new lap and diagonal inertia belts - is this a DIY job or do you recommend leaving it to the pro's?
2. Battery - not had any problems. I have a Carcoon and it includes a battery charger - do I need to disconnect the battery to use it or because of the regular and frequent road use is this just irrelevant?
3. I've had the 'click' a few times - tried pushing it in gear and that didn't work so I'm thinking it is all about heat. Are there any heatshields available?
Many thanks.
1. Belts - it has (old) 4 pt harnesses but I plan to use it more for road use rather than track days (if at all). I plan to fit new lap and diagonal inertia belts - is this a DIY job or do you recommend leaving it to the pro's?
2. Battery - not had any problems. I have a Carcoon and it includes a battery charger - do I need to disconnect the battery to use it or because of the regular and frequent road use is this just irrelevant?
3. I've had the 'click' a few times - tried pushing it in gear and that didn't work so I'm thinking it is all about heat. Are there any heatshields available?
Many thanks.
Regarding 1) I would keep the four point harness, even if it is only for road use. The Caterham is in no way a safe car, but this is one of the places where you can make it a little bit safer without much/any trouble.
Regarding 2) If you have a battery cut-off switch, I would use that. If not, your car can discharge in as little as a week.
Regarding 2) If you have a battery cut-off switch, I would use that. If not, your car can discharge in as little as a week.
Thanks for this:
1) Point taken. I may need to replace them anyway as they have passed their 'in date'. Would you go back to Caterham for new ones or buy from any reputable source?
2) Do you mean I should use the battery cut off switch and then use the battery charger? In other words, isolate the battery before charging it?
1) Point taken. I may need to replace them anyway as they have passed their 'in date'. Would you go back to Caterham for new ones or buy from any reputable source?
2) Do you mean I should use the battery cut off switch and then use the battery charger? In other words, isolate the battery before charging it?
In regards to your belts. I would also leave the 4 points. Seen a few pictures of people who have crashed with traditional seatbelts fitted and they remodeled the steering wheel with their heads. There was a thread on here. I'll try find it.
Also, the dates are only used if you are racing. For normal road use or track days the dates don't come into it. So if they are in good nick, there is no need to replace.
I have a battery isolator. I also have a small 12v 18AH battery from a mobility scooter. When parked up, I turn the electrics off via the battery cut off. Come a month or so later, it'll happily start first time. So I'd recommend a battery cut off switch.
You could use the above to isolate all your electronics but have a 12v cigar lighter output wired to the battery, not isolated so you can easily plug in a conditioner if wanted. Saves you lifting the bonnet.
I had the click a few times. Overhauled the starter motor, played with the electrics. They wrapped the starter motor in 2 plumbers soldering mats. It seems to have become a thing of the past. But saying that, I'll get it next time I'm out now!
Also, the dates are only used if you are racing. For normal road use or track days the dates don't come into it. So if they are in good nick, there is no need to replace.
I have a battery isolator. I also have a small 12v 18AH battery from a mobility scooter. When parked up, I turn the electrics off via the battery cut off. Come a month or so later, it'll happily start first time. So I'd recommend a battery cut off switch.
You could use the above to isolate all your electronics but have a 12v cigar lighter output wired to the battery, not isolated so you can easily plug in a conditioner if wanted. Saves you lifting the bonnet.
I had the click a few times. Overhauled the starter motor, played with the electrics. They wrapped the starter motor in 2 plumbers soldering mats. It seems to have become a thing of the past. But saying that, I'll get it next time I'm out now!
The click manifests itself in many ways but it is ALWAYS caused by a voltage drop along the supply cable. This is exacerbated if you have an FIA switch as the cable run is much longer.
The solution is simple.
Fit a relay near the battery which is triggered by the wire that normally runs to the starter motor. Run a new cable via the relay from battery +ve to the terminal on your starter. Make sure this is at least 3mm² cable Ground the relay.
No more clicks.
The solution is simple.
Fit a relay near the battery which is triggered by the wire that normally runs to the starter motor. Run a new cable via the relay from battery +ve to the terminal on your starter. Make sure this is at least 3mm² cable Ground the relay.
No more clicks.
TeflonT said:
The click manifests itself in many ways but it is ALWAYS caused by a voltage drop along the supply cable. This is exacerbated if you have an FIA switch as the cable run is much longer.
The solution is simple.
Fit a relay near the battery which is triggered by the wire that normally runs to the starter motor. Run a new cable via the relay from battery +ve to the terminal on your starter. Make sure this is at least 3mm² cable Ground the relay.
No more clicks.
Good advice .... but from experience not "entirely" correct. I've run 2 Caterhams both with the relay mod mounted next to the battery, both originally had "K-click" problems. On my current car, 2 years ago I did a major rework of what was heavily modified (and messed with) wiring to return it nearer to Caterham original standard, with carefully listed additions rather than changes, correct colour coding etc. The solution is simple.
Fit a relay near the battery which is triggered by the wire that normally runs to the starter motor. Run a new cable via the relay from battery +ve to the terminal on your starter. Make sure this is at least 3mm² cable Ground the relay.
No more clicks.
Part of that re-work was to add an additional relay and relay socket to the end of the original relay stack on the interior bulkhead, and route the cable with the existing car loom via the tunnel etc, connected and wrapped in as if original. I was aware the aforementioned long runs might bring back an element of "K-click" but it's not been a problem at all. I'm currently using the car as my daily driver and it starts first time every time.
The cause of the click is more likely to be the specification of the components of the Rover MFRU not being suitable for the Ford starter setup (?). Whatever the reason, the cable lengths are not the issue .... but as TT says you still need to fit a relay!
All the bits to match the original are available from Polevolt
Stu.
I'm not sure I agree that the issue is internal to the MFRU - I've seen the relay terminals inside the MFRU have become corroded through arcing, but this is less common a cause. The sympton is however the same click. A bit of fine wet/dry paper to clean up the terminals fixes the MFRU though. Just be sure to seal it watertight when you reassemble!
The MFRU only performs its function on the starter circuit momentarily. The power feeds to the MFRU are shared by many other electrical items on the car. These are what stresses the wiring so when a high current draw is demanded, the resistance goes high, particularly on the battery side of the fuse box where it runs pretty much the whole vehicle.
The MFRU only performs its function on the starter circuit momentarily. The power feeds to the MFRU are shared by many other electrical items on the car. These are what stresses the wiring so when a high current draw is demanded, the resistance goes high, particularly on the battery side of the fuse box where it runs pretty much the whole vehicle.
Gingerbread Man said:
In regards to your belts. I would also leave the 4 points. Seen a few pictures of people who have crashed with traditional seatbelts fitted and they remodeled the steering wheel with their heads. There was a thread on here. I'll try find it.
Just to add to this though, don't make the mistake of thinking that lose belts are safe. They are not. They might not need to be quite as super tight as on the race track, but lose ones are not safe. Get the lap belt tight first too.I suspect that normal lap and diagonal belts might be safer than lose harnesses. At least the lap part gets tightened by the diagonal bit IYSWIM.
Bert
Risky said:
That's exactly what fitting an additional relay does.
Yeah. I was referring to the "don't chase your tail fitting heat wrap / reflectors / fannying about with redoing connections to the MFRU etc - just run a seperate 12v and be done with it". If you read blatchat, there are loads of people who reckon the "other" fixes work - I found that they _help_, but don't irradicate the problem at all. If I'd gone sttraight to the relay mod on day one, I'd have saved hours of fannying, and several "rock it awake" efforts in public...
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