August 2005
A friend has a problem with the brake light on his car which is causing interference with the indicator lights. On checking I discovered a transfer of solder from one of the contacts on the brake bulb to the contact surface on the lampholder which is causing a poor circuit. I recall reading, many years ago, about the reasons for this transfer, but memory fails me. Can anyone refresh my memory? Read more
I have got a Citroen xsara Picasso 1.6, its 3 years old.
My problem is that the airbag warning lamps and the front passengers's Airbag deactivation warning lamp are not going off from the dashboard,They stay on permently and will not go off,is this a common on problem with citroen?
{Car added to subject header as per request in the sticky at the top of the page. DD} Read more
On Saxo,s the connector under the driver,s seat often has to be soldered to get the air bag light to work as it should. More of a problem if the car is driven by more than one person with the seat in a different position each time.
Well I did the auction on Saturday and picked up a (hopefully) nice W-Reg Vectra 2.5 V6 CDX with FSH and 62K on the clock for £2350
It has the Multi-Info-Display or whatever it's called and has 'Coolant Level Check' displayed on it constantly.
The coolant is full (I mean to the top) and temps reach 95C within minutes and then seem to stay there.
I've heard of a V6 software upgrade for the V6's info display which might get rid of the warning message but dont know if this applies in this case?
I'm wondering if it gives a warning when there is too much coolant in?
Also, are the temps too high or is it normal for the Vectra to run at 95C?
Finally, should I be worried about the 'coolant level check' message? Perhaps I shouldn't be driving it at all until I get it checked out? Read more
"Sounds a bit high. Should be around 88 to 90 deg C when up to operating temperature"
It could be wrong thermostat.
The Omega failed it's MOT yesterday on nsr tyre (which happens to be the newest one, only a few months old) - the tyre is wearing around the inner edge and has a bulge. They suggested a four way tracking as well as a new tyre.
Anyway, the question: my spare is virtually new but on a steel rim (and is a different size). If I'd thought quickly enough, could I have replaced the wheel with the spare, left the spare round the corner to collect later and had a successful retest? (I understand a spare isn't part of the test if it isn't present)
It's a PITA now as I have to have a full retest done (albeit free) which is another hour hanging around a grotty garage. Within 24 hours they told me that they'd only need to retest the failing part. Read more
Thanks. Odd that it's fitted as a spare then really. Obviously it's on a steel rim (the rest are alloys), and with directional tyres it has to be able to be fitted either side. I guess that's why it's different.
Hi went to see a 1.8 focus ghia estate yesterday. £5495 52-2002,62,000 miles comes with a warranty.
It's got a crack on front fog light,some scratches on body work and on the offside rear door the metal strip the bottom of the window rubber pops into is bent up in one corner (like somones pulled the rubber up to break into it)
Is this a fair price and how much should i try and get knocked off? i'm a cash buyer with no trade in, also if i can't get money off is it worth trying to get free servicing/extended warranty? Read more
Becuase its a saloon in a dodgy colour. If it was a nice coloured hatch, it would be worth a lot more. Surely you know this ;)
Hi I have a Ford Focus 1.6 on a 52 plate and today a light came on the dash I believe it is THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT and it is staying on also seems to be a smell of some sort (maybe burning type of smell) anyone no what this relates to and what I can do about it please, is the car still ok to drive ,just over a week ago i had to have a coil pack fitted under warrenty could it relate to this?could this be fixed under warranty
CAR IS NOT THREE YEARS OLD UNTIL END OF NOVEMBER 2005
THX
Dave
{Car added to subject header as per request in the sticky at the top of the page. DD} Read more
No sarcasm intended but why don't you look in the handbook and be sure what light it is? If it is red it could be a number of other things and ones which could cause a smell of burning - the alternator for instance. Good luck, of course!
I am looking for a relay number that I have is YWC 10072 this relay was fitted to a Rover 820 one touch windscreen wiper.
