LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO S3 RUNNING PROBLEM PLEASE HELP
Discussion
I HAVE JUST PURCHASED A LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO THAT AS BEEN RESTORED AND OFF THE ROAD FOR THE LAST 6 YEARS, ITS DONE 10,000 MILES ON A COMPLETELY REBUILT ENGINE, THE DELORTO CARBS HAVE BEEN REBUILT AT A COST OF OVER £300 IN 1997, THE CAR WAS SET UP ON A ROLLING ROAD IN 1997 AT KELVEDON MOTORS AND IT AS ONLY DONE 2 MILES SINCE THEN.
THEN PROBLEM IS IT STARTS OK WITH THE CHOKE ON BUT AS SOON AS THE ENGINE GETS WARM AND I TAKE THE CHOKE OFF IT SPLUTTERS AND EVENTUALLY STOPS EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE IS UP TO TEMPERATURE, ITS LIKE IT WILL ONLY RUN SMOOTH WITH THE CHOKE ON.
CAN ANYBODY HELP PLEASE.
ANDREW.
THEN PROBLEM IS IT STARTS OK WITH THE CHOKE ON BUT AS SOON AS THE ENGINE GETS WARM AND I TAKE THE CHOKE OFF IT SPLUTTERS AND EVENTUALLY STOPS EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE IS UP TO TEMPERATURE, ITS LIKE IT WILL ONLY RUN SMOOTH WITH THE CHOKE ON.
CAN ANYBODY HELP PLEASE.
ANDREW.
andrew tolley said:
I HAVE JUST PURCHASED A LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO THAT AS BEEN RESTORED AND OFF THE ROAD FOR THE LAST 6 YEARS, ITS DONE 10,000 MILES ON A COMPLETELY REBUILT ENGINE, THE DELORTO CARBS HAVE BEEN REBUILT AT A COST OF OVER £300 IN 1997, THE CAR WAS SET UP ON A ROLLING ROAD IN 1997 AT KELVEDON MOTORS AND IT AS ONLY DONE 2 MILES SINCE THEN.
THEN PROBLEM IS IT STARTS OK WITH THE CHOKE ON BUT AS SOON AS THE ENGINE GETS WARM AND I TAKE THE CHOKE OFF IT SPLUTTERS AND EVENTUALLY STOPS EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE IS UP TO TEMPERATURE, ITS LIKE IT WILL ONLY RUN SMOOTH WITH THE CHOKE ON.
CAN ANYBODY HELP PLEASE.
ALSO WHEN ENGINE IS REVED THE BOOST GAUGE NEEDLE DOES'NT MOVE IS THIS NORMAL.
ANDREW.
Hi,
Your needle valves on the carbs are varnished shut. After sitting all those years, the petrol releases a varnish which will 'glue' the needles in their seats.
Remove carb tops (needle valve, seat and floats are attached to the tops), clean everthing well in petrol and reassemble after checking and weighing the floats (8gr.)and setting float heights (14.5mm). Not too bad a job, and all will be well. Happy Motoring!...Jim'85TE
Your needle valves on the carbs are varnished shut. After sitting all those years, the petrol releases a varnish which will 'glue' the needles in their seats.
Remove carb tops (needle valve, seat and floats are attached to the tops), clean everthing well in petrol and reassemble after checking and weighing the floats (8gr.)and setting float heights (14.5mm). Not too bad a job, and all will be well. Happy Motoring!...Jim'85TE
lotusguy said:
Hi,
Your needle valves on the carbs are varnished shut. After sitting all those years, the petrol releases a varnish which will 'glue' the needles in their seats.
Remove carb tops (needle valve, seat and floats are attached to the tops), clean everthing well in petrol and reassemble after checking and weighing the floats (8gr.)and setting float heights (14.5mm). Not too bad a job, and all will be well. Happy Motoring!...Jim'85TE
ok thanks jim i will try that, do you think fuel injection cleaner put into the petrol tanks would clean the carbs without taking the tops off, they have got all new internals having been fully rebiult in 1997 and only done 2 miles since?.
thanks andrew.
andrew tolley said:
Hi,
Your needle valves on the carbs are varnished shut. After sitting all those years, the petrol releases a varnish which will 'glue' the needles in their seats.
Remove carb tops (needle valve, seat and floats are attached to the tops), clean everthing well in petrol and reassemble after checking and weighing the floats (8gr.)and setting float heights (14.5mm). Not too bad a job, and all will be well. Happy Motoring!...Jim'85TE
ok thanks jim i will try that, do you think fuel injection cleaner put into the petrol tanks would clean the carbs without taking the tops off, they have got all new internals having been fully rebiult in 1997 and only done 2 miles since?.
thanks andrew.
Andrew,
I do not recommend any type of cleaner added to the fuel tanks. The many different types of hose used in the system as well as gasket material and the foam from which the floats are fabricated may suffer ill effects as a result. Pulling the carb tops and cleaning/resetting everything as I previously mentioned can be accomplished in under an hour.
