September 2004
A friend recently purchased a J reg 5 door citroen AX tzx 1.4 for £300 with only 66k on the clock.
Alternator died, so he has had fitted a new alternator and battery by his brother. Since then the battery warning light stays on all the time - but the car has been used everyday without fault for the past month.
What could be causing the light to stay on? the car has no problems whatsoever and starts on the button everytime. Would a missed / loose connection on the alternator cause this? there is a couple of thin wires in a connector block hanging unconnected near the alternator - do these feed the info to the warning light?
His brother can't remember if the block was connected to the old alternator or not - the new one has no terminals for it.
Its mainly me thats curious - he doesn't seem bothered by it!
Oh and the drivers side electric window has failed - are they easy to take apart or replace with a manual winder? Read more
If I drive an 18 metre (56ft) long vehicle through central London, do I need to inform the police and maybe have a escort? Read more
Hypothetical, I was rather hoping that Red Ken might have shot himself in the foot, but it seems not.
AutoTrader has issued an e-mail warning of an e-mail scam to try and get some of your hard earned money into the wrong hands under the guise of it coming from its own organisation.
It seems similar to the familiar "Send you bank details to us" e-mail scams which have been doing the rounds for some time - and then there's the Nigerian 419 racket....
See here:
www.autotrader.co.uk/CARS/news/news-centre/news-te...6 Read more
Does anyone know the legal obligations a contractor has when carrying out roadworks?
I ask this as Transo have been digging up the end of our road (i live on a cul-de-sac so only one way out!) for over 4 weeks now, with little or no obvious progress being made.
The (very busy) road is down to 1 lane with temp. traffic lights controlling flow. These lights seem to be out of operation at least 1/3rd of the time! You can imagine the chaos when trying to get in or out of side roads, especially when there are busses or HGV's involved. Transco don't seem to give a stuff, with engineers' "repairs" to the lights lasting a few hours if their lucky!
I would have assumed if the road is reduced to 1 lane the police/council should require the contrator to maintain safe and controlled traffic flow though the road works? anyone know for sure?
Thanks in advance, Phil. Read more
Many children press the EMERGENCY STOP on the traffic lights to switch them off.
It's probably not the contractor's fault, maybe the part needs to be custom made, they wouldn't do it slowly on purpose, as it costs them money in plant hire.
Ecotech 1.4. had cambelt replaced last april 2003. car has done 22k since then. I had to look at motor tonight. severe tapping of camshaft/tappets.valve`s touching pistons.wasnt certain at the time what it was. further look says cambelt split in several places causing cam timing to be well out.Not certain about this motor. But according to vx and independant. cambelt should last 40k. is this well out or correct. if correct may be one off.though I doubt it as its happened before. to friends cars.
--
Was mech1 Read more
I have advised FIL to do this. it was done by vaux dealer. though they refused to do it again... I will say he is fed up with "Vx" and this afternoon. put a deposit on new Yaris.I got impression he really didnt care anymore about corsa.I tend to agree.it has caused him grief.But thanks anyway .Though I reckon he wants his money back on cam belt/work done that need not. will let you know what happens.
--
Was mech1
I have a problem with my 2002 316TI Compact. When the car is started from cold, it is very spluttery\' (as if the choke hadn\'t been out for long enough!) and noisy. Once it has warmed up, it still seems \'flat\' and as if it is in need of fuel.
Any ideas??
Read more
Firstly, could you please avoid typing in all CAPITALS. It is seen as rude and "shouting". As you can see I have edited your note.
Secondly, you are far more likely to get the answers you are seeking within the Technical Forum. I'll leave it here for the moment, but one of us will move it across later.
Mark.
A friend has an older Citroen registered in his wife's name with his 18 y o daughter on as second driver. It is a fully comp policy with protected no claims.
A few weeks back the car was written off while the daughter was visiting friends - she wasn't in the car but was the "name" on the accident report.
The insurers (or the garage) supplied a courtesy car, to be used under his wife's insurance. As the headline promised, the daughter has managed to drive it into the back of another car, causing a fair amount of damage to both vehicles.
Now, if I were the insurer I would be thinking that maybe she isn't a second driver at all!
However, is that likely to make any difference to anything? Will the insurers ask difficult questions? Does my friend and his family need to concoct a story? Or will they just pay up no problem? Read more
1998 Laguna 1.6 Lucas / Girling with vented disks.
Is it possible to replace brake disks without removing the caliper? Read more
Most unlikely that you can change discs without removing calliper bolts. Should not be necessary to have to disconnect brake lines from the calliper - just need a friendly assistant to hold the calliper when you remove the disc (after you have undone the bolts) - or you should be able to find a way of supporting it yourself using wire, perhaps?
Hiya, usual story, renewal in (currently with Esure). Cheapest quotes I can get are from Directline and Tesco who are within a couple of pounds of each other.
I have checked all the excesses etc but is there any reason why anyone would recommend one against the other? Read more
If you are an existing Direct Line customer you're probably being fleeced. I recently knocked £130 off my home insurance just by getting an online Direct Line quote rather than just accepting their renewal quote. Have also made similar substantial reductions in motor insurance. Why are they ripping off their own customers?
Watch out for the automatic renewal bit on the policy - they will take the amount from your credit card without any authorisation at all next year and forever more!
A friend of mine has an X reg Astra estate that is exibiting a problem when trying to change gear.After a few miles of driving the gears become increasingly difficult to engage,with the gearlever not wanting to move easily into any gear.After another few miles the problem goes away again.It also seems fine on long journeys,it is most noticeable when driving round town.
I have been told that when the problem starts then the way to stop it is to pull over,switch off the engine for a minute then start up.The problem then seems to go away!
I have not witnessed the problem personally,this is what I have been told.The vehicle has been back to the Vauxhall main dealer,but the problem persists.
Anyone heard of this problem before and is it a gearbox or clutch drag problem?
Any thoughts?
Read more
The only thing I can think of. possible lack of oil in box. overheating in town would cause gearbox to give that type of prob. Motorway drive would keep gearbox/oil cooler. Just a thought. I dont know the car so may be wrong?
--
Was mech1
Hi,
How many wires has he connected to the back of the alternator?
Most cars will have the main lead then thinner wires which will put the warning light on if not re-connected. Have a look at the block you have spare, do the spade terminals look like they have been attatched to something? It may be worth having a look at the old alternator if you still have it to see if the block would have somewhere to connect on it.
Its worth sorting out because if the fan belt snaps or the alternator stops charging he wont get to find out till the car comes to an untimely halt!