At a loss...should I just sell?

[texaselite]

My 91 Fed has just become too much of a cash toilet. Have spent way too much on trying to get it in decent shape and can't get past CEL 41/42. Replaced hall effect sensor 2-3 times, engine timing, and ignition system (coil packs, wires, plugs) 2x within last 2k miles of driving. Just not worth it anymore to keep getting frustrated and having it sit in the garage. Unfortunately, there is no one in Houston that truly understands these cars and can figure out what is wrong. what kills me is that the car sounds great when idling, but under any load, it's jumpy, stalls out, not consistent at all.

Any last ditch efforts you think I should consider -- or just try to sell it as-is (not running smoothly) and let someone else give it a whirl?

[Ian T]

I have to say I understand the predicament but all you need is a garage that used to exist in the days when cars of this age were on the road.

I suspect our cars now are well into the age where loom faults may be an issue, essentially oxidisation of crimped connections at the ECU and sensor terminals, not to mention inline connectors.

Why not try something like a Gunson Colortune on each cylinder to see if you can isolate one that isn't firing properly either due to bad earth or bad loom.

Can you cross all of the above off your checklist from recent diagnosis?

Don't throw the towel in on a car you obviously still like, work through the obvious (and then the less obvious) and use the force of LEC to help you.

Kind regards,

Ian.

[Ian T]

I suppose I should add that Vauxhall of a similar vintage suffered with crosstalk (interference) between sensor inputs and high Voltage parts like HT leads, so it wouldn't be in conceivable that these could be causing some problems.

[Rambo]

Replaced hall effect sensor 2-3 times, engine timing, and ignition system (coil packs, wires, plugs) 2x within last 2k miles of driving

Can't understand why you have wasted $$$$ changing the HES 3 times and col packs, ignition leads and plugs twice in the last 2000 miles

If you have replaced these items with new parts once and still have the same symptoms its time to move on to another cause

Sorry to sound so negative but suggest you try other things next as per Ian's post

[lotuska]

Check out the following link.

Might be worth checking the gap as described, a little hit and miss, but won't cost you anything to try.

[GeoffSmith]

Make sure there is only a small amount of play in the reluctor wheel - there have been instances of the pin breaking. How much jitter do you get when you're setting the base timing?

If you want some hands on help locally, have you tried LOST?
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lotus-Ow ... 4992122241

If you want a local(ish) shop who know the Elan then Regogo racing in Dallas is probably the place to go. Tell them Steve Brightman sent you and they'll probably charge you double.

[Simon_P]

I think I am right in saying that if your HES fails you go into "Limp Home Mode" so you should have usable smooth power up to 4000 rpm. Does the CEL come on?

You describe " the car sounds great when idling, but under any load, it's jumpy, stalls out, not consistent at all" so If you have I would have suggested coil or HT lead failure, but you have changed those and besides I don't think either will set a code 41 or 42

Have you also checked/changed the ignition Module? This is part of the electronic Spark Timing circuit.

Be methodical and eliminate one thing at a time - there is an explanation and trouble shooting section in the manual

[epipete]

Despite the CEL codes, it might sound daft but have you considered the fuel pump?

[HJ2]

Did you check the spark plug gaps? (should be 0.8 mm NOT 1.1)
Does your wastegate move freely the full 90 degrees? If not, look in the WIKI under wastegate wiggle.
Doe your problems occur only under boost, or at any higher rev's?

[tweetdriver63]

Check the fuel pressure regulator too. One of the things mine did when I was having some trouble a few years ago was very much as you described -- purred like a kitten at idle, but bucked like a two dollar whore and stalled under load. then an old hairy mechanic from the First World War (I think) reached behind the plenum with some pliers and squeezed the return line from the regulator. With it pinched, you could work the throttle and get the full Monty. Bad pressure regulator.

Got a new one meant for a Corvette (they used the same regulator, just two of them instead of one) and all was well.

[HJ2]

So ?

[Grant]

These symptoms sound vaguely familiar to an issue I was having a while back. Bucking and stalling when throttle was applied. I went through a similar process of trial and error. Replaced wires, plugs, coils, to no avail. Then I took it to a shop where they "rebuilt" the ECU, but in the end the culprit was bad injectors. The resistance of 2 of the injectors(ohms) were not in spec. So I had the shop replace only 2 of them. Problem solved, until a year later I started having the same symptoms again. This time I replace all 4 injectors myself, and she's been running great ever since.