December 2003
Right,
my 306 has never been great at producing hot air from the vents,
I have checked the blower etc, it working correctly,
I have checked the dial and cable are working and re-directing the air over to the matrix.
I have disconnected the matrix from under the bonnet and put a hose pipe in one end and watched it flow out the other.
I know the car runs about 80°C which is low, but the thermostat works and even if I block the rad until she's at 90° and the fans cut in, she still refuses to produce hot air.
The in and out of the matrix are hot (too hot to hold)
Has anyone got any ideas? I'm lost.
Is it possible for the matrix to fill with grime, does anyone know the flow path, is it possible for the coolant to just be passing over the top and not through the fins.
Removing the entri dash and maxtrix is all I have left to do, but I would rather avoid it. HELPPPPPPP
cheers
H Read more
When we came back to the car from a shopping trip on Saturday I noticed that the rear windscreen had been broken. What was odd was that it didn\'t look like a break-in attempt. The damage was thus.
There was a large crack running the length down both sides of the windscreen. At both bottom corners there were identically sized holes, about 15cm across. The screen itself looked like it had been pushed out not in. The glass broke off very easily with any movement. This and the fact that the holes were small and the luggage cover was still in place suggested to me that the break was caused either by the air pressure generated when closing a door or the actual shutting of the boot.
Has anyone had experience of a similar occurence?
PS The car is an A4 Avant and the doors generally need a good slam to shut. The exception is the boot which I let close under its own weight. Read more
Ah...the old heated rear window breakage! Common fault on some cars - which will remain nameless.....
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
Does anyone have any experience of these solar powered trickle chargers that you plug in the cigar lighter to keep the battery topped up? There seem to be various models available from £20 to £400 and I know you get what you pay for but is the £20 end of the market a complete waste of time? Read more
That inverter wouldn't work as you can'y get more energy out than you put in.
The inverter and charger would probably be 70% efficient, they would need to be over 100% efficient, which is impossible.
eg, you cant use a motor to power a generator that's powering the motor, it would grind to a halt due to energy losses.
Car went in for a service and its first MOT on Friday. Had the cambelt done, two suspension bushes replaced, new pads and steel braided brake hoses. Came to £680 plus the price of the pads and hoses. Money well spent as this car may have to last me a few years yet, although it left the current account looking a bit poorly.
Yesterday evening the heating failed whilst driving.... then the temperature gauge started its inexorable climb.... was only half a mile from my mum's place so limped on.
After letting it cool for 90 mins I had to put 1.5l of water in to get the level back up. Limped home and left car overnight. This morning the expansion tank took 1.5l again. Hmmmmmmm.
A stone has managed to get through the slats between the central grill and the OS headlamp, punching a 2mm hole in the rad. These slats are less than an inch apart and only 8-10 inches long. The overall area the stone had to come through is about the same as that presented by the side of your hand.
New rad needed. £305 supplied and fitted. Half the front of the car has to come off to do the job. Still, at least it wasn't the intercooler!
Christmas is cancelled. I'm thinking of changing my screen name to absolutely No Dosh.
I could cry.....
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Whilst working in Glasgow a few years back one of my colleagues had a similar incident on the way into the office. (Lynn, if you're reading this I still remember the look on your face when you got in).
A car had lost its exhaust, which was lying in the outside lane of the M8. The car in front of Lynn clipped the exhaust. It promptly dug into the road in the same way as a polevaulters pole and shot up, came through her screen and embedded itself in the passenger seat, passing through it by a good few inches.
Since that day I've always treated all road debris as a potentially lethal hazard. That flat piece of board - How do you know there are no nails there, waiting to shred your tyres? The short length of timber batten - I can pass over it ok, but will it spear the driver of the car behind? The sack or tarp at the edge of the road - For all I know, its covering a pile of scrap iron and bricks.
Suddenly a stone through the rad seems suitably insignificant....
Quoted from the Powershift web site:-
>PowerShift and CleanUp grants have been very successful this >year in achieving their objectives of reducing C02, PM and Nox >emissions. We have received a large number of applications that >will fill our order book to the end of the year (March 2004).
>
>Whilst this is good news for the environment, the Department >for Transport is unable to provide additional funds at this >time.
>
>If you have received a grant offer letter, this will be >honoured subject to the necessary documentation. New grant >applicants awaiting a grant offer letter will be placed on the >waiting list and we will be contacting all applicants in due >course.