If anyone is breaking down a old Rover 820 I am looking for this relay but the car must be before 1990 early than 1990, can anyone help please.
Graham grahamforjean@btopenworld.com Read more
93 Tipo 1.4S only blows the fuse when the fan is turned to the top speed. Fine at positions 1 and 2. Fuse is rated at 20A, but by the looks of things the last owner blew a 30A fuse. The top setting is normally direct, ie without any resistor.
Anyone tried swapping a fan on a Tipo - it looks as though it might come out without take too much else apart, but being Italian, that's almost certainly optimistic. Read more
Quick soak in WD40, reassemble and install,
Soaking it in wd-40 will attract loads gunge and belly button fluff and will stick to everything soaked in it, possibly returning your problem back to square one eventually.
I am replaciming my Isuzu trooper comercial in the next few months and Need the extra capacity of a large van (MWB medium roof.)
I am self employed running a pressure cleaning and grounds maintence business. Most of my driving consists of very windy lanes and inclines coupled with farm trafic plus the odd motorway trip, so aceleration and tourque is a must.
curently I am towing 1.5 tons with the isuzu however the extra space the van will provide should not make towing so frequent.
I have driven hire SWB transit 280s and citroen relays and found both severly underpowered.
My curent thinking is along the lines of a Renault master with 3.0 disel or Merc sprinter.
Any thoughts with regards to reliability and suitability apreciated. The van is to be bought second hand I have a budget of £12000. My isuzu manages motorway speeds up to 95mph so this sort of ability would be great (fuel economy is not important).
Paul
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Ford do a Transit 2.4 TDCi 137PS model if you're looking for something with a bit of grunt.
PP
Some years ago I developed a theory relating to measuring the efficiency of balanced systems or nearly balanced systems (according to the laws of physics ).
It was not until later, I realized that the combustion engine of a motor car was in itself a balanced system. Or rather the individual pistons within cylinders were systems within the overall system of the engine! (They could be considered individual motors making up a part of the total motor)
Anyway getting back to the theory - This required the monitoring of the system over a time frame of five timing points and at the end of that time to come to a logical conclusion as to whether the system was operating as efficiently as it could be or if there should be a small adjustment made!
This theory could then be applied to each cylinder of a combustion engine. There would be one timing point at top dead centre, a second at the bottom of the downstroke and three others in between.
The monitoring of the system would be via the compression ratio at each timing point per cylinder. Those five readings could be linked to get an overall picture of the performance of each cylinder.
ie.
1 - 2
1 - 3
1 - 4
1 - 5
2 - 3
2 - 4
2 - 5
3 - 4
3 - 5
4 - 5
These figures can be fed into a computer for analysis of exactly how much fuel that particular cylinder required injecting.
I am convinced this theory would work and would result in -
1. Greater fuel economy.
2. Greater horsepower for size of motor.
3. Greater Torque.
4. Smoother throttle for all loads.
5. Less maintenance costs.
6. Less emissions.
7. Cooler running.
I also am convinced that much of the present gadgetry on modern engines would not be required and would remain obsolete. With the cost of fuel rising exponentially the further we get into this Century, I believe it is imperative that we run smaller cars with more efficient engines.
In creating this article I wish it to be known that I am a layperson with very limited access to working on motor engines. All of my theories have been derived from logic! Excuse the pretty rough explanation involved!
With Kind Regards,
taurus26
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There are petrol engines with no throttle, I think BMW have made one which uses electropneumatically actuated valves which can be opened and closed without being dependant upon mechanical connection to the rotating parts, thus they can be used as throttles, probably in conjunction with tunable air intakes.
Browse
It's what's known as a high resistant joint. Connection gets hot because of a poor connection and melts the solder. Most faults in rear light clusters can be traced to a poor earth. If the main earth is poor or disconnected the power will use an alternate route, namely through another bulb that isn't being used, and in turn will make that bulb glow dimly.