Dashboard

[umbyfer]

i have a lotus elan sprint, August 1971, left drive. On the left corner of the dashboard, under the temperatur and oil indicator, ther was originally tree indicating light. Red on the right, should be yellow on the left and in beetwen i don't know. I have only the hole! and the yellow has been sobstiute withe the lever to open the bonnet.

Could be anyone so kiend to help me, to fiend all the right information to restore my elan sprint?

many thanks to everybody.

Umberto Ferrari
Modena
Italy
[email protected]
+39 348 2658722

[pereirac]

I have just looked up my workshop manual and the central lamp is shown as a handbrake light so you have brake fail light, handbrake warning light and hazard warning light. My parts list says they are parking brake, brake fail and hazard lamps. The hazard light position can also be a heated rear screen light warning lamp (if you have a coupe).
My 72 Sprint only has a handbrake light (yellow) and the bonnet release there there was no hazard lamp fitted.

I guess your Sprint will be handbrake, hazard and boot release.

I get the impression that no two Elans were built the same way

Carl

[jopalm]

My LHD '69 S4 has these three, from left to right, as hazard warning light, parking brake set warning light and brake failure warning light.

They color is (again left to right) Red - Red - Amber

They are labelled below the lamps and read as "Hazard" - "Park" - "Fail"

Centered above the right two lamps (Red and Amber) is the label "Brakes"

In my Elan shop manual, on page B-37, is an illustration of an S4 fascia from a RHD car that is exactly the mirror reversed image of my LHD car, so it would seem to be "correct"

It always struck me as odd that the most "severe" light (brake failure) was amber while the other two were red. Perhaps my colors are oriented for a RHD car? In any event, some day I'll reverse my left and right lights so that the "Hazard" warning is amber and both brake lights are red... Some day...

Regards,
-John
'69 S$ DHC 45/8290

[pereirac]

John,

Do you have a brake test switch as well? This might be a good indication as to whether the extra hole is for a brake fail lamp or bonnet release? I don't have either so I 'assume' this could be a US only fitment? I don't have dual circuit brakes or failsafe headlamps either although my Sprint was built Dec 72, so reasonable near the end of the model.

My handbrake warning lamp is amber so perhaps they were just fitted in random order or depending on what was in stock!!

Carl

[freddy22112211]

My 72 LHD Sprint Cabriolet has, from left to right:
HAZARD (orange), PARK (yellow), FAIL (red).
Gordon

[jopalm]

Carl & Umberto-

Sorry, I've been away for a while...

No, my car does not have a brake test switch. My car is an early S4 (For example, I have the later rocker switches, etc. but still have the early large defroster grill in the dash top) I believe the test switches were fitted to later cars. When I get the chance I'll check my parts list and see if I can determine when these appeared.

My brake fail light was actuated by a "SOVY switch" that mounts on the cap to the brake fluid reservoir. It would trip the light in response to loss of brake fluid.

Unfortunately, this part is now missing from my car, although the wiring for it is intact. Out of curiosity, I did a Google search on 'SOVY Brake' and found 86 hits. The first link leads to the "Offers" page of SNG Barratt that seems to imply they are reproducing these parts for Jaguars. Perhaps the are making one that's equivalent to teh Elan part.

Try the link www.sngbarratt.com/OFFERS5.html and scroll about half way down the page.

Regards,
-John
'69 Lotue Ealn S4 DHC 45/8290