At 12:52 09/12/98 -0800, you wrote:
>From: Steve Heath <HEATHSTE@rpsplc.co.uk>
>Subject: Elan+2 Headlight Pods Vacuum Leak
>
>Symptoms:
>Lights pop up beautifully with engine running, and stay up for extended
>periods no problem, EXCEPT for when 4,500 - 5,000ish rpm is reached,
>whereupon the lights slowly retreat until they're gone almost all the
>way home. (luckily my foglamps are pretty good :-)
>Foot off the gas, and hey presto they magically reappear. On overrun,
>they pop up again even quicker.
>This is one of those niggling problems which you forget all about in
>between drives, but is infuriating on a motorway in the dark when you're
>in a hurry.
Hi Stephen,
Yes, I've been there. My most memorable experience was returning from
France to Ireland after the Euroclassic Run a few years ago. A dark and
rainy night on the M50, hard shoulder closed for roadworks, completely
boxed in at 75 mph by artics left, right, front, and behind. The
headlights would sink. Lift off the throttle and about 5 megawatts of
spotlights from the truck behind start lifting the paint off. As you say,
thank Lucas for spotlights. We gave up, and spent a pleasant night in
Newbury. It turned out after that the vacuum check valve was leaking.
I can only recommend you to the Golden Gate site section as recommended by
Kiyoshi, it covers the problem pretty well.
However, I discovered a certain alternative method of operating the headlamp
position. When I first got my Plus 2, the headlamps were in the boot
(trunk?) and all the springs/ vacuum pods were missing. I was only able to
obtain springs at the time. Without any manuals to work from when
reassemblig the sytem, I figured a way to connect the springs. The eye end
of the spring is connected to the 5/16 bolt on the lamp pod as normal. The
other end of the spring, which is bent over at 90 degrees is jammed up into
the angle where the fibreglass flange next to the front edge of the bonnet
(hood?) This arrangement means you just tip the lights up before you start
off, and the over-centre spring action keeps them in position. Tip them
down again as you leave, or install an extra under dash switch to interrupt
the relay circuit.
A little bit undignified, but it works !
Sean Murray
Wexford
Ireland
1970 Plus 2
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