S Series fuel filler cap not staying closed

[Burge55s3]

Hello guys
Been a long time since I last posted
Anyone else had this problem ? I'd guess the metal spring loaded bit has just aged & worn over time.
As it seems impossible to purchase a complete replacement, does anyone know how I can keep it closed.
She lives on the road in South London & it looks like I'm asking for trouble !

Cheers in advance
Garry

[WotnoV8]

Wouldn’t just be a case of needing a bit of WD40 or similar to free up the hinge mechanism a bit? Or is something broken?

[Burge55s3]

No. Nothing broken. Just not connecting with the base of the filler properly. Sometimes closes, most times pops back up again.
Tried WD40 it did help a bit. It's the original cap & so 29 years old now. To be fair I'm wearing out with age aswell.

[LucyP]

Is it the same one as a Scimitar? There are some on ebay at present for not much money. They will probably/definitely need a re-chrome, but then yours might too. If the chrome on yours is good, maybe you can swop just the mechanism. Maybe it's just the seal. There is a seal on ebay too.

[Burge55s3]

Yes I was always pretty sure it is the same as the Scimitar, but the one on ebay looks quite a bit different. Perhaps in the Reliant's long life span they changed it at some stage, I don't know. The chrome on mine is good. I will continue to keep a look out on ebay.
Thankyou

[GreenV8S]

Burge55s3 said:

She lives on the road in South London & it looks like I'm asking for trouble !

The initial problem may just be a weak / failed spring not holding the latch tight enough. You probably want to fix that. But if it lives on the street you might also be interested in a modification some people have done which locks the cap closed using a drilled hole and pin inserted from inside the boot. You'll need to remove the cap whatever you do, so this would be a convenient time to make the mod, and that would also buy you time if you can't figure out what's going on with the spring.

[Burge55s3]

Not had any problems with vandalism after 17 years of being parked on the street in the same place. A bit worrying now though. Never felt the need to have the cap locked at any time.
Surprised that I didn't think of the spring issue.
Thanks for your input.

[GreenV8S]

Is it opening while driving, or only while parked? I'm wondering whether some local youngster may just have found a new toy.

[Burge55s3]

It's been difficult to close for a while now, but now it seems to pop up whenever it feels like it.
My initial thought was that someone HAD deliberately opened it, until I tried to close it again, & I struggled with it, it feels there is virtually no resistance with it clicking shut. The mechanism feels weak.
Although I have finally closed it now, I don't think it's staying that way for long.
Thanks

[Mutley00]

I put a new cap on my S3 which did not include the 'latch', so I had to swap the latch between the old and new cap. Assuming yours is the same as mine, there is a small spring that fits into a hole on the cap and hits the underside of the latch and keeps it level with the cap. I suspect that like on mine, your spring is old and compressed.

You need to push out the pin that keeps the latch in place and now the spring is exposed, remove it and either try stretching the spring out or put a new one in place.

The WD40 will achieve very little long term, Sorry to sound patronising if you already know this, but WD stands for 'Water Displacement', it is not a lubricant.

Edited by Mutley00 on Sunday 21st February 18:41

[RayTVR]

Burge55s3 said:

Perhaps in the Reliant's long life span they changed it at some stage, I don't know.
Thankyou

The last ones made by Middlebridge have exactly the same cap, but I think earlier ones may be different

[Burge55s3]

Thanks for your input. I will continue looking
Cheers