If you use a fuel system cleaner, do so at your own peril and cost in both time and $,£ or whatever. Happy Motoring!...Jim'85TE
thanks for advice carl, i am still getting the same problem with the car, it will run with the choke off but you have to keep the revs above 2000 or it splutters and trys to stop, it is possible to very gently lower the revs until its ticking over at 700rpm but as soon as you press the throttle it splutters and stops, its not on the road yet so i am getting a mobile tune guy to come and look at it in the new year, its doing my head in now.
thanks andrew.
anybody else got any ideas?
thanks andrew.
anybody else got any ideas?
1984lotus said:
The choke lever also advances the timing of the distributor. When the choke is retracted there is no advance. Perhaps the distributor locking arm was not tightened correctly and the distributor rotated?
Hi,
I respectfully disagree. I know of no mechanism which attaches to or senses the choke cable and advances the timing accordingly.
On the carb cars, the throttle jack is engaged when the coolant temp is below 70°C causing a fast idle, but this is throttle, not ignition advance and is temperature dependant, not upon whether the choke is engaged or not.
Please explain the mechanism you claim governs ignition advance. Maybe I can learn something. Happy Motoring!...Jim'85TE
Sure no problem, I'll explain.
This "switch" can be clearly seen in the schematics as well as the choke cable mechanism itself. The switch is actually a metal strip that contacts ground when the knob is pulled out and is located on the choke cable assembly near the knob end. Please remember I have a US model 1984 Esprit.
When the choke cable is pulled out it makes contact to ground that energizes a solenoid (you know, one of the two under the plenum)that re-routes the vacuum advance to distributor, giving more advance while the choke is pulled out. I am 100% positive about this because it was not working on my car and it took me a while to figure out. Again, this is clearly shown on the schematics.
This "switch" can be clearly seen in the schematics as well as the choke cable mechanism itself. The switch is actually a metal strip that contacts ground when the knob is pulled out and is located on the choke cable assembly near the knob end. Please remember I have a US model 1984 Esprit.
When the choke cable is pulled out it makes contact to ground that energizes a solenoid (you know, one of the two under the plenum)that re-routes the vacuum advance to distributor, giving more advance while the choke is pulled out. I am 100% positive about this because it was not working on my car and it took me a while to figure out. Again, this is clearly shown on the schematics.
Hi again Andrew,
You know, after reading over your problem again, it came to me that I had the exact same problem when I first purchased my car. Possibly not as severe, but when I stepped on the throttle (not hard) the car would always want to stall. I would have to feather the clutch to keep the car from stalling. Once I was on my way the car was fine, but I always dreaded stop lights! I posted my problem on this forum under "poor xleration" and a very smart person (zman, I believe) helped me. It was definetly related to the advance of the distributor. Since this is so easy to check, I suggest you pull the plug in your trunk (boot)and just take a peek at the timing and confirm there is advance when you get on the throttle.
Other things that I checked were the accelerator pump in the carbs (they were O.K.) and the vacuum lines (also O.K.).
I truly hope this helps you. I know how upsetting it can be to spend so much money on a car and still not have it run properly. Please post what the problem turned out to be when you find it!
You know, after reading over your problem again, it came to me that I had the exact same problem when I first purchased my car. Possibly not as severe, but when I stepped on the throttle (not hard) the car would always want to stall. I would have to feather the clutch to keep the car from stalling. Once I was on my way the car was fine, but I always dreaded stop lights! I posted my problem on this forum under "poor xleration" and a very smart person (zman, I believe) helped me. It was definetly related to the advance of the distributor. Since this is so easy to check, I suggest you pull the plug in your trunk (boot)and just take a peek at the timing and confirm there is advance when you get on the throttle.
Other things that I checked were the accelerator pump in the carbs (they were O.K.) and the vacuum lines (also O.K.).
I truly hope this helps you. I know how upsetting it can be to spend so much money on a car and still not have it run properly. Please post what the problem turned out to be when you find it!
ok thank you very much carl, i will let you know how i get on, i thought it might be the petrol gone off because the car as only done 2 miles in the last six years, it had around 2 gallons in the tanks when i got it 4 weeks ago but i have added 4 gallons of super unleaded and i have had the car running 3 times for about 30 minutes but still no better, anyway i will let you know how i get on.
thanks andrew.
thanks andrew.
Hi Jim! So very nice to hear from you again. I sincerely hope that I did not steer Andrew in the wrong direction. I kept notes when I fixed the problem I was having and it looks like the choke lever actuated the change over relay and this in turn energizes the solenoid I spoke of earlier. I also checked my books and they also indicate the choke energizes the change over relay. If I am wrong on this please set me straight. You are definetly the Guru!
I don't know much about the older cars (I'm still learning my way around my S4S), but if it has one...could it be a stuck EBPV (exhaust back pressure valve)? I've always wondered how the engine continues to run with the valve closed during warmup, but that's a topic for another thread.
regards,
Bill
'95 S4S
regards,
Bill
'95 S4S
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