2005 LOTUS ELISE low

Turn Indicators: The turn indicators operate only with the ignition
switched on. Move the lever down to indicate a left hand turn, and up for a right hand turn. The switch will be cancelled when
the steering wheel is returned to the straight ahead position. For convenience, when signalling a lane change, lightly
pressing the switch up or down will allow its return under spring
action.
Windscreen Wiper/ Washer The steering column right hand lever switch controls the
windscreen wiper and washer, and is operative only with the ignition switched on.
NOTICE:
• Never use the wiper on a dry screen. This may overload the
mechanism and/or scratch the screen.
• Ensure th at snow is cleared from the windscreen before
operating the wiper.
Windscreen Wiper:
The wiper is controlled by the up/down
position of the lever switch, which operates as follows:
Moved fully down, the wiper is switched off.
Move up to the first position for intermittent wipe.
The wiper will make one sweep about every five seconds.
Select the next position for normal wiper operation.
Move fully upwards for quick wipe, to be used only in heavy
rain.
Instruments & Switches
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ohs33Washer Wiper

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HEATING, VENTILATION & AIR CONDITIONINGThe small size of the Elise together with the method of
construction and emphasis on lightweight, have resulted in heating and a.c. sytems which perform well under non-extreme
climatic conditions. In extreme temperatures and humidity the operational limits of the systems may be reached before the
desired temperature, or rate of temperature change inside the
car is achieved. The heating and ventilation controls comprise three rotary
switches to regulate; heater temperature, fan speed and air dis
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tribution. Push button switches are provided for air conditioning and air re-circulation.
Air Conditioning The left hand push button selects air conditioning, but the
following conditions must first be met before the system will
operate:
• The engine must be running;
• A fan speed must be selected;
• Ambient temperature must be above 3°C.
With a fully cold temperature setting, refrigerated air will be
supplied. For dehumidified warm air, select air conditioning in
conjunction with a warm temperature setting. The tell tale in the switch button will light up blue when the
circuit is active. Note that the a.c. will default to ‘off’ when the ignition is turned off.
Heating, Ventilation & A.C.
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p 98b
INTERIOR CLIMATE CONTROLS

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Air Re- circulation The air supply for the interior climate system is normally drawn
from both the car interior and from the fresh air intake duct ahead
of the engine cooling radiator. When the re-circulation button is pressed, the fresh air intake port is closed down to provide 90%
re-circulation air supply to the cabin interior. The re-circulation
facility should be used when maximum refrigeration is desired.
The tell tale in the switch button will light up blue when the
circuit is active.
Heater Temperature With the left hand rotary control turned fully counterclockwise,
no heating is provided. If cooled air is required, use this tem
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perature position in conjunction with air conditioning. Turning the control progressively clock wise provides in
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creasing levels of heat until at the fully clockwise position, maximum heat is supplied.
Fan Speed The centre rotary switch provides three fan speeds to boost air
circulation. Turned fully counterclockwise, the fan is off; Turning
the switch progressively clockwise operates the blower fan at increasing speed in three steps. Note that the fan operates only with the ignition switched on.
Heating, Ventilation & A.C.
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p99
TemperatureFan SpeedDistribution
Air conditioning Air re-circulation

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Air DistributionThe right hand rotary control determines the distribution of
air flow to the various outlet vents. A few moments should be
allowed for the flaps to operate following a new selection:
Face Level: Turned fully counterclockwise, all airflow is directed to the four
face level vents, each of which may be manipulated to adjust
volume and direction.
p100
Heating, Ventilation & A.C.
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FootbrakeVentilated disc brakes are fitted to all four wheels of the
Elise. These are operated by separate front and rear hydraulic
circuits, supplied from a tandem master cylinder with vacuum
servo. Anti-lock control is provided by a microprocessor based

