First Night of Ownership... Let the problems begin!

Firstly, let me say that I've paid the £25 membership fee last night to become a fully fledged member, as after one night of ownership, I think it will be £25 well spent! I have started to become very familiar with the Search facility already!

So those who saw my Newbie introduction yesterday, I've just taken reciept of a '90 GTA Turbo (Bought with Rose Tinted Glasses on, I must say!) that had sat on my drive all day since delivery, and I was excited to say the least to get home and drive it.

So, the Good Points...

All the electrics work, everything bar the Battery Cover is there and original, bodywork and wheels are immaculate, engine starts on the button, pulls really well, gearbox and clutch feel good with no notchiness, Water Temp gauge showed a stable 80 to 90 all the time whilst driving it, and the car feels much quicker than I thought it would.

...and so it begins (in order of importance) ... Fuel Tank

As it was delivered with about a gallon of fuel in and I saw no apparent leaks when it was dropped off, I treated it to £30 worth of V Power last night, only to find that when I had paid the bill, it had had a wee on the floor to the tune of about a fivers worth! It was a bad leak. The Fuel-o-meter said 7 gallons so I went the long way home again for about a 15 minute run and was still leaking when I got home though not as bad. So first question to you... Common problems with the fuel tank before I start to rip it apart. I'm hoping that there's a split of a fuel supply / return hose rather than a split in the tank etc. Anything to look out for chaps? This is the big one that's going to stop me using it.

Misfire...

The car pulls strong in 1st, 2nd and 3rd but there's a noticable slight misfire in the higher gears. The Search facility suggests Dizzy Cap and rotor arm though the previous owner had apparently put a new Dizzy Cap on and New Plugs, but I believe the Rotor Arm can be a bit of a botch, so maybe that was not replaced. I will investigate, but any suggestions...

Service Light Illuminated...

I have an Owners Workshop Manual that came with the car - possibly the worst written document I've ever set eyes on, most definitely written by some French person in pidgin English, but anyway! It suggests 5 areas that can cause this to come on, Washer Fluid Level etc of which I've topped up. One area is the brake pad levels. Now the previous owner had fitted new brake disks and pads all round, but sometimes I've seen it where the replacement pads don't have the lug for the sensor to clip to and they're often left dangling. Is this a possibility? Anything else that is a common fault to bring this light on?

No Speedo...

Apparently quite a common problem on the GTA's and have read a couple of posts re: fixes, though there was a Speedo Guide illuded to in some of the posts, that I'd be grateful if someone could point me in the direction of... Others have suggested cleaning the earths and applying contact spray to some of the connectors...

Turbo Warning Light came on...

2 Minutes before getting home, the Red 'Turbo' light came on which I'm assuming is the Engine Fans? Please correct me if I'm wrong! The temperature gauge I noticed stayed at 90 so no signs of overheating. I noticed the engine fans stayed on for ages, possibly 10 minutes + after I turned the engine off. Maybe longer as I closed the garage door and went inside. Is this normal to indicate a Hot engine bay, or is it a problem I need to investigate?

Oil Pressure Gauge at 8 bar pressure...

When starting the car, the gauge flicks up to 7 or 8 bar and stays there the whole time, which from experience and reading the Manual isn't correct. Sure it's more like 2 to 4 bar when warm. Is this more likely to be the Sender unit or an electrical issue... Any common things to looks out for?

So, apart from that, everything is rosie! I've got a feeling I'll be frequenting this site quite a bit!

Appreciate any help you can throw at me guys!

Thanks

Chris

Welcome to the fold Chris.
Just keep on top of the issues one at a time, continue to do so and the car will be fine.

Get underneath and find where the fuel is dripping from. There is a feeder pump and filter in the front that sends fuel to a 1 litre tank at the back where ther is a bigger filter and high pressure pump. Maybe they changed the filters and it is now weeping. Will all that fuel in the tank, it could be that the extra head pressure has shown the leak. As it is petrol.....gt it sorted, make sure you know you have fixed it. When done, put a piece of card inder the car and brim it......make sure its no longer leaking.

Check inside Dizzy that it is clean and dry. A common problem is the flywheel sensor, hard to get to, its at top of bell housing on drivers side, under a little cover/heat shield. check dizzy etc first.

"normally" a service light comes on with another light, to indicate the area of the service required.

There is 2 sensors just infront of Turbo as you look inside engine bay. One comes on to start the fans, other one (normally the bottom one, also sheiled too, if you have one of "those" holder posts) comes on to warn excessive heat. You can test these by disconnect sensors and short them out and see if fans come on (nowt on dash) and then second short to see if warning light comes on. Top one should be marked 80/90 degrees and bottom one 110 degrees. You can check they work in boining water....well one of them you can.

Also, on early cars , there is an oil temp sensor and fans only operate when its up to 60 degrees. Not sure of the workings on later cars with the oil temp.

That should get you going, but a visit to RATS will help too, and for the price of a beer or an hours advice, again, worth its weight in gold. I know Lee has looked at cars before with oil pressure issues. 8 bars does seem a lot. I think mine is 6 at cold and 4 when warm and rises with revs.

Have a nice bank holiday weekend.

Welcome
the SERVICE light could be very simple..an open door (or its sensor) could trigger this..
The big fuel flap (bonnet) could be open...or the microswitch that senses this not being shut...

Yeh...beer,pork scratchings,pies .....my landlord takes any of them ....

Welcome! Looks a good car.

