April 2005
Somewhere in the forum there is a discussion about this problem in a VW Golf. Taking hints from there, I have followed the procedure to look into the vetilation and fan chamber under the windscreen seal panel. I have been unable to find any drainage holes or any pollen filter. The chamber has lip wall around it, making it impossible for the water to get in anyway. Removing the glove box for further examination from inside did not shed any light as to where the water could be coming in from. Apar from dismantlig the the whole fan orifice, I cant see how and where the problem lies. I would be grateful if anybody with the knowledge or experience could help. the water drips in from the extreme corner of passeger footwel behind the computer box, impossible to access. Its bewildering.
Dean
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So took SWMBO's Jazz for a service and they rang me mid-morning to say the wipers were "on the split" and would I like them replaced? No, I haemoglobin-well would not at their prices.
So I went down to Halfords to see my friend Pat.
Now, to explain, "on the split" means the mechanic gives the edge of the blade a gentle tug and when it is a couple of years old it splits, so when you pick up the car you have to replace the wretched things.
Pat tells me that these days Halfords find it difficult to match up wiper blades for many modern cars as the manufacturers specify odd fitments that mean that only the dealers stock them. She was unable to find a match for me, so I took away their replacement blade kits and with a bit of jiggery-pokery they worked fine at about one third of Honda's cost to replace.
So, low cost to run cars are not so cheap to run as they would have us believe.
Can I put in a good word for Pat here, can talk with me for hours about cars, much more interesting than most of the blokes I know. Read more
I never gave it a thought when I bought them - but the sweeps are different, the spindles are on the left hand side on LHD and the blades are different lengths so wouldn't fit.
Morning all, it's been a while since my last post.I need a bit of advice regarding the battery in a Ford diesel van.
My Dad's Ford Escort diesel van has just failed its MOT in a big way so looks like it will be on its way to the scrap yard very soon. I will be removing the battery as it was new just before Christmas. My question is:
Will I be able to use this battery in my Mum's Fiat Motorhome - 2.0 litre petrol - as the battery in it is dead? The motorhome is due its MOT new week so need to get it sorted over the weekend.
thanks in advance.
Mart Read more
Good analogy, if 617 squadron came along you would have a massive flow, but not for long!
{This question follows on from Volume 50. DD}
Thanks for all your help (except RF - computer is now in a real sulk with me as a result of my e-friends' lack of tact in the face of computer's lack of modernity!)
I ran the crucial system, which said it didn't know. Then I ran the Belarc Advisor (sic) which told me:
Sys Model Via Technologies Inc VT82C694X
Main circuit board 694X - 686A
BIOS - award software International Inc 6.00PG 05/12/00
Memory: 64MB installed. Slot 0 64MB, slots 1, 2, 3 empty.
So then back to the crucial website & I'm no wiser at all.
Anybody decipher this gobbledegook?
Many thanks, as ever!
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Hello ChrisR
I was in a similar situation recently with an old HP laser that worked fine but the toner cartridges are becoming more difficult to source. HP wanted £70.00, Staples had refilled ones at £19.00 but were out of stock. Then decided to check ebay. I bought 3 new HP cartridges @ £4.95 each plus postage! Until then I was going to buy a new printer.
Sorry cannot answer your connection queries.
Hello all,
Not so much a question just a story. Get in the car before, drive off out of the estate and I think to myself, "running a little rough today". Get onto a main road, open her up....nothing. Second gear, running like a tractor. Very odd. Carry on for 10 seconds and as the road inclines, the car...declines. Pull over, turn the engine off and checked for any fault codes. None. Start up, save thing. Really rough, rev and the entire car shakes. "This can't be good Adam" says I - but I can't stay where I am because I'm on a main road.
I initially think, Cam belt but then realise the car woulnd't go at all. So I turn into a side street, turn off again, no warning lights. Check engine temp, fine. I know all the fluids were ok as I checked them just yesterday. Give Dad a ring and ask, should I take it home? He says yes, so I crawled home at little more than 20 mph, sounding like the engine out of a Massey Ferguson and back into the drive with the car shaking like mad. Get out and can instantly smell rotten eggs. "The Cat!" I think. Nothing seems out of place so I rev the engine slightly and you can hear a rattle when you rev it.
Dad gets home and confirms my suspicions about the cat so the car is now parked on the drive, undriveable until we sort a cat out tomorrow. A shame as I'd done a full valet on it the other day!
Has anyone heard of the cats going so early on Focuses...Foci? Is it really that early or is 66k normal?
Cheers
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Adam Read more
Thanks, Aprilia, I thought I had read something about the constant current system somewhere, hence rpm is a little irrelevant.
All,
Some advice if possible.
I left my company car park 8pm last night (in my 2001 2.0l Ford Focus with 40k on the clock) with no significant drama but noticed a knock/rub present when moving the steering wheel.
