RH pod not working

[mikecg]

Yesterday during a short journey the car suddenly started to stop and start very quickly allowing the car to continue , during this the rev counter would erratically go off the scale and every time the engine stalled the engine management light would come on. I completed my journey of a couple of miles and discovered the RH headlight pod was in the up position. It would not go up or down but the left pod would but all of the lights worked including main beam .
On heading home the stop start and rev counter are working fine but the pod is permanently up . I have manually lowered it but it then just stays down .
I guess I have two issues how to get my pod working and secondly what the hell was going on initially . The first problems in two and a half years ..

[Fredjohn]

Sounds very similar to the problem Tuga2112 suffered recently. See his thread on misfire.
Check your earth connections at end of engine.

[Rambo]

I would agree John. The rev counter problem and CEL light coming on sounds very much like Tuga's problem, eventually traced to a poor earth after doing the HG work

Here's the link Mike... viewtopic.php?f=38&t=26837&start=40

You may well also have a light pod delay module problem too but check your earth connections first

[mikecg]

Thanks guys i will persue. Where will i find the engine earthing point?

[Tuga2112]

Yesterday during a short journey the car suddenly started to stop and start very quickly allowing the car to continue , during this the rev counter would erratically go off the scale and every time the engine stalled the engine management light would come on. I completed my journey of a couple of miles and discovered the RH headlight pod was in the up position. It would not go up or down but the left pod would but all of the lights worked including main beam .
On heading home the stop start and rev counter are working fine but the pod is permanently up . I have manually lowered it but it then just stays down .
I guess I have two issues how to get my pod working and secondly what the hell was going on initially . The first problems in two and a half years ..

its funny how you describe your problem.
the part about the engine controll does match the issue i recently had (as others mentioned)
the funny part is the fact my RH pod stopped raising(and lowering) just today. just like you described..

by looking at the wiring diagrams. i think the 2 issues are unrelated. because the only common electrical wire between the 2 would be the ground which, would affect both pods at the same time and not just the RH

as far as diagnostics i can suggest a few things
first thing is to check the 15amp fuse that is in the RH pod circuit. (find location in the electrical manual pg 11)
in order to confirm if the issue is in the pod lift module OR motor. i would suggest finding the motor connector behind the pod and disconnecting.
now you have 2 options. either
- plug a known working 12v + ground pair of wires directly to the green and grey wires. and again in the oposite wires. 1 way should lift the pods, the other would lower then. i dont know the combination that does either, but flikering both must cause some reaction
if nothing happens, i would look at the motors working. but if they work. your probably looking at a pod lift module
- using multimeter, check for voltage difference in the same green and gray (in the manual its S for slate) wires. and switch on the lights. you should get a reading of +/-12v (or whatever voltage your battery is pumping out) in that circuit.
if the voltage is there, the pod lift module probably is fine.

i will be hijacking this thread for my pod repair, being as enright is not very happy with me opening new threads for every problem i have in my car

[John_W]

... enright is not very happy with me opening new threads for every problem i have in my car

I don’t think the server could cope with that many threads either.

[Rambo]

... enright is not very happy with me opening new threads for every problem i have in my car

I don’t think the server could cope with that many threads either.

Me too

I never seem to have problems with my Elan's. They are extremely reliable And I know your's has been too John, bar the square wheel problem on Skye, which wasn't your fault, and the latest gear problem

Are Clan McElan M100's possibly more reliable than their English counterparts ?

[Saltire]

Thanks guys i will persue. Where will i find the engine earthing point?

Mike

I can’t post photos at present (known forum software fault), but the information you need is helpfully hosted by Brit-Car-Nut on his manuals page at www.lotusm100.com/manuals/

The part you need is on page 20 of the Electrical Manual v6 (PDF file) here. You’ll need to remove the right hand front wheel arch liner to see the chassis end of the earth points easily.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

You guys can always host the photos yourselves and then provide a link...

OR, if you want to send me the picture, I can host it and provide the link.

[dapinky]

Are Clan McElan M100's possibly more reliable than their English counterparts ?

Nah, Welsh ones are the most reliable..... I can't remember seeing a single thread started because of a Welsh issue (but I have a poor memory ).

[Tuga2112]

... enright is not very happy with me opening new threads for every problem i have in my car

I don’t think the server could cope with that many threads either.

Me too

I never seem to have problems with my Elan's. They are extremely reliable And I know your's has been too John, bar the square wheel problem on Skye, which wasn't your fault, and the latest gear problem

Are Clan McElan M100's possibly more reliable than their English counterparts ?

i think the problem with mine is that i stopped it for 8 months. now that its back on the road seems to be cursed... Im a firm believer that cars get worse when not driven. and so far my theory seems to prove right... in 3 years or running it regularly i barely had any issues. then stopped it for 8 months to get the head gasket changed and ended up with a bunch of problems coming out of nowhere

[Rambo]

My mantra is "use it or lose it"

[Tuga2112]

My mantra is "use it or lose it"

not arguing with that.
when you see water in the oil theres 2 options. either stop using it till its fixed... or risk damaging things a lot...
and considering i am adamant to do all the work on the elan myself (after a couple of bad experiences with "professional" mechanics) it was a matter of waiting untill the weather allowed me to tackle such big job...

all the current nuisance problems seem easy 1 day jobs.. so doable on a non-rainy weekend. but they sure keep on appearing..

[John_W]

My mantra is "use it or lose it"

Is that what the nurse told you at your last visit to the clinic?

[Rambo]

Are Clan McElan M100's possibly more reliable than their English counterparts ?

Nah, Welsh ones are the most reliable..... I can't remember seeing a single thread started because of a Welsh issue (but I have a poor memory ).

Dave, you have a poor and selective memory. And very unlike you too

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=20201&p=257914#p257914

And what about all those problems Ailwyn had with his dog

And those you had with pinky and bluey

[John_W]

You guys can always host the photos yourselves and then provide a link...

That’s what I used to do until my Internet provider decided that they didn’t want to host anybody’s webspace any more. TalkTalk - don’t ya love them? I don’t.

Just click on the internet symbol under my avatar to see their friendly message. £43.50 a month for an internet speed of 1.3 megabits/sec and now no web hosting. Barstewards.

[Tuga2112]

And those you had with pinky and bluey

technically, "pinky and bluey" problems were in england. (weston).... i mean.. even i got that joke ?

John, and other John..

I use tinyPic.. its free and works.. you dont hold any rights to the pictures.. but im not hosting anything personal. so they can go ahead and make use of all my broken elan parts pictures all they want.

[Fredjohn]

To get back on topic......

Surely the first thing to do if a pod won't lift is to try to raise it manually by turning the knob. If it works, then move onto electrical issues. If it doesn't rise, then the problem is probably the plastic gear or the 3 plastic rods that gave disintegrated. Then it's an easy and cheap fix.

Always assume the simplest cheapest before the hard expensive!

[Tuga2112]

To get back on topic......

Surely the first thing to do if a pod won't lift is to try to raise it manually by turning the knob. If it works, then move onto electrical issues. If it doesn't rise, then the problem is probably the plastic gear or the 3 plastic rods that gave disintegrated. Then it's an easy and cheap fix.

Always assume the simplest cheapest before the hard expensive!

Yes, it does raise by hand without any difficulty. That was how I got home last night with full view of the road.

[Tuga2112]

I've confirmed the problem to be the lift control unit (forgot technical name of the box)
Recorded a very crude video for YouTube to help the diagnostic process for others. Will be updating here soon