JPS Europa

and the pictures are back! Thank you Dave Hempy!

Site is up, but all of my pictures are gone....*sniff*

The forum has been down for a week and I dont want to lose my build log...should have made a copy. Paul

There is a Caterham dealer in MA. Titling and all the rest could not be easier than it is in NH. I have a Locost 7 which I originally titled in NH as a 1964 Lotus Seven. It is now in Duxbury, MA. Happy Hunting. Paul

As long as you have the wires hooked up, measure the resistance in that line.

Ummmm...why are you on your third O2 sensor? OK. Two things. One thing- you need to eliminate voltage as the issue. Somehow, you will need to run a pigtail out of the ECU power line and get a meter on it. If the voltage sags below 10V, I would chase that. Second thing- How does your ECU sense crank timing? Do you have access to an oscilloscope?

So if you plug in the O2 sensor...AF gauge otherwise powered up...with the car already running, does the car die? Does the gauge respond properly...does it actually read A/F?

So if you plug in the O2 sensor...AF gauge otherwise powered up...with the car already running, does the car die? Does the gauge respond properly...does it actually read A/F?

That is exactly what I am thinking. My battery drops less than a volt when cranking with my Seven and Europa...never bothered to check any of the other cars. Did you get a chance to try start without O2 plugged in then plugging it in while running? That will settle once and for all whether low voltage is your ECU issue as the alternator will keep the voltage up. Did you check voltage at the ECU while cranking? I don't think any of them will run below 9 volts and as I mentioned earlier, I have a couple where its "Game Over" at 10V. Go get em!

Here is another thought or 2. Is your O2 sensor 3 wire or 4 wire? I am guessing 3. My stuff is all 4, but I do recall seeing a ring with a wire under it for a 3 wire which went off to ground on a car which I was working on. That ground is typically for sensor ground, not the heater. I know that sounds bass ackwards, but that is what I have seen. Heater ground is back through the controller...in your case the gauge. Two of my cars run Megasquirt. At 10 volts the ECU gets sleepy and the cars wont start. Here is another experiment. Start your car, then plug in the O2 sensor once already started. Does it keep running?

I don't think you can say that the exhaust system is at ground potential. What with gaskets and rubber hangars and all... What brand gauge and sensor? Forgetting starting for a moment, does the A/F read (full lean since the car is not running) and does the O2 sensor get hot? In your scenario above, its not really clear that you COMPLETELY disconnected the A/F from the car electrics when you did your battery test. You are clearly making the ECU unhappy. Time to look for voltage drops. How is your ECU grounded?

I think you may be confusing TIG with something else. There is no non-metallic "filler" ...or maybe I am misunderstanding you. Anyway, low power as you don't want to melt the parent material. I don't think it is any more difficult than TIG welding...easier in one way as you don't have to worry about blowing through thin sections since the power levels are low. It is a little tricky to find the right heat, but once you get in the groove, not so bad.

You can still TIG braze with the eutectic bronze rod...just work with much lower heat. The rod is pretty spendy though. My Locost is brazed together with it.

I don't think you will find anything off the shelf that wide in the Locost world. What we usually do is take one of the available fiberglass fenders and split it, then glass it back together at the desired width. You can give jack at Kinetic a call and see if he can help you. He might be willing to do the work for you if he has nothing to suit on the shelf. I am assuming you are talking cycle fenders.

If you really want a Weber head, probably best to have your Stromberg head modified. They machine off the ports and have a new bolt on intake. I have rebuilt the servos on my Europa rather than go down the route of smaller MC. I dont know if the kits are still available. I will say that pedal feel with the servos is quite nice although I do agree that servos on such a light car is sort of silly. Given Colin's cheapness, I am surprised that this route was chosen. Paul Europa 4525R