Caterham Blog
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ECU Diagnostics – part 5 : The Correlator Dead-end
Hopefully this is a quick post… The story so far is that: We’ve got a test bench made of a Raspberry Pi, CAN bus decoder board and an OBD Y-cable The Raspberry Pi can “sniff” all the packets sent between the car’s ECU and something that can talk to the car, like Easimap or an…
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ECU Diagnostics – part 4 : Wireshark Patching and OBD-II Results
When Wireshark first appeared, it was called Ethereal… and its motto was: “Sniffing the glue that holds the internet together” Wireshark sniffs the packet-glue that holds the internet together and is one of the most influential pieces of open source software there is. That’s a pretty bold statement and I even count projects like Linux…
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ECU Diagnostics – part 3 : Test Setup
Ok, so we have an OBD port/connector on our cars that connects directly to the ECU. How are we going to figure out how to talk the right communications protocols to the car to get at its internal data? We need a test rig to do some experiments with. If you’re looking for a post…
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ECU Diagnostics – part 2 : ECU, OBD and CAN
ECU Caterhams, like all modern cars, have an Engine Control Unit (ECU) – a black box full of electronics, controlled by a microprocessor that manages how the engine runs. And because it has a microprocessor it means it runs some software to control everything. It also connects to a bunch of sensors, like temperature, pressure,…
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ECU Diagnostics – part 1 : Introduction
So here we go for a marathon series of posts. I’ll update this page with links to the completed posts as they come along… Introduction ECUs, OBD and CAN Test Setup Wireshark Patching and OBD-II Results The Correlator Dead-End Reading Material ECU Maps and Mapping Easimap uses ISOTP (sort of) The Easimap Protocol Theory Decoding…
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Visit to Millwood for Flat-floor and Stalling Problem ECU Reset
So, after over 2000 miles in the car, it was time to address one of its biggest niggles… low temperature stalling. Ever since I’d built the car it would stall at low engine temperatures. It would stall as I sat on the drive putting my harness on, it would stall at junctions for the first…
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Caterham 420R Build Tools and Trinkets
Note from Future John (Sept 2020): It seems Amazon has changed a lot of the links in the section below and the links don’t take you to where they should. At some point I’ll try and relink them all. I thought I owned them all until I built a Caterham. Sorry to all you non-builders,…
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The Wiper Motor Fuse… and Test Rig Overkill with a Logic Analyzer
Drip, drip, drop, click, bugger! … or in other words… rain… followed by another wiper fuse blowing. The Story So Far: For those of you that need a recap, I’d tested the wipers in December, prior to the IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) test, and they had also been tested by the dealer that sold me…
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The 2018 Taffia Fish & Chip Run YouTube Video
Warning: this post contains techie stuff. Sorry, had to get that out of the way. Some people will have gone by now, you can carry on reading if you like this sort of thing. YouTube So, this is my first YouTube video and creating this video of the day out was no mean feat. While…
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Taffia 2018 Fish & Chip Run – The Full Story
After posting a quick Drone shot of the start of the Fish & Chip run I’ve gone back to give a longer post on the day, read on… YouTube For those of you that are impatient and don’t like reading my posts… how about a YouTube video… The Main Event The Taffia Fish & Chip…
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80+ Sevens on the 2018 Taffia Fish and Chip Run – Drone Shot
Today, my co-driver (Joel) and I took part in the Lotus7.club 2018 Taffia Fish and Chip Run. I’ll put a longer post together when I get a chance along with hopefully a YouTube Video, but for those interested, here’s a drone shot I took just before we all left from Chepstow to Aberdovey on a…
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Back with Some Stats – How Much Time!
Three months on from the build and time to do a look back at some statistics… It’s been three very cold and wet months since I got the car on the road. We’ve had the Beast From The East and it’s lesser sibling, The Mini Beast From The East, along with a bunch of rain…
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Post Build Update – Registration Documents
Following the IVA test on December 7th, I sent off the registration application to the DVLA (Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency). Their website says they will process an application for a new registration within 4 weeks. I had hoped that the run up to Christmas would be quiet for them, but it seems that was…
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Individual Vehicle Approval – The Test
It’s the big day. The one I’ve been building up to for 9 months! The test appointment is set for 8AM at the Avonmouth test centre… and I live in North Bristol, about 5 miles away. It’s about a 15minute drive at that time in the morning. Getting Going I got up in plenty of…
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Post-Post Build Check and a Dash for Fuel
The Purplemeanie has returned from its PBC and so its time to get all the remaining small jobs done before its IVA test next week. This post will be a catch-all for all those tasks, sorry, it’s probably a long one. Friday December 1st – Return from PBC (6 days to IVA test) I don’t…
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Build Session 37 : IVA Preparation and Tidy-ups
It’s the final shove in the The Big Push – Day 5! We’re pretty much finished now. Everything is installed, attached or bolted down. With the exception of some wiring for the front repeaters it’s all about tidying things up and getting all the finishing touches done for the IVA test. So lets get on…