West Midlands Meetup

[dapinky]

As the weather is "nearly-Spring", I shall be making the trip up the road for the evening.....

[Fredjohn]

Yep, will be there.

Seems spring has arrived, till the next heavy late frost. Even tempted to put the summer tyres back on the CLK

[petezipp]

Me 2
Hope my springs are ok
Cu

[dapinky]

Bad news is that having got the important electrics working (fuse for radio headset!).... then the not-so-important bits play up (satnav).... but I know where I'm going!

Go to move the Vectra - except that battery is even flatter than a pancake and cant now get that one off the drive to get the elan out....

...ah, well - I'll park the VW away from any other Elans in the car park just in case you don't want to be associated..... leaving now

[clemo]

Bad news is that having got the important electrics working (fuse for radio headset!).... then the not-so-important bits play up (satnav).... but I know where I'm going!

Go to move the Vectra - except that battery is even flatter than a pancake and cant now get that one off the drive to get the elan out....

...ah, well - I'll park the VW away from any other Elans in the car park just in case you don't want to be associated..... leaving now

Do you have enough room in the tidy VW van for a grubby s2 gearbox , longeron & Prongeron ?

[Rambo]

Go to move the Vectra - except that battery is even flatter than a pancake .....

I know just the person to help you out Dave

Not enough battery voltage to restart the engine is a symptom of a bad alternator.

The electronic voltage regulator is built into the alternator. A failed voltage regulator is difficult to test, because the alternator will continue to put out 12 volts and fool the bench test equipment, but will not put out enough amperage to charge the battery when the car is driven.

The Isuzu symptoms of a failed voltage regulator are:
Seatbelt, brake, and battery warning lights on the dash all light up for no apparent reason.
Interior ventilation fan ceases working.
Engine cooling fan and air conditioner condenser fan cease working.
Car fails to restart after sitting. Ran fine when shut off, voltage may not have been reading 14 volts when running but 12 or a little more. Shows less than 10 volts when attempting to restart.

An important caution is that the Isuzu Impulse and Geo Storm have 75 amp alternators, and the Elan apparently has a 60 amp alternator, which is the same size as the 89 I-Mark RS (though no one has compared the two to verify they are the same). The case of the 75 amp alternator is larger than the 60 amp.

Another caution against purchasing a reconditioned alternator. Reconditioned means that they did not replace all of the parts within the case. Reconditioned means that they tested and measured and whatever was not obviously broken was left in and reassembled in the alternator. A bad voltage regulator is the most common cause of a bad alternator, and nearly impossible to diagnose with a bench tester. A reconditioned 75 amp alternator costs $52 and a new voltage regulator costs $68 (the rarer 60 amp alternator is more expensive). Reconditioned alternators do not come with new voltage regulators. They do not charge enough for a reconditioned alternator to cover the cost of the voltage regulator alone. So most of the reconditioned alternators have blown voltage regulators.

Additional concern: Most of the time when you exchange your core for a reconditioned/rebuilt/remanufactured item, they hand you a part that looks pretty abused, and though they may work, usually looks in much worse condition than the piece you are trading in as the core. It's surprising how many holes they can bust into the side of an alternator and still call it "usable".

The most prudent approach is to find a good alternator rebuild shop that you can trust, who is in your area, and have them rebuild your alternator and return that same alternator to you. Then if there is any problem, you can talk directly to the person who did the repair, and not a counter clerk at a parts store or the telephone operator at a mail order parts company.

[clemo]

Thats 2 bloody spit of tea laughs in succession ....
Same person just different topic .. lotusflashermans was also very funny .

[tb10]

Don't worry Clemo - Dave got there - flat battery or not AND.............. he had his popcorn and ate it (with help from John and I)

[dapinky]

Mark,

that is a very helpful and informative post - I don't know how I missed it before....

....I would ask Phil, but he knows nowt about electrickery...and Pete only worked on Lotus stuff, not Vauxhall, so wouldn't have a clue either.... and I can't get hold of the poster of the information.

