jordway

@Smithengineered, A while back I went through a long period of testing the usual suspects for a starting problem that went from occasional start fails to the car always failing to start. Finally, after ruling out everything I could, a buddy of my mechanic tipped us off that it was a passive antitheft system problem. This took both my mechanic and me by surprise. My key is the same type as yours, and I too thought there was no way it could have a chip. I tried the key/transceiver reset protocol of disconnecting the battery, turning key to on, reconnect the battery, turning key off and on. After just one attempt, it started right up and I haven't had a start fail since. I haven't dissected the key or gone looking for the transceiver, so I can't absolutely confirm that's what it was. But, seems pretty darn coincidental, if not. I think most Caterham owners with that key either don't have a chip in the key or don't have a PATS/immobilizer on the car (making the chip functionless). But, I think there are some out there who do. Mine is a 2004 Zetec SVT, by the way. If you go the route of removing the immobilizer, please let me know how it goes. To your original question, I'm not sure about getting a blank key. This is precisely why I'm so paranoid about losing track of my single ignition key!

I see. Hmm. Well, I was told that there was a chip in it and that's were the chip is. Perhaps I'm getting a bit ahead of myself because this sounds so similar to my own issue. But, sounds like Hutch may have found the transceiver, so I guess sometimes there is a chip and sometimes not.

Aha! What we have here is the chip key type that was paired to the PATS transceiver used on the 2000-2004 Ford Focus. I have the same key type. See that circle inset in the plastic molding? The chip is under that. I am now even more convinced that your car has PATS, the transceiver is under the scuttle and your problem is that, for whatever reason, the transceiver has stopped recognizing the key. It happens with this PATS system... A LOT! If you read the advice on the focusfanatics.com site, you will see that the reset process sometimes takes several tries before it links up again. Others say that, once the battery is reconnected, it was necessary to leave the key in "ON" position for 15 minutes before trying to start. If you try all of these and are convinced that resetting isn't going to work, I'd recommend finding the transceiver and cleaning all connections. If that doesn't work, I'd recommend talking to someone at a high-end custom car audio/security shop. A buddy told me his story of dealing with this issue. His was a Toyota, but that's beside the point. The car was old, so dealers wouldn't event talk to him about it. Mechanics he reached out to frankly just didn't want to bother with it. He finally went to one of those audio stores and a kid showed him how to bypass it using two resistors and a volt meter. About a $10 fix, and he never had a problem with PATS again. I'll likely try that also just so I can avoid future issues with a PATS that I don't even want on the car.

I'm confused. I assume the "unit" you are referring to is the ECU? Is that right? They inspected the ECU or they inspected the car? A 2002 Zetec SVT most likely has a PATS system. In fact, my 2004 Zetec Caterham also originated from Sevens and Elans (shout out to Chris), and it has PATS. If your key looks something like this, it most likely has a chip. The transceiver is most likely under the scuttle. Look here for photos of what you're looking for: https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/ford-pats-antitheft-system/. The car was starting at one time, but then began to fail to start, right? Same thing with mine. If the car sat for a long time (as mine had, and I think you mentioned in the beginning that yours also had), it may be as simple as cleaning the connections. Go to https://www.focusfanatics.com/ and search keyword "PATS". You will find a wealth of information on PATS problems and how others have solved them. This saved the day for me, and my Seven starts right up every time now.

I'd been having a similar problem with a 2004 Zetec SVT. I got lots of great guidance from this forum on things to test out, but eventually I ran out of ideas and finally took it to a professional who has some Sevens experience. After thoroughly checking through all the possible culprits, he also came to the conclusion that it was this PATS problem, and we were about to head down the ECU rabbit hole. I followed the advice in this discussion to look on Focus technical forums (thanks, @Tabor10 and @Kitcat). It was certainly not hard to find many examples of Focus PATS problems that sounded far too familiar. One piece of advice that was followed by many Focus owners saying "That Worked!!!" was to disconnect the battery (or in my case just switch off the battery master), put the key in and turn it to on, reconnect the battery and then switch the key off and on again. Apparently, this can reset the connection between the key chip and the module. I'll be damned if it didn't work. Starts right up every time now. But, I do like the idea of taking the chip out of the key and taping it onto the module. So, I'm not saying this will magically fix your problem, but it's free to try it. I honestly didn't think it would work, but it did. At least in my case, @MV8 was spot on about it being a minor thing and easy to "repair". Honestly, I didn't even know the car had a PATS while I was checking fuel pressure, plugs, crank sensor, phantom battery drain.... on and on. Good luck.

Good luck! Thanks for the link on the switch diagnostics. Not sure if you're a Monty Python fan, but after reading it, I couldn't help but be reminded of the Reading from the Book of Armaments.

