Scottish Elises

Well, I've owned the 111R for a few days now and although I'm loving it and still can't stop grinning, I have a few wee niggles. I'm taking it into MMC in Glasgow on Saturday morning for them to look at these, but would like some advice before I go. Are any of these common and is there anything MMC might try to fob me off with? Any advice appreciated!

Niggles:

1. Rattle - I have a metallic rattle coming from the right rear end of the car. It sounds like it could be something rattling off the undertray or something like that. Definitely not something in the boot. I know there have been a few posts about this kind of rattle, so just wondering how serious it is.

2. Headlights - Dipped headlights seem to be out of alignment. One of them casts a very definite line of light on the road just in front of the car to the right. There is a distinct line between light/dark, rather than on the other side where the light gradually fades into darkness.

3. Brake pedal - My brake pedal is squeaking/hissing. I guess the squeak means it just needs some lubrication, but I'm a bit concerned about the hissing noise. Never noticed this before, but maybe just not paying attention. Brakes still seem to be working fine. Is it just the pedal?

4. Windscreen washers - If I accelerate and then brake reasonably hard, the window washer fluid squirts out a bit from the windscreen washers. Is this just because it's filled up too much? Can anything be done about that or is it just a wee quirk I need to put up with?

5. Blaupunkt Stereo - I think it might just need a clean, but it's not reading CDs properly. It does for a bit and then it starts making a weird noise while the CD is spinning and then says it can't read the CD. Anyone had similar problems with the standard Blaupunkt stereo that comes with the 111R?

I know these are mostly minor wee things, but would still like to get them sorted.

Cheers,
D

My experience is all S1 but most should be ok:

1. Handbrake cable or loose undertray bolts

2. Headlamp align

3. Odd, pedal bush has been known to go but on older S1s IIRC. Hissing? No idea.. Is it on pushing the pedal? I had that when I buggered up a brake bleed and got a bit of air in the master cylinder. Real pig to shift it...

4. 406 washerspray bar or a DIY specal spray bar. OE ones are rubbish (On S1's anyway)

5. No idea, get MMC to sort it.

Good luck with MMC!

Rich

2. I'd say the one with the obvious line is correct. Mine has always had a very clear point where dipped lights end. When you get your car MOTd, they use this to check the lights are aligned correctly.

5. I had 2 replacement stereos under warranty, both Blaupunkts but probably a different model but they're not all that great.

5. Does your blaupunkt take SD cards? CD is a waste of time in the Elise, always skipping.

1 - Could very well be handbrake cable, as someone suggested. Drive along a road where it does it and pull the handbrake lightly (they are useless anyway, so you'd have to yank it to have an effect) If the noise disappears, it's the handbrake cable and they will need to replace some wee foam pads.

2 - They are projector lamps, so should cast a line. One will be different to another (to avoid blinding others on dipped beam) The nearside probably won't show a definite line as it's focused farther away - the line will be where the light fades out. Get them checked in any case.

3 - By hissing, do you mean when the brakes are applied? If so, it's probably very normal. Just a lack of sound deadening (have you got drilled disks?) between wheelarch and cabin. You're hearing pads on disk. If it's all the time, might just be the new pads rubbing while it all beds in.

4 - Sounds like the bottles too full

5 - Stereo? WTF is that?

Thanks for the advice guys.

Will try that handbrake suggestion.

Brakes - the hissing sounds like it's coming from the pedal area rather than the brakes themselves. It's only when I depress the pedal.

Stereo - Yeah, it takes an SD card, but I've only got a 1GB card, so can't get that many CDs on it. That's what I'm using in the meantime until the CD player is sorted.

Cheers,
D

Tried tightening the handbrake a bit tonight when I heard the rattle. It didn't make any difference.

dezzy wrote:Tried tightening the handbrake a bit tonight when I heard the rattle. It didn't make any difference.

Try the bolts then, could have worked loose.

With the brake hissing, it actually does sound like it's in the footwell area if it's the front brakes (which it would be) Is the pedal still firm - if you press it at a standstill, it won't go to a firm spot, then slowly creep for the floor? Does it only do it while moving?

If it's firm, 95% sure it's fine. With The 111R having ABS - there is a servo in there. The only other thing I can think of is if that's not 100%. Not a huuuge problem, but you'd want it fixed. If it's the servo, it'll hiss at standstill (with the engine running) if it's discs, it'll only do it on the move.

The brake pedal does still hiss at a standstill. I've not tried it with the engine off, so will try that. It does firm up. The brake is quite light until about half way down then really firms up. It's a much lighter brake pedal compared to a 2002 Elise that I test drove before buying my 111R.

its not just part of the ABS/servo system is it????

dezzy wrote:The brake pedal does still hiss at a standstill. I've not tried it with the engine off, so will try that. It does firm up. The brake is quite light until about half way down then really firms up. It's a much lighter brake pedal compared to a 2002 Elise that I test drove before buying my 111R.

Yup - the 111R has a servo, because it needs one to use ABS. A lot of us prefer the feel of the non-servoed pre-111R brakes, but they need ABS for type approval now

What mckeann says may be the case - it could just be the noise the servo makes (which would be masked in a bigger car with more sound deadening) Not too genned up on servos though, so that's just conjecture.

I used to test for servo leaks by pumping up the pedal with the engine off and then hold the brake down - the pedal should be really, really hard and not move. If it doesn't move after a minute or so start the engine, the pedal should then drop and give you normal braking feel.


If the pedal does start to decay whilst the engine is off then you have a leak in the vaccum system - it could just be a loose hose but similiarly it could be the diafram in the servo it's self that gone.


HTH



Mac

Thanks guys. Emailed all my wee niggles over to MMC and they've been passed onto the workshop. They also think it might be the servo. They're going to try their best to sort all these wee problems tomorrow morning. At least now I know what I'm talking about thanks to you guys.

Cheers!
D

Well, I left the car with MMC for a couple of hours yesterday morning and the results are . . .

1. They've sorted one rattle. The rear number plate was loose. However, they've still not identified the main rattle and need me to leave the car with them for a day to look at that.

2. I've been told the headlights are supposed to be like that. Going by what was said on here, I'm willing to accept that.

3. They've lubricated the pedal to stop the squeaking, but it's still hissing. They said it's just the servo and all 111Rs make that hissing noise. Should I accept this? Can any other 111R owners verify this? When car stopped, enging on, brake pedal hisses when depressed.

4. They think there's something up with valve/pump. They said they need to take the whole front clam off to get into it, so will do this when I drop the car back in for the rattle.

5. Said they'd cleaned it and it was fine. It was okay when I drove off, but by the time I got home it was making that horrible noise again and not reading CDs. If it doesn 't improve, and they can't fix it, I'm demanding a new stereo under warranty.

I'm a bit reluctant now to put the car back in for the rattle and taking the front clam off after the horror story I've just read on here about the mess they made of the undertray! It is Glasgow MMC I'm dealing with, but they said they might have to send it through to Edinburgh.

Cheers,
D

Talk to Andy G about music stuff, he knows his trade! Keep at them, don't let them gat away with anything!