April 2005
Drink driving has successfully been made socially unacceptable; it seems that speeding is going the same way. All over the country there are people who are considerably more morally outraged than yow when they see things that, a few years ago, were quite ok to do
The question is what?s next? Is it 500 watt bass bins audible from a mile away? Cars more than 5 years old which pollute more? 4x4s? Motorbikes? The middle lane owners club?
What would you prefer?
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Hello all,
The rear left electric window refused to close recently and I suspected a broken cable. After removing the window regulator, the cable was fine as was the motor but the glass carrier that slides on the frame had broken (bits of plastic inside door) where it grips the cable.
This carrier just clips onto the frame and cable but does't have a part no. It would be quite cheap to replace if available!
The local VW dealers say I have to replace the whole window regulator.
Has anyone else had any success in locating these glass carriers or can suggest a cost effective repair?
Thanks.
Martin Read more
I would suggest the best place to look is in a scrappy. Those little plastic parts as they say are not available seperatly.
I'm pretty certain the clip will be the same on the manual version so no need to find a car with electric rears.
(Glass-Tech)
My Mk 2 Punto bonnet will not open when the bonnet release lever inside the car is pulled. After much time spent with my hand up behind the front bumper skinning my knuckles I gave up and decided to try another day. The release handle inside the car can be pulled but this doesn't release the bonnet.
Does anybody know a technique for releasing the bonnet? Read more
The trick is,
if you have the rubber stops under the bonnet on each side. Get someone to help and open the bonnet, then unscrew each rubber stop by a turn and try it. If better then turn an extra half turn.
any help please the engine management light has started to come on this last week it is a 2000reg 20DL it used to come on briefly then go off but is now more on than off. the engine is running in safe mode when it is on. is there anything i can check myself or do i need to visit the vauxhall dealer. Read more
You really need a fault code reader plugged into the ecu to decifer the fault.
Most garages have a fault code reader without necessarily going to a Vauxhall dealer to have it done.
{This debate continues from Volume 32, which was entirely on the subject of the forthcoming M4 speed camera protest. DD}
I think the protest is a very good idea.It is not about speed limits.We are fed up with the over proliferation of cameras.Whilst they are a good idea in certain built up areas and/or near schools.They are spreading everywhere and they dont catch dangerous/reckless/drunk/untaxed/un-insured drivers.When was the last time you saw a camera just before a blind bend or dangerous curve?.
How many times have you driven through an unfamiliar town and spend more time looking out for speed cameras and concentrating on your speedo than paying attention to the road in front.I know i do. Read more
This is the conclusion of a liverpool university report into accident blackspots and speed cameras according to the Mail on Sunday on the Safespeed site
www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2678
They did mention about a reduction in minor accidents but didn't mention whether they took account of other road engineering done at the same time or whether they had accounted for differing traffic levels. They also mentioned RTTM but didn't say whether their claim of reduction in minor accidents also took this into account.
teabelly
I have a mk3 golf gl 1.6 aft engine (100bhp). All fine, but problem of hesitation on acceleration when eng is cold or warm. Happens more when under load, but anything in rev range from 1.5k to 4.5k.
To try to cure prob. I have replaced ht leads, dizzy cap, rotor arm, sparks, air filter fuel filter - even pollen filter (may as well !). But to no avail. Still hesitates just as bad.
Any suggestions as to what could be causing this ? I have also used redex petrol & injector treatments too - still no change.
BTW simos ecu, is dealership diagnostics next step ?
Thanks in advance... Read more
Thanks for your help Peter. I've found out what it is. It's the Air flow meter (or wiring) ! I unplugged the meter connector on the air filter intake (disabling it) & took it out for a test drive. It was absolutely fine (although idling was a bit lumpy - but that's to be expected) ! I'm so chuffed that it's been resolved ! Thanks very much for your input anyway, it's was apppreciated.
Now all I have to do is diagnose if it's the wiring to the meter or the meter itself ... I don't really fancy forking out £160 to gsf, but if I have to, then so be it - it's worth it just to get the performance back.
Cheers everyone ...
A friend of mine is urgently wanting to obtain maps of USA (especially for Florida) to use on his Tom Tom Go when he uses a hire car over there shortly.