Oh yeah... one more thing... As I'm sure you read, simply flipping the rocker 10 or so times sometimes is sometimes enough to break up the corrosion and get the indicators flashing again. But, I flipped mine God-only-knows how many times and it was never enough. Had to be replaced. But, the occasional hazard switch flipping is good cheep preventative maintenance in the future. I really hope this help you. This was the last thing I needed to sort before getting my safety inspection. I can't tell you how excited I was to see turn signals work!

I ended up just ordering a switch from Caterham UK, and here's why... I found a couple domestic switches online that looked like they would probably work. I believe an older model of Mini's used a compatible switch. But those were always higher priced than the one from Caterham UK. It turned out that buying one domestically was very close to the same price as ordering from Caterham and paying the shipping. That's what I did, so that I knew for sure it would fit. Got it in about a week. You can also check with Josh at Rocky Mountain Caterham. He may now have some in stock. But, either way, it will likely be the same cost. That was ~$20 about a six months ago (invoice attached with part numbers and pricing). Hope this helps.

I'm guessing you've already addressed this, but just in case... Have you tried cleaning/replacing the hazard light rocker switch? This very common issue solved a similar problem with my indicators. Hazards lit and flashed normally, but indicators neither lit nor flashed. Cleaning the corrosion on the contacts inside the rarely used hazard rocker switch might solve it. Seems counterintuitive since the hazards worked normally, but it works in many cases. If you open the rocker switch to clean it, I recommend doing so inside a plastic bag. Tiny spring loaded pieces may go flying. I never found all of mine and had to buy a new one. But, it solved my indicator problem.

Reportedly 200 rwhp. Not sure if it's hitting that currently, but feels pretty close to me. I'm hoping to get it dyno tuned soon and we'll know for sure. If you didn't notice in the video, that was pulling all 260 pounds of me up hill.

@Austin David, Finally here is a video with audio of the SC that you asked for. Since I mentioned @Croc's audio tutorial above, I feel obliged to point out that this does not at all live up to his great recommendations. That's because I went full on cheapskate and bought a $12 Amazon prime day non-powered mic (and that included an open frame mount for the gopro). So, at best, this is 12 bucks worth of audio quality. But, it'll do. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h6Nzmt2cdcAtADScxn3Vun5fdD7IIN0p/view?usp=sharing Notice that engine hiss at the beginning of the video? This seems to have gotten substantially more noticeable in the last couple weeks. Vacuum leak? That would be consistent with the backfires. I guess that's the next issue to sort.

Well, I'd hate to jinx myself, but yes, it appears to be solved.

Finally closing the loop on this. Starting problem persisted even after installing the kill switch, but only when trying to restart after driving the car <5 miles. Could still jump it, and alternator still recharged it up to ~14V while driving. Finally got rid of that Napa lawn and garden battery (on the car when I bought it) and installed an Odyssey PC625. Even though it has lower CCA (220 vs. 300), reads on a multimeter well below that from the Napa (right at 12V vs. above 13V right off the CTEK 5.0) and gage never gets much past 12V while driving, the PC625 battery is doing just fine. Should have just done that in the first place. @Austin David, I attempted to make a driving video that included the sound of the supercharger spinning up, but the audio is crap. Mostly just wind and various tools clanking around in the boot. After finding the very nice audio tutorial from @Croc (thanks for that!), I'm going to need to get a decent powered external mic under the bonnet if I want to get good engine audio. Meanwhile, may just do one in neutral. Thanks again to everyone for the pointers. Turned out to be ridiculously simple after all my over-thinking. Use the right battery, despite the specs on the label.

I use "Allstate", but actually they just flip it out to Hagerty anyway. Nice part was that my Allstate agent knew exactly how to go about it, and since he manages it, to me it appears to be no different than our other homeowners and vehicle policies. About the same as going directly to Hagerty (agreed value, $650/yr). Looks like Vovchandr can point you to a similar set up. I wouldn't be surprised if State Farm does the same Hagerty flip. I think that's what most major companies do for these types of vehicles. But, perhaps State Farm is different.

Thanks all. @IamScotticus, you're spot on with the second. I am a road driver, but thought if I'm adding a switch, might as well add a compliant one. But, went with a switch below the dash. That should solve my phantom drain issue.

I have long arms (doors-on is super cramped even in my SV). From the driver's seat, I can reach the switch mounted in the triangle of the RH windscreen base or same spot with aeroscreen with a bit of a stretch. But, if the car happens to be upside-down, well, that's a different issue.

I like that! Can't imagine how that wouldn't be complaint. I might have just enough room on the RH side of the dash.

