October 2003
Earlier this year we bought a P-reg MGF which has been great fun and (touch wood) reliable. Now the weather has changed we are doing more miles with the roof up. The main drawback is that the radio cassette is carp - the sound quality is poor and radio reception weak, especially on medium wave. Is this to be expected? And is it worth replacing the unit with a (face-off) CD player or are the speakers such poor quality as to not make this worthwhile? Grateful for any thoughts/experience of this.
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I took my 96 1.9 diesel polo to a garage the other day due to poor starting. But whilst fixing the problem, they managed to set fire to some of the wiring (the battery had run flat and they were using a mains powered device to turn the engine over). After repairing the alternator, they were unable to work out why the alternator light was still on (the battery is charging fine) and why the rev-counter was reading artificially high (about 3000 rpm) whilst idling. In addition to this, when the engine is first turned on, the oil warning lamp flashes until the accelerator is depressed for the first time. Does anybody have any ideas as to what might have caused all this and how I can fix it?
many thanks,
~James
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James,
if they are refusing to give the car back or communicate with you i'd say it's now time for a solictors letter. I believe you're looking at quite a small cost for a quick chat with one and subsequent letter.
You took the car to them with a fault - they damaged the wiring and caused other faults that were not present before. Also i guess that if they've only patched the wiring up rather than properly repaired it or replaced the loom then there's a very definate future potential for a fire!
We all make mistakes, it's how we deal with it that counts, they've shown themselves to be thoroughly incompetant. You might want to get your solictor to show that the letter they write has been c.c to BBC watchdog and / or the Sunday Times watchdog / Honest John! Don't know if it'll cut any ice but you never know!
Worth checking - i had a Transit a few years ago that had a duff axle, first of all they refused to fix it, but mysteriously sorted it straight away when we found out that they had not been paying their "subs", on the warranties they were advertising!
Good luck!
during a nostalgic moment the other night,my friends and myself were discussing all the old cars we used to own,one chap who has had hundreds can still recall them all by their number plates,which prompted me to recall my fathers old hillman super minx which he had in the late 60's. this old banger ended its life on the council tip, but i was wondering what the reg plate would have been worth today,(in those days plate transfer/selling was virtually unheard of)it was RAF 633,any body care to comment?.
ta,
billy.
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Billy,
The Dam Busters were 617 Squadron flying Lancasters and based at Scampton (5 miles north of Lincoln).
633 Squadron was a fictitious Squadron made up for the film "633 Squadron" who flew De Havaland Mosquitos. I think it was Cliff Robertson in the leading role.
However, the number (plate) would have been keenly sought after by RAF types and film buffs... (I seem to be both...)
John R
I have a 13 year old Volvo 740 GLE estate with electric sunroof.
Although the sunroof has never failed it is now very slow to operate and does not close the final 2 or 3 inches without a helpful shove.
I have been given conflicting advice from various sources, including:
1.motor on the way out;
2. stretced cables &
3. runners clogged up with dirt and grease.
I cleaned the runners which resulted in a temporary improvement - maybe I didn\'t clean them well enough.
I am reluctant to take out the headlining to check the cables - I understand it is a big job.
Do any Backroomers have experience of such a problem, or know of a possible cure?
many thanks
HectorG Read more
thanks guys,I'm sure your right. I'll have a go and let you know the outcome.
HectorG
My 52 Passat recently went in for a 20,000 mile service. While it was there they performed a modification required as a result of a product recall.
What would this be?
Had a letter through regarding the Mk IV Golf I got rid of last year requiring the braking system to be checked, but the letter only mentioned Boras and Golfs. Read more
I forgot to ask at the time, which was 3 weeks ago!
More and more we seem to be told by service department "that part isn't serviceable sir and will have to be replaced".
Cynics like me tend to believe that much of this is driven by a desire to extract as much money from us as possible. Others will claim it's all just a means by which to guarantee quality. Whatever the truth, how environmentally friendly is this policy ? How many perfectly repairable bits and pieces are simply thrown away because what may be a relatively minor component has failed ? Sealed light clusters are just one example and many of these are hugely expensive to replace - a fact made even more unpalatable when all that's wrong is some superficial damage to the lens for example which IMO ought to be possible to replace without binning the entire unit. Read more
Yep - good luck with the MOT, Mrs V's is due in Nov. so we'll be keeping our fingers crossed too !
BTW if you've got kids get over to Costco sooner rather than later - they've got some really great toys etc. but tend to sell out well before Xmas. Regards.
Uncle Rupert's Star Sports Channel got it all wrong for the Philippines. They're running a Castrol commercial which is ludicrously based on a soccer theme (for a country whose favorite national sport by far is cock-fighting, followed by basket-ball and then pool) and ends with the exhortation "Make your bike go like Beckham!"
My biker buddies keep asking me what "a Beckham" is. Is it some brand of bike they haven't heard about....I say don't worry, give thanks you live in a country where in this case ignorance is truly bliss......
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I am asking this question rather than looking at the car itself, as the car is presently away from home for a couple of weeks. Are the rear doors of a Look 2 1998 106 rear wired for speakers. The holes and the grills are there but is the wiring there by default ?? Thanks Peter
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I am convinced that my BMW 530d is lacking somewhat in the power department especially as I can hardly keep up with a Golf/Passat 130bhp, can hardly pass a Jeep Grd Cherokee 2.7 CRD and that there is little pull below 2k rpm. I asked my dealer to check everything out and he said that the diagnostic check was AOK.
Does anyone know of a rolling road near to SW London so that I can get actual outputs (and therefore see if its my mind playing tricks)?
Any help would be appreciated as the car is soon out of warranty!
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Can't get too near but here's a couple.
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/oakwood_data/rol...m
www.ccengines.co.uk/
Rudolf
A lot of new cars have LEDS instead of bulbs in their lights, are they replacable?
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The ones illustrated here www.3dzled.com/vehicle.html are certainly good old fashioned leaded components; but then these are aftermarket ones. I'll see if anyone at work will let me take their Merc. to bits to see what the LEDs look like ;-)
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I do not know what type of aerial is on a MGF, but if it is a screw fit type, unscrew and clean the base with a sandpaper.
As far as your stereo goes, it would possibly be worth buying a new head unit, but a pair of decent speakers will make the worst car stereo sound much better.
I dont know if the speaker grille cover is servicable, or whether it has been heat staked on as a permanent fix. Check it out before you buy anything.