No Fuel?!!! Please help

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
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I’ve not long bought an S1 Elise, (K-Series engine).It decides to play up now the sun is shining!!!The engine turns over but will not fire.The recovery guy said that the spark plugs/ignition etc was OK and that it could be the ‘Knock Sensor’ that is on Rover engines, but could not find it!!..it is supposed to interupt the fuel supply/pump.Does this exist?Any common/known faults that I could check for fuel delivery problems?Also does anyone know where I could get a workshop manual?Thanks in advance.

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First thing is to reset the car alarm (see your handbook).Engine turning without firing is a typical sympton.

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Also the Rover K series has not got a knock sensor, never has had one!You can buy the service manual from any Lotus dealer or it is available FOC here http://www.furiousgeorge.co.uk/elise/html/downloads.htm [This message has been edited by Phil (edited 16 April 2003).]

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quote:Originally posted by P.G.Elise:I’ve not long bought an S1 Elise, (K-Series engine).It decides to play up now the sun is shining!!!The engine turns over but will not fire.The recovery guy said that the spark plugs/ignition etc was OK and that it could be the ‘Knock Sensor’ that is on Rover engines, but could not find it!!..it is supposed to interupt the fuel supply/pump.Does this exist?Any common/known faults that I could check for fuel delivery problems?Also does anyone know where I could get a workshop manual?Thanks in advance.Isn’t there a fuel cut off switch in the engine bay? There is on the Exige…might be the same?h

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The inertia switch is located on the chassis near the gearbox, is this what he meant by “knock sensor” rather than the “knock sensor” for detecting pre-detonation?A quick and easy way to check the fuel is to disconnect the central dizzy lead open the throttle half way and crank the engine, remove a spark plug and sniff it, you will be able to tell then that petrol is getting in.

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P.G.Elise,On a friends car he had the fuel pump relay stick, this gave the same symptoms as that which you have described. (it was located inside boot near ecu etc)just unpluged it to reset it, plugged back again and it was ok, or it could be the fuel pump itself that has packed up. The inertia switch is on the LHS chassis rail infront of the boot area but this usually takes a BIG nock to trip out.Good luck sorting it!Steve.

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Has it got fuel in it! Doh… [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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Gobsamacked at the response!!!Thank you all for your ideas, I will check them all out.Tubbs’s suggestion is not as daft as it sounds!!! the fuel guage on the Elise is totally innacurate at lower levels…Thanks again to one and all…I will let you know how I get on.

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Cheers Steve,Great advise!!I will definately try it and let you know how I get on,best regards,Pete quote:Originally posted by STEVE.E:P.G.Elise,On a friends car he had the fuel pump relay stick, this gave the same symptoms as that which you have described. (it was located inside boot near ecu etc)just unpluged it to reset it, plugged back again and it was ok, or it could be the fuel pump itself that has packed up. The inertia switch is on the LHS chassis rail infront of the boot area but this usually takes a BIG nock to trip out.Good luck sorting it!Steve.

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What part of ‘REFILL’ is inaccurate??

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Good Advice from Steve ECouldn’t start my Exige two weeks ago to load it on the trailer for first event at Silverstone - looked for 2 hours and couldn’t find the fault. (and I am pretty competent)Gave up, called Bell and Colvill who cleared their workshops for me as I was on my way to a sprint (I take back everything I have previously thought, these guys were lifesavers - NO other dealer would have dropped everything)Turns out it was the relay which powers the injectors and coil pack - again remove and tap and replace and it was fine. On an Exige it is between the seats and apparently can get damp if the car gets wet in the gap between the engine cover and the roof - there are two holes which have not been properly filled on some cars from the factory - d’oh

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Fantastic!!!I followed all the ideas that you all gave me and eventually found the fault.Thanks to Phil for the link to download the Manual…excellent!!Using the wiring diagrams: I had power to the fuel pump relay coil and across it’s contacts when it closed.From here it goes via a contact inside the Cobra alarm box and then on to the fuel pump.Traced the wire going into the Cobra alarm plug…did not appear at other side of plug!!Arching inside the plug caused an eventual open circuit. By-passed the plug for this wire and hey presto!!! The sound of Music!!!Thanks again to one and all.

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OK - going to keep this one going - for there is more to this than meets the eye.I am going to blatantly plagarise Steve Butts (sorry Steve)Having thought I had solved this, my Exige again refused to start this week (again the week before an event - how does it know!)Symptoms same as reported here and in many other threads - turns over OK (so can’t be immobiliser as that disables cranking) - but no spark and no pulse to injectors (can be checked with little �7 device from Lucas)Steve Butts made me aware of the 17 degree window in which the crank can stop and then confuses the ECU when you start up again and does not kick the injector and coil pack relays into life - makes it look like a fuse or relay problem (or a buggered wire)Solution - get the engine in a position outside this window (turn off ignition, put car in gear, push forward or backward a foot should do it)Leave car for 30 seconds with Igition off completely (so that the ECU can reset) and then retry - I’ve just read 10 threads on this BBS alone where they same problem has been seen and disappeared without being traced - could this all be related?