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Great title, Oilrag. You should be a headline writer!
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Cliff, The boot`s not part of the central locking - its key or cable operated.
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Don't you find a central locking boot useful? Or do you prefer to have a second key to fiddle with as in the old days?
Why should it be a second key?
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The lock barrels are separate items to the mechanical or electrical actuating systems - so keys remain unchanged.
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Odd isn't it? Of all today's gizmos, central locking is the only one I'd really miss...
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"What tripe - they will be electrifying handbrakes next......... "
The Handbrake on my 05 C-Max was electric. Small lever.
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handbrakes next......... "
Nice one oilrag, or is that ragworm?
Edited by Old Navy on 18/08/2009 at 14:52
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electrifying handbrakes next.........
Photo of a rather naughty-looking 11 year old girl in yesterday's paper who had run her grandparents' Citroen through a couple of tents, over a cliff and into the sea while 'listening to her ipod in the driver's seat'. Apparently the nipper 'unintentionally' released the handbrake which may have been one of these electric ones everyone complains about...
The grandparents were said to be relieved, even ecstatic, that the child escaped from the vehicle before it went over the cliff. I'm not sure I would have been, in their place.
Edited by Lud on 18/08/2009 at 15:02
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Apparently the nipper 'unintentionally' released the handbrake which may have been one of these electric ones everyone complains about...
And that was impossible with old fashioned hand brakes?
I would have thought electric ones might have safety overrides which would actually prevent this kind of thing...
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And that was impossible with old fashioned hand brakes?
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No, but a mechanical handbrake needs deliberate physical effort to release, a switch is easily inavertently knocked.
Edited by Old Navy on 18/08/2009 at 15:12
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>a switch is easily inavertently knocked
Can't speak for all electric handbrakes, but the Audi one can only be released with the ignition on and foot firmly planted on the footbrake (or by driving off but only if the driver's seatbelt is fastened!!). Inadvertent knocking won't do it.
....clearly, Audi have had the Elf and Safety consultant in.
Edited by dieselfitter on 18/08/2009 at 15:24
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....clearly Audi have had the Elf and Safety consultant in.
Which is what the Citroën system is supposed to do. Either it was faulty or it was never engaged. It's easier to blame it on the 11 year old who was unlucky enough to be sitting in it than the driver who parked it.
One's an accident, the other is negligence. Guess which causes more problems with the insurance claim?
Poor girl probably never touched it!
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And that was impossible with old fashioned hand brakes?
Of course not. Aged about six, I was taken out by the doctor's kind young locum on his rounds to get me, I suppose, out of my mother's hair (about 1944). In the country outside Bath, he left me in the car, parked on a slope, while he went into a farm or house to see a patient. The car I think was a Morris 8 tourer or saloon.
Remember what handbrakes used to be like before buttons? Sort of Y shaped double lever at the top, with one lever operating the ratchet. Absolutely irresistible to a bored nipper, and I didn't resist. However, when the car started to move I did have the sense to reapply the brake. But the doctor saw it move through the window and rushed out, not best pleased. I was very abashed.
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But then I never thought that I would need air con., sat nav., low profile tyres, FWD, airbags, six speed gearboxes, CD Player and so the list goes on. Who knows what the next 20 years of technology will bring to our cars.
Of course we could do without all the above (and many more) but frankly I've got used to them.
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Nice one oilrag, or is that ragworm? "
Me? Bait? Handbrakes? To keep a boring subject like doors afloat - never!
;-)
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You mean to tell me that cars still have keyholes?
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You mean to tell me that cars still have keyholes?
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Mine has one, just in case the electrickery throws a tantrum.
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>Poor girl probably never touched it!
One of SWMBO's favourite tales is the time we crossed the Alps in our MkIII Mondy towing a caravan. On the way down, I tried to avoid frying the brakes by using engine braking as much as poss, and finally we pulled into a layby at the bottom for a spot of lunch. Handbrake on. Whilst I'm ferreting in the van for something to eat, SWMBO has to dive through the window of the Mondy and reapply the brakes as we rolled back at an increasing pace. Rear discs had presumably cooled, contracted and released the handbrake.