I plan to install a track-compliant battery master switch. I realize that there are many options out there, but decided I might as well install the Caterham kit. My assumption is that to be track-compliant, the switch needs to literally be on the outside of the car and not just accessible from the outside. Is that true? If not, I'd really prefer putting the switch under the dash as I've seen others do here. If true, does anyone here happen to have a spare kit laying around that they would like to sell? I'm running into delays on getting one. Thanks again.

Thanks, @sf4018. I'm sure you guys are right. I'm currently traveling, and the car is having a battery master switch installed and a poke-around to try to find the source of the drain (and work to resolve the backfiring). @Austin David, I'm looking forward to making that video/audio for you! When I've had passengers in the car, the sound of the supercharger seems to add to that white-knuckle, scream-like-a-little-girl reaction.

I now have the multimeter reads. Unless a time is given, these were done immediately, one after the other. Note that before hooking up the trickle charger, the battery gauge was never noticeably past 12V when cold. Now, with the trickle charger, the gauge is well above 13. Seems the gauge is measuring pretty true. Definitely have drain. Will be installing kill switch and looking for bad grounds. I have not yet tried @MV8's latest suggestions. Have an appointment for service on Tue next week (a shop with Lotus and Seven experience). On trickle charger (2 days since last start), cold, key off: 13.4 On trickle charger, cold, key on: 13.4 Off trickle charger, cold, key off: 13.3 Off trickle charger, cold, key on: 12.6 * Started the car (off charger) and it started fine and idled smoothly (no revving) After idling 5 min: 13.7 * Drove 30 min (~15 min on interstate at ~70mph, ~15 min in stop and go traffic) After drive, idling: 14.0 After drive, off charger, just turned engine off, key on: 13.0 After drive, off charger for 30 min, key off: 12.6 After drive, off charger for 30 min, key on: 12.5 * Car started (off charger) then immediately died (no revving) After drive, on charger for 30 min, key off: 14.1 After drive, on charger for 30 min, key on: 13.9 * Car started fine (off charger) and idled smoothly (no revving)

@John B, I plan to also install a battery master switch (and might as well go with a track-suitable switch). Sounds like you're happy with yours. Any recommendations?

Thanks again. I'm away for work, but I will test these things when I get back/when it's running again. I've given up on finding my volt meter. Likely lost in a move. I'll just pick up a new one. I agree that my 5 minute drives to the office and home are not enough to fully recharge. It was okay for a few weeks, but not now. Walking into the garage on a sunny morning with the option of a Seven or a Subaru Outback... it's really damn hard to get into that Outback. But, these short trips are pretty ridiculous and not good for the car, so I need to suck it up. With key ON, the gauge reaches just a hair above 12V within 2-3 seconds. During these couple seconds, I've always heard a slight buzz as the gauge rises. I thought that was normal, but perhaps it's because some power is getting to the starter, but not enough to engage with the flywheel? But, that would be odd since it's always done that even when I had no problems starting it. It's the same whether it starts or not. If on a charger or jump, it gets up to maybe 12.3-12.5. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to start. Sometimes does, sometimes doesn't. I've never seen it get above 14 while driving. While starting, I think it drops to maybe 10 or so, but I'd need to confirm that (and get all of these numbers from a meter, as you all have pointed out). It turns over at the same rate and either starts normally and then dies within a few seconds or doesn't start at all. I could usually get it past the dying if I really rev it just after starting, but that's not something I want to keep doing. Of course, this was all before the stall while driving on Monday. Now, it wont start at all (regardless of charging, revving, anything). It really seems to me like it's getting no fuel. When the stall happened, I first lost all acceleration and then the engine stalled out a few seconds later. No chugging or shudder or anything... just stopped. I think I may have both an electrical problem and a fuel system problem. Maybe related to each other, maybe totally independent. Before the stall on Monday, once it was started it idled smoothly. Yeah, @Austin David, I'd really hate to lose the SC. Boy is it a blast!

Thanks, @IamScotticus. Will get these checked out. @MV8, thanks for the suggestion to post photos. If anyone wants a closer look at something (or better resolution), let me know. .

Thanks to all for the feedback. After 24 hours on a trickle charger, starting was fine on Saturday and drove for about 50 miles with no issues other than the backfires I mentioned. Started fine Monday morning, right off the charger. Made one stop on the way to the office and it starting dying again after turning over. Got it started, and then it stalled while driving, a couple minutes later. Couldn't start or jump at that point. Towed it home. Fuel filter, ignition timing, alternator ground... all possibilities I guess, and then some. @MV8 was probably right about advising against Seafoam. That may have freed up enough gunk to clog the fuel filter and injectors. I'll do what I can in my own garage, and meanwhile I'm looking for a shop that will work on it. So far, no takers, but @bball7754 recommended a shop a while back that I'll try to call.

intake manifold and stock ECU.