....I have no dash guage to rely on (but the altenator is fairly new - and if you think getting one out of an Elan is tricky, you should try a V6 Vectra )

Nah, it just hasn't been used for months and as it is due to go to the scrapyard (unless I find someone who wants a banger to drive to Gambia ) the battery is technically-termed as shagged.

[Tuga2112]

Mark,

that is a very helpful and informative post - I don't know how I missed it before....

....I would ask Phil, but he knows nowt about electrickery...and Pete only worked on Lotus stuff, not Vauxhall, so wouldn't have a clue either.... and I can't get hold of the poster of the information.

....I have no dash guage to rely on (but the altenator is fairly new - and if you think getting one out of an Elan is tricky, you should try a V6 Vectra )

Nah, it just hasn't been used for months and as it is due to go to the scrapyard (unless I find someone who wants a banger to drive to Gambia ) the battery is technically-termed as shagged.

a high voltage pwm charge should help the battery, from my research on the subject in the past, the issue with lead acid batteries is the sulfuric acid cristalizes on the lead which greatly reduces the active surface for the chemical reaction that gives us the precious magic pixies.
chemically speaking, high (dont know what exact number of volts) voltage bursts are an effective way to brake the sulfur cristals (which will then deposit at the bottom of the battery) restoring some of the lead surface area
be mindful that the cristals still exist, with means the overal acidity of the liquid will change

from reading that quote id like to say something in defence of the poster. he did say

"Not enough battery voltage to restart the engine is a symptom of a bad alternator"

under the assumption that you started your trip just fine, stopped at the supermarket an now cant get it started again. i would agree it sounds like an alternator problem.

i understand the rectifier talk (although it doesnt quite fit in with my personal experience and research around alternator problems.)
My GT4 had the alternator broken, from all my research into the topic usually bushes are the issue as they are a wearable item. but in the case of that alternator, what was broken was the rectifier. BUT i know from my multimeter readings when testing the alternator spinning that no voltage was coming out of it at all from an alternator with a broken rectifier...

but.. all i know is from my few experiences, so not surprised other opinions emerge.

[petezipp]

All very technical I,m sure and I agree with the " Have yours rebuilt" unless physically damaged .
However for the battery - PLEASE don't mess about !!!!! just buy new an unreliable Battery is worst than toothacre.
I should know, mine are plastic ( Teeth not batteries)

[Tuga2112]

meeting tomorow
ill be there. not sure which car ill be bringing. The elan is locked in my "brand new" driveway and gate (pictures shall be available for the ones curious)
Pinky will you be there ? I have an exhaust bit in the boot for phill and aparently he wanted me to pass it to you as aparently your more likely to see him sooner than i am.

[Fredjohn]

Planning to be there. Anyone else new and old (and young) is welcome to join us for a beer, chat and food.

[Tuga2112]

If i got my dates right its tomorow.

I wont be there this month
I have a pretty bad chest infection which has escalated to the point of sharp pain in my lungs when couging, breeding deep or sneezing.
You guys enjoy.

[Fredjohn]

Yep planning to be there this evening (18th). All are welcome, come and enjoy putting the world to rights and sharing your problems...... But only M100 or Lotus ones or please ☺️☺️

[maz_r]

Morning all,

Unless I have my dates wrong, it's this Thursday (feels early 'cos the first Thursday was the 1st of June); do folks concur?

[Tuga2112]

Morning all,

Unless I have my dates wrong, it's this Thursday (feels early 'cos the first Thursday was the 1st of June); do folks concur?

yes you are correct.
ill be there, wont be in the elan tho.
I haven't managed to take it to the MOT with the trailer on the way
im not very confident about my towing skills, so waiting for brother to return from uni to help push the trailer out. Dont want to break the brand new gate by mistake when towing.

[Fredjohn]

Yes it's our Thursday again. I'll be there in the Elan

[dapinky]

I'm planning to be there in the Elan.

[surfboardfiller]

I'm planning to be there in the Elan.

Can you pick up an exhaust part for me from Tuga/Joao (its the short bit of pipe)?