Here's the thing - this wouldn't have happened with an electric handbrake - or would it??
Oilrag - handbrakes are much more interesting than central locking, surely?
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Remember the Watchdog stories about the Vectra handbrakes?
tinyurl.com/qhgexq
tinyurl.com/q25c2k
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Yes, indeed. Electric handbrakes. That's the way forward. You know you want one. Designed by the Elf, built by robots, driven by ?????
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"Oilrag - handbrakes are much more interesting than central locking, surely?
There`s always a chance that someone will come along who prefers the purity of simplicity - manual door conversions;-)
Maybe...
Edited by oilrag on 18/08/2009 at 17:07
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". Electric handbrakes. That's the way forward. You know you want one."
It`s just a matter of time before an electrical system extends the driving seat out of the car. The driver flops onto it and gets loaded in.
Electronic stabilizers then hold the head up and swivel it in the appropriate direction.
Laugh as you may, but the trend is in that direction ;-)
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How long before all electric brakes? At least the brake fluid change rip off will be no more. Power steering has gone this way.
Edited by Old Navy on 18/08/2009 at 17:18
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How long before all electric brakes?
As it happens, some of the Mercs have electrically assisted brakes.....
very clever, one thing they do, is when raining the pads gently move out to wipe water from the discs.. they also have improved assistance.
the down side?
well...... the software allows for a finite amount of applications.... after that the braking loses its assistance..................
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How long before all electric brakes? At least the brake fluid change rip off will be no more. Power steering has gone this way.
But power steering has to continue to function manually if the pump or motor fails, so mechanical 'back-up' has to be there. So with electric brakes I presume.
And there may be some ladies who still like the idea of central locking in an emergency, even if they don't normally use it. But I suspect most do.
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I've been know to say I'd never buy a car without a proper handbrake, without rubbing strips down the sides, with painted plastic panels instead of bumpers, with no keyholes....shall we go on? Fortunately, car manufacturers know what we want - market researchers tell them this.
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Several of the reasons I`m using a van as a car...
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The girl also, reportedly, steered the car around an occupied tent, suggesting the keys were in the ignition with the steering lock off!
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>>You mean to tell me that cars still have keyholes?<<
I was very glad SWMBO's clio had a keyhole (on passenger side) after the battery failed - so completely that it couldn't even open the c/l (it hadn't shown any signs of failure until then).
I wish my bike had c/l - one key for ign, one for a lock device, one for the panniers, one for the top box (yes, I *do* know how wonderful those BMWs are :-) ), and a plipper for the alarm
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Most cars have manual override keyholes usually hidden under a piece of trim on the door handle.
Edit:-
Yes you can code your panniers to fit the ignition key on a BMW - it cost me nothing at Blue Bell Motorrad.
Edited by Pugugly on 18/08/2009 at 18:28
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back to doors,
could have been usefull when i deadlocked the mondeo and then put my jacket with the key in the boot.
you can open the boot (only) with the remote and then it locks when you shut it.
two hours, one aa man and an angle grinder, to cut my way through the steel seat back, later i was reunited with my keys.
amazing what tricks the breakdown fellas know in't it.
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Alfa, in similar mondeo situation, Mr RAC used a little balloon device inserted in the drivers door to open it - ten minutes and no angle grinder involved! He then very kindly 'serviced' the key, which had got a little damp/corroded while with its previous owner.
As a female driver, I like central locking on my car, so if driving through a dodgy area I can lock all the doors. I also like the fact that one plip only opens my door, two to open all. My door can also be locked/unlocked with a key, but does not activate the alarm.
Edited by deepwith on 19/08/2009 at 09:55
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Most cars have manual override keyholes usually hidden under a piece of trim on the door handle.
