New Member, Elan with issues

[Joe]

Hi all. I'm new on this board, intro in the general area.

My 94 Elan SE (130k miles)has a few issues and I was wondering if I could blag a few pointers to help sort them (I'm a DIY tinkerer).

I have not made an Elan Scan interface lead yet so no electronic data to hand yet.

The symptoms are Low boost only 0.3 bar indicated, Low running temp less than 1/4 scale on gauge.

The car is quick its the only Elan I've driven so I don't know how quick it should be but an indicated 130mph (on an airfield) is achievable but it lacks throttle response in higher gears neading a down shift to 3rd to pass 50 mph traffic quicker than my diesel vitara did.

Temp gauge wise I'm concerned I suspect the previous owner has removed the thermostat as there is pressure in the top hose from a cold start and if left idling the temp rises to 3/4 scale then the fans bring it down to just over 1/2 scale which I beleive is normal.

[Dave Eds]

Normal on mine is 1/4 rising to 3/4 when the fans cut in.

Boost guage doesn't tell you much - they vary from car to car and are just to impress your passenger even more

!30 mph on an airfield with no chip is at the lower end of the right region.

[M100 TWO]

If it is not up to running temp you will not get full boost to protect the engine

[Enright]

there's only on f in Geof Smith did a run of Elanscan cables.
I got mine before that, but it would be worth asking him if he has any left.

1/4 on the temp gauge is about right.
And the boost gauge is notoriously flakey, but it would be worth doing the wastegate wiggle just in case it's stuck open.

[theelanman]

mine runs just under 1/4 temp......
the boost at full throttle with the everest shows 0.7...its actually about 0.9 but the gauges arent to be believed half the time
see what it says when you get elan scan on it

[rip]

Welcome to the forum. There is lots of good help and advice available, but the site can get a little too addictive if you let it!

Normal temp on mine is 1/4 as well, rising to 3/4 before the fan cuts in, just like Dave Eds described (& he has 2 Elans, so has a good feel for right & wrong).

Do you get any boost when flooring it in 4th at 50mph? I think about 50-55 is normal for boost to cut in, but would have to take mine out for a ride to find out exactly.

Several of us are gathering on Sunday near Cambridge. (details in UK Events section). It may be a little far for you, but it may prove useful. We can run Elanscan while we are there too if you like.

[Dave Eds]

just like Dave Eds described (so has a good feel for right & wrong).

more like wrong and more wrong

Technically quire inept really

Joe - take advice from people like SyV, Neil (Enright13), Dico, Monty, PaulP, Clemo etc

[rip]

Joe,
I tried some things in my (unmodified) Elan tonight.

I can feel my Turbo kick in when my 'fun' gauge passes 0.5 bar. At 70 in 5th, accelerating just a little more then mildly presses that lovely compressor into action.
Flat out in 4th, the turbo provides effective boost at just over 50 mph according to my speedo.


Anyway, at a steady 50 in 4th, flooring the accelerator activates the turbo after about a 1 second lag. I would like to point out that if I wanted to pass something at 50mph, I would nearly always drop to 3rd gear mainly because it is more fun. One quick look at the speedo and I have already passed the car in front.

I hope that helps.

Iain.

[Doug]

Joe, welcome.

ElanScan will yeild you the best results and insight into the problem. You can see and verify all the sensors are in the proper range and see the coolant temp and functioning of the t-stat.

if you need something to do you can always put in a new thermostat or remove it and boil it in a pan and verify it is opening and closing all the way.

if the t-stat is sticking open it will cause your coolant temp at speed to be too low and could put your car into "cold idle" where the idle speed after you stop from exiting the roadway is higher than normal -- this can also restrict the computer allowed boost as noted above too . . . .

[Joe]

Thanks for the advice guys. there's a lot to be getting on with. Mission one seems to be to build a Elan scan RS232 adaptor and log some real world data.

A gremlin has now snuck into the electrics and is wreaking havoc with the dash lights, which is fun. Snorting upto a known Gatso at night and all the instrument lighting going out is not funny

[rip]

Thanks for the advice guys. there's a lot to be getting on with. Mission one seems to be to build a Elan scan RS232 adaptor and log some real world data.

geoffsmith makes these for about £30. He has made lots too, so you will know it works.

Check out the elanscan section for more details.

[dans]

Joe,

Not sure where West Oxfordshire is but figure it can't be that far from Cirencester if you want to catch up and trial my Elan Scan setup at some point.

Enjoy!!!

Dan

[DaveT]

A gremlin has now snuck into the electrics and is wreaking havoc with the dash lights, which is fun. Snorting upto a known Gatso at night and all the instrument lighting going out is not funny

Not unusual Joe, happens to the best of us

Two options
1
Twiddle with the rheostat that varies the dash illumination as this seems to be the culprit

2
Pretend youre in CSI, get out your small torch from the door pocket. pretending as if nothing has happended, grit it between your teeth and shine it on the dash. Make sure the angle of the torch is aligned correctly or you will dazzle the oncoming traffic




bit like that....


D

[rip]

Twiddle with the rheostat that varies the dash illumination as this seems to be the culprit

I should have thought of that one. I had the same problem with my Cavalier and my instinctive reaction was to adjust the illumination. I suppose it is so easy I forgot about it.

[dapinky]

I haven't tried it on the elan, but the preferred method of choice in the Vectra is to tap smartly on the instrument panel directly between the temperature guage and speedometer....


....then it's just a matter of luck which half of the dash lights up - sometimes its the speedo and guages, sometimes its the speedo and tacho......

Don't you just love GM dashboard wiring

[Joe]

Damn thing! Tonight lights went out again no end of bashing and thumping would get them back. Then I noticed that when I pulled the handbrake on at a set of lights voila blackpool iluminations. When I let the brake off to move on darkness . So I drove home with the hand brake at two notches so all was lit up but no braking force applied very strange indeed.

I'm really beginning to like this car it has a sense of humor

[rip]

My mind is drawn towards a wiring problem involving the handbrake tell-tale, although I cannot think of how this could be causing your problem. Does anything else dim when the dash goes on/off?
It may be worth noting where this light is then taking the instrument panel out and having a look at it from behind. Something may reveal itself.