Hi, Was giving my car a quick wash while warming up my car the other day, and the exhaust started making stuttering noises then cut out. Checked the engine bay, some water had got in through the engine cover grill. Found quite a lot of water in the seating for spark plug 1, I dried it out with a cloth and hair dryer checked all other spark plug holes were dry. Then I tried starting it up, … wasn�t firing could here all the other normal noises (i.e fuel pump etc). Checked condition of leads and that they were properly fitted between the distributor and the spark plug heads. Still no joy. Replaced the spark plugs, yet to no avail. Checked the plugs were sparking by removing and testing individually. Left car to stand over night just in case anything else had got damp. Next day got it to start up but kept on stalling unless I gave it some revs. Checked the oil, ok looked fine, no warning lights on the display for anything. Engine was idling very roughly , and cutting out often, could also smell un-burnt fuel. Revs erratic idle revs vary from 800-1800rpm. sounded like the it wasn�t firing on all cylinders. The car had for the last couple of weeks previous to this been running great. I pretty certain its not a head gasket as the oil looks fine, as I have had a bit of coolant loss but think this is a separate problem, (just a slight leaking hose). Was told to take the car for a drive to try and get all the cylinders to kick in properly. Didn�t work, still lacking acceleration, lost a lot of the cars power, car just doesn�t perform. The car hesitates when I put my foot down on the accelerator then gets going after a delay. Thinking it could be that I�ve shorted out both the Idle Air Control (IAC) valve and the Throttle Position (TP) sensor, they�re both position close to spark plug 1 where there was water penetration, so think these have been damaged (shorted-out/open-circuit) as I think I have a problem symptomatic to both of these. Would be grateful for any advice I�m an offshore engineer and have dabbled in car mechanics as a hobby but am a bit out of my depth. Thanks Paul
Check for vacuum leaks on all hoses. They will cause an engine to cut out and or run with a rough idle.
It’s leads and plugs.
To stop it happening again get a plastic lotus rocker box cover and fit it – you can even be super flash and get a carbon fibre one.- that will stop the water getting to the plugs.
Dry each end of the leads inside the contact bits, wipe the contact for the distributor (coil pack end) - coil pack and lead.
Take eack plug out and brush off with a wire brush and wipe over with a rag.
Put it all back together and take the car out for a good run.
Can somebody make up a carbon fibre rocker box cover that also has an extended left hand side (shield) that will stop water getting to the coil pack?
Wasn’t there a fix that involved putting an S2 cover (in glorious back plastic) over the top? Try a search.
Ian
Haven’t been on here in years. Found the fix myself, problem was just a blown coil pack, must have been shorted out probably by water getting in the spark plug holes. Once changed out engine was back at full power.
had the same problem a couple of weeks ago on my S1
turns out it’s the same coilpack as on any 2.0 ltr 16V Vauxhall of the early 90’s (found out as there was a Bosch partnumber on the pack)
this saved me loads of money as these are 20 quid at any local breaker
sorry mate i didn’t read this post sooner, Lotus wanted to charge me 180 quid excluding VAT, hopefully you found a more affordable solution