electro-hydraulic unit, integrated into the base braking system. The braking system is designed to provide good pedal feed
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back, with efficient disc cooling to inhibit brake fade. With a
new car, or new brake system components, maximum braking
efficiency will be achieved if, for the first few hundred miles, needless heavy braking is avoided. Allow the brake pads and discs to ‘bed in’ fully before using the brakes to their full potential.
Pedal effort will reduce as the brakes are bedded in, and as they
are warmed from cold to normal working temperature. Note that
the hard grade pad material may give rise to a certain amount of brake noise under some conditions; such noise is not harmful
and does not affect the life or efficiency of the brakes.
WARNING:
• After driving through a ford, or a flooded road, some loss of braking response may be experienced until the brakes
have dried out. As soon as it is safe to do so after such an encounter, apply the brakes until normal operation
is restored. Failure to do so may result in an accident in
which you or others may be killed or seriously injured.
• The brake assistance servo uses vacuum supplied from the engine intake plenum, such that assistance is avail
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able only when the engine is running. Never coast down
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hill with the engine stopped. If this situation accidently arises, avoid repeated application of the brakes, or the
stored vacuum supply will be rapidly used up. Greater
pedal pressures will be required. This may adversely affect performance of the brakes which may result in an
accident in which you or others may be killed or seriously
injured.
Anti-lock Brake System The Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) is used to optimise brake
performance in extreme conditions and reduce the potential
for any wheel to lock up. Under most conditions, the maximum braking force is provided by a wheel which is rotating at about
90% of road speed. Apart from the likelihood of increasing the
Driving Controls
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stopping distance, a locked wheel provides little or no steering
force, such that with both front wheels locked, movement of the steering wheel has no effect on car direction. With the anti-lock
system, even panic braking results in controlled deceleration and the retention of steering response. ABS is especially ad
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vantageous when braking on slippery road surfaces and in bad driving conditions, but it is important to realise that the ABS
cannot increase the friction level at the road surface, but can only make optimum use of the grip available.
WARNING: When driving in adverse weather, or on poor road sur
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faces, always be alert to the possibility of slippery condi
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tions and make the necessary allowance for increased stop
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ping distances. Failure to do so may result in an accident in which you or others may be killed or seriously injured.
Normal braking, controlled by the pressure applied to the
brake pedal, occurs when the road conditions allow for decel
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eration to be achieved without danger of wheel lock. The relative
speeds of the four wheels are continuously monitored by the
ABS when the brakes are applied, and if one or more wheels begin to lock, the brake pressure to that wheel(s) is modulated
by the ABS to help keep the wheel rotating and provide the
maximum controlled braking force. The wheels may appear
to lock momentarily as the wheel speed rapidly changes, and some tire noise (intermittent screeching) may be heard which is normal and will vary with road and tire conditions. Note that the
ABS does not function at speeds below 5 mph (7 km/h). When the ABS is activated, the driver is will feel a ‘pulsing’
sensation at the brake pedal as the fluid pressure is modulated, and also by audible clicking sounds. These signals indicate to
the driver that maximum braking is occuring, and that driving style should be modified to suit the conditions.
The minimum stopping distance is achieved by applying the
brakes firmly and steadily, and allowing the ABS to modulate
hydraulic pressure. The driver should not attempt to emulate
this process by ‘pumping’ the brake pedal, as modulation at the pedal will treat all four wheels similarly, rather than the individual
wheel control allowed by the electronics. An ABS tell tale lamp in the instrument panel is provided
to warn of any problems in the system and to indicate that the
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integral self diagnostics have switched out the anti-lock function.
See ‘ABS tell tale lamp’.
WARNING:
• The increased control that ABS provides should not induce you to take more risks with your safety. ABS will
not prevent a skid caused by abrupt steering movements,
or attempting to corner too quickly.
• Always maintain a safe following distance from other cars relative to the road surface and weather conditions.
Obey all traffic laws.
• Risk of accidents due to inappropriate speed cannot be reduced even by ABS. The driver is responsible for the
judgement of safe speed.
• The control unit of the ABS is set for standard tire size. If non-standard Tires are fitted, the control unit may mis-
interpret the speed of the car, because of the variant data
it receives from the wheel speed sensors. Fitting non standard tires would seriously affect the performance of
your ABS.
• The amber ABS tell tale in the instrument panel should light for about 4 seconds following ignition switch on, and
then go out. If the lamp remains lit, or comes on whilst driving, a fault in the anti-lock brake system is indicated.
The base brake system will continue to operate normally,
but without ABS. The car can be driven but should be
checked and repaired at the earliest opportunity.
• Activation of the ABS will vary according to the level of grip available at the Tires. On dry surfaces, activation
will occur only with a high pedal pressure. On slippery
surfaces, only a low pressure will be needed.
• On loose or uneven surfaces, such as gravel or snow, a car with ABS may need a longer stopping distance. Allow
a greater distance between cars in these conditions.
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Parking BrakeThe parking brake, which operates on only the rear wheels
is applied by a hand lever mounted between the seats. A red
tell tale icon in the instrument cluster warns of parking brake application (see ‘Tell Tale Lamps’). The brake should be applied by pulling up the lever with high
effort, and engaging the highest ratchet setting attainable. When
parking the car on a slope take the additional precaution of leav
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ing the transmission in first (facing downhill) or reverse (facing uphill) gear and steering the wheels towards the kerb.
WARNING: If the parking brake is applied when the brakes are hot
(e.g. after prolonged or frequent hard use), special care
should be taken to ensure that the parking brake is securely engaged in order to allow for any potential brake force
reduction as the discs cool. Failure to do so may result in
the car rolling away and causing an accident in which you
or others may be killed or seriously injured.
To release the brake, pull up the lever, press and hold the
release button in the end of the handgrip, and lower the lever fully.
Before driving off, always check that the parking brake has been
fully released, as confirmed by the tell tale icon being turned off,
or damage to the brake system may be caused. Note that the parking brake uses a cable mechanism to
apply the rear brake calipers, and is totally independent of the
footbrake hydraulic circuit.
Driving Controls
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PARKING BRAKE LEVER

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