September 2003
Spotted a long (18ins), straight car park scratch at shin height on my door yesterday.
The, er, scoundrel has left a line of his paint which I thought might have been the total of the damage but rubbing it off with a wet finger reveals that he has also taken the top varnish off but as far as I can see the paint below is intact.
I bought a Halfords clear touch up pen a while but never used it, has anyone got any recommendations?
I'm no expert and with the scratch being below the rubbing strip, I'm even less inclined to risk my cack-handed DIY skills on a full-on rubbing back job - apologies to the purists here... Read more
I don't drive much these days but in my limited geographical range there is one road I'd nominate as one of the most frequently dug up roads in the country. It is a section of the A232 from Orpington to Locks Bottom which is the main route through to the A21 and Croydon. The short section of road involved can't be more than 200m long but seems to be dug up every few weeks for one reason or another causing massive local congestion. Those doing the work are either hardly ever present or are a 'one man and his dog' type outfit and the fact that there are almost no viable alternatives only makes matters worse.
There is obviously little planning or co-ordination of these works and I can't help thinking that this example is just the tip of a very big iceberg.
So fellow BackRoomers, get if off you chest, what's your vote for the most dug up road in the UK? Read more
Have any of you guys got a Cavalier with central locking that works of your remote for the alarm ?
Im having problems with mine , mainly with the boot-lock. This problem has started since I used the key to open and unlock the boot .Ocasionaly the central locking fuse will blow !?
Has anyone had this problem , how can I cure it as its costing me a fortune in fuses !
Read more
The Cavalier boot lock has 2 positions it can be left in. Turn the key to the vertical position and the boot will remain locked when the rest of the car is unlocked, or turn the key to the horizontal position and it will lock/unlock with the central locking.
You haven't left the lock in a different position to where it was previously by chance? ie, in the permanently locked position, so when the central locking is activated by the remote plip it blows the fuse because it cannot unlock the boot.
Anyone dare pass any obvious sexist comments ;-)
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3198619.stm Read more
Can anyone help me with this one. My SWMBO has a 1.6LX Focus V reg. It has developed a hesitation when on transition from a trailing throttle to a throttle open position or when accelerating there is a definite miss on initially increasing throttle opening. It doesn't do it all the time and sometimes when well warmed up and left to stand it behaves itself on restarting. A new set of plugs appeared to work for a day or two but now the problem is back. SWMBO went to the local Ford dealers to get the plugs and was told by the stores man that Focus's where known to misfire and the problem was either plugs, leads or the coil. I do not thing it is leads as in my experience they normally affect one cylinder and in fact it feels a bit like fuel starvation, however the fact that new plugs appeared to make a difference makes me wonder if it is electrical. (coil low on output perhaps?). Any suggestions very welcome.
Superannuated Rocker
PS have you ever noticed when attempting to track down a problem by working your way through the possible guilty components that any thing you change appears to solve the problem for a brief period? perhaps the plugs are a red herring? Read more
Throttle Position Sensor (Potentiometer) a very common problem on Fords generally, and usually give exactly these symptoms. You really need an oscilloscope to check for smooth voltage rise as throttle opens (centre wire of three).
Regards, Adam
Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.
Hello all,
How do you check whether a 12 volt car battery charger is actually charging... Which is to say whether it's working or not.
There's a fairly new battery in it and I'm wondering if it's the charger rather than the battery.
Any help appreciated. Read more
Connect a 12 volt light bulb to the charger for a second or 2. If it lights, it's not broken.
I have just come back from a short stay in Paris by Eurostar.
Pedestrians seem to be treated as disposable items.
I was amazed at the marked parking bays which went right up to junctions and crossings. This meant that cars were parked on the radius of corners and on pedestrian crossings!
This, of course, seriously reduces visibility and is dangerous.
They have not adopted the British system of zig-zag lines at crossings.
Also, I could not understand their system where you have a "Green Man" at the lights, but traffic is allowed to continue across your ped. crossing.
Pedestrian priority at crossings without lights was largely ignored by motorists.
Motorbikes use the pavements and the Police turn the other way.
