February 2006
Hi,a few weeks ago the battery in my mx5 was flat,(my fault as I don't use it enough!).I charged it up and was fine.Because I still didn't use it enough its flat again but although I've had it on charge, its still won't start. The windows work so there's some power but not enough. When is it time to buy a new battery ,or am I doing something wrong? Thanks.
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The dealer sprayed a coat of clearish anti rust wax on my Stag's alloy wheels as I had to make a long trip on salty roads. I am now trying to remove it, white spirit does not seem to touch it, any suggestions please. Read more
Peter D.
Many thanks, the meths worked a treat.
John
I have a 1996 (P) mark IV Fiesta with the 1.8 Endura diesel engine which has covered (allegedly) 50,000 miles from new. I have only owned the car a month and in that time had it serviced, which included oil & filter change, air filter change, fuel filter change, cam belt change, brake fluid and engine coolant replacement and today changed the glow plugs. The car still seems to take a while to start, but only when starting from cold. I have had the battery checked and have been told it is in excellent condition. Any ideas what I could try to make it fire up a bit quicker? If its too involved then I'll just put up with it. After all its a 10 year old car that maybe I'm expecting too much of! Cheers, Mark. Read more
Quoted:-
"Always poor starters from cold you seem to covered most things especialy glow plugs
1 point to remember is that you can apply FULL throttle whilst cranking over without doing any damage as it's one of the old school diesels
I other point the starter moters can get "lazy" if it seems slow then get a recon." <<<<< Totally Disagree
Quoted:-
"Don't touch the accelerator pedal when starting a diesel (diesel engines don't have a throttle). When you crank the engine, the fuel pump will automatically select excess fuel for starting, which is then automatically de-selected when the engine is being controlled by the idle governor. Excess fuel is rather more than max fuel in any case - witness the puff of black smoke whern the engine first fires.
This engine is rather notorious for poor cold starting. Fit a set of Beru glowplugