First use of Lotus Assist @ 816 miles!

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
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Tried to start it last night - nothing!A clicking and after a few goes a slight slow turnover.The AA chap plugged in his battery and it started straight away.It had had a long run out of London for about an hour the day before, travelling at moderate fast lane speeds. Then a little blat for the last few miles home. Followed by a short, mildly spirited (no more than 6000rpm on 3 or 4 occasions), run to the station. It started fine this morning but I wonder about this evening. So, my question. Is this to be expected after only 800 miles and a month? Its charging fine and has mainly be run over 50+ journeys. Although, it is going to be used for short journeys frequently.If I used a battery conditioner could I get away with once a week, or does it need every night?The AA arrived in less than 10 minutes so it was hardly a problem at all! In fact, if they’re always that prompt I may call them just to help me get into the harness! [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image]Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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IanI suggest you might have a charging problemAt the moment mine is only getting a 10-12 mile run every week and had a two week rest over Xmas and the battery has held up OK (so far!!)It is certainly much better than my previous S160 and I have assumed that the Exige has a higher capacity battery than the Elise. Regards - David

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Just in case you’ve not read this thread http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/Forum1/HTML/000607.html

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Thanks David, you’ve answered my question, in that you have one that does a similar short daily journey with no probs. The AA guy said it was charging okay but that doesn’t seem right. We’ll have to see what happens later.Cheers Pesky, can you leave the alarm on with the battery thingy connected? And would it need to be garaged to safely connect it? Can you shut the front panel with it connected? Etc. [I’ll also post this on the other thread]Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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Personally I wouldnt run it for short journeys, you’ll kill the engine over timeBuy a cheap banger to drive to the station and back. Your head gasket/battery/oil/cambelt etc will thank you. Bri

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quote:Originally posted by bdrought:Personally I wouldnt run it for short journeys, you’ll kill the engine over timeBuy a cheap banger to drive to the station and back. Your head gasket/battery/oil/cambelt etc will thank you. BriThat is the plan after about 18 months. It does get warmed up carefully to operating temperature and I then enjoy the next 5 miles! Is that still likely to cause a problem?Having waited so long for it I’m not just going to let it sit there during the week. You may have just talked me into the warranty. Surely a head gasket is not considered a wear’n’tear item?!

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quote:Originally posted by IDG:Surely a head gasket is not considered a wear’n’tear item?!Straight from the horses’s mouth (well, Nick Adams - Lotus Development Engineer):"The K series head gasket is widely considered to be the achilles heel of the engine, with the integrity of the gasket getting more fragile as the engine power output is enhanced. Having said that, although we have had our fair share of gasket problems on VHPD engines, it shouldn’t be a problem in normal use and if it does give trouble a new gasket will usually effect a complete repair."Yeah, until the next one goes, and the next one, and the next one…

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quote:Originally posted by IPJ: Straight from the horses’s mouth (well, Nick Adams - Lotus Development Engineer):"The K series head gasket is widely considered to be the achilles heel of the engine, with the integrity of the gasket getting more fragile as the engine power output is enhanced. Having said that, although we have had our fair share of gasket problems on VHPD engines, it shouldn’t be a problem in normal use and if it does give trouble a new gasket will usually effect a complete repair."Yeah, until the next one goes, and the next one, and the next one…But they should cover them ALL under an extended warrenty…shouldn’t they?!Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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quote:Originally posted by IDG:But they should cover them ALL under an extended warrenty…shouldn’t they?!I was just pointing out that as far as Lotus are concerned, the head gasket is almost a consumable! However, I’d certainly hope it was covered by the extended warranty.Has anyone taken out the extended warranty yet? Are there any specific exclusions or interesting inclusions?Ian.

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quote:Originally posted by IPJ:

Originally posted by IDG:> But they should cover them ALL under an extended warrenty…shouldn’t they?!I was just pointing out that as far as Lotus are concerned, the head gasket is almost a consumable! However, I’d certainly hope it was covered by the extended warranty.Has anyone taken out the extended warranty yet? Are there any specific exclusions or interesting inclusions?Ian.

B&C gave me the book that comes with the cover.