Tom Tom have told him that the old version maps have been discontinued but that the new ones are not yet available!
He has tried E-Bay without success.
Can anyone come up with a solution other than the suggestion which I would make...ie...that he takes the sat-nav with him in the hope that he can purchase the necessary SD card states-side?
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slightly better than p2p, look into bittorrent.
mmmm nice iso's
isohunt.com/
The water pump on my 96 1.25 fiesta appears to be leaking. I checked the hoses and radiator, these are fine, the water appears to be leaking from the area of the pump itself and it looks like it might need replacing. I had a look at the Haynes manual for this job and in all honesty it's beyond my skill level. So with that in mind can anyone give me a rough idea of the cost of this job at a ford dealership. Alternatively does anyone have a reliable independent in the Nottingham area.
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I would ring about a little first, just about any decent garage should be able to change the waterpump on one of these IMO.
Blue
I ahve just booked my Primera (new in Dec 2004) in for its 12K service on 10 May and when I rang up I asked them to take a look at the MPG - guy says "if you're getting over mid 30's you're doing well"!
I told him in no uncertain terms that I would expect mid to high 40's with ease and am getting low 40's on daily 114 mile round trip commute. I used to get over 50 mpg out of my Jazz so I'm hardly heavy footed.
I heard of a throttle sensor problem on these cars - any comments appreciated.
BTW the figures listed are Urban 34.9 Extra Urban 56.5 and Combined 46.3. As most of my commute is A14 out of commuter hours and thefore steady speed 75mph ish I would expect circa 50 MPG.
Before anyone asks, the MPG has been gradually improving but only marginally and last tank driven REALLY gently gave me 45 mpg.
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I have the same car and generally love it, but also shared your concerns re the fuel economy. I have now covered 8500 miles and have noticed a slow but steady improvement from low 30's indicated on the computer to high 30's. HOWEVER for a more accurate reading do the old brim the tank, measure etc thing and then judge. Town driving kills the economy stone dead, conversely I have achieved 56mpg out of mine on a cross country blat thought, so it can be made to both perform and sip juice. My hint would be to keep the revs below 2750 for changing up and things should improve. There is still ample torque there to get you moving quickly and turbo lag is pretty non existent anyway.
Also keep a careful eye on the oil level too.
Problem with the immobiliser/central locking fitted to my 1995 Escort TD. Whilst welding on a sill, I fried the electrics that lead to the NSR door, wires run up the 'B' piller and into rear door. The electrics power the central locking fitted to that door. I have replaced all the wires with a same age car with parts from the scrappies. Now the central locking does not work, nor does the tailgate release and the immobiliser light on the dash no longer flashes like before. Any ideas?
Cheers
Rob Read more
Did as described - you were 100% spot on - there it was - blown 20 amp fuse just where you mentioned. Cheers for that.
Rob
Browse
I've just returned from 5 months in Texas where I did quite a lot of driving and I found the following:
Speeding isn't really socially unacceptable. A similar mix exists to the UK, some drivers obey the limit to the letter (or number rather), most do an indicated 10-20% more thereby breaking the limit a little but not really risking getting caught, and a few drive very fast weaving from lane to lane as is the way on US highways.
I was horrified by the extent to which drink-driving IS acceptable, socially. Lots of people are prepared to drive to a bar, have half a dozen drinks and drive home again.
The standard of driving seemed to be a lot lower than in the UK. The driving test appears to be far easier and almost anyone is granted a licence after some "drivers' ed" at the age of 16. I got frustrated by rolling-roadblocks that seemed to occur on the highways due to 3 people all travelling slowly side by side - there is no lane-etiquette on the highways. Mobile phone use was rife and signal-usage suffered as a result. Drivers would frequently slam on the anchors and turn left (across the flow of traffic) without signalling at all, simutaneously talking on the phone. Hanging in another driver's blind-spot also seemed to be a popular sport. Drivers seem to often be unaware of what's going on around them, pulling off manouvres regardless of whether or not there is someone in the way. If anyone's played GTA3 and tried to "obey traffic laws" for a while, you'll understand what I mean.
Basically, all the irritating things that UK drivers do, but moreso.