I would change the dizzy/rotor arm as a matter of course. Even if it's not been driven they seem to die fairly regularly. Have you pulled a plug to check condition?

The turbo fan warning could be the sensors in front of the turbo. You can short them out to check operation. If not then you can replace with BL Metro temp sensors

Hi Chris & welcome, As a relative newcomer to the club myself, I must say that the membership fee is probably the best money you will spend on your GTA. Everyone in the club is helpful & enthusiastic, and only too keen to help and advise.

As you say the fuel leak is probably the most important thing to sort out. The tank is a bit of a funny shape & goes across the car under the boot liner. There is also an undertray which you will need to take off to see where the leak is coming from. To get enough room under the car you will need ramps & possibly some helper ramps to get clearance for the front of the car (due to the long overhang). once underneath the undertray should be held on with a number of torx set screws. Anyway once removed, you will see the pipework & front filter. Hopefully its something simple. There is a tank available on Ebay at the moment if the worst comes to the worst .

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Alpin ... Sws8ZXHnKq

The seller, martin is a member of the club.

Lee at RATS is the man to take it too, wise choice.

Have fun with your GTA, it looks a nice car

Paul

And when you put the under tray back on, you might find it easier to use cable ties instead of the little bolts......which could be rusted on. Many a race car is held together with cable ties, easy on and snip them off. So next time you wont struggle with 6 rusty bolts...it will be 6 quick snips and its straight off.

Turbo Warning Light came on...

2 Minutes before getting home, the Red 'Turbo' light came on which I'm assuming is the Engine Fans? Please correct me if I'm wrong! The temperature gauge I noticed stayed at 90 so no signs of overheating. I noticed the engine fans stayed on for ages, possibly 10 minutes + after I turned the engine off. Maybe longer as I closed the garage door and went inside. Is this normal to indicate a Hot engine bay, or is it a problem I need to investigate?

See Lee Metters post in the Turbo temp sensors thread, but they may have been plugged in back to front (e.g. following the incorrect info in the manual) viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7989

Also if the bearings in the fans are sticking through lack of use I think that might also give you a warning light as it draws too much current - but I'm not certain on that. JonC has described before how to lubricate the felt bearing part.

Firstly, let me say that I've paid the £25 membership fee last night to become a fully fledged member,

Hi Chris ....... Good move above, and Welcome to the Members Area.

Service Light Illuminated...

Items which cause the Service light to illuminate:-
1. Minimum Fuel Level
2. Opening element closure checking circuit .... Each Door not completely closed .... Bonnet. Check
3. Minimum windscreen washer fluid level checking circuit
4. Hand brake release and brake pad wear checking circuit ......... If wire is disconnected or not in place the light will not come on. Try disconnecting each connector near the pad and with ign on, earth each wire in turn and the light will illuminate. Also check that none of the wires are touching earth or are able to, and are not chaffed and touching earth.

No Speedo...

As you have access to the Members area, Go to Members area ... Page 2, and scroll down to "GTA Speedo Faults" and you will find a comprehensive fixes BUT always the first port of call is the speed sensor connector on the lower off side rear wheel arch. It is the three pin connector with Green rubber grommets. This should be thoroughly cleaned making sure all three pins are making contact.

Oil Pressure Gauge at 8 bar pressure...

If you just switch on the ign, does the needle go straight up to 7/8 bars or has the engine got to be running ? There also could be a short or partial short on the wire from the sensor.
If it is the sensor ... go to page 1 in the Members Area and scroll down to "Indicated low oil pressure", you may have to make a compromise here.
Hope this is of help to you.

John

Thanks for your helps so far guys...

Chin up Chris, life is full of ups and downs and this is a 25 year old car.
Lee will look after it well and after it will be a greater car.
Have faith and the issues will be long forgotten. But I know you feel bad about it today.
Fingers crossed.

Stick with it mate.

I bought my car 3 years ago, it drove flawlessly from Lee's place all the way to Norway, then blew a head gasket first time I drove it here.
Pretty much every time I have driven it since, something has fused, broken, shorted, or fallen off.
Last time I drove it, one of the plastic vents for the air intake flew off at 60mph and the heater fan almost went on fire.

But still, that feeling when you're purring down the road, wouldn't change it.
It will all be worth it one day.

Either that or you'll be a poverty stricken alcoholic autophobe.......

All fixable and not at all suprising as they all have it to a greater or lesser extent so as I said don't feel too bad about it .At least yours has a good fresh paint job so get the rot sorted and it'll be done

[BIG_MVS]

De Ja Vu isn't it?

Although from the pics that does look quite bad to be honest. As Lee says all fixable and it will be worth it in the end.

All the other stuff is all par for the course and stuff to keep you interested...

Anyway tell me more about the 500 bhp MX5!?

Hi Chris, sounds like you've been busy in such a short space of time. I'm relatively new into ownership (last Aug) and I'm already chasing my tail with similar issues to yours, speedo, intermittent misfire etc, but as a second/third car some of the issues you can live with short term and also searching for, then solving the problem is all part of the fun (I think)! Also if you didn't buy it when you did you might not have never got hold of one. I always thought 5Turbo 2's & Clio V6 would always be around the £10-12K mark, but look what's happened to them!

Just out of interest and sorry to be cheeky, but what did you pay for it? I paid £5.8K for mine back in August with a somewhat 'interesting' history....but I think I would struggle to find the same again for the same money.

Cheers and good luck.