December 2005

horatio

I saw today something I have seen many times before but decided it would be good topic to ask here.

There is by the side of the road in Cardiff in a few places a grey box mounted on a pole 4 feet off the ground, it says "autoflex" with a lightning sign underneath indicating electricity.

They look very old and I'm wondering if you know what they were used for and can they still be used and how?

Cheers Read more

Altea Ego

Its a very old traffic monitoring system developed by siemens mostly used to control traffic signals
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RF - Da DAA. < changes in phone box > Its TOURVAN man

sierraboy

hi, i have a '92 sierra 1.8 LX estate. The problem i have is my car won't start when cold it turns over a few times then fires up it then cuts out straight away, i then try it again it will now run for about 10 seconds before cutting out, once tried again it will run so i can pull away but there is no power, it will die down then it then picks up. at this stage it may stall again or be okay.
I have tried new plugs and set the gaps, also replaced rotor arm and distributor cap, with no change.
Once engine is warm it starts fine and runs fine.
Can someone please help me. Thankyou. Read more

sierraman

Yes it is a Pierburg and I would second Dieselhead.Try giving carb a good clean with carb cleaner,outside as well,then lubricate linkages.If it still will not close properly best to fit a manual choke conversion rather than messing about with the auto,you might find a suitable one at a scrapyard.

puggered

hi, i have a '97 1.6lt 306. Problem Is Sometimes My 306 Shows Really Low Revs On Its Rev Counter, Even Though The Car Still Feels The Same, When Raising The Revs Up Whilst Either Stationery Or During Driving The Rev Needle All Of A Sudden Jumps Up To What It Should Read And Then As The Revs Get Lower Like When Releasing Throttle Pedal The Revs Drop Down To Idle Speed And Then Just Drops Down Even Further To Like Half Idle Speed.
i also used to get the problem when the car would drop its revs when you released the throttle pedal and the car would stall, but it doesnt seem to do it now, it seems to have fixed its stalling problem itself.
Has Anyone Had This Problem Or Any Info On Likely Cause Ie Like What Causes It, Please Could You Let Me No.
Thanks In Advance.
Puggered.
Read more

jefknighty

I recently had erratic idling and a sometime variable revving on my 97R 1.4

Turns out this was voltage spike from the coil pack that had fried my ECU- all replaced the wince-inducing cost of £600 inc £275 for new ECU. (on the plus, i get 10 more mpg out of it now!)

However as far as i could tell from reading around I think this only affects 1.4 and 1.8 engines.

I know this ain't v helpful, but worth a look.

Der Boff

Just had a interesting experience of my cambelt failing on my trusty old Renault Clio. I know I should have had it changed I had done 80K but forgot...

Anyway there are two question I would like to ask.

1) Since I was doing 70 at the time and ran for a couple of seconds in gear but engine not runing, what the likelyhood of damage to my engine. And can I check easily at home.
2) How much is it likely to cost me if it hasnt or if it has done damge. I'm guess it isnt a simple DIY job.

Basically I want to work out if the worse case has happen, whether it is worth repairing or not.

Much much Thanks

Der Boff Read more

arrowst

Funnily enough the cambelt on my T reg Renault Clio went 3 weeks ago while I was on the motorway (car has done 66k).

It bent 5 out of 8 valves and cost me £540 to fix (inc VAT). Was not best pleased, although it had been struggling to start for a couple of months so it's my own fault for not taking it into the garage earlier.

Number_Cruncher

This evening, a Land Rover Discovery and trailer left the road, went through the front garden, and hit my parents in law's house. Upon hearing the noise, my father in law ran out and tried to stop the driver, who reversed out, nearly hitting my father in law, before driving off.

Thankfully, no-one was hurt.

Before the impact, the trailer being towed by the Discovery overturned in the road outside. Using the number plate on the trailer, the police traced the driver. When apprehended by the police, who to their credit acted very quickly, the driver of the Discovery was found to be 3 times over the limit. His liberty is currently being denied him.

So, their front garden has been wrecked, and some of the internal walls were cracked. A more thorough survey of the structural damage will take place in the light, tomorrow, although it is clear that the house remains habitable.

