new lotus owner with a problem? help
Discussion
Hiya everyone,
I'm sorry if this has been asked before but I have used the search function but cannot find it. I've got a 1998 S1 Elise and have only owned it 3 weeks.
I've been out in the car earlier today and its been slightly stuttering and jerky (both when cold and warm).
I've gone to pick the Mrs up from work tonight and its stuttered and spluttered its way up the road!!! The revs were dropping and it kangaroo'd until it conked out and died.
40mins later i managed to get back to the car (with my Dad, armed with jump leads, tow rope and cans of WD40). Turned the key and it started straight away no probs. Again it stuttered its way home (half mile)nearly conking out a few times.
Its been chucking it down for days and even a wee bit of snow today. The car isn't garaged and I haven't got a full car cover, just the shower cap.
I'm guessing rain and damp over the days has dribbled through the engine cover and got into the plugs,leads, and dizzi cap.
So, can anybody tell me what's wrong with my car and has anybody experienced this problem? Will a blast of WD40 down each plug hole and dizzi cap cure it?
thanks in advance
andy
I'm sorry if this has been asked before but I have used the search function but cannot find it. I've got a 1998 S1 Elise and have only owned it 3 weeks.
I've been out in the car earlier today and its been slightly stuttering and jerky (both when cold and warm).
I've gone to pick the Mrs up from work tonight and its stuttered and spluttered its way up the road!!! The revs were dropping and it kangaroo'd until it conked out and died.
40mins later i managed to get back to the car (with my Dad, armed with jump leads, tow rope and cans of WD40). Turned the key and it started straight away no probs. Again it stuttered its way home (half mile)nearly conking out a few times.
Its been chucking it down for days and even a wee bit of snow today. The car isn't garaged and I haven't got a full car cover, just the shower cap.
I'm guessing rain and damp over the days has dribbled through the engine cover and got into the plugs,leads, and dizzi cap.
So, can anybody tell me what's wrong with my car and has anybody experienced this problem? Will a blast of WD40 down each plug hole and dizzi cap cure it?
thanks in advance
andy
this happened to me - the car was quite chuggy for a while and then eventually I broke down right underneath Big Ben in central London during rush hour!
The AA came and discovered it was the distributor cap which was damp.
I would suggest you look at the distributor cap first - changing it is very easy to do. they tend to get lots of water in them as they are located right underneath the open vent.
The AA came and discovered it was the distributor cap which was damp.
I would suggest you look at the distributor cap first - changing it is very easy to do. they tend to get lots of water in them as they are located right underneath the open vent.
I have had a very similar prob (i have a 1998 S1)the culprit was a stikey fuel cap breather as i drove no air was replacing the burnt petrol in the tank and is spluterd and kangarooed its way along if you left it for 1/2 hour the air slowly came back in and was fine for about 15 mins then started again , take the fule cap off and spray some wd 40 on the inside of the cap and check the air is passing thru. ( just out of intrest do you get a hiss when you take the fule cap off ? this is some times a sign)
All good advice re the damp. If it still persists, you do have the symptoms of a dying coil - but that is the last thing to check.
How is the air filter?
Also, if the car is to be parked outside, you can buy one of these windscreen covers at Argos for a fiver, then use it to cover the engine bay, if you want a cheap and cheerful remedy to damp getting in the electrics.
This isn't a bad idea at all, as I bought a S1 which had been standing outside for a year or two, and although it never suffered the splutters after rain, when I came to change the plugs, the water which had gathered in the plug wells over time had literally welded the leads to the plugs - the last one ( typcial! ) was d-a-m-n hard to remove. Took me ages!
How is the air filter?
Also, if the car is to be parked outside, you can buy one of these windscreen covers at Argos for a fiver, then use it to cover the engine bay, if you want a cheap and cheerful remedy to damp getting in the electrics.
This isn't a bad idea at all, as I bought a S1 which had been standing outside for a year or two, and although it never suffered the splutters after rain, when I came to change the plugs, the water which had gathered in the plug wells over time had literally welded the leads to the plugs - the last one ( typcial! ) was d-a-m-n hard to remove. Took me ages!
Hiya,
Just an update.
I stripped down the distributer cap and found condensation inside it. I thoroughly dried it with tissue and a hairdryer. There was a little bit of corrosion on the rotar arm so i rubbed this down with a bit of sandpaper. I reassembled drying the end of the HT leads.
I then began checking each sparkplug hole and lead. Same thing again, dried with tissue and a good blast of the hairdryer!
The car now drives like normal and i'm very happy with it. Just need to save up now for my C service!!
Thankyou to everybody that has offered advice and guidance and i hope this thread could possibly help other people.
andy
Just an update.
I stripped down the distributer cap and found condensation inside it. I thoroughly dried it with tissue and a hairdryer. There was a little bit of corrosion on the rotar arm so i rubbed this down with a bit of sandpaper. I reassembled drying the end of the HT leads.
I then began checking each sparkplug hole and lead. Same thing again, dried with tissue and a good blast of the hairdryer!
The car now drives like normal and i'm very happy with it. Just need to save up now for my C service!!
Thankyou to everybody that has offered advice and guidance and i hope this thread could possibly help other people.
andy
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