Troubleshooting - can anyone help?!!!

[mt308]

For those that are bored (!) I am nearly done on my build - or hoped I was!

American Speed LS7 (with their loom and ECU), with G50/20

Wired up LS7 loom, as well as Ultima loom.

Hoping to fire her up today, however here is the list of issues I have. If anyone can answer any of them I'd love to be able to get her running....

1. Fuel pumps don't seem to be doing anything at all. Fuel gauge also not registering despite 10 litres in the right hand tank. The fuel switch is doing something as I can hear a click as I flick from left to right.

2. Fan over-ride switch permanantly lit up (illuminated) and fans permanently on when ignition switched on. Have checked to wiring diagram and nothing wrong on the switch end. It had blown a fuse - possibly as I had the - and + the wrong way around before?

3. Oil leaking from the tank - I'd not really looked at its construction but it appears its in 2 pieces with a bracket about 3/4 of the way up holding it together. This was not done up that tight - have tightened it a lot and leaking appears to have slowed - should this be really tight? (no leaks from any of the pipes, definitely seems to be coming from the join.

4. Not much that can be done on this, but also a problem...O ring on thermostat housing appears to have stretched somehow. No matter how carefully I line it all up it gets pushed out on one side when I tighten it up - water poured out of here when I filled the cooling system today. I guess will ask factory to send another one on Monday. Its a pig to get to as well.

5. Nothing to do with getting her started but braked fluid is leaking from the master cylinder (for the rears). This is on the connection from the filling reservoir. The nut seems to be done up really tight here...

6. When headlights are on is it right that most switches light up but not the hazard and brake test switch or should these both light up too?

Bit of a depressing day as I had hoped to fire her up.

I did expect a bit of fixing on the electrics but the whole fuel system seems to be not functioning, which isn't ideal!

Best wishes to anyone else bruised and cut to pieces under their car...its tight in there with the LS7 and fuel surge tank set up.

[davefiddes]

mt308 said:

1. Fuel pumps don't seem to be doing anything at all. Fuel gauge also not registering despite 10 litres in the right hand tank. The fuel switch is doing something as I can hear a click as I flick from left to right.

Yeah. The tanks are an odd shape and the gauges don't compensate for that. You need to put in about 25 litres or so to get to 1/4 full. Someone made a box that fixed that ( http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...)

mt308 said:

6. When headlights are on is it right that most switches light up but not the hazard and brake test switch or should these both light up too?

They're meant to only light up when operating.

Hope you get the rest of the niggles sorted out.

[Storer]

My oil tank (not an Ultima tank) has an O ring between the two parts. The clamp does need to be fairly tight but I suspect your seal has moved out of the slot.

A little super glue will hold it in the slot until you clamp it tight.


Paul

[Steve_D]

mt308 said:

1. Fuel pumps don't seem to be doing anything at all. Fuel gauge also not registering despite 10 litres in the right hand tank. The fuel switch is doing something as I can hear a click as I flick from left to right.

Fuel gauge..you did remove the transit pins from the fuel senders?
The pumps will only run for a few seconds when you turn on the ignition. They will start again when the ECU detects that the engine is turning over. The engine loom includes a fuel pump relay so your first check is the see if you can hear or feel that relay working when you first turn on the ignition.

mt308 said:

2. Fan over-ride switch permanantly lit up (illuminated) and fans permanently on when ignition switched on. Have checked to wiring diagram and nothing wrong on the switch end. It had blown a fuse - possibly as I had the - and + the wrong way around before?

Start by disconnecting both the fan switch and the fan stat and make sure the fans do not come on with ignition on. Next touch the stat wires together, tha fans should run. Re-connect the stat, fans should stop.
At the switch touch the green wire to the black/orange wire with the ignition on the fans should run.
Re-connect the green to pin 2 The Black/orange to pin 3 the tail from the black/orange to the light terminal on the side of the switch and the black wire to the other side terminal.

mt308 said:

3. Oil leaking from the tank - I'd not really looked at its construction but it appears its in 2 pieces with a bracket about 3/4 of the way up holding it together. This was not done up that tight - have tightened it a lot and leaking appears to have slowed - should this be really tight? (no leaks from any of the pipes, definitely seems to be coming from the join.

As has been said probably just needs the seal re-seating.

mt308 said:

4. Not much that can be done on this, but also a problem...O ring on thermostat housing appears to have stretched somehow. No matter how carefully I line it all up it gets pushed out on one side when I tighten it up - water poured out of here when I filled the cooling system today. I guess will ask factory to send another one on Monday. Its a pig to get to as well.

If the seal is in effect too long you could cut a piece out and superglue the ends together.

mt308 said:

5. Nothing to do with getting her started but braked fluid is leaking from the master cylinder (for the rears). This is on the connection from the filling reservoir. The nut seems to be done up really tight here...

Does the hose adaptor have a copper washer fitted? Clean everything carefully then check again where the leak is as it could be anywhere between reservoir and cylinder.

mt308 said:

6. When headlights are on is it right that most switches light up but not the hazard and brake test switch or should these both light up too?

These switches only light when working.

Steve

[mt308]

Thanks all.

So turning the headlights on should only illuminate the gauges and not the switches? At the moment my wiper and washer switches light up when I turn the headlights on - I thought this was so you could see them in the dark.

Sounds like I have some crossed wires somewhere - will have a good check this afternoon.

Pins were removed from senders when I fitted them into the tank. I'll add another 5 litres into the right hand tank to take it to 15 to see if I get a reading.

Should the check engine light come on for the LS7? I'm concious that nothing indicates that the LS7 loom is actually doing anything at all!

So close to a start up!

[davefiddes]

mt308 said:

So turning the headlights on should only illuminate the gauges and not the switches? At the moment my wiper and washer switches light up when I turn the headlights on - I thought this was so you could see them in the dark.

Putting side-lights on turns on the lights on all switches and gauges apart from the hazard and brake test switches.

[mt308]

davefiddes said:

mt308 said:

So turning the headlights on should only illuminate the gauges and not the switches? At the moment my wiper and washer switches light up when I turn the headlights on - I thought this was so you could see them in the dark.

Putting side-lights on turns on the lights on all switches and gauges apart from the hazard and brake test switches.

Thanks Dave

That is now how it works (wiper and washer switches light up when sidelights turned on, others light up as they are used, other than the wiper and washer which don't light up when they are in use other than when side lights on).

I also worked out that the radiator fan switch had been supplied assembled upside down internally having eliminated everything else. Having taken it apart and put it the right way around it now turns on and off as it should. And there was me thinking I had messed up the wiring!

Fuel pumps also now working - a fuse had blown which I have replaced. This has now given me 2 small new problems - fuel leaks from both pumps despite me tightening the hoses up to pretty incredible levels. Not massive leaks but a drip every 30 seconds or so from each. Trouble is as its now under pressure presumably that will keep dripping all night. Any tips here other than keep tightening? It appears there are no washers - the fittings just screw in?

The o ring issue on the thermostat housing is something I have been playing with. There is a tiny lip to fit the o ring onto - the old one was on the outside of the lip - I have now tried one on the inside of the lip but ran out of time to get it up and running. So no engine start yet...

Oil tank leak also possibly fixed by tightening up the clamp very tight.

So 5 steps forward and only 2 steps back.

Thanks to all who commented.

[mt308]

Now losing the will to keep going on the water leak that I found last weekend when I was convinvced it was start up time.

Thermostat housing O-ring replacement kindly supplied by the factory arrived and fitted today, but...

...the thermostat housing is secured into place by 2 hex bolts. The upper one is fully in, the lower one is about 1mm shy of being fully in and the hex head is now a circle! I wasn't applying massive pressure tightening it up (it felt like it had tightened and as the top one was on fully and you can't see the bottom one easily I thought it was all the way home), but the metal must be quite soft. Having filled the system up with anti-freeze (again) it is now seeping out.

Even if I drain her down by taking a hose off elsewhere I don't think I can either tighten or loosen the offending bolt. And its not in a place where I can easily get any tools to it to perhaps drill it out - the only way to make it accessible that I can see it to take the engine out!!!

Arggh!