June 2002
new to forum - hello to all
I've just bought a 93K ZX Volcane after putting 150,000 miles on an Avantage (before an untimely write-off). Volcane has 47000 miles and FSH from a dealer I trust. I've discovered a problem with Volcane that is apparently similar to one with the Avantage - some intermittent electrical failure.
my wife lost electric windows and indicators (didnt notice if anything else stopped working) but they came back online after switching off and on again. The Avantage sporadically lost all electrics - a problem I never fixed but suspected it was a loose/damaged cable in main ignition harness caused by adjusting steering wheel height.
The electric windows and indicators come of same fuse which is sound and "wiggle" tests behind fusebox/relay mounting didn't show any problem.
Two main questions:
1 - does anyone know of this as a common fault and how to fix it?
2 - there should be an electric window re-energiser relay that allows the windows/sunroof to be operated with ignition off and a door open (worked on avantage, not working on volcane) - I'm blowed if I can find the relay. I've identified all the relays/beeper/flasher unit that I can see behind facia.
many thanks Read more
A friend is looking to get her first car.
She is 18, and has about £1500 to spend. Naturally reliability, running costs, and insurance are important.
Any suggestions of what to consider? Read more
The Clio is a nice car, but remember that even if it has a 'full service history' that can well mean that the coolant has never been changed and there is gravy circulating (maybe) in the engine.
On Saturday, in a fit of trailer madness (trying to get a trailer half a mile down a one ended alley that in points was six inches or so wider than the trailer) I ended up pulling the thing down the alley, then performing a 23 point turn on dirt (I counted) to get the car turned back. I did this three times.
The end result of this is that I seem to have done something to my power steering, namely that at intermediate speeds (25-40?), there doesn't seem to be much help from the pump. The car is an Omega, which has speed sensitive power steering, so my first guess is that this might be the culprit.
Does anyone else have any ideas what it might be, and should I take it to a power steering expert (if there is such a thing) rather than a standard garage? Could it just be the tracking?
Any suggestions/comments welcome. Read more
Cyd,
Thanks for the help, but the oil is a beautiful clear red (as it should be,of course). I think it's got to be the speed sensor part of the thing, as the steering's perfect below 25 or so mph, and fine above 40 or so. I'm going to get the tracking checked, then see about getting the power steering checked.
Does anyone know of any power steering specialists?
Vin
Hi all,
Hopefully someone has experienced this problem and can help me out. When driving along as normal, everything is fine until I lift my foot of the acc. there is a momentary lull in performance, almost as if I have dabbed the brakes. This happens in all gears and tends to be somewhere between 2000-3000 revs.
Any ideas out there?
Barry. Read more
Yes, it's petrol engines I'm talking about. Putting an 'idle' fuel supply on doesn't seem to bother the cat.
Regards
John S
I am contemplating upgrading my halogens to HIDs but am finding it difficult to find someone who can do the job in the London area. Does anyone know a specialist who could carry out the job on a BMW 5 (E39)?
BMW don't offer an upgrade so rather typically say that it can't be done! Read more
It sounds as though you have adjustable headlamps which can be worked from a switch on the dashboard. Your dealer is right that they are not self levelling but as you load up the vehicle you can move the switch to the best position for the load and the electric motors do the rest.
We have a Citroen ZX in the family with about two inches of free travel on the brake pedal,Ihave replaced the brake fluid with no change in the amount of free travel,does anyone have any ideas please tonyh
Read more
Thankyou all for your help, it turned out to be the automatic adjuster mechanism that was at fault tonyh
Does anyone have any first hand experience of one of these ?
1994 'L', low mileage.
It all sounds really good. 2.4 turbo diesel, 4 wheel drive (switchable), air con, swivel seats, seats 8, comes with a warranty etc...
Or are there any known troublespots with these.
Any advice would be most grateful.