Are there any Backroomers from France who would like to comment? Read more
Doc, on a visit to Paris a good few years ago a friend living there warned us that a pedestrian crossing in Paris is regarded as purely being there as a basis for negotiation.
Also, if you see a car without dents or scratches in Paris then it must be brand new and the driver is on his way home from collecting it from the dealer.
To the Parisians a car seems to be purely a means of transport and not a thing of value, once stood outside L'Opera one evening and watched a bus push a chaffeur driven Merc out of the bus stop it was waiting in, and I mean literally push it with bumper embedded in rear door and rear quarter, because it was his stop, regardless of the two other empty stops. Lots of shouting went on, lots of arm waving, both drivers got back in vehicles and drove off, not a sign of insurance details or call to the gendarmerie.
Dangerous, but wonderful, lively place, Paris.
Must admit that I'm rather glad it doesn't appear to have changed overmuch.
All I would add is, if you value your car, never, never, ever drive through Paris!!
Cockle
Hi,
This is an ongoing story, so I won't name any names - yet.
My mother bought a one year old Renault Scenic after many years of driving old heaps.
Unfortunately, the car had a small problem with the rear wiper which required warranty work at another Renault dealer.
So, here's the bad news. After the work had been done and the car was being cleaned for collection, a canny thief got into the car - keys in the ignition - and drove off!
Cleary the garage is at fault here (big main dealer) and they are now in a position of having to get a replacement Scenic ...
At this point, we have a courtesy car and await the garage's next move.
Anyone else been in this position ? Read more
Few years back, father of a friend of mine had his Range Rover nicked from the golf club car park. Turned up in an estate in Lewisham, minus wheels and bits of interior. AA come along to sort out and render it driveable. While the AA guy's doing this, someone has the wheels off his AA van! Nice.
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
Ok, maybe that's a bit of a tabloid headline, but maybe not. Just happened to catch a Watchdog report about a safety issue with the 307. The gist of the report is that cars built from April 2001 to later in the year could have a fault with the ignition, in that the key can remain stuck in the starting position and keeping the starter motor running. The starter motor isn't designed for this, so if it happens then it doesn't take long for it to overheat, which can lead to an engine fire. Scarily, this can happen quite quickly and cause faults with the electrics - such as activating the central locking.
The programme's journalist got this from a forensic technician (possibly forensic "something else", I wasn't taking notes!), who said that it was possible that the car could catch fire and lock you in it, or lock you out of getting someone else out of the burning vehicle. Peugeot's recall was, according to the show, classified as "non-safety". For a soundbite, the forensic guy was asked whether he would be happy to drive a 307. He said he wouldn't even park next to one.
www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/reports/index.shtml
andymc Read more
From the car-by-car breakdown on the 307:
"September 2003: Repeat of 2002 ignition switch recall to try to catch cars which escaped because when the switch jams, the starter motor remains engaged and this can lead to a fire."
I have been suffering with my 2.5td 1997 omega since i bought it two years ago, the problem is generally when changing up gear the engine will not rev and sits at tick over, even when flooring the accelerator, the engine management light flashes on then for about 1 second or so then power returns and all is well, This is very annoying. It can also happen when travelling along in a gear if you back off the gas and back on again, I have noticed it is far worse in winter and the rain. Has anyone got any ideas or suffered with the problem and had it fixed, I don\'t want to go down the route of replacing all the parts like pump, ecu sensor this and that in the hope it might fix it.
Thanks in advance
PB Read more
I replaced the injector with built-in sensor (£64 exchange) and brake
pedal sensor (£15) and the light has extinguished, and so far,
no loss of power *touch wood*
Hi
Can you tell me where you can purchase a replacement injector for the omega 2.5 Td. Mine is leaking diesel at the sensor on the injector itself!!
Cheers
Perhaps not the most dug up, but possibly the most annoying type of road works.
Road at the end of my street was resurfaced less than a month ago (with the "quiet" surface) and along come Transco and dig the deepest hole you've ever seen.
Quite tempted to write to the council to make sure that Transco are picking up the bill for this as well as any future work that needs doing (as no doubt where they resurface will be a point of weakness).