Newbie needs help and advice please :-(

[optimistique1]

Hi Guys, I am a newbie here so apologies if any of these questions seem silly.

I just got a 2002 Lotus Elise S2 a couple of days ago and I seem to be having a few probs.
Sadly I bought from a private person so no warranty, and conveniently the seller is unavailable !!!!!
1) - Air Con doesn't blow cold air - The air always seems to be warm when the engine is warm..
2)-Battery light keeps flashing on the dash so I wonder if it's the alternator. In fact the car has now broken down in the garage at work...
3)-The brakes and clutch pedal seem very hard (Unless this is normal)
4) - The steering is hard (Although I have just come from a power steered car)
Has anyone any helpful hints on any of these probs and any ideas how to fix and what the costs may be
Many thanks
Garry

[hueandcry71]

Are you sure you havent bought a TVR?

[Mclovin]

How many miles does it have? Maybe it has the AP clutch, they are quite hard.

A hard brake pedal is a good thing I thought.

[NWTony]

Air con in 2002 - I didn't know they did it!
The pedals will feel hard after ordinary cars - there is no assist on the Elise (not that year anyway). Ditto the steering.
Flashing battery light - check the manual!

Not to say things arent wrong but maybe find someone local with a similar car and see how their pedals and steering feels?

[SeanyD]

Pedals/Steering are hard in an Elise, due to none assisted. Its part of the raw feel of an elise, you get used to it, its one of the benefits once you get it.

Flashing battery light. If its intermitent, flashing occasionally, could be a sign of a failed Alternator not charging battery correctly, sadly its a few hundred quid to get replaced if you get it done by a Lotus dealer.

ps. Take out an independent warranty, I did, worth its weight in gold for peace of mind. Doesn't cover everything, but has certainly paid for itself.

HTH

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

I know this may sound patronising, but does it definitely have aircon? I know in mine (no aircon) that putting the vents on to the coldest setting when it's even a little bit warm outside results in warm air coming in.

[optimistique1]

Thanks for the replies guys. Yep the car defo has air con. It has the little black button at the side of the fan speed knob.

Also, it looks like it is the alternator that has gone as the car is not totally dead in the garage and I am having to take it to a local indie garage to replace the alternator on TUES.

Glad to hear that the stiff pedals and hard steering are normal. When I drove it for the first time on my own I was a little worried as the steering wheele also judders when you get to higher speeds :-/

It's a big help to be able to talk to guys who actually know about these cars as this is all very new to me.

[optimistique1]

Ps. I did try and get a third party warranty but when I mention that the car is an Elise they all seem to say no :-(

[bogie]

the steering wheel shouldnt judder at high speed - I suggest you get the whole car checked over at an indie and the geometry checked

[optimistique1]

I am going to get it looked at next week just to be on the safe side.
is there anything that I should get them to pay particular attendtion to?

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

Steering wheel feedback like that, first thing to check I would have thought would be wheel balance.

[Mattt]

optimistique1 said:

Ps. I did try and get a third party warranty but when I mention that the car is an Elise they all seem to say no :-(

AA warranty cover Elises, it's much cheaper than most other policies - but you are only covered if you break down and have to call them out, rather than preventative maintenance.

[SeanyD]

Mattt said:

optimistique1 said:

Ps. I did try and get a third party warranty but when I mention that the car is an Elise they all seem to say no :-(

AA warranty cover Elises, it's much cheaper than most other policies - but you are only covered if you break down and have to call them out, rather than preventative maintenance.

+1 also if its a k series, covers the infamous HGF

[optimistique1]

Dare I ask, what is HGF?

[bogie]

Head Gasket Failure - quite a common fault on teh Rover K series engine used in S1 and early S2 Elises before teh change to Toyota on the 111R

[optimistique1]

Great, something else I can look forward to going wrong on my car :-(

[Mclovin]

optimistique1 said:

Great, something else I can look forward to going wrong on my car :-(

Just think of it as an excuse to stick a honda in it.

[ganglandboss]

optimistique1 said:

Great, something else I can look forward to going wrong on my car :-(

Don't worry too much about the dreaded HGF. It has been discussed at great length on here. The general consensus of opinion is if you don't do silly things like screwing the arse off it from cold, you shouldn't have any problems. Other than that, the K-series is a solid little engine.

Many people on here have the AA warranty which covers you for HGF if you want the piece of mind.

Edited by ganglandboss on Sunday 25th May 18:57

[Philygumbo]

optimistique1 said:

Great, something else I can look forward to going wrong on my car :-(

Don't rev the bks off it while it's cold, warm it up for a while and let it get to normal running temp before giving it the gun.
That will reduce your chance of HGF.

[miss notax]

I have air con in my 2002 Elise and mine's the same - I think it's just one of those little quirks

I only really use mine to de-mist the windscreen more quickly when it's raining! If it's too hot in the car then I find driving a little faster helps...