Read more
Martin. Yes, I have first hand experinece of these excellent vehicles and have run a Masterace for the last 14 months.It has proved to be one of the best vehicles I have ever had and, extremely good value for money. It has features which the Galaxy and Espace owners can only dream about and costs, usually, half the price of these MPV\'s with, half the mileage. Don\'t be put off by the people who say that spares are difficult. There are no problems with spares and, as it is a Toyota, they are rarely required. There have been horror stories but, Espace and Galaxy owners have those too. Andrew, rightly, mentions the \"Achilles Heel\" with these vehicles, ie cooling. However, the cooling problems are, in the main, brought about by owner neglect and an unwillingness to take a little more trouble than normal over routine maintenance. In Japan, antifreeze & corrosion inhibitors seem to be rarely used, and when the vehicles come into this country, it is essential that the entire cooling system is checked and cleaned. Because head gasket failure can be a problem, due to overheating from corrosion/sludge build up, I renewed the head gasket on my Masterace, together with the bolts, a 5 thou head skim and pressure test, thermostat, radiator flush etc etc. Result, 13,000 entirely trouble free miles. If you wanted to learn more, there is an enthusiast website with links to a \"Board of Knowledge\" where mutual help & information is abundantly available.
My vehicle is 4WD also but, is a 1990 with the 2C-T 2 litre engine. The one which you mention will have the 3C-T engine. This type has two radiators, ie, one vertically mounted in front of the in-line engine and the other, mounted horizontally, under the front of the vehicle. This extra coolant volume does give, in my opinion, a better heat transfer performance. The generic name for these vehicles is the \"Townace\" and the Masterace is the luxury version. The name, Townace, does imply, I think, what the designers intended, ie, a town vehicle. It is no motorway \"burner\" but, handled sensibly and, within the limits of a heavy vehicle, performance is excellent. If you wanted any more information, please feel free to email me but, a look at the enthusiasts website, and the links on
\" www.ukspacecruisers.co.uk/ \" will give you a lot of information.
Does anyone have any experience of film being fitted to their car windows and is it a recommendation for a 4x4 vehicle? Read more
Visit the tropics or the Gulf and you will find all vehicles have tint. It should last the life of the car without deteriorating if good quality (3M is the standard) and is generally done either at the factory or by the dealer pre-sale (the buyer is usually asked what color/standard of tint he wants when the salesperson writes the spec-sheet for his car). It helps the air-con and keeps out glare (obviously) but a key role is security, i.e. hard to see who or what's inside the vehicle. Therefore I would consider it for use anywhere on this feature alone. You can buy tint which is almost opaque from the outside but easy to see through from within. My US Ford F150 comes with this as standard. Almost black viewed from without, but like wearing just a weak pair of shades from the inside out. No of course not on the windshield, although it's customary to run a strip across the top, say 4" wide as a sunshield. If the law have a problem with this they should get real and go after proper offenders.
For the boy racers, there's tint to match your car, gold, blue etc, obviously that's ego-tripping. Here there are any number of corner shops who make putting tint on look dead easy but I wouldn't like to try it myself.
I have a 1994 Cavalier 2.0 Auto. There is a noticeable amount of vibration when the car is idling - the effect is more obvious when the autobox is in drive. It has over 100k on the clock. When the RPM is above 1000 the car is extremely smooth and there are no other problems. Is this normal for an older auto, or if not, any ideas what could dampen it down a bit? Read more
Looks normal under the hood, I can only feel it when
sitting in the car.
Check the exhaust mount directly under the engine - or more specifically the downpipe from the manifold to the main exhaust. On my old Astra the rubber bush had perished causing the exhaust to cause vibration through the engine. The bush looks like a rubber grommit with a dowel through the centre.
Saw a Honda Civic 'Vision' in local dealer's the other day - seems to have a lot of kit for the asking price ABS, AirCon, Airbags, CD player, Electric windows, Metallic paint, heated mirrors - all for £9995 (before discount) with a 3 year warranty.
To me this looks like a good deal - is there a better new car buy for this sort of money? Would this be a good bet for someone who does mainly motorway miles with some town driving or is the 1.4 engine not up to the job? Read more
FYI Drivethedeal (www.drivethedeal.com) have them for £9768.15 - although strangely enogh they say that the MRRP is £10,050 - I think they may have got the VED rates mixed up....
(there are a few errors on the site - such as the manual versions of cars being listed at the automatic price and vice-versa)
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The intermittent fault on adjusting the steering column on my car was a multi-connector behind the column which was not snapped home tight.