Compressor is faulty is one of the few error messages that actually says what it means. Your compressor is faulty.

A lot of people have had aftermarket height sensors fail in a matter of months so you may be another of them. I don't suppose you have the originals to put back in to try? It is almost as if you have two faults, one causing it to drop when left and another that causes the pump to not start. The fact that when one happens the other does too, would suggest the same fault but manifesting itself in two ways.

Real Steel (www.realsteel.co.uk) have ARP studs for £162 for the 10 stud set (which is what you need. Far better and much easier to use. Just torque them down to 65 ft/lb, none of this swinging on a breaker bar trying to get the 90 degree turn on them.

The RSW software also shows a fault that means nothing, so I assume it is the same as the Nanocom Unknown Fault. I think the RSW says something like 'Vehicle has moved'. My money would still be on an iffy height sensor though.

I got a pair cut at my local Timsons. Told them they used a BMW blank, which they didn't keep in stock but ordered in for me and cut them from my original on their machine. One worked but was a bit 'notchy' while the other one worked perfectly.. Cost me all of a tenner.

I had the opposite. When I first got my Classic, the reducer was in parallel and, as it was a single point system that would run on LPG from cold, the reducer would ice up within 300-400 yards of starting it. Changed that to series and never had another problem. When I got the P38, that was the same but I got the opposite. Reducer didn't freeze but at idle in traffic the heater output dropped to nothing. Again, changed it to series and never any more problems. I suppose the difference was which flowed easier, if it was the heater, the reducer would freeze, if it was the reducer, the heater went cold. Your theory that a more restrictive heater matrix would make sense, but I would have thought that would make it worse with them in parallel?

Thor heater pipework makes getting it neat harder than on a GEMS though.

There's no pump or any moving parts in there, just a coolant passage that heats it up. On a GEMS it is far easier, and tidier, to run the reducer in series with the heater rather than in parallel with Tees. Hose from the inlet manifold, through a bend to the reducer then out of the reducer to the pipe going to the heater. It gives a better flow through both the heater and reducer rather than it taking the path of least resistance and neither of them working at optimum. It also makes bleeding a lot easier.

StrangeRover wrote:

From what I understand 140,000 on a RV8 cam means they're usually a write off..

Only if it is totally neglected and never given an oil change. That looks nice and clean inside so has been serviced regularly. My original cam was still OK when the engine was rebuilt at 287k and the new one has now done a further 203k and still going strong.

I assume you all know what these are and what they do, but for those that don't, they plug into the RF receiver under the RH rear shelf and prevent stray RF from constantly waking the BeCM and flattening your battery. Marty has been working away for quite a while and some of the components he needed to build them were NLA so they haven't been available for quite a while. Well, the good news is, he has sourced the required components and has a limited number available now. They can be ordered through his website (http://p38webshop.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=84&product_id=97) until the 20 or so he has are gone. So if you want one, get in quick.

Yes, one won't be locking and that is the faulty one.

That is an easy one and wants to be sorted asap before it locks you out and immobilises itself. It is caused by a dying microswitch in one of the front door latches. 3 of the 4 doors will lock, the one that doesn't is the faulty one.

Yes and yes. It won't affect the latch so the door will still close and without the exterior handle you'll need to open it by pulling on the rod with a pair of long nosed pliers through the hole in the door or by using the interior handle.

But replacing the T seals means removing the rear main bearing cap, so rather than it being a half hour job to take off the rear cover, fit a new seal and put it back, you are looking at dropping the sump to get the main bearing cap off. Even if they are leaking, surely the oil won't get past the rear main seal anyway if that is good?

No idea why they felt the need to use as many bolts as they did. When I put mine pack one I just put a couple of bolts either side at the downpipe end and one at the front to stop then flapping around. Drilled out the remains of the captive nuts and used small stainless nuts and bolts.

phazed wrote:

Are you saying that the pump will run with a door open?

The pump will run but having a door open will inhibit all suspension movement. So if the system is empty, it is better to run it with a door open so all it is doing is filling the reservoir rather than trying to fill it and pump the car up at the same time. If you have a faulty door or tailgate latch so it always thinks a door is open, it will never rise and if the reservoir is already full and up to pressure it won't turn on the pump. However, if the Nano is showing rear valves open, that isn't the problem as no valves would open if it is inhibited.

Yes, at the back of the motor, by the brushes. Not that easy to get to though and putting it back together can be fun (holding the brushes back while putting the back on again isn't easy).

Does the Nano show that the pump is on when it actually isn't? Is it pulling in the relay but the pump doesn't start? Are the contacts on the Maxi fuse clean?

If the thermal switch reads normal, that is good. I couldn't remember if it reads Normal or Hot or Open and Closed. If it is iffy, that would cause the pump to not switch on whenever it is showing hot. It may be a dying sensor or it could be a dry joint where it is soldered onto the pcb.

Pattern height sensors are well known for having a very short lifespan, secondhand originals from a low mileage car are a more reliable bet. The numbers aren't mm but bits, the sensors give a reading of between 40 and 225 as the wiper moves from one end of the travel to the other. You need to watch what happens as it moves between heights and look for jumps or intermittent obviously incorrect readings. So if it is moving from 90 to 110, it wants to stay in that range and not suddenly read 80 or something else obviously wrong partway through the movement.

Although not mentioned in the EAS System Information Document (see https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eHSEP_2OsOFxYZh-MgevIVRsDg5Tel2u/view?usp=sharing) word has it that the target settings at all heights need to be within a certain limit (6 or 8 bits) side to side and have to be within the acceptable range for the height (page 32 of the document).

Not a Mk3, only driven a Mk1 and came to the conclusion it should only be available in Barbie pink...... Everything was just so light, steering, gearchange, clutch, brakes, I came to the conclusion it was the ultimate hairdressers car.

Thermal switch will show open or closed. Should be closed if cold and open if it has overheated (or the thermal switch has failed). If the switch has failed, poke a piece of thin wire into the back of the connector to short between Orange and Black wires at the pump to simulate the thermals switch being good. It will always open the rear valves first, wait until the rear has lifted, close them and then open the fronts.

Start by clearing the faults and running the pump to get it to start working, then go into inputs and look at what the height sensors are showing you.