Elise Issues (lot's of them)

[Stig95]

So far I have had my lovely Elise for about a month and it now appears to be going wrong! I was just wondering if anyone could tell me if these are normal problems that crop up under Lotus Ownership or have I just been unlucky.

The car is fitted with the PTP 165 kit with piggyback ECU

1. I have had trouble engaging gears once the car is warm, [edit just found the "red clutch hose issue"].
2. Front off side squeak could be the roll bar [edit just found that on the wiki too]
3. Front headlight is now very lose, Looks like the brackets have snapped.
4. Car sometimes fails to start. Turn the key in the ignition; all the lights come on, battery strength is good. I hear a click from the engine bay when I try to start the car. I can take up to 10 attempts
5. Car fails to idel consistantly the idle ranges from 500-2000 rpm sound like I am reving the car.
6. Car fails to idle when cold at all, cuts out at junctions etc. I have tried resetting the the TPS with no improvement.
7. Car smells exeptionaly rich at idle.
8. The soft top is now starting to come unstiched in the centre at the front of the roof pannel.
9. Number plate has just been removed by a speed bump this morning @ 5 mph


And if anyone has any other ideas how to resolve the issues above then please tell me as by the look of it I am facing a big bill and i can't use the AA parts an labour warrenty as the car is now 10 years old (1997)

[NathanE]

I think a lot of the engine related problems will be caused by the PTP 165 kit. As far I know they aren't rated that good at all really. It's extracts more power at the expense of reliability etc.

Edited by NathanE on Thursday 13th September 14:39

[S Works]

Stig95 said:

The car is fitted with the PTP 165 kit with piggyback ECU

That's your first clue.

Stig95 said:

3. Front headlight is now very lose, Looks like the brackets have snapped.

Should be able to source a replacement pretty easily, not sure if it can be done in-situ though. Ask on SELOC or check the wiki.

Stig95 said:

4. Car sometimes fails to start. Turn the key in the ignition; all the lights come on, battery strength is good. I hear a click from the engine bay when I try to start the car. I can take up to 10 attempts
5. Car fails to idel consistantly the idle ranges from 500-2000 rpm sound like I am reving the car.
6. Car fails to idle when cold at all, cuts out at junctions etc. I have tried resetting the the TPS with no improvement.
7. Car smells exeptionaly rich at idle.

All sound like PTP kit issues to me. Have you had a chat to Dave Andrews? I know of two cars (rfosters and one who escapes my memory for now) who had this kit and both had many issues with it, prior to getting them ironed out with an Emerald, verniers and a decent mapping session.

Stig95 said:

8. The soft top is now starting to come unstiched in the centre at the front of the roof pannel.

Lotus can refurb it for you - talk to your local dealership or indie. Alternatively see if you can find a local chandlers who do sail repairs who maybe able to help.

Stig95 said:

9. Number plate has just been removed by a speed bump this morning @ 5 mph

Avoid speedbumps and/or drive slower when approaching them and/or remove the plinth and get a stick-on plate and/or get the ride height adjusted.

HTH

[Stig95]

I was hoping no one was going to mention swapping the ecu etc as that add another load of £££ to the insurance of the car

[NathanE]

Can't you revert it back to stock? (Remove the PTP stuff)?

[bertie]

Stig95 said:

I was hoping no one was going to mention swapping the ecu etc as that add another load of £££ to the insurance of the car

Surely removing the piggyback ECU and reverting to standard would reduce the insurance?

[CMB123]

Hi Newbie here

Had similar problems with another car of mine (not elise) but could be none-the-less similar. Had same revving at standstill etc etc and hesitant under acceleration. I repalced TPS, HEGO gearbox speed sensor etc etc in the end it was the MAF. If you car has a MAF (mass air flow sensor) which I suspect it does, disconnect this and run for a few mins if the revving etc stops then I would strongly suspect the MAF. You'll locate the MAF close to the airbox somewhere I suspect.

brgds

Chris

[rfoster]

The bad idling is down to the high profile of the camshafts in the PTP 165 kit. The Piggyback ECU was added to the standard to allow extra fuelling at high revs I believe.