Very concerned I removed the wheel an too my horror I noticed that the front left hand suspension coil had snapped, leaving a considerable sharp point floating very close to the tyre. Fortunately I checked and did not just ignore it, which I was initially inclined to do.
Upon arrival of the RAC I told the guy the problem and he stared at me blankly. He then proceeded to tell me in 15 years experience he had never seen this fault.
? My question is therefore is this as rare as it first seems or is it more common than the mechanic had visibility of?
? Should I have a detailed discussion with my dealer regarding a disappointment that a car less than 4 years old with below average mileage should have such a major failure?
(P.S The vehicle has been religiously serviced at Ford, including its MOT and has had no modifications)
Carse
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I once had a broken coil on a Renault 18. I changed it myself and never was so scared in all my life! The thing was massive when the tension was off and although I got some decent spring compressors I still felt that the whole caboodle was going to go pop in mid refit and take a limb off - or worse still scratch the paintwork :-)
I guess the chances of a broken spring on the C5 will be pretty low........
Graeme
Hi
I've just driven to work this morning and the drivers window has stopped working. It went down now it won't go back up. I've pulled the window up 3/4 of the way and jemmy'd the window to keep it up.
Car is a 2000 W 306 2.0 Cabriolet.
Am I looking at a new window? Or am I looking at a motor and door runner replacement? What sort of money am I looking at?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet Read more
If you can find the green plastic peg in the bottom of the door, it is repairable. I fixed ours by removing the door trim, carefully cutting a hole in the plastic membrane with a stanley knife and removing the window regulator. I removed the plastic bit which rides up and down the track and re attached the peg with a self tapping screw through the back. The peg has a hole in it already which makes a nice pilot hole for the screw. I coated the screw with epoxy adhesive as well to make sire it won't come apart Now as they say in the manuals, reassembly is the reverse of the above.
I sealed the cut in the plastic membrane with some duct tape.
I have this wretched Kawasaki that can't speak English.
Its tyre pressures front and rear are supposed to be 200 KpA. Can anyone translate that for me into real money, i/e PSI?
TIA.
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Ah, thanks again: a "kilopascal" no less. My education advances apace. Sounds like a Belgian hairdresser.
If it's 29 psi why can't they say so? I suppose it would deprive all those empty suits of reasons for warming their seats until inflation-proof pensionable age if they talked in terms Joe Six-Pack chaps like me could understand.
Now then, where's that 7/16" wrench? I know I put it somewhere.
I have always checked various batteries for state of charge by measuring their voltage (when rested for at least 8 hours) using a good digital voltage multimeter. I have several graphs of voltage v. state of charge and have assumed that a battery in good fettle would have a voltage of approx. 12.6 volts. I was therefore surprised when measuring my new car's battery to find that I got a reading of 12.3v measured in almost identical conditions. Has battery type and manufacture got something to do with this discrepancy? The new battery is made by Varta.
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The test equipment with the prongs is called a drop tester. The voltage when running is important on modern cars with engine management because the ECU needs a specific voltage to work properly. Recently my Range Rover was running roughly, wouldn't idle correctly but started ok. A test on the battery showed it to not be charging properly thus the engine management went into 'limp' mode.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
Hoping someone can help me here!
I'm now driving a 1996 BMW 316i fitted with manual A/C that my family have owned from new.
We've never had any noticeable heating problems with the car or any bother with the cooling system. However, the heater seems to have stopped blowing warm air, at best I'm able to get some lukewarm ait through if I turn the temperature dials (it has two) to maximum.
According to the temperature gauge the engine is heating to a normal temperature in a reasonable period of time, and I'm certainly not aware of any fluid leaks inside or out, and I'm sure I would have noticed.
Has anyone got any ideas which bit of the system is at fault? I've noticed that when travelling with the A/C on and the heater set at 22 that the air still feels very cool, I'm assuming this is because the A/C system is feeding the cool air through and it isn't getting mixed with any warm air?
Any advice appreciated, I nearly froze to death on the way home, I'm used to having toasty warm cars!
Blue Read more
ARGHH!!!!!!!!!!
IT'S BROKEN DOWN AGAIN!!!
This time it broke down with all the same symptoms as last time except when my dad has taken the spark plugs out one of them has snapped, the end seems to have dropped into the engine.
Replaced that with a new spark and it still doesn't run.
It's making the same clanking noises from the engine, no power and cuts out.
The car is going to be towed to a specialists on Monday and we'll let them know the whole story about what's happened with it.
I think it's time for a new engine, and time for me to look for a new car...
Blue
Browse
I have seen on a honda site in New Zealand(!) and the cowling which covers the heater air inlet can be the problem. It can be taken off and resealed. The old integra suffered from this problem, but in their case the water ran into the heater fan, so I guess it could be a lot worse!
Whilst the weather is dry I am going to attempt to run some sealant over the joints in this area. I have some black gutter sealant which is quite flexible and will not be seen anyway. Get the watering can out and run water over the joints without getting near the windscreen if that's possible. Then see what happens.