December 2003
Battery on the wifes car is still the original and at 10 years old is likely to need replacing this winter.
The existing which is a Unipart and is labelled 12V,680/135 Type 096
In the Haynes manual it reads 680amp /135minutes reserve capacity.
Can anyone interpret that for me to the normal amperage size which I shall need.
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Rear screen wiper kit
Does anyone know of a rear screen wiper kit for fitting to a saloon car? We're fed up with poor visibility.
Centaur Read more
My wife's 306 Sedan also has a wiper as standard, and I have often wondered why this is not standard fit on all saloons, but I have never seen an accessory kit.
I may however know the answer to the latter: I recently asked a local glazing shop to grind a hole in the top glass shelf of my HiFi unit, so I could easily hang a cable tidy. They replied to say that they couldn't, because the glass had been toughened. If they tried, it would shatter.
I guess the same would apply to most car rear windows. If the glass is going to shatter, there's no market for wiper kits.
A few times lately when driving my Escort 1.3 (1997) the lights have gone very bright for about 5 secs and the speed of the wipers has doubled.
Firstly am I correct in thinking this is a problem with a voltage regulator device?
Secondly if it is, where is it and how do I fix it?
Thanks.....Harry Read more
Yup, alternator regulator (in alternator). Get it swapped out ASAP before any damage is done.
I'm driving up to Manchester tomorrow from Devon - weather's rumoured to be nasty but no idea what the traffic might be like! I've done the trip a few times before but first time in the Xsara diesel.
Any tips for long motorway driving? Should I be checking anything in particular before setting off? (eg, oil level (half full), screenwash, power steering and brake fluid, tire conditions etc)
Would you recommend taking anything in particular in the car besides a blanket and coat? (Which I carry anyway.)
All advice appreciated!
David. Read more
Take a mobile and a credit card.
I had an unfortunate incident and ended up with 2 punctured tyres. I phoned the breakdown service that I am with and a patrol was called out, a few minutes later they phoned offering to come out and fit 2 new tyres. Because i\'m a member they would waive the call out charge, 2 new 205/50/16 Goodyear Ventura £176 each, I normally pay £85 each total. How to rip off the stranded motorist, the patrol arrived 1-50hr later, put on the spacesaver, towed me to their local depot. £108 each for 2 Goodyear F1, still not good, but not deleted Rip Off, if you read this deleted you should be ashamed.
{All names removed due to the strict No Naming - Shaming policy of this site. DD}
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Aren't they supposed to be Recovery Services, not mobile mechanics, which I suspect would increase the subscription.
I know that the consumption readouts from on-board computers are not necessarily that accurate but I would have expected that cold weather and low temperatures would have improved my indicated fuel consumption. The fact is that, regularly driving the same 15 mile route in the same manner, my fuel consumption has worsened by about 5 mpg indicated. Any ideas please? The figures are still accpetable but I would have thought that cold weather would have improved the engine's overall efficiency but this does not seem to be the case! Read more
no such a sealed fuel system.Ie fuel evaporate`s the system only allows the unused fuel to return to the tank.the excess fuel vapour exit`s the pipe on top of tank/or through the filling cap unless anyone knows better.I think we are straying from first post.have a good Christmas all nice talking
This has just happened. My sister decided three months ago to trade in her Mercedes C43 for a new C32. The old C43 had served well for nearly 5 years and the Mercedes took it from her and ordered a new C32 to her specification for January delivery. She was able to use another family car so didn\'t mind and was eagerly looking forward to her new blue C32. Lo and behold the Mercedes dealer (bona fide) rang today to say that Mercedes has now stopped production of the C32 to be replaced by a C55 mid next year. One new C32 was in a dealership somewhere but it was the wrong colour and specification. The garage offered to get this car for her but would be happiest to give her her old C43 back again three months later! No price or delivery date for the new C55 yet. Where does she stand? She doesn\'t want her old car back, doesn\'t want a black C32 with funny spec. The dealer has behaved most unprofessionally and very pink fluffy diced off! Read more
Although I have never had any problems with MB dealers who also deal in smart cars I have read some horrendous tales on the smart owners website. The most recent was the inability for dealers to service and carry out diagnostics/ECU upgrades on the lastest smarts as they did not have the software upgrades - the car was launched in March 2003!
hello all,,,i have a leak on my 92 auotmatic transmission (nissan 300zx),leaks and smokes on the exhaust,ive got wynns auot/trans stop leak,but cant find anything on the best way to apply it.do you add the wynns then keep topping up with fulid until hopeully leak stops.
and i guess you have to drive it around for the wynns to do the job?!,,,any help aprreciated! happy new year to all! Read more
Yes, its a 'seal swelling' agent. Goes in the 'box and should work after a couple of days. Can cuase other problems though - so only use as a last resort.
Why, when a stretch of dual carriageway ends do 80% of people pull into the inside lane early, sit in an unnecessarily long queue glaring at the drivers who pass them perfectly legally in the empty outside lane.
If everybody used the available space and then took it turns to go forward at the head of the queue everyone would get through quicker.
It's called zippering in the states and works very well - why doesn't it happen here.
MPZ Read more
So true. Mrs H is totally oblivious to anything going on outside the car unless we are queuing in which case she knows which cars I have let in front of me and which cars are making better progress than we are. Would that she keep this data to herself, but I am treated to a running commentary on the relative speeds and lane position of up to 20 cars. Sigh.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
Can anybody advise me on how to change the automatic gearbox oil on my 1993 5 speed BMW 320i which does not have a dipstick. How do I know when the box is full? Haynes manual says leave it to a BMW garage, but that goes against my principles.
Help please, Best Wishes for the new year.GGH Read more
Try www.fedauto.co.uk for help
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Would`nt worry the acid would kill the detergent.Don`t know what gas it would produce though?