steve200TDi Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 It's not too late as I haven't done much (if anything) on the Racer yet! I've borrowed another TPS, so if all the resistances are the same and I deem it working ok, then as you say trying to encase the frayed wires could be an option. I'll investigate further in the coming week, hopefully! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 It's a common fault, and yes they are very expensive new, and hard to find even old. Adding strain relief is probably just a case of cable-tieing it to something nearby, by factory they seem to just have been left to dangle, not very good.... I'd think about maybe using silicon or sikaflex, something with a little give in it, rather than araldait, which will likely just move the point of failure down the wire... If you do have success with the other pot, let me know, I may be interested! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Congrats on passing the trailer test! Did you do a course first, and what was the test like if you don't mind me asking? It's something I need to do myself. Regarding the pot, as long as the resistance varies the correct way for the direction of rotation (this can be changed by swapping wires), the absolute resistance value shouldn't matter too much (within reason) - 100K is typical. If it physically fits, you ought to be able to make it work. I might have missed it, but we're talking about a 3 pin tps, yes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyninety Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 It's not too late as I haven't done much (if anything) on the Racer yet! I've borrowed another TPS, so if all the resistances are the same and I deem it working ok, then as you say trying to encase the frayed wires could be an option. I'll investigate further in the coming week, hopefully! Steve Steve photos of your TPS? I've got a few kicking around and i'll post you one if i've got one the same. You going to enter any Ultra4 events this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 Bowie69: I'll be sure to update you (and others) about the new TPS I purchased! lo-fi: Thanks! Yes I did some training before hand, two half days followed by 2 hours before the test over 3 days, so almost an intensive course. The test costs about £115 and I spent £500 on the training. The test consists of unhitching the trailer and then hitching the trailer as if you'd never seen the trailer before. So you then have to check the whole trailer over before hitching it and once it's hitched then you check all the lights. there's driving on the road, so it's a bit like taking your driving test again as you've got to have two hands on the wheel and check your mirrors and indicate etc etc. Then there's the reversing maneuver. This consists of performing a reversing 'S' into a coned parking space. So you have so steer left and right. This all happens between two yellow lines which you cant cross. You're allowed two shunts (I didn't need them ) and then you need to end up with the rear of the trailer in a hatched area, you can get out once to check, but I lined the yellow line up with something on the trailer and did it first time. This was all learnt in the training. If you've technically minded you should have any problem passing. The hardest part is driving on the road! The instructor said: 'Now, I know what you engineers are like, it doesn't need to be perfect it just needs to be in the box without knocking any cones over' Nope, sorry, I've got to do it as best as I can!! dirtyninety: Yes it's a three pin TPS like this: If you do have a spare then that would be great! I don't know about Ultra 4 events, but definitely some or all of the SCOR 4x4 comp safari series and maybe have another go at Driven to the Edge! But I wont be doing anything if I don't get it running reliably! All: I had a check of resistances of a friends sensor and compared it to mine and it seems about right, so I'm going to go ahead and try and silicone it or something... Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 So what running problems are you having? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 So what running problems are you having? The problem I'm having is that it just splutters and cuts out. At the Comp safari at Bordon last year, I managed to complete the first lap, so went round straight away for the second and half way round I could hear it dying and it cut out. We were towed off stage, let it rest for 5-10 mins and it fired up. Drove back to the pits, had a look at stuff, it still ran, so went for a 3rd lap. We were sitting at the lights and it just cut out! Towed back to trailer, fired up first time. We checked that the fuel pump was running/working which it was, checked tank vent. Sprayed WD40 on the distributor/HT leads and went for a 4th lap. This time it cut out a bit further round, but as I was driving round I could hear the engine surging and it wasn't me pushing the pedal up and down. It surged for a good 100-200m but as I was going round a sharp bend, so had to let off the accelerator pedal more it died. We tried to start it again and it did, but I reved it up to 3000rpm and it was ok, but dropped the revs to 2000rpm and it surged a bit. I don't really know what that all means, but my list of things I'm going to look at/check are as follows: - Drain and check tank for debris. - Change fuel filter. - Redo fuel lines and delete second spare pump from circuit (at the moment it's running two parallel pumps) as I don't know if there's any weird back flow through the second pump happening. - Check the fuel pump relay. - Delete the fuel pump switch over circuit and just have straight wires. - Check TPS DONE! It looks ok, so am just going to sort the wires out. Things I could have a look at maybe... - Check timing Other things: - The engine coolant radiator sits on top of the fuel tank, could it be fuel getting too hot and vapourising? I've read up on this, but haven't found a definitive temperature it happens at. I had it running at idle for a hour or so and the fuel temp (must have been on the rail) got up to 40C Discuss! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich broom Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Have you changed the ignition amplifier? Moved it upto the coil. Sounds like classic electronics breaking down as it gets hot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Was going to say, ignition amp sounds to of the list, good excuse to go megasquirt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Thanks for the info, I'll have to get myself booked on a course this year Running lean often results in surging, spluttering and misfiring, so I'd be tempted to look at fueling before doing too much with the ignition. A wideband lambda is such a good diagnostic tool here, especially if you do bung a megasquirt in later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Have you replaced by leads, cap and rotor with genuine, or least good quality items? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted January 15, 2016 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 Yes, yes, yes, I know Megasquirt is good, but lets see if we can get the existing Lucas stuff to work first! I've seen you can buy ignition amp relocation kits, but is it just a question of buying the connector and adding some wire? Sounds like a good idea though! Regarding cap, rotor and leads, I've bought a new rotor arm, I have a new cap, but no new leads. I'll fit the rotor arm as the back end was missing when I checked, but wont fit the cap for the time being. The plan is to check and redo all the above ready for the 14 Feb when I'll take it Slindon for a low speed shack down. Just want to run it all day and see if it cuts out or misbehaves at any point, I'll be armed with a multi meter and tools etc. One other thing I'll do is relocate the fuel pressure gauge into the cab so I can see it when I've driving along. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Remember when you replace the rotor arm to push down on the star wheel with a screwdriver or the bob weight will come adrift... Add up the time it takes you to solve the problems, see if it is more than about 8 hours, in which case you could be up and running on MS by then (assuming you get help from someone grown up, and have some wodge to spend with Nige) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 Update time! I've drained and removed the fuel tank. Looking inside through the filler, it looks clean with no debris in the tank. The pick up is a steel tube which enters in the middle of the tank at the top and extends all the way to the bottle of the tank. The fuel pipe/tubing from the tank to the pump/engine will all be replaced. One thing I did find was a plastic tube going into a rubber hose held together with two jubilee clips. The inner plastic tube had squashed making a heart shape profile (without the pointy bit at the bottom!) if that makes sense! This was between the tank and pump so could have been causing a small restriction. Also the joint at the engine, a rubber hose with two metal pipes going in held with jubilee clips, was weeping ever so slightly. This will all be replaced with fuel hose and barbed fittings. I've bought a ignition amplifier relocation kit which arrived today so I've removed the old one and started to fit this. While fitting this I've noticed that the HT lead from the coil to the distributor doesn't look too good as the part of the outer rubber has started to split, so maybe a new set of HT leads are on the card. Maybe some of Nige's blue ones! Also have been looking at the wiper system and have tightened up the grub screws on the wiper spindles and am going to mount the wiper motor more rigidly as when the wipers move the motor/rack and pinion assembly are rotating slightly thus I'm loosing some of the sweep on the windscreen! So I'm off to order a few things and make up a new bracket for the wiper motor. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Update time! So I've re done the fuel system pipe work and added a new filter. I've fitted the ignition amplifier relocation kit and made a new wiper motor bracket to hold the wiper motor unit more rigid as it was moving a lot when the wipers were on. I've also adjusted the wiper arms too. After checking the resistance of another TPS sensor I've deemed mine ok and gone ahead and 'potted' mine and supported the wiring with cable ties. Today I fitted new NGK BPR6ES spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor arm and HT leads. I've fitted new rear brake pads and hopefully fixed a leaky rear diff pan. The engine still fires up (which is good!) but the testing will come when I take it to Slindon at the end of the month and drive it round all day. I'm still on course for that. Next things to do are: - Swap to big tyres. - Fit harnesses out of Red one. - Improve switch labelling. - Check ignition timing. - Tighten PAS belt and add a second reservoir. - Fit winch. That's all until next week. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Using my new trailer licence, I towed The Racer with my trailer using my 90! A little slow at times, but did the job. I think I will swap the diffs back to the 4.1's! So it was fine all morning until 11:30 when it coughed and spluttered and stopped.....I could instantly see from the fuel pressure gauge I had fitted that I had lost fuel pressure. Putting the ignition back on I could feel the fuel pump relay click on and the fuel pump come on, but it was not building up pressure. I left it for 10-15 mins and tried again and the you could hear and see the fuel pressure build up and so I was able to start the engine. This happened a few more times in the afternoon, but I had fun with no other problems. So I think the mechanical fuel pressure regulator is not seating correctly after relieving and so it just pumps the fuel straight back into the tank again. I still don't understand how if you leave it for a while it resits itself! But this is one of the things I haven't checked or looked at. I could get hold of a used unit, but I will constantly have doubts whether it's functioning correctly or will last. It seems new units are hard to come by, Paddocks are selling a genuine unit for £130. I know you can buy aftermarket adjustable regulators for less, but you have to make up some sort of adapter to join it to the fuel rail which is not worth the hassle. A bit more searching led my to the RPi Engineering or V8 Wizard website where they sell an adjustable fuel pressure regulator with adapter....for less than a genuine item. It's also meant to be better over the standard unit. It should be coming this week, so it'll get fitted and do a few other bits before another testing session to make sure it's super reliable before entering a comp safari! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Good detective work, sounds like you have found the issue! I know you mentioned you were going to, but did you replace the pump as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveturnbull Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Good news! Sounds like you've found the root of the problem at last. Let the racing commence.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 I hope so Bowie and Dave, I really do hope so! Yes, as the previous owner thought it was the fuel pump, I replaced them with a single high flow webber fuel pump. Subsequently I have removed the second fuel pump and re-plumbed with fuel hose and less joins! Haha, and just as I'm righting this the door bell rings.......It's arrived! It's a bit wet today so I'll get it fitted in the coming week once it's back in the garage! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 New shiny bits! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Mmmmmmmmm Shiney! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Ok I'll play - what's the point of the shiny thing? Is this "more fuel must be better"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Ok I'll play - what's the point of the shiny thing? Is this "more fuel must be better"? Well it was cheaper than a genuine replacement. It's adjustable and potentially rebuildable in the future if need be! It seemed a better buy! You can flame me at the pub on Thursday! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Today I fitted the new regulator. Remove old unit, I may take a hacksaw to it to find out why it wasn't working! New rail adapter. New bracket made, thought I'd paint it silver to match everything! And it all fitted! Even added a small p clip to hold the vac line in place! Now just need to start it up and check for leaks! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Or more accurately / importantly to see if it runs properly! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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