Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi all I?m currently rebuilding my plus 2 that I bought basically in boxes could anyone tell me if the headlights are turned off and you flash the high beam should the lights pop up and come on

The answer is no. The only way to pop up the light is to pull the Knob - Headlamp Operating Valve (item 19)

Hi,
On my 1973 +2 130/5 the headlights come up on if I push the dip switch stalk down,
Mick

There are two very different systems used for the headlights, as far as I know, early cars had a switch to control the vacuum and electrics and raise the lights. Later cars are 'failsafe', the default position is lights up and the vacuum holds them down controlled by a remote solenoid operated vacuum switch under the bonnet.

How they are then wired may also be affected by later mods, there was even a fashion for wiring early Elans so that a single light could be raised to 'wink' at other drivers!

Thank you for your replies I thought I had a problem but it seams not
Well not on this occasion anyway
Next question does the breather pipes for the fuel tank run up along the roof then pass throu the holes and down thru the floor

Breather pipes: Yes, on both sides, up the B-pillar, over the rear screen, down the other side and through the holes.

By the way, on my '73 +2 S130/5 you need the lighting switch in the "full beam" position and you pull the lever towards you to flash the lights. Though why anyone would bother is beyond me, it takes a while for them to come up.

gary eastham wrote:Thank you for your replies I thought I had a problem but it seams not
Well not on this occasion anyway
Next question does the breather pipes for the fuel tank run up along the roof then pass throu the holes and down thru the floor

IIRC not through the floor.......
up and over the rear windscreen and out the vents to the rear of the door glass upright......

JonB wrote:By the way, on my '73 +2 S130/5 you need the lighting switch in the "full beam" position and you pull the lever towards you to flash the lights. Though why anyone would bother is beyond me, it takes a while for them to come up.

I thought this as well, and vaguely thought a better use for the switch would be a 'one wipe' of the wipers, so preventing the stretch to turn the wipers on then off in partial rain. A sort of intermittent wipe, without taking your hands off the wheel - never got past the thought experiment to see if the wiring was possible .... Would be particularly useful in the dark, preventing fumbling around for the switch.

Jeremy

I've often thought that would be a useful thing to have but there's no easy way of doing it with my S4 as the dip switch doesn't have a 'pull' function. Unless anyone else has come up with something.

theelanman wrote:IIRC not through the floor.......
up and over the rear windscreen and out the vents to the rear of the door glass upright......

Mine come up and over the roof and then exit just in front of the rear wheels through a vertical section of the underside.

I don't think venting via the rear vents wouldn't be a good idea for couple of reasons:
1) While the vents are design to exhaust air from the car it is possible that Fuel vapors could enter the cabin via them also.
2) The vents are above the fuel tank so might not prevent fuel spillage in a roller over.

If yours are set up that way I recommend considering changing them.

Have a search on here for fuel tank vent solutions, there are several threads......

mbell wrote:

theelanman wrote:IIRC not through the floor.......
up and over the rear windscreen and out the vents to the rear of the door glass upright......

Mine come up and over the roof and then exit just in front of the rear wheels through a vertical section of the underside.

I don't think venting via the rear vents wouldn't be a good idea for couple of reasons:
1) While the vents are design to exhaust air from the car it is possible that Fuel vapors could enter the cabin via them also.
2) The vents are above the fuel tank so might not prevent fuel spillage in a roller over.

If yours are set up that way I recommend considering changing them.

Correct
Alan