Vovchandr

Tom, after scouring the web for Zetec/Pectel information, I've come across many useful posts over the last decade plus on this subject matter. Most of them came from your account. If I can arrange it I'll make my way down to you as I have no doubts I'd be leaving a happy customer. I've done the NC trip many times (Friends and extended family live there), just arranging the tow would be out of the norm for me, and I don't think i'd do the drive in the 7 just yet. Time to look up tow specs for an XC70 and aluminum trailers.. Edit: Just looked back and realized you actually help me make the decision on originally purchasing the car on the focus forums to begin with. My hat's off to you sir. You don't miss a beat :hat:

A few updates Non highway test - backroads 95% "granny shifting" and cruising in 6th 39 miles - 2.6 gallons. 15mpg Mix highway and backroad 50 miles - 3.2 gallons. 15.6 mpg Stopped by a local domestic tuner, who after saying he's never heard of Pectel but if I can get him the tuning software with it, he should have no problem with it. (Are there are North East tuners that are specifically familiar with Zetecs?). He did say that my old plugs looked fine (brought them with me) Physically installed the Innovative wideband into my downstream o2 bung. After talking with tuner and looking into it online, it will be off anywhere between .2 to .5 which is a fine ballpark for my current troubleshooting. Next is to find a good 12v source. A major somewhat related discovery is after last fill up it seemed like it filled up too early so I gave it another solid click to confirm that it was full. After getting back into the car I saw that fuel started creeping up on the ground next to me. Looked underneath and sure enough I was dripping fuel. It would run down the rear rail from passenger side to driver side and drip down the tow hook. It also ate away the rubber/foam pad for the tank on driver side. Logical conclusion is that I overfilled and it had to come out from somewhere so I kept driving to lower the volume. Pictures below are the leaks after driving 3 miles and coming to a stop. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15370&stc=1 You can see the rubber being chewed away here. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15371&stc=1 While I do think that overfilling specifically caused this and this isn't my primary problem, this is related and it's a safety issue so I started ripping into the rear of the car to check gaskets. Internet search revealed this isn't a specifically rare issue. All things considered, leaking gas onto the road isn't helping my MPG. After realizing that Caterham has pulled a magic trick with stuffing the honey comb in the back somehow, I've decided to leave it in and work around it while it's angled. My car came with an Evap canister up front and there was a plugged line out back next to the filler line. I figured the feed to EVAP is what was plugged but not so. This line is plugged. Does anybody know what it does? Seems redundant. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15372&stc=1 EVAP line actually leads to the little hole on top of the filler neck. I still removed the EVAP system. It served no practical purpose especially without any sensors going into it. Just another catch can at that point. Current status: Pending ordering new o2 just in case Finding 12v to supply wideband Get Pectel to communicate and datalog Overfill the tank and see where the leaks are Hooking up fuel pressure T fitting into the AN lines and testing pressure/FPR

From the ad I thought Caterham S3 was true to Lotus 7? Is he talking about the SV? His weight estimate seems a bit optimistic too :willy_nilly:

It was the star of the show! Was surprised to see Leno in DC in a model T.

Jim, That is a very generous offer to the members. I just got my cable in this week and as a matter a fact it's sitting next to me in the office waiting to be installed. Hopefully I don't have any Deskpro compatibility issues but since Murphy is always around, I'm not being optimistic. Over the next few weeks worst case scenario I might have to take you up on this offer myself and then repost the offer once I'm done with it and have everything set on my end to help somebody else.

Good idea, I'll do that too. Quick question but relevant, the car seems a little hard to start but I always wrote it off as a nature of the beast. I'll take a video but should the car fire right up like a normal car or is it normal for it to struggle a bit with things like Jenveys? Take what seems like at least a few rotations to get going. If unusual it could be another symptom of whatever fuel issue.

I thought impedance was spot on but couldn't be sure of the other values were proper, (LB/PSI). Thanks for confirming. Before I keep troubleshooting through the weekend and next weeks can anybody (Tom?) tell me if my lower temp thermostat could be a factor? As of right now here is whats pending. Getting my communication cable today to communicate with Pectel T2 ECU > get software to work with windows, get a profile on there through the weekend. (There are two, data logging and actual changing variables it seems) DescPro + PiToolbox + Offload tool Find my Wideband and find a spot to drill/plug another hole to monitor AFR Compression test the motor Drive a certain distance off the highway at lower RPMs and remeasure the MPG (6spd is at 4k+ at highway, possibly something high RPM Map related) Edit: Also adding changing fuel filter to the mix... because why not?

Still looking into things but a small update Decided to double check my injectors to eliminate that as a variable. I knew they got swapped to high impedance (I checked that long ago) but was time to make sure they were correct overall. They check out. (I believe) Denso 968F-AC https://www.injectorplanet.com/products/denso-2881 14.3 Ohm resistance 21.1 lb per hour Flow rates @ 43.5 psi / 3 bar

Quick updates. Changed the plugs to recommended Motorcraft SP463 gaped at .050. Drove it highway 20 miles, went through 1.9 gallons. Drove back on secondary roads as another way to partition to see if its something to do with higher RPM/6spd gearing. Haven't had a chance to refill it but will post that data once I have it. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15347&stc=1 Currently looking into all the Pectel Data logging software and profiles and ordering the cable to make it all work. Didn't have a chance to cross reference the o2 sensor but I looked this morning and it's a 4 wire OEM Ford.