Your best bet, and I promise it will make ALL the difference, is to shell out for the Emerald ECU. There's no reason why this should affect your insurance premium, as it's not a performance modification (in fact it's now part & parcel of the PTP 170 kit.) Quite likely your cams will need timing, you may not need verniers at all, mine didn't. This will solve problems 5, 6 and 7.

The starting could be battery, could be a sticky starter motor. Next time it happens, pop the car in 4th, get out of the car, rock it back & forth, get back in, pop it in neutral and try starting. If it starts - there you go. Sticky motor. Probably just need a new starter.

[Stig95]

Ok thanks looks like i will have to get saving for the emerald ECU, will that fix the cold starting issue as well?

[rfoster]

The cold start isse can remain to a certain extent with the Emerald - but assuming your car is an S1 model then then Emerald ECU can still make use of the Idle Air Control Valve. This is a small ecu-controlled 'air leak' which let a little more air into the plenum to stop the car from stalling when idling. The S2 Elise with an Emerald does not make use of the IACV, it's permanently shut and the cold start mapping adds more fuel to keep the engine running instead. If you do go for the Emerald, you'll also eventuall need to get the car down to a rolling road so they can map the car properly. Emerald in Norfolk is the best place for this as they developed the ECU. If you can leave it with them overnight they'll be able to map it for cold starts for you (the car has to be stone cold in order to do this.)

I don't know where you are in the country - but in my experience the best chap for the job is Dave Andrews of www.dvapower.co.uk. He's in Milton Keynes and anything that he doesn't know about K-series engines isn't worth knowing.
Dave Walke at Emerald (Norfolk) will also fit the ECU for you if you are closer. www.emerald3md.com. If you're or close to West Sussex, you're welcome to come and see my car. It's an S2 but when I bought it (with the PTP165kit fitted) it ran just like yours.

[Stig95]

Thanks for your time plus advice. Nice to know I am not the only one. Time to break it to SWMBO that my new toy is going to cost more money

Unfortunatly I live near Stafford so I am off to to gear automotive first to get the basics sorted such as the light and clutch hose then over to Mk it is then.

Edited by Stig95 on Thursday 13th September 19:17

[rfoster]

The PTP 165 is a really good bit of kit when you're above 4,000 rpm. Superb. It's the bit below that's the problem! Dave Andrews has prices on his website for cam timing and supplying / fitting the Emerald. Takes next to no time on the S1.

[ptp170]

My idle is lumpy and ranges from about 1300-1450 rpm when warm....i have found that if you fiddle around with the idle screw on the throttle body then the the engine will intermittantly idle at just above 2000rpm...this usual indicates that the screw has been previously tightened a little bit too much (thus opening the butterfly in the throttle body)...wind the screw back a 1/4 of a turn at a time when the engines running and then blip the throttle just to make sure the butterfly has closed properly....see if this cures the high idle...


...additonally this can be caused by the throttle cable being adjusted too tightly....check the cable by the throttle body...is it taught or has it got a little bit of slack??

Also, check that you have full throttle on the throttle body when you foots all the way down on the accelerater (you'll need too people for this)...mine was way out on when I had my ptp kit fitted this also causes more lumpiness at lower rpm...if the TB isn't opening all the way then adjust the travel of the throttle pedal by winding in the stop bolt behind the pedal....

Note....if you do change any of these things then you'll have to do the TB reset thingumy again...

Excuse the crap spelling, but I'm in a rush and can't be arsed to check it

[rfoster]

ptp170 said:

My idle is lumpy and ranges from about 1300-1450 rpm when warm....i have found that if you fiddle around with the idle screw on the throttle body then the the engine will intermittantly idle at just above 2000rpm...this usual indicates that the screw has been previously tightened a little bit too much (thus opening the butterfly in the throttle body)...wind the screw back a 1/4 of a turn at a time when the engines running and then blip the throttle just to make sure the butterfly has closed properly....see if this cures the high idle...


...additonally this can be caused by the throttle cable being adjusted too tightly....check the cable by the throttle body...is it taught or has it got a little bit of slack??

