21 replies to this topic

[bluesunbeam]

Happy to report that the slight misfire i had after the full service has been cured by the new iridium spark plugs. I have not put in the new NGK coil pack or MAF sensor yet as i want to see if they make any difference by introducing them one at a time when the car is ready to be used properly. So that is the good news. The bad news is that i took the car to my mates over in Maidenhead and the slight grumble i heard from the fuel pump when i first switched on the ignition has turned into something much noisier and more grating and i abandoned the idea of taking the car to Back on Track until it is replaced. Fortunately there are several good threads about doing the job on the forum and better still they all seem to have the relevant photos on. I have ordered and received the 255 Walbro pump (which i  learned after ordering apparently sounds like there's a racehorse pissing in the tank) and the ally sheet for the access panel mod and 'o' ring seal for the pump body plus a rivnut tool.

 The other problem i have is that the fog light does not appear to work but the fog light button does turn on the reversing light that occupies the same position in the other rear light cluster. I am not sure if it was working correctly before i took the car off the road but as it has an MOT it presumably was. I have not touched any wiring at the back lights but did notice an electrical connecter with just two thin cables at each end that was not plugged in when i had the rear nearside wheelarch liner off so i reconnected it. I will try the reversing lights today to see if that lights up a reversing lamp and the fog lamp and then disconnect the block behind the wheelarch to see if that makes any difference. Despite the setbacks i am still enjoying working on the car and getting to know it and am looking forward to a bit of cutting and grinding to enlarge the fuel pump non-access     panel.

                                                                Dave C

[hairy]

The reversing lights and fog lights are separate circuits so sounds like someone has plugged them in the wrong way round.

[bluesunbeam]

Thanks for replying hairy. Yes you are right on the money. I have just come back from the lock-up and putting the car in reverse causes the fog light to come on. Where should i be looking to find the relevant connectors to swap them over i.e should i be looking in the boot for the wiring there or is it behind the dashboard or elsewhere? 

                                                                                          Dave C

[Ivor]

Follow the reverse light switch wiring back from the sensor on the gearbox?

[bluesunbeam]

Thanks for the suggestion Ivor. I will give that a try when i go back up to the car later on this evening.

                                                                                                   Dave C

[stevieturbo]

Thanks for replying hairy. Yes you are right on the money. I have just come back from the lock-up and putting the car in reverse causes the fog light to come on. Where should i be looking to find the relevant connectors to swap them over i.e should i be looking in the boot for the wiring there or is it behind the dashboard or elsewhere? 

                                                                                          Dave C

Yes, in the boot by the left tail light.

[bluesunbeam]

That's what i was hoping would be the case stevieturbo ; i didn't fancy having to start pulling the dashboard out. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I am happy to delve around in the mechanical side of things but am wary of fiddling with anything electrical unless i know exactly where i should be looking and couldn't find anything in previous threads about this. 

                                                                                         Dave C

[Ivor]

Turbo or na?

[bluesunbeam]

It's a turbo Ivor. Is there a difference between the wiring for the turbo and the NA ?

                                                                                    Dave C

[stevieturbo]

pic 

 

https://i.postimg.cc...Yj/DSC06690.jpg

Edited by stevieturbo, 30 April 2025 - 09:13 PM.

[bluesunbeam]

Thanks for the picture stevieturbo and to everybody else for your help - it is now sorted. Sure enough the two were transposed . The feeds were clearly labelled FOG and REV but the other side only had an L and an R on them - presumably someone thought that meant left and right despite the cables clearly being different colour codes. 

 Whilst looking for further information on the wiring earlier i stumbled across a picture of the mystery connector that i reconnected in the nearside wheel arch- it was described as wiring for the engine cover switch ; i guess that refers to the alarm system.

 Tonight i am going to make a template for the hole that needs to be cut to enlarge the fuel pump access port and will hopefully get the actual work done tomorrow and hope that the 'o' rings turn up so that i can actually pull the pump and get it put in. The pump i have ordered was getting some serious slagging-off in the threads i read from 2012-2015. Do you think this criticism was valid back then and if so does anyone know if Walbro did anything to address the problem of noise that seemed to be the main gripe. Thanks again.

                                                                                         Dave C

 

[Ivor]

It's a turbo Ivor. Is there a difference between the wiring for the turbo and the NA ?
Dave C

Not sure but mines a turbo and can check mine if need be

[sford]

Thanks for the picture stevieturbo and to everybody else for your help - it is now sorted. Sure enough the two were transposed . The feeds were clearly labelled FOG and REV but the other side only had an L and an R on them - presumably someone thought that meant left and right despite the cables clearly being different colour codes. 

 Whilst looking for further information on the wiring earlier i stumbled across a picture of the mystery connector that i reconnected in the nearside wheel arch- it was described as wiring for the engine cover switch ; i guess that refers to the alarm system.

