Lotus Elan Central

by **nissias** » Sat 21.04.2007, 11:39

We have changed my sparkplugs today to the original NGK ones and we noticed that two (cylinder 1 and 3) out of the four previous iridium bosch spark plugs where wet (not old - 1 months use only) . What do I have to check? Are my injectors leaking? Can they be fixed or maybe they need to be cleaned? If I need to replace the injectors with new ones, how much do they cost and can I find them cheaper from any other place than Lotus? Is there an alternative to buy similar injectors that would do the same job? Please help!

by **Oliver** » Sat 21.04.2007, 12:29

Does the engine perform normally ?

by **GeoffSmith** » Sat 21.04.2007, 12:31

Coil pack?

by **nissias** » Sat 21.04.2007, 12:45

yeah the performance on the car seems perfect. no problems at all. it's weird as I know the injectors work as 1+3 and 2+4 and not as synchronised all together. the problem is on 1 and 3 (sparks). what do I have to check next?

by **Oliver** » Sat 21.04.2007, 12:55

Sorry,

My Elan has no turbo and a different ignition system so i`ll butt out at this point.

But could the HT leads be breaking down ?

by **nissias** » Sat 21.04.2007, 17:19

maybe, my mechanic will check though. Fortunately I bought new ones from the UK and they will be here tomorrow with the rest of my stuff. I might use those afterwards and see what's going on.

by **nissias** » Sat 21.04.2007, 19:20

geoffsmith wrote:Coil pack?

what u mean about coil pack? the hot wires?

by **Monty** » Sat 21.04.2007, 20:23

nissias

IIRC your car isn`t exactly standard, did u not fit a bigger turbo and injectors?

When u say the plugs are wet, do u mean with fuel or oil? a photo may help.

by **Dico** » Sat 21.04.2007, 21:27

The two coils are under the coolant tank and can often go faulty, though you would normaly have a misfire or some other sign

by **nissias** » Sat 21.04.2007, 21:49

Monty wrote:nissias

IIRC your car isn't exactly standard, did u not fit a bigger turbo and injectors?

When u say the plugs are wet, do u mean with fuel or oil? a photo may help.

wet with fuel mate (sparks 1 and 3 starting from left to right)! the turbo is the standard one again and stock injectors. the only upgrade is the new exhaust and chip. nothing else has changed on the engine and turbo

by **nissias** » Sat 21.04.2007, 21:52

Dico wrote:The two coils are under the coolant tank and can often go faulty, though you would normaly have a misfire or some other sign

no misfire. the car drives perfectly and the performance is just solid. i guess the injectors might be leaking or something?

by **Monty** » Sat 21.04.2007, 23:34

nissias wrote:
Dico wrote:The two coils are under the coolant tank and can often go faulty, though you would normaly have a misfire or some other sign

no misfire. the car drives perfectly and the performance is just solid. i guess the injectors might be leaking or something?

If the car is driving ok ie no misfire or hesitation when excelerating then maybe there`s nothing wrong

Hows the MPG?
Whats the condition of the sparkplugs? should be able to tell if the car is running rich?

by **GeoffSmith** » Sun 22.04.2007, 00:40

Monty wrote:Whats the condition of the sparkplugs?

Read the start you tart - 1 month old iridiums! :lol:

by **nissias** » Sun 22.04.2007, 02:36

Monty wrote:
nissias wrote:
Dico wrote:The two coils are under the coolant tank and can often go faulty, though you would normaly have a misfire or some other sign

no misfire. the car drives perfectly and the performance is just solid. i guess the injectors might be leaking or something?

If the car is driving ok ie no misfire or hesitation when excelerating then maybe there's nothing wrong

Hows the MPG?
Whats the condition of the sparkplugs? should be able to tell if the car is running rich?

mpg is just fine. the car has the v3 chip currently if that helps. Performance is just perfect as it was since the start. the sparks are ok. no problem with them just two out of four were wet with fuel. They were not the NGK original ones recommended by Lotus but different Bosch Iridium ones. Maybe the Iridium ones were not the ones for the engine and did not burn the fuel ok or something? I am thinking that maybe the injectors are leaking and need replacement? Does anyone know if other brands will fit our cars than the Lotus stock ones that are quite expensive?

by **nissias** » Sun 22.04.2007, 02:37

geoffsmith wrote:
Monty wrote:Whats the condition of the sparkplugs?

Read the start you tart - 1 month old iridiums!

lol

by **ESM** » Sun 22.04.2007, 09:24

If the car is performing ok and the plugs aren't sooty, glazed or whatever I wouldn't worry too much about it. Run some injector cleaner in the fuel and see if that helps. BTW if you have injectors that are leaking then you might expect difficult starting.

by **nissias** » Sun 22.04.2007, 10:13

ESM wrote:If the car is performing ok and the plugs aren't sooty, glazed or whatever I wouldn't worry too much about it. Run some injector cleaner in the fuel and see if that helps. BTW if you have injectors that are leaking then you might expect difficult starting.

Hi Alan.
the car is performing ok. The car sometimes hesitates to start really aggresively as it did from the start. I think this started happening after switching on to those Iridium spark plugs. We have now fitted the recommended NGK ones and I will be changing the wires too. I have bought magnecor leads. I was not worrying about the car as I always thought that maybe those Iridium Bosch spark plugs were not suited for the car. So when I would come I told my dad I would go and change them just to be sure. When my mechanic took the spark plugs off he saw spark plug 1 and 3 being wet with fuel and he seemed worried about it. I didn't but he just made me worried afterwards. I did not know or understand if there was something wrong with the car as by driving it I was always happy. Fortunately I have bought the Prolong Fuel Injector Cleaner kit so I will be using that too on the car. In my opinion injectors number 1 and 3 are just leaking a bit and maybe that's why the car will not always start aggresively (it sometimes starts right away but the engine seems to hesitate in power for the first 2-3 seconds and then it turns aggressive again). So in the end case my mechanic just loaded me with extra worries about the car without knowing if this is serious or not. Should I change the injectors as to be sure? If yes, are there different brand injectors to use or similar to the stock ones? Spending 100GBP for each one is quite crazy I must say.
Cheers Alan

by **Monty** » Sun 22.04.2007, 11:20

geoffsmith wrote:
Monty wrote:Whats the condition of the sparkplugs?

Read the start you tart - 1 month old iridiums!

You bloody woman, i never asked how old they are but the condition of the plugs :roll:

Make sure gap the plugs correctly IIRC 0.8mm

BTW, i believe u can have the injectors cleaned and tested

by **Dico** » Sun 22.04.2007, 11:52

Monty wrote:How old are the spark plugs?

by **nissias** » Sun 22.04.2007, 11:59

Monty wrote:
geoffsmith wrote:
Monty wrote:Whats the condition of the sparkplugs?

Read the start you tart - 1 month old iridiums!

You bloody woman, i never asked how old they are but the condition of the plugs

Make sure gap the plugs correctly IIRC 0.8mm

BTW, i believe u can have the injectors cleaned and tested

i will try and clean the injectors. How can I test them though? As far as I know the 0.8mm clearance on the spark plugs is really important for smooth operation on the engine and especially when the car starts. that's why I switched back to the stock ones.

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Wet Sparkplugs!!! Problem with injectors?

Wet Sparkplugs!!! Problem with injectors?

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