Austin David

Ah yeah this definitely explains the problem. I'd like to drive that extra control module with my new ECU, any idea where I can track down that connection? I'm using a whole new ECU, the MBE is disconnected entirely. The new ME ECU has low side signalling or I can tinker to get the FP running. Worst case I could bypass the controller entirely and run the relay directly from my new ECU.

Background: 2021 Caterham 360S, Duratec motor. I'm swapping out the electronics (ECU) and intake with an ITB kit. Before I unplugged the original ECU, it ran perfectly. How does the fuel pump work? - I can hear it prime when I turn on the ignition. I can also feel the relay engage. Removing the relay, fuse OR unplugging the inertial switch will prevent this. So I feel like the FP is engaging when the ignition is on, and is continuing to receive power. - I do NOT hear the pump running when I try to start the car. - I cannot find any direct connection from the original ECU to the fuel pump, and as noted I think the FP is controlled by the ignition, not the ECU. Based on the fact that the relay closes when the ignition is on, and it stays closed. In the old (2015) manual there are 4 connections shown to the fuel tank; two black (B10 / B11), one GB148 which terminates at the fuel gauge, and one YG168 which terminates at the inertial; other side of inertial is marked YG167. Confirmed, inertial has two identical-looking yellow / green wires. As above, with ignition on / ECU disconnected, I can repeatedly prime the fuel pump by toggling that inertial switch. I have been able to "milk" the pump to hold an idle, by unplugging/plugging the inertial every second or so, to engage the FP priming. Otherwise the FP doesn't seem to want to run consistently, and (without fuel) the engine won't idle. Based on all the above I feel like the FP isn't running enough, but I'm not sure how to trick it into running more. What am I missing?

Great review! I still love my original Beeline. The routing / app is great, better than others I've tried (like, a dozen different apps) especially for longer, mutli-point routes. Anyone can use the app "free" without a device, if you'd like to try it. The upside of the device is (as noted above) it's small and easy to mount, and it is designed to work well in direct sunlight. My phone does NOT handle direct sunlight well, or even almost-direct like under the tonneau cover. @JohnCh i'm curious what you think of battery life; or more specifically, if the Moto II retained the "way more than actually needed" battery. My Moto claims "30 hours" ish, but that's ACTIVE hours. I only actually charge it every month or so. I worried that I would need to solve a wiring problem in my car, but that has not been a concern.

more significant update: starting my ITB project. Background: I want street (low-end) cams like my 360, but want to fatten up the curve a little. At one time Caterham had an "R300" build or somesuch, RBTB without the cam swap, but with the locked ECU they no longer offer the package and I was not able to find anyone who would / could fix the ECU. I got an ITB + ECU package from ME: AT Power mechanical, ME221 ECU and a pre-wired harness: https://motorsport-electronics.co.uk/product/at-power-ford-zetec-direct-to-head-itb-and-ecu-kit-copy/ I won't go into gory details here unless someone is particularly massochistic, but I will catalog the surprising gotchas. 0) if you are ever doing anything with wiring, spend a few hours making the scuttle removable. There are videos, you basically drill out 26 (?) rivets and replace them with m4 rivnuts. If you drive without a helmet, think about rattles while you're reassembling (strategic foam tape). 1) the CANchecked gauge is fantastic. I would recommend this upgrade regardless. It can take six analog inputs, CAN input (from my new ECU), OBD2 etc. At the very least, would be a replacement for the water temp gauge, and could incorporate oil temp. Not as pretty as the analog Caerbont, but it's a close match and not hard to integrate. 2) the factory ECU is pretty small. The ME221 won't fit in the same location. It MIGHT be made to fit if I changed the battery mount a little, but I'll probably just move it over one of the footwells, and lower the battery. 3) the old harness is wired in pretty hard, I assume I'll have to be cutting it out at some point, and re-wrapping a lot of old wiring. Looking under the scuttle there's also a lot of extraneous, unused wiring; I assume Caterham has one or possibly two types of harnesses used for every flavor of build. I'll also be removing a lot of this. 4) The new harness is pretty different. Might be easier to just get a naked harness and crimp on my own connectors. I think I'll be able to directly use a few (like 1-2) as supplied, but most will get replaced: injectors, coils, TPS, etc. I assume this is not shocking for anyone who's rewired an engine, but I was hoping* a "duratec" loom would fit a "duratec" motor, but ... here we are. At the moment I'm reassembling my intake and will do some additional "homework" with the car running. I'll be proactively checking ALL connectors, I've got some light mechanical work to fit the throttle cable, etc. I basically disassembled everything: ECU out (harness still in), battery/heater/scuttle out, airbox/plenum out. Got some notes on what to modify or fix. Each new discovery requires either a domestic or occasionally international shipment, so I'll do the homework under a running car, rather than just leaving it out of commission for a few extra weeks.