>
>We are also delighted to announce that the Department for >Transport has confirmed the continuation of both programmes for >2004/05.
>
>Please note in Scotland, CleanUp, PowerShift and autogas+ grant >applications are unaffected. Applications are being processed >for vehicles operated primarily in Scotland.
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Much use was made on my recent trip through Europe of my old hand-held Garmin GPS which I had connected up to my laptop for the first time running the new improved Garmin MapSource software (that now often comes bundled with their new units).
My Garmin software [1] gave me route planning, very detailed maps with street names, plus a huge database of fuel stations, food and lodging and loads of other stuff. When connected to my GPS I could get a tracking facility showing my real time location on the laptop screen, which was handy when driving in a large foreign city.
But if you do not already own a hand-held GPS navigator you can now buy a smart antenna (sometimes called a GPS mouse) starting at £80 which plugs into your laptop. The best (and best selling) routing software appears to be Infomap Navigator which is £50 for Europe (16 countries). This software will give you turn-by-turn voice instructions as you drive, as well as other powerful features.
There are also many relatively inexpensive solutions for those with PDAs. Or at the other end of the portable [2] scale is the new Garmin StreetPilot 2610 with touch screen and remote control which retails at £980.
Only a couple of people in the BR have ever mentioned using portable GPS for in-car navigation. Does anyone else in here use a laptop or a PDA for this?
Interesting websites: GPS warehouse www.gpsw.co.uk and
www.pocketgps.co.uk and www.garmin.com
[1] European City Select version 4.00 database with MapSource software upgraded to version 5.3 by free internet download.
[2] portable meaning being able to move it from car to car.
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Big Vern (or should I say ... Uncle Monty ?!?) What
was it about InfoMap Navigator that did not impress? What else
are you comparing it to and what else have you tried?
Please let me know. For your other question, try the GPS
specific forums on www.pocketgps.co.uk
The first 'route' I got it to plan was from Belfsat in the mid east of N.Ireland to Londonderry/Derry city in the North West of N.Ireland. It suggested for the shortest/fastest/cheapest route that I head South all the way down to Co.Monagahn and come up through Co.Donegal. Adding about 200 miles to my journey. This coupled with the fact that it did not seem to support my Fortuna GPS mouse with a PS/2 connector. I had to make a harness up to convert it to a DB9 RS232 connector. Since then I have not bothered too much with it.
I'm tempted by net deals from such as DC Cook and Drivethedeal for buying a new Mondeo.
Anyone any experience of problems going this sort of route? Read more
Thanks everyone for the help. I've gone with motorprovider - we''l see what happens
Nissan QX 3.0 SE Auto with LSD (1995)
Bought in October 2002 at 93k and now at 123k. Intended to keep until 2006 or 200k, whichever is sooner. Or unless someone advice me otherwise.
Best: 31.9 mpg
Average: 26.9 mpg [60% urban; 40% motorway]
Urban: 22.3mpg [central London]
Worst: 12mpg [used in 4 road rallies]
Serviced every 5k.
Non-service items changed:
At 123k:
1. Air-con belt
2. Power steering belt
3. Battery
4. Oil-pressure switch [my started to seepage, this is a known fault on all A32, well documented in US]
5. CV gaiters [+200gm of grease]
6. Front suspension arms
7. Anti-roll bar drop links
8. Front pads [Mintex]
9. Renew auto transmission fluid
At 100k:
1. Complete exhaust system
2. A set of Michelin Pilot Primacy [Treat left @ 120k: front-5mm, rear-8mm]
Total repair and maintenace cost: £1200
(in ppm = £0.04 per mile) Read more
That's very useful Gazza. I assume you're well-please with the car? I am most impressed by the V6 engine used in the QX, its a real gem, and the autobox is not bad either.
My '98 has required nothing as yet - but then its only just done 30k miles.
I would be interested to know the approx. cost of each of the items, including the full exhaust and the CV gaiters. I did a quick costing of parts for the QX before I bought the car and found most service replacement parts to be relatively reasonable. Nissan don't seem to rip you off quite a much as some other Japanese brands......
Browse
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Different car (Golf VR6) but similar problem, low engine temp and no cabin heat, turned out to be missing vanes (7) in water pump. Just a thought. New pump fixed problem - now warm as toast.