When I asked the question "Do they still have keyholes?" It was meant as a slightly amusing remark, but it's hard to get subtle humour across on a forum. :)
I suppose it's because I always use the remote and have done for years. The only time I had a problem was on an open car park in Sheffield. It was where the old Royal Hospital had been and there was some kind of interference which prevented it unlocking. Was glad there was a keyhole on that occasion. ;)
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Lud re handbrakes - Y'see I thought there must be some deeply emotionally scarring incident in your past which has led you to your appalling habit of applying handbrakes noisily and without using the button provided !
Ha ! All is revealed !
Hypnosis might help......
;-)
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I guess a child could release a mechanical handbrake easily enough.
When I was a youngster my father drove a Leyland Octopus lorry, an eight-wheeler with Westinghouse air brakes. You had to pull a huge lever back several times against the ratchet to apply the handbrake, but the lever just had to be eased back against a spring and pushed forward to release it. My little brother, now a captain of industry who would probably prefer to forget the whole thing, was once sitting in the Leyland's driving seat and managed to let the brake off. He must have been aged about seven.
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>My little brother now a captain of industry who would probably prefer to forget the whole thing was once sitting in the Leyland's driving seat and managed to let the brake off. He must have been aged about seven.
Adrenalin only comes in one colour!
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And it can turn your hair white! ;-)
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an advantage of (all?) automatics is the locking of vehicle in Park position which cannot be released until ignition on, a good back-up "brake" and, thus, child-proof
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>> Don't you find a central locking boot useful? Or do you prefer to have a second key to fiddle with as in the old days? Why should it be a second key?
Because traditionally it always was. Old cars I've owned always had different keys. Sometimes the fobs were different shapes, but still a pain.
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Ps: I still use graphite powder to lubricate the door lock mechanisms on my cars, even though I use the plippers all the time. You never know...
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I too am happy with central locking, partial to electric windows and over the moon with a proper automatic gearbox...mated to a proper engine.
However on the subject of runaway cars, one particular manual car that has electric handbrake will sometimes run away on a steep incline the moment you start the engine (after dipping the clutch to enable start)....presumably the angle on the transporter which is steep but no worse than many folks' driveway is enough to exert sufficient force on the brake and cause premature release.
Not all of them do this but it's nearly caught me out on several occasions.
As we've said many times here, fixed a problem that wasn't.
And i'll state for the record i am not ever having a car with an electric handbrake...however i am a reluctant convert to simple on/off aircon..;)
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I`ve costed the job and peered into a few doors at the scrapyard. £5 for a manual actuator and £10 for a replacement electric. I want more evidence of failure before I go for it though.
It might just have had an earwig in it when it failed to come up.
Edited by oilrag on 19/08/2009 at 21:59
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I have two Renaults - Espace with electric handbrake. Impossible to release unless you reach with right hand under the dash, press central section in and pull lever upwards. Starting engine is push button - no clutch or brake pedal, but handbrake only releases when in gear and reved ready to move off. Megan is aircraft style handbrake lever - and I would reckon impossible to release accidentally. Starting enginne is by pressing brake pedal as you hit the start button. IMHO - Modern cars - pretty difficult to release handbrake unless child really knew what she was doing or handbrake left off (which I and SWMBO have done in the Megan forgetting it wasn't automatic like the Espace.
CL - brilliant and handsfree locking/starting even better.
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I want more evidence of failure before I go for it though.
My limited experience of these things:
Peugeot 505 - two rear door actuator failures (same door!?) in 8 years
Skoda Felicia - no actuator failures in nearly 10 years (RIP)
FIAT Punto - no actuator failures so far in coming up to 4 years.
Having said that about the FIAT, it does very occasionally have a rush of blood, which generally involves a random reset of the trip counter to zero, which seems to be more or less coincident with the "plip" refusing to work.
The only other "plip" failures have been in areas of high RF.
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