FYI that flickr link is not open for viewing. Maybe the album needs to be shared?

you're right, that is quite attractive

I drove about 4 hours through various rain at highway speed with the half hood, then back a day later with full hood. The half is better at lower speeds, but it's liveable. You get a little blowing around the sides behind the door, but not terrible. Your boot gets wet but not a LOT lot. If you are just talking about trailering I'd probably go with the full hood, tbh. Neither of them are much fun to drive with, so if the question is really "which hood do I install while it's on the trailer" maybe just go for the full monte. Attachment is about the same. If you're asking whether to install just the straps for the half, or the frame for the full, I'd leave the frame off

by "levels of illumination" are you talking day vs. night vs. ?? I'm curious what you figure out. I've done "this" a few times and have only gotten as far, reliably, as using "are the lights on" as an indicator for brighter/dimmer. It's definitely not perfect, but seems to be more reliable that using some other method (like a light sensor). My current 7 rollbar light uses the running lights on/off to also signal whether to set overall brightness lower or higher. In my Miata, the headlights on/off signal changes the backlight on the boost gauge. My only other feedback is that the relays need to be pretty robust. Once you tuck it all in it's gonna be annoying to tuck it back out and troubleshoot a sticky relay. If you haven't found 'em already, there are 5v/12v octocouplers & 4- , 8-channel boards that make the conversion easy and can take care of driving relays if needed. Also straight up relay boards which might be easier (3.3 or 5v in, drive a few 10A relays). And honestly, if you've still got a few open channels (A0-7) you could pull in signals from run/brake/turn/backup/rain lamps and drive an LED strip on the rollbar...

solid work on the brake light mount! And I loooove that steering wheel. That came out great.

Cannot confirm, but my only cable clutch experience is motorcycles. A well bled hydraulic should be nice and tight, th clutch circuit is very short and simple. Depending on the car there shouldn't be much hose, and hopefully that is reinforced...

Not the same engine, but I've found that my isotunes earbuds help a lot with clatter, while passing intake and exhaust music

beautiful. I like the look of the angel wings, classic-style grille, and the road tyres. If it makes you feel any better my new Duratec doesn't love starting below about 40F, either. Yours sure sounds great once running! Hopefully you'll get to break it in once spring hits...

Build update: I mounted the seat heater switches. Final wiring: 12v + ground leads directly from the battery, plus a trigger wire off the fuse panel. The pad leads are very long, ran them under the console all the way back to the seats, then down under the carpet to pop out by the seatbelts. I stuck a terminal block inside my fuse panel cover (RHS footwell, about over a passenger's knee) and wired the 12V + trigger there, and fed off both seats. The excess wire was zip-tied and looped, and the two controllers were bundled in some terrycloth for noise abatement and tucked up there too; plenty of space. The switches are about 12" from the controllers; I drilled out two spots under my fan & windscreen heater buttons. Those two switches connect directly to the controllers. Because I didn't trim the original cabling I have one inline fuse on each side, plus my "main" inline fuse coming off the battery directly. I chose to pull power from the battery because I couldn't decide where to drag an extra 10+A from the fuse panel.

Have you figured this out yet? If no, maybe VHB tape backing the zip ties? If it's before the radiator it should stay cool enough, and the tape may be thick enough to handle that rough surface.

It's better. Hard to describe, but the press never really gets it right. My only mistake was waiting. Congratulations!

Yes, 185 vs 225 is the "staggered" configuration which is mostly standard for the 420/620. I went with 185s all around for longer road trips and to carry a spare. They perform GREAT but the rear arch has a lot of extra space (to accommodate the larger wheels on a staggered setup). The spare hoop itself would have to be updated. It bolts to the chassis, and could probably be made to work, but it wouldn't really make sense to carry a rear-only spare tyre, as the fronts are still the original 13x6 / 185s. At the moment I have the 13x6 spare and I carry a plug kit. If I were to take any long road trips I would probably swap back to the 13x6s in the rear. For around town I could use the spare, but it would put wear on my LSD so I wouldn't want to do it much.

I swapped out my factory 13x6 / 185 wheels & tyres with 13x8 / 225s. The new math said 41417 for PPU, and it seems about right at 70mph. I haven't yet screwed with ride height, but I do think I'll need to bring it down a little after this change. Some quick side-by-side photos: original fitment ^^ a little narrow for the wells, which are designed to hold the 13x8" wheels & 225 tyres New fitment: the 13x8 fill the well a little better, which was my goal. as noted I haven't yet tried to exercise them, I assume I'll need to make adjustments to height all around, and maybe my rear ARB to account for the additional grip. THis time of year with cold tires, it's basically ice-skating either way. for anyone curious, my spare is 13x6 and would be for limited use in emergency, I wouldn't want to run the mixed size with an LSD. For a very long trip I'd probably go back to 13x6 all around.

I see the oil cooler. Did they also lighten the flywheel? My 2.0 Duratec (360 spec, standard intake w/ plenum) definitely has some intake noise when the butterfly is open, but the intake is on my side (LHS) and exhaust on the other.

how do you like the ITBs?

Was it painted after welding? It might just need to cook off a little

Definitely gotta do a lap around the block, just to be sure

oven cleaner was the magic potion for curing chrome motorcycle exhaust. do these get hot enough for that to work?

For the record it's a $8.49 cap (new) from a 2014 Mustang. I'll know in a month if it helps

An aftermarket cap costs less than $10, I'll try that first. Tha ks everyone for helping confirm that the cap is being weird and I'm probably not just overfilled.

Yup. Almost 6k miles by now, it's great except for the coolant seemingly leaking out around the cap. It does click tight, there's no air in the system, etc. My modine connections were the last to really seal up well, about a year back.