Firstly, thank you all for all your help so far. To answer a few questions and catch up on the thread. Nothing motor wise has been touched since I bought it and sorted out some of the cooling/oil dripping issues. Part of full disclosure while trying to test/get my radiator fan to kick on I very briefly might have hit the upper temp range a few times before shutting it off. Small chance of a blown head gasket? (yet to be tested but temperature is fine/lower now if anything. I put in a lower temp thermostat too). Performance wise over the last ~500 miles it has been pretty much consistent. Certainly peppy/fast but not certain if its running 100%. Certainly dont randomly break traction under throttle with the alleged ~200hp+ per original builder. I don't know how my O2 is running. i can only assume it does its regular open/closed loop procedure. No wideband installed. I have some kicking around from other projects so it might be a good idea to put that in. I'll do the new plugs as one of the first things in further troubleshooting/partitioning. Vacuum trick has gotten most of the crud out!

Alfonse, thank you for the reply. I understand that it will vary depending on how you drive it, but if I'm getting ~8/10 mpg on just highway and putting around means I'll be getting 2/3 mpg on a track day I'll be running out of gas very quickly and there is a serious issue that I need to address. Trust me, I'm not bringing this up from the economic perspective/concern.

This car has never seen rain during my ownership and hasn't been used much in the last 10 + years in California. I doubt it saw rain back then too. What mileage should I expect with highway driving, 6spd, Jenveys on Zetec? Even a ballpark. 20?

I think so. Same stuff that's in the channel. I wiped it off Some of the tips looks much smaller than the others (a little hard to tell in pictures) Might just replace all while I'm at it. Any recommendations? Same ones? They are motorcraft platinum now. Doubt it's the issue but can't hurt.

Cylinder and rest of plugs http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15342&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15343&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15344&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15345&stc=1

Here are some pictures. #1 tunnel - only really dirty one http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15338&stc=1 #1 plug http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15339&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15340&stc=1

Checked the plugs and I'll upload pictures but in meantime I created a new problem. Some of the crud around spark plug has fallen onto the cylinder and now I'm trying to master mind a way to get it out. I know nothing about data logging the Pectel unfortunately. I'll have to look into it.

Since buying the 7 last year I'm still slowly figuring and sorting out misc problems as I've put maybe 500 miles on the car, likely under that. The recent is that I feel like I'm filling up far too often. I don't have a working odometer as the speedometer has been swapped for a SPA unit since original build and the speed output hasn't worked right for at least 10 years from what I've gathered. I don't even know if it's tranny pickup or hall sensor on rear axle (didn't see anything on axles) Now while fixing that is on the list, I've decided to test the MPG the old fashioned way. Filled up in one area, drove 8 miles highway and filled up again. Used right around 1.1 gallons. Today I drove about 50 miles and am at half tank already. Lets say empirically, with variables I average 10mpg. Thats quite low isn't it? 2001 Zetec, Jenvey ITB's, injectors have been swapped to high impedance. Pectel ECU. I haven't done a compression test but thats probably going to happen soon. Car feels quite peppy but I can't tell if I'm down on power as I have nothing to compare it to. Oil doesn't smell like gas. No obvious leaks anywhere, I fixed a previous return like leak. Any ideas of what else to check for? I should be getting about 20mpg or more, no?

Thanks for the heads up!

Thats certainly a unique take. Interesting headlights and Turbo instead of SC. Custom mirror mounts and mirrors with blinkers.

Always been a fan of your car. Have you thought about Bring a Trailer? You can set your reserve and it's likely going to meet or exceed it.

Funny you say that. To my understanding the actual layout is the same regardless of whats on your car due to bolt on nature of our cars. Dash will always have the same amount of holes and they will all be filled with switches regardless whether you bought a heater or ordered a windshield at all. Mine are quite faded but honestly after purchase I haven't thought twice about it (that is until I got into this discussion now...) Share what your SL and SLR look like! Here are the variations that I know http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15317&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15318&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15319&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15320&stc=1

Can anybody with an activated account on California Caterham forum cross post it there? Even though it's not very active it will give this a good chance of being seen by right people. My account doesn't have the permission and it doesn't seem to be actively managed or supervised by anybody. http://californiacaterhamclub.com/chat/index.php

Thanks for the reply. I wanted to be sure. I have no problem finding a local mechanic as I'm quite involved in the auto community here and have friends with their own shops (don't worry about bias, if anything they will be more critical/scrutinize me more than a regular mechanic). I also have a friend who is not a mechanic by career but has been a mechanic for race teams over the years and is currently going on yet another stint at One Lap Of America, he's no stranger to race cars. This is why I ask. People like him and shops can definitely give it a very through inspection but I wanted to see if this will suffice in the eyes of NJMP.

Croc, trying to understand this a little better. Is this any certified mechanic or does it have to be one of their mechanics a day prior? For the first pre inspection.

There are at least 4 or 5 different dash configurations that I know of that Caterham has offered between buttons style and gauges or even the CSR style swooping layout. Switches have been (and I believe still are, even according to the Caterham configurator) the standard layout. Button/switch reliability is a bit of a strange question. Typically it's a simple electrical contact adjustment in either style and lasts a lifetime, especially with how little use our cars typically see further compounded by how much less frequently buttons get used. If any external factor like sitting outside would cause one to fail/corrode it would likely cause the other style to fail as well. I will say one thing, typical switches have plastic that tends to fade over time and sun exposure, buttons or metal toggles might be better in that regard.