Also, check that you have full throttle on the throttle body when you foots all the way down on the accelerater (you'll need too people for this)...mine was way out on when I had my ptp kit fitted this also causes more lumpiness at lower rpm...if the TB isn't opening all the way then adjust the travel of the throttle pedal by winding in the stop bolt behind the pedal....

Note....if you do change any of these things then you'll have to do the TB reset thingumy again...

Excuse the crap spelling, but I'm in a rush and can't be arsed to check it

Get an Emerald as well! I get a lovely smooth idle at 1100 when above about 50 degrees - slightly low when colder.

[ptp170]

rfoster said:

ptp170 said:

My idle is lumpy and ranges from about 1300-1450 rpm when warm....i have found that if you fiddle around with the idle screw on the throttle body then the the engine will intermittantly idle at just above 2000rpm...this usual indicates that the screw has been previously tightened a little bit too much (thus opening the butterfly in the throttle body)...wind the screw back a 1/4 of a turn at a time when the engines running and then blip the throttle just to make sure the butterfly has closed properly....see if this cures the high idle...


...additonally this can be caused by the throttle cable being adjusted too tightly....check the cable by the throttle body...is it taught or has it got a little bit of slack??

Also, check that you have full throttle on the throttle body when you foots all the way down on the accelerater (you'll need too people for this)...mine was way out on when I had my ptp kit fitted this also causes more lumpiness at lower rpm...if the TB isn't opening all the way then adjust the travel of the throttle pedal by winding in the stop bolt behind the pedal....

Note....if you do change any of these things then you'll have to do the TB reset thingumy again...

Excuse the crap spelling, but I'm in a rush and can't be arsed to check it

Get an Emerald as well! I get a lovely smooth idle at 1100 when above about 50 degrees - slightly low when colder.

Have you lost that lovely racecar style tickover???

[MiniDiva]

Sorry to hear you're having problems - my first lotus was a pain in the arse for the first 6 months then it settled and it gradually spent less time at the garage.

I was looking at buying at the same time as you and I think I also looked at the advert for the car you bought and thought it looked nice. Wasn't the guy going on about how it had the best interior ever seen...? The fact that he was ranting on about that so much made me think he was over-compensating for something else which may well have just become apparent. I was also put off because of the engine tweakings.

Good luck sorting them out.

[rfoster]

It doesn't tickover like a standard car, that for certain. There's still a lumpiness to it, but it sits quite happily at 1,100 now, rather than anywhere between 900 and 1,600 like it did before!

[Stig95]

Thanks for the kind words. I might try getting the cams timed in properly first and see if that helps.

Mini Diva, I know what you mean I was looking at several and decided on it due to the amount of history/servicing etc. The ptp kit was a bit of a bargan into the price. I think most of it such as the starting/light number plate is just unlucky (I hope). Hopefully when i get it back from top gear automotive next week, most of the issues will be sorted, at which point I can lavish some attension on getting the engine running sweet again. I just hope i get it back soon as its my everyday car

[Turnamere]

Stig95 said:

3. Front headlight is now very lose, Looks like the brackets have snapped.

Happened to my offside recently, it had come de-bonded from the clam, although there was some corrosion on the bracket it didn't need replacing. I removed the headlight (also broken) and re-secured the bracket to the clam with tiger-seal (like Sikaflex only half the price). Elise Parts sell replacement brackets if required, also recall seing stainless ones on SELOC a while ago. No need to remove the clam or even the wheel, put steering to full lock towards headlight in question and gently pull wheel arch liner away from wing and tuck behind wheel - should give you room to work.

Stig95 said:

8. The soft top is now starting to come unstiched in the centre at the front of the roof pannel.

Some of the stitching on mine has started to rot out, my friendly upholsterer ran over the suspect stitching in exchange for a few beers down the local. It's by no means a permanent fix but will see me through to winter when I can run with the hard top on without fear of embarrasment whilst soft top refurbished properly.

HTH

[rfoster]

You could also speak to PTP Ltd who can supply & fit the Emerald ECU, they're not too far from you in Hinckley. But I'd go to Dave Andrews.