Electric Gremlins after 5 weeks non-use

[Gray14]

After 5 weeks of not being used because of Covid (14 days testing +ve), flu, snow, freezing cold, torrential rain etc my Eclat is also showing signs of ill health.

The SU Fuel Pump has stopped working, it has power and earth at terminals. Tried hitting it w/o success, is there a sweet point where they are best hit.

The radiator fans turn on continuously when the engine is cold and not running.

The dash indicator lights are on continuously, with indicator stalk centred. With both indicators selected no light at indicators.

Any body give me any pointers please

TIA G

[Rambo]

I would suggest a dead or failing battery has caused these electical gremlins ie dropping voltage over the cold period. I take it you are not connected up to a trickle charger?

My simple suggestion to you would be to disconnect the +ve and -ve battery clamps and fully charge the battery in-situ. Then try starting up again. It might just reset the ECU.

[ChrisJ]

I'd also go with the battery.

 

[Gray14]

Took the battery off thinking that, but it was still fully charged. It's an 1981 car. Someone suggested water in the relays, which I'll check.

[Escape]

The fuel pump can pack up due to not being used. Though 5 weeks is not that long. They're easy enough to open up and give a good clean, usually that does the trick.

Fan and lights staying on can only be because of a short in the Otter and indicator switch or their wiring. Was the car stored dry inside or could water have gotten into the wiring? Try disconnecting the Otter to see if the fan still runs and similar for the indicator stalk. The wiring is very straightforward, so it should be easy enough to find the short.

[jonwat]

11 hours ago, Rambo said:

Then try starting up again. It might just reset the ECU.

Which ECU is that?

[Rambo]

Sorry, my fault 😡

For some reason I thought I was on the Evora forum 🤣 I'd been answering a similar issue on there the other day.

[Gray14]

Well, finally managed to fire her up today with a bit of Easy Start squirted into the air horns.

It's a bit concerning when you see faint whiffs of smoke coming from the engine bay and can smell burning rubber, but no flames and couldn't trace the source.

Can someone please tell me where the relay for the radiator fans is located, Series 2.2, mine are on continuously still.
I checked to see if there was 'continuity' across the Otter switch when cold (I'm bluffing a bit here, I just put a powered test light across the Otter terminals, no light.)

I had a dehumidifier in the cabin quite a bit and bought some Reusable Dehumidifier Pouches from Car Builder Solutions which has sorted the indicator problem.
Some useful videos on YouTube showing how to make simple dehumidifiers with rock salt or silica and a coke bottle.

Gave the SU pump an overhaul, cleaned points, then found a broken earth wire at the battery.

[Escape]

The manual says right hand front of engine compartment. Isn't there a cluster of relays near the light pod?

[Gray14]

IIRC there are 2 in the headlamp bay but thought they were connected to headlights only. I'll check the footwell relays too.

[Uncle Al]

I’m not sure if it’s the same for the series 2, but the radiator fans on my 74 502 will run continuously if the AC is on…

[Escape]

I think that's the case on all cars, with the input for the AC compressor also activating the fan relay. That's also the perfect way to add a manual switch for the fans if you don't have AC.