What should my parents in law do?

They are talking about getting a local builder to come round to look at the damage. Would it be better to engage a surveyor to assess the damage?

Would I be right to say that they should be claiming for the repair of this damage from the driver's insurance policy; although my parents in law should inform their house insurers?

Number_Cruncher
Read more

Pugugly {P}

Assault is defined in Offences Against the Person and at Common Law - where there is no definition. Recent cases suggest that a Police Officer drawing a baton and not moving to strike is enough to prove an assault. Likewise a bop on the nose or even preparing a fist (IYKWIM) is enough to prove an assault, that's why I corrected RF in saying that there is no such thing as an attempted assault.

The circumstances outlined originally might lead the Police to a conclusion that an assault occured - rare but I've seen it happen.

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

As from Monday I will be sitting with my stepdaughter while she has more practice in her mums car as her test is in one month. She has had nearly a years worth of lessons (which have been nearly every week).

She is 18 and only driven with her instructor. I don't want her to get to cocky and start to think she knows it all.

What do's and don'ts can you recommend for me as I've never done this before?

Cheers,

Soon to be a bald man ;-) Read more

cub leader

Having sat in with my brother and my ex girlfriend best advice i can give is be patient, tell them where to go in plenty of time and in some cases sit tight shut up and for hecks sake hold on!!!
--
Temporarily not a student, where did the time go???

hefty

In order to drain the cooling system on a 99 Vectra via the radiator bottom hose, is there anyway this can be done without having to remove the battery and it's tray? The hose is in good condition with the original spring type hose clip. Thanks. Read more

wemyss

Did mine on a 98 Vectra TDI a couple of years ago and found it impractical to get to the bottom rad hose. Perhaps a bit different on the petrol but even up on the ramps with the engine cover dropped I couldnt even get near it
A mate up the road an ex VX mechanic came down and he said they always drained and flushed through the top hose.
We did this and it was a easy and succesful job.
As said previously mine is a diesel so could be different.
I think we also disconnected another small hose somewhere near the top of the engine.

thomp1983

Hi my 306 turbo diesel has started to loss water rapidly, it used to lose about a pint of water over a couple of weaks which was acceptable but now it has progressed to being 3quarters of the expansion tank over a day. i know it's not the headgasket as the topend was rebuilt not so long ago and ive checked it. i can't see any obvious leaks so wondered if there was a known common problem? what about the core plugs?(think thats there name, round inserts in top of block near coolant drain plug?)

cheers
chris Read more

DL

Have fun with that bayonet bottom hose connection!
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....

Mikey Jay

Does anyone know if it is possible to adjust the front wipers on a Honda prelude. The right hand blade hits the edge of the front pillar on the up sweep on driver's side. Even a few milimetres of adjustment would stop this. I fitted Bosch blades which are good. Perhaps I should have fitted the Honda oe blades. Thanks, Mike Read more

Mikey Jay

Cheers Steve.I'll give this a go. The thing is Steve I think the mechanism itself is a bit thuddy when it comes to the end of its travel. When its raining hard and there's less resistance between rubber and glass it is thuddy. When its raining very slightly the blades fall short of their maximum sweep just a tad and dont make such a noise. Otherwise they work fine. Thanks again. Mike

Roly93

I always drive a quality car under 3 years old, which I usually buy nearly new either privately or from one of the car brokers now quite common.
I dont tend to have much trouble with my cars, but on numerous occasions when I have phoned my local dealer to either ask their advice or a technical question they start by asking me "did you buy it from us". My response to this is "well you ARE a **** dealer arent you, so what difference does it make whether I bought it from you", as the car is under the **** UK warranty and you are legally obliged to provide support of their products.

Are the main dealers under more pressure these days to not rack up warranty costs on the manufacturers or what ? Read more

Roly93

Technically I've no doubt that you are absolutely correct. But a
smile and a pleasant approach works wonders in any situation.
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You are of course right.
The reason why I am so negative about main-dealers is, that for what they charge people (£90 per hour)they don't deserve to put a foot out of place at any time !