Hot starting problem

[Russh]

The first start in the morning or even after weeks of no use is instant .in fact you hardly have to turn the key. But after that I have to turn it over for at least 10 seconds before it fires up,and then there is a petrol smell for a few second.
I've only owned the car a few months, when I brought it the previous owner told me he had had this problem for all his 7 years of ownership. As it was due a new cambelt I thought a good service would make it better .Well the cambelt turned into a new head gasket as well and still the first start is instant and subsequent starts are about 10 seconds .
Other than this annoying fault the car runs really nice.
Any suggestions please would be appreciated.

[GeoffSmith]

Is it an SE or S2?

[Dave Eds]

It's an SE Geoff......


viewtopic.php?f=76&t=28307&p=363165#p363165

[GeoffSmith]

Well that's the easy diagnosis down the pan.

[HJ2]

Why if I may ask?

[Rambo]

Why if I may ask?

Because it's Geof (only one effin') Smith HJ. And he's an "awkit bugger" British humour too. We are top of the sarcasm league table. Unlike Newcastle. See, more sarcasm

Back to the OP. Please try searching for info before you ask (box top right and/or Wikilec, top left) It's all been covered before. The primary cause of no problems starting when cold but requires more cranking when hot is down to the vapourisation of petrol.

However it could be due to a faulty CTS or TPS. Or possibly a clogged fuel filter. In fact, there are quite a few other reasons but my money is on vapourisation. It is not uncommon with these cars but not everyone appears to get it. I had this problem with my 1st M100 (SE) but not my other 2 SE's

I've not heard of anyone having had this problem with an S2 so maybe Geof was on to something after all

[HJ2]

Why if I may ask?

Because it's Geof (only one effin') Smith HJ. And he's an "awkit bugger" British humour too. We are top of the sarcasm league table. Unlike Newcastle. See, more sarcasm

Back to the OP. Please try searching for info before you ask (box top right and/or Wikilec, top left) It's all been covered before. The primary cause of no problems starting when cold but requires more cranking when hot is down to the vapourisation of petrol.

However it could be due to a faulty CTS or TPS. Or possibly a clogged fuel filter. In fact, there are quite a few other reasons but my money is on vapourisation. It is not uncommon with these cars but not everyone appears to get it. I had this problem with my 1st M100 (SE) but not my other 2 SE's

I've not heard of anyone having had this problem with an S2 so maybe Geof was on to something after all

I did have the problem with my S2 (and there's a topic) and I am not being sarcastic

[Russh]

Opps forgot to say it's a 1990 SE Turbo with 80k

And by the way. What is a CTS and a TPS .I put these letters in the search box and nothing came up
As you can guess I'm new to Lotus ownership and even newer to the forum

[Saltire]

Opps forgot to say it's a 1990 SE Turbo with 80k

And by the way. What is a CTS and a TPS .I put these letters in the search box and nothing came up
As you can guess I'm new to Lotus ownership and even newer to the forum

CTS = Coolant Temperature Sensor - tells the engine Electronic Control Unit (ECU) how hot the engine is
TPS = Throttle Position Sensor - tells the ECU how far you have the accelerator pressed.

Between them (and with several other sensors) they help the ECU to know how rich the mixture should be, or in simple terms, how much fuel to push into the engine.

[GeoffSmith]

Why if I may ask?

If the CTS goes open circuit, the ECU overfuels when the engine is hot. If the engine runs long enough for the O2 sensor to warm up then the ECU goes closed loop, fuels correctly and it runs fine. This happened on another car and shorting the CTS wire allowed me to get the car started.

[HJ2]

I knew you had a good reason

[Russh]

Opps forgot to say it's a 1990 SE Turbo with 80k

And by the way. What is a CTS and a TPS .I put these letters in the search box and nothing came up
As you can guess I'm new to Lotus ownership and even newer to the forum

CTS = Coolant Temperature Sensor - tells the engine Electronic Control Unit (ECU) how hot the engine is
TPS = Throttle Position Sensor - tells the ECU how far you have the accelerator pressed.

Between them (and with several other sensors) they help the ECU to know how rich the mixture should be, or in simple terms, how much fuel to push into the engine.

Thank you

[GeoffSmith]

Take a look at the Wiki Russ.

[Russh]

Just changed the fuel filter and CTS and one of the pins in the CTS was bent over and not making contact with the plug.
Just need to put a few miles on it to see if its any better .Fingers crossed

[GeoffSmith]

… one of the pins in the CTS was bent over and not making contact with the plug.

99.9% certain that was the cause of your problems. You'll probably find you use less fuel as well.

[Russh]

Well after a few miles and starts with the new fuel filter and CTS. The instant cold starting has gone ,have to crank it over quite a bit before it starts and the hot starting is a little better but still need cranking for quite a while.
I know it will not be running so rich ,but was hoping for better
Where to now.Any suggestions

[Russh]

I was hoping for some ideas.
Could I have a duff CTS