 Tonight i am going to make a template for the hole that needs to be cut to enlarge the fuel pump access port and will hopefully get the actual work done tomorrow and hope that the 'o' rings turn up so that i can actually pull the pump and get it put in. The pump i have ordered was getting some serious slagging-off in the threads i read from 2012-2015. Do you think this criticism was valid back then and if so does anyone know if Walbro did anything to address the problem of noise that seemed to be the main gripe. Thanks again.

                                                                                         Dave C

 

When I was replacing the pump on my SC, I went back and forwards between the walbro and the spitfire option. In the end I went with the spitfire pump because of those threads. Seems ok, you can hear it sometimes but I think you could before. 

[bluesunbeam]

 

It's a turbo Ivor. Is there a difference between the wiring for the turbo and the NA ?
Dave C

Not sure but mines a turbo and can check mine if need be

 

Thanks for the offer of help Ivor but the problem is now sorted - it was the two feed cables being transposed.

                                                                          Dave C

[bluesunbeam]

 

Thanks for the picture stevieturbo and to everybody else for your help - it is now sorted. Sure enough the two were transposed . The feeds were clearly labelled FOG and REV but the other side only had an L and an R on them - presumably someone thought that meant left and right despite the cables clearly being different colour codes. 

 Whilst looking for further information on the wiring earlier i stumbled across a picture of the mystery connector that i reconnected in the nearside wheel arch- it was described as wiring for the engine cover switch ; i guess that refers to the alarm system.

 Tonight i am going to make a template for the hole that needs to be cut to enlarge the fuel pump access port and will hopefully get the actual work done tomorrow and hope that the 'o' rings turn up so that i can actually pull the pump and get it put in. The pump i have ordered was getting some serious slagging-off in the threads i read from 2012-2015. Do you think this criticism was valid back then and if so does anyone know if Walbro did anything to address the problem of noise that seemed to be the main gripe. Thanks again.

                                                                                         Dave C

 

When I was replacing the pump on my SC, I went back and forwards between the walbro and the spitfire option. In the end I went with the spitfire pump because of those threads. Seems ok, you can hear it sometimes but I think you could before. 

 

I appreciate your feedback sford . It is difficult to unpick what is relevant to my completely standard car in those threads. A lot of the chat seems to revolve around whether the pump can supply enough fuel to uprated cars such as yours with the blown motor and also the performance of it on track cars and the fuel starvation problems it seems to suffer from in particular high G corners. The noise is also seems to be a major irritant for many people but this has never bothered me in the past and as long as i know it is 'normal' for the component i can live with it. 

 Now i know what is involved in a pump change and am making the mods to make the job a lot easier i am happy to install the Walbro just out of curiosity and see if it is really as bad as it allegedly was 10 years ago. If it is really bad i will order a Spitfire pump and just chuck the Walbro in the bin.

                                                                               Dave C

[KurtVerbose]

pic 

 

https://i.postimg.cc...Yj/DSC06690.jpg

 

[stevieturbo]

Ti/Walbro have been making pumps for a long time. And largely they do what they say.

 

No idea what problems people claim to be having with them, but any issues are highly unlikely to be the pump itself. 

[Ivor]

I can't hear any pump noise over the rest of the racket the car makes....

[bluesunbeam]

The plan to use the Walbro pump did not last long. I actually tried to install it into the old pump housing but got completely hacked off with the ridiculous convoluted hoses and was so irritated that they were obviously the wrong size i thought i should just find a hose on e-bay with the right size i.d's at either end; this idea was shelved when i found out that the hoses were £29 each. At this point i e-mailed Gary at Spitfire and got an immediate reply saying he has a new pump on the shelf and can send it straight away. Sure enough it turned up the next day and i was a very happy boy. While i was waiting i e-mailed the vendor that i bought the Walbro pump kit from and he referred me to a fellow called Rob at Glencoe Ltd. Rob was helpful but surprised i had had problems with the fitment of the hoses as he said that the kit had been developed using the car of a member of this forum. I referred him to the several threads with people saying that they could not fit the hoses and that everyone just carefully removes the old one and reuses them. I gave him the dimensions of the fitting that the hose has to go onto on the housing so hopefully they will start putting some hoses in the kit that are actually possible to put on. Rob did send me a new hose with a 7mm i.d at one end and a 9mm i.d at the other but it was about 30% longer than the original one in the kit so i am not sure it would have fitted without snagging something. Needless to say i have not bothered with the kit and it now languishes in the spares drawer.

 I have just finished putting in the Spitfire pump and everything seems to be running properly though i have not had the chance to run it on the road yet as the MOT ran out a few days ago.

                                                                               Dave C

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bluesunbeam]

Some pictures of the modified access panel.

https://www.snapfish...WIankuD9CBJ2iI=

https://www.snapfish...dwGZED52OAlvt0=

https://www.snapfish...8PmxEddVbCWFmw=

 

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