A simple question: Has anyone personal knowledge of a motorist prosecuted for driving on a UK motorway (with the NSL of 70mph in force) at :

A. 75-80 mph
B. 80-85 mph

I have not.

I am aware the mere mention of speed cameras, speed limits or the police is sufficient to drive Bogush and his ilk into a frenzy. However it would be nice to have simple answers without them hijacking this thread for their crusade.

C Read more

Hi All

I am new to the disc group and could do with some advice about a sick Alfa 156 which has had the following faults. I'll try to be brief but here goes with a brief history:

1. Purchased Alfa 156 2.0 TS with Leather Sport Pack from AutoAalbers and imported it into the UK Jan 2000.

2. 19 months old and the car started to suffer from engine breaking problems: i.e. when changing gear it was very difficult to get a smooth change, often if left in neutral and the car was going down a hill or on the flat it would decellerate to a stanstill.

Went to dealer and they cleaned throttle pot and reset the ecu, seemed to improve for 1 week and then back to normal.

3. 19 months old took car back with above problem and a squeeky front suspension especially when going over speed bumps.

Checked again and diagnosed failed rocker cover gasket, causing oil leak/loss of compression. Squeek diagnosed as failed front wishbone arms. Took 3 months to order in parts by which time car tended to understeer and vibration developed at all speeds through front of the car, (also changed tyres to Potenza S03's from Pirelli's wished I had put Michelin on).

4. 22 months old, dealer finally fitted new front wish arms, repaired rocker cover gasket and the engine braking improved but the suspension did not. Main problem was car vibration all the time, through the front of the car and instability at speed.

Dealer agreed with problem and decided to 4 wheel align the car 4 times, no improvement. Ordered replacement front and rear shocks.

5. 24 months old fitted front and rear shocks.

No improvement.

6. 26 months old another 4 wheel alignment and replaced failed rear bushes (one was hanging off apparently - which would explain the occasional knock at the rear).

No improvement, the tech ordered another set of rear shocks even though I disagreed and said if replacing once made no difference how would another?

7. 27 months, replaced shocks again, no improvement, tested wheels (after having em balanced 5 times) and diagnosed 2 out of true alloys (the ones from the rear where bushes had gone).

Garage wanted me to fork out for the alloys but the tyre place was not convinced. Used 2 more alloys from the garage and it helped but did not solve problem.

8. Finally last week, garage tryed last through of the dice and 4 wheel aligned car and released nuts on all suspension components and they hear a big "clonk". After this the car drives much better and the only vibration I think is due to the out of tru alloys.

My questions for help are as follows: could the incorrectly setup suspension/failed rear bushes have caused both rear alloys to fail (and therefore allow me to claim on warranty). As there is no sign of kerbing on them and it would be difficult to damage both of them simultaneously.

Secondly I am getting more concerned as the engine breaking has not really gone away (just had more pressing problems to concentrate on). Do other 2.0TS drivers have the same problem. I am sure that when I first had the car it drove much better and was less erratic/jerky at low rev's/speeds, more smooth in gear changes. If this is a problem, what could I suggest the tech to look at, my guess it throttle pot/ecu....

Thirdly the car has in the last 3 weeks developed a squeek from the front of the dash in front of driver, any ideas?

Apologies for the long email but I refuse to sell this car as when it works it is fantastic, and having solved one fault am eager to sort the others out. The local alfa dealer have been ok (i.e. they could have told be to f*@!#$ off as it is in an import with an extended UK warranty), but they struggle to diagnose advanced faults...

On another note anyone with an import in the UK, must take out an alfacare warranty, as the dealer principal mentioned they are getting return rates on alfa's of more than 25%, and with labour rates at £50 p/hour, it could get bloody expensive.

If anyone could help it would be well received......I am getting desperate.


James Nelson Read more

Hi,

I recently purchased a second-hand Peugeot 306 with a keypad immobiliser (96N 1.6 XS).

The owner's manual describes a procedure for delaying the immobilisation for an hour and shows a "D/N" key. That's all very well, but on my keypad this key is labelled "S" and the procedure in the manual doesn't work! I was wondering if anyone could confirm instructions for carrying out such operations with this keypad.

While playing around, I did also find that by typing the code twice it would bleep at me four times with the green light on - this did seem to then delay the immobilisation but it's not documented so I don't know if that is right or not.

Also, with the green light on, if I press the "S" button, type the code, then the "S" button again it bleeps a few times very quickly. Then when I turn the ignition off the red light comes on and stays on for a few seconds AND it bleeps four times which doesn't seem to be documented at all!!

"Normal" operation for it so far has been just a bleep each time I press a button on the keypad with the immobilisation always starting within a minute of switching off the ignition.

Any help gratefully received! Thanks!
Keith Read more

Just checking, you understand, but my beloved Xsara (!) is cutting out again and, as usual, nothing showed when the garage put it on the machine. They've had it for a week now, running it around to see if it will do it for them. It won't, of course. And why they think they'll be lucky enough for it to happen within the space of the few days they've had it, when it can go weeks without even so much as faltering I don't know. (That's the exciting thing about intermittent electrical faults.) Anyway, some bright spark in the back says he thinks he knows what it might be - an oil sensor connected to the power steering: when braking and turning at the same time (that's when it usually happens) he reckons it puts such a load on the battery that it cuts out. Now, is this just a tale to get me off their back or could it be that after two years my problems could finally be over? (It's also had to have a new alarm sensor recently because it kept going off - isn't that sometimes battery related? And since it was fitted the car doesn't beep when it's locked. Strange.)

Anyway - they're fitting the part, on the basis that they've nothing to lose, and I expect Citroen to stump up the £16 it costs. But it's going to take them a fortnight to deliver the part, so I'll have it back in the meantime - and what's the betting the thing cuts out the minute I pick it up?

Oh, and if it doesn't work does anyone want to buy a nice Xsara VTR? Read more

At 46K miles my 1998 Corsa has an annoying buzz when under way (previously posted) which the dealer hasn't met before.
He reckons it may be a clutch problem but the car's too young for a new clutch and it's expensive.
The other thing is that I've recently had to have the clutch cable readjusted as it was becoming hard to change gear (pedal all the way down to floor before disengaging) which is the reverse of what happens if the clutch wears. Now I think that after only a few 1000 miles the adjustment problem may have returned.
Do these signs mean anything to anyone?
Thanks. Read more