K series 1.4 to 1.8 issue
Discussion
I have been working in Dubai for a while and in some ways it’s a petrol heaven if you like to spot expensive metal, but if you like to tinker with the spanners and have a B road blast it’s not so good but I have found a 96 1.4 K series Caterham which could be my salvation.
The caterham has not run for 2 years and that’s where I need a bit of help, the original 1.4k series expired due to the sponge in the sump breaking down and mixing with the oil. There is not a lot of K series in this part of the world but there was a stock 1.8 from an elise available (the elise got a Honda swap) and this swapped over to the caterham but the engine has never run right.
The garage that done the swap believes the original 1.4k ecu is the issue and rather than go the easy route of buying an emerald, I have been looking at the alternatives. So far I have worked that I can’t use a rover ecu as the crank trigger is different, it might be possible to use a later MEMS 3 ecu harness and inlet manifold and get it remapped by Z&F but I am having trouble getting all bits at a reasonable cost.
So my question is do the 1.6/1.8 caterham ecu’s use the 1.4 cranktrigger pattern, if so where can I get a used one. Also the car has no immobiliser so if I use a later ecu do I have to wire in the 5as module (and get it matched to the ECU) to get the ecu to work.
Thanks
Jason
The caterham has not run for 2 years and that’s where I need a bit of help, the original 1.4k series expired due to the sponge in the sump breaking down and mixing with the oil. There is not a lot of K series in this part of the world but there was a stock 1.8 from an elise available (the elise got a Honda swap) and this swapped over to the caterham but the engine has never run right.
The garage that done the swap believes the original 1.4k ecu is the issue and rather than go the easy route of buying an emerald, I have been looking at the alternatives. So far I have worked that I can’t use a rover ecu as the crank trigger is different, it might be possible to use a later MEMS 3 ecu harness and inlet manifold and get it remapped by Z&F but I am having trouble getting all bits at a reasonable cost.
So my question is do the 1.6/1.8 caterham ecu’s use the 1.4 cranktrigger pattern, if so where can I get a used one. Also the car has no immobiliser so if I use a later ecu do I have to wire in the 5as module (and get it matched to the ECU) to get the ecu to work.
Thanks
Jason
Hi Jason,
I changed from 1400 to 1600 (for reasons of race class) and initially kept the 1400 ECU with no issues using the 1400 flywheel. Later I changed to an Emerald (for improved fuelling) and recently to an R500 flywheel, which poses no issues as it's easy to swap trigger pattern settings on the Emerald.
Your 1400 ECU should run the 1800 engine providing the flywheel stays the same (36/2). Not sure what symptoms of ill running you are having but have you changed the injectors (what colour are they - black, cream, blue etc.) or altered the fuel pressure regulator?
The 1600 and 1800 engines both use the 36/4 flywheel trigger patterns, and if your ECU and engine are both EU2 I wouldn't suggest a change of loom to EU3.
More information would help
Cheers, Dave
I changed from 1400 to 1600 (for reasons of race class) and initially kept the 1400 ECU with no issues using the 1400 flywheel. Later I changed to an Emerald (for improved fuelling) and recently to an R500 flywheel, which poses no issues as it's easy to swap trigger pattern settings on the Emerald.
Your 1400 ECU should run the 1800 engine providing the flywheel stays the same (36/2). Not sure what symptoms of ill running you are having but have you changed the injectors (what colour are they - black, cream, blue etc.) or altered the fuel pressure regulator?
The 1600 and 1800 engines both use the 36/4 flywheel trigger patterns, and if your ECU and engine are both EU2 I wouldn't suggest a change of loom to EU3.
More information would help
Cheers, Dave
Dave thanks for your reply
The injectors are the cream ones and the flywheel is the stock 1.4, on the assumption the 1.8 elise one would not even fit in the bellhousing, The current engine is MEMS 2 and I believe the original 1.4 ECU is MEMS 2 I will have to check for a vacuum port on the ecu to confirm.
The other issue is the guy who did swap is not around anymore so there is no one to ask questions of to find out exactly what he did, and as I have not bought it yet I can get carried away with the spanners to chase the problem.
Based on your experience, it should run on the stock 1.4 ecu, what combination of injectors an fuel pressure adjustments did you make.
Jason
The injectors are the cream ones and the flywheel is the stock 1.4, on the assumption the 1.8 elise one would not even fit in the bellhousing, The current engine is MEMS 2 and I believe the original 1.4 ECU is MEMS 2 I will have to check for a vacuum port on the ecu to confirm.
The other issue is the guy who did swap is not around anymore so there is no one to ask questions of to find out exactly what he did, and as I have not bought it yet I can get carried away with the spanners to chase the problem.
Based on your experience, it should run on the stock 1.4 ecu, what combination of injectors an fuel pressure adjustments did you make.
Jason
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