hairball29

Hi, folks My 2005 SVT motor'd car runs well, except when it doesn't. When i first got it, it had jerky power delivery and a tendency to be hard to start. I traced it to a perished plug on the throttle body causing a vacuum leak. replacing that made it run much better and i thought all was well. The last couple of days it's been hard to start again, sometime's when it's cold, sometimes when hot and not consistent. It will take about 4 goes to get it started but so far it does start eventually. Once running it's ok, but something's up. I've notice on the live data on my scanner that the fuel pressure is 0psi at idle. My understanding is that this car runs a return-less system and that a fuel pressure sensor is important in that it reports to the PCM, so i'm wondering if this is a factor in my problem. I also cannot hear a fuel pump running when the ignition is on. I can't believe it's not running else the car surely wouldn't start? Does anyone know what their fuel pressure reading is at idle for comparison? Thanks in advance.

Thanks, Mike Sevens and Elans got back to me, but they don't have a solution, so I'll persevere. Perhaps a megasquirt ecu might help ;-) Steve

Thanks. Yes, that is the same car! The small world of Caterhams

Thanks, Mike you are correct, that is the car I bought! I'm working on a few things related to the low miles it's done over the last 5 years, but this emissions thing is proving the most vexing so far. I spoke to a helpful clean air person and he offered to meet me at at an inspection station. I'll try that avenue first and if that fails (no breath held) i'll start working on the safe county option. If you know the member names, please let me know. Thanks

Thanks, folks I seem to be swimming upstream with Georgia's bureaucracy (as mentioned in another thread) but I'll keep at it and report back when I get it on the road.

Hi, I'm in the middle of a complicated problem with Georgia and emissions. Details are in another thread, but i have 2 codes that could cause the car to fail. I don't know yet since the last time i took the car for inspection, they wouldn't test it because it's a kit. I plan to take it again soon, but I wonder if anyone has had any experience of the following codes. My car is a 2005 with a 2004 Zetec SVT motor. P0453 – generic – evaporative emissions system pressure sensor/switch high input P1451 – ford – evaporative emissions system vent control circuit I've read that this could be related to tank pressure, gas cap, a few other culprits, but i did find one thread on another site that said that this is normal for Caterhams are because the sensors present in the Focus are not the same in a Caterham, so these codes are permanent. In Georgia, they will fail a car's emissions inspection if it has any codes at all. I had a Suburban, for example, that failed because the transmission was slipping. Obviously nothing to do with what comes out the tailpipe, but this is how dumb the rules are. So now i'm starting to wonder what i can do about the above codes if there is no actual way to stop them showing in the ECU due to hardware. Has anyone seen these codes on a Zetec motor? Thanks

Thanks, i did do a bit more reading on this forum. This thread gives some good advice. I spoke to a tester and he says that since it's a post-96 car, it should have a MIL to have been legally sold in the US http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?4343-ODB-II-confusion-(codes-and-other-questions)&highlight=check+engine+light

Hi, all I'm having some problems getting my 2005 Caterham registered in Georgia because of emissions. I wonder if anyone who's been through something like this would mind sharing their wisdom? Initially i tied to get the emissions done as i would any normal vehicle, but the examiner wanted no part of this strange car and told me to contact the Georgia clean air force and apply for a kit car exemption. I did that after titling the car and sending in evidence that it is a kit car. A few days later someone else from the GCAF contacted me and told me that that is not the case, and that the car must be tested like any other normal car - no kit car exemptions after 1997ish The biggest issue is that the rule says the car must have all emissions equipment that the car it's based on has. in this case, that would be a 2004 Focus because it has the 2.0L Ford SVT motor in it. So far, so good because it has the ODB port, Cats, O2 sensors, just as it was built. (It does have 2 codes about the evap system, but that's another item i need to repair) The biggest issue so far is that the clean air guys are saying that the original emissions gear includes a check engine light (MIL) which as far as i know, the car does not have. So far, it seems that this is going to mean i cannot get emissions, which means i cannot register it in my part of Georgia. There are 3 lights on the speedo or tach. one is main beam, one blinkers. I haven't seen the 3rd light up, so i don't know if it's the MIL I was surprised that this was the case since I expect the car is 50 state emissions compliant. I know they're sold in California and that state is surely more strict than Ga. Does anyone know if there's anything like an MIL on the car so i can check that box with them? Or perhaps there's some way to retrofit one? I know it all sounds like craziness, and i cannot agree more, but these are the obstacles they're giving me right now. Thanks in advance.

It's been a long time, but I finally got a Caterham of my very own. I bought it in Philadelphia from Ebay, some of you might have seen the listing. It's done 3500 miles since 2005 and has a Caterham Zetec SVT motor with stage 1 cams, a Caterham 6 speed box, LSD, DeDion suspension. I'd like to report on how well it drives but I'm wading through Georgia bureaucracy to get a emissions exemption currently so I don't have plates for it. It goes well around the block, at least. Since it had been standing so long, the radiator and heater hoses were rotted and one sprang a leak. All replaced now. A plug on the throttle body also had a discreet leak for the same reason, resulting in problems starting it and strange, surging power delivery. Fixing it made it run like a different car. I've ordered some new wheels to replace the prisoner ones it has currently. They were not shipped with it originally, and they don't look good on an orange car. It's going in for new cam belt, water pump, clutch and brake fluid refresh, so perhaps it's better i can't drive it yet! I'll report back when I finally get plates http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=13263&stc=1

In the end I got some Pro Race 1.2 wheels in black from Demon Tweeks in the UK. The shipping was around $130 and the price is comparable to USA suppliers. I chose the UK supplier because they had the stock, and had a Caterham-specific rim available with just the right center bore size (avoiding the need for a spacer ring).

Thanks. That site seems to be down at the moment, but I did see before that it has a lot of Minilite type wheels. Know anywhere that sell different types? I found this vendor in the UK. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Caterham-Team-Dynamics-Pro-Race-Westfield-Wheels-x-4-NEW/142390855382?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 which might be a decent option. The shipping is about $150 if i can't find anything local. The vendor said if I complete their measurement form with my wheel sizes, they can figure which of their sizes will fit.

Hi, all I'm new to Caterhams after many, many years of coveting one. The one i'm due to buy this week has prisoner wheels, but i'm looking for some replacements in black. I'd like to get some that looks like Enkei GT7s, or the spokey wheels installed on recent Caterhams. I've looked at various sites over here, but i can't find the right spec. I can find some in the UK but with shipping costs and time, I'd like to find some in the US if anyone has any? Thanks in advance

Hi, That was me. After 25 years of wanting one, today was the day!