help. Icant get it going!

[nick francis]

I left the car unused for 4 days. When I tried to start it the battery was dead. Its been in trickle charge all night and still the things dead. I managed to attach some jump leads but the car still wont fire up. Its probably flooded.

What can I do next?

Nick

[nick francis]

Typical.. left the car a few minutes connected to the donor car running to post my plea for help.. when I got back to give it another go it fired up first time!

Been at it all morning

As a matter of interest I used a web cam connected to my laptop in order to locate the positive terminal of the battery. Without it I couldnt possibly have seen the terminal without diconnecting pipes etc.

[nick francis]

and on the subject of getting a car going is there any harm caused to the cat or any thing else by performing a jump start?

[amg merc]

Nick, did you consider a push-start (at least one assistant required of course!) - I presume it would 'kick' very easily?!

[nick francis]

My mate had a similar problem recently with his exige
We eventually took out the sparkplugs, turned the engine over with no plugs in at all. Cleaned up the plugs, heated up the plugs in the kitchen on top of a toaster! Screwed em back in.. the car fired up straight away

Mine wasnt charging with the trickle charger in the cigar socket cos I now discover the 10 amp fuse had blown. Replaced the fuse an now its charging nicely.

I think Noble need to make the battery terminals more accesible so as to get jump leads on. I am going to get my dealer to rig up some kind of arrangement next time its in for a service

[jaz34]

That's another great thing about the Lotus 340R! I got a trickle charger that plugs into the special socket in front of the gear stick and it conditions the battery.

Learnt my lesson after leaving the car in the garage for 8 weeks, the alarm was activated with power drain and had to call out a mechanic to shut it up at 0200hrs in the morning - all arranged in Congo!,( neighbours NOT happy! )

Stumped up £80 for the charger. Not one problem since.

Wonder if this would be a good idea for Noble?

Jaz

[joust]

jaz34 said:

Wonder if this would be a good idea for Noble? Jaz

Yep. The Noble has quite a small battery and a combination of alarm and tracker will flatten it in about a week to 2 weeks.

I use a trickle charger into the fag lighter socket - www.lotus-elise.org.uk/noble/diary.htm - but check that it actually is charging

J

[gizard]

You can attatch the positive jump lead onto the starter motor (this was when my car was a 2.5 so location might have changed) which is located on the opposite side to the battery and far more easily accessable and the negative to just about anywhere it can get good contact.

[V6GTO]

What about running a heavy duty cable up from the starter motor and leaving it permantly fixed (with an end cover) in an easily reached place?

[ashp]

One of the Noble fraternity at the Rockingham meeting in February with a black 3R (Craig ?) showed me that he had 2 remote battery connections just in case this occurs. I'm sure he said it was fitted by the factory.
Can anyone else confirm ?

[amg merc]

ashp said:

One of the Noble fraternity at the Rockingham meeting in February with a black 3R (Craig ?) showed me that he had 2 remote battery connections just in case this occurs. I'm sure he said it was fitted by the factory. Can anyone else confirm ?

Yes, the factory supply a Draper model (others prefer the Accumate model) battery conditioner/charger with a flylead from the battery which is then tie-wrapped to an upper area just below the clamshell (you need to open the clam) - or a lower area accessible via the wheel well (you don't need to open the clam), for easy access.

The other way to connect is via the in-dash accessory socket - although some people say this circuit is safe and some say it isn't - I think it's 10amp so should be well protected and I know of a lot of owners who use this method!

[joust]

amg merc said:

The other way to connect is via the in-dash accessory socket - although some people say this circuit is safe and some say it isn't - I think it's 10amp so should be well protected and I know of a lot of owners who use this method!

t's perfectly safe. Max current from Accumate et. all is ~0.6A.

J

[obes]

Ive got a forklift plug type affair on the end of two cables running up from the battery. Saves contorting myself down to the battery when I need to jump start !

[SteveJT]

ashp said:

One of the Noble fraternity at the Rockingham meeting in February with a black 3R (Craig ?) showed me that he had 2 remote battery connections just in case this occurs. I'm sure he said it was fitted by the factory. Can anyone else confirm ?

I have the same thing fitted to my car courtesy of the factory. It comes with a special set of jump leads which connects to the remote terminals. I would certainly recommend that all Nobles should have this fitted.

[joust]

SteveJT said:

I have the same thing fitted to my car courtesy of the factory. It comes with a special set of jump leads which connects to the remote terminals. I would certainly recommend that all Nobles should have this fitted.

Apart from mollycoddled ones like mine where I drive into the garage, open the drivers window, grab hold of the swinging charger lead, plug into fag socket, open door and get out.

Saves faffing around at the rear, especially in the dark

J

[james1]

I have the same thing fitted to my car courtesy of the factory. It comes with a special set of jump leads which connects to the remote terminals. I would certainly recommend that all Nobles should have this fitted.[/quote]

Hi Steve
Will the factory charge for this and if so how much
Cheers
James

[joust]

James, not sure if you have one in build or looking to buy one?

If you get it added at build time it seems they do it for the cost of the charger.

After build any dealer should charge you a small bit of labour to stick it in if you have it done at the same time as something else.

J

[amg merc]

james1 said:

Will the factory charge for this and if so how much Cheers James

I was quoted around £90-00 at build for charger and cabling.

[james1]

HI
so does the factory sell the trickle charger which is ready to plug into the cigarette socket so you dont have to open rear clam to connect to the battery?
I have a problem because the car will be kept in a private garage without any power supply.
I suppose I could buy a portable battery charger.From what I understand it is quite difficult to connect the leads to the battery for jump starting, so is there a way to install leads by the factory so you dont have to open up the clam .Help!

[joust]

james1 said:

HI so does the factory sell the trickle charger which is ready to plug into the cigarette socket so you dont have to open rear clam to connect to the battery? I have a problem because the car will be kept in a private garage without any power supply. I suppose I could buy a portable battery charger.From what I understand it is quite difficult to connect the leads to the battery for jump starting, so is there a way to install leads by the factory so you dont have to open up the clam .Help!

No need - order it direct from Accumate or the TVRCC.

www.accumate.co.uk/
www.tvrcc.com/acatalog/TVRCC_Catalogue_Leven_Technology_Trim_and_Accessories_2.html

See my diary for what I did
www.lotus-elise.org.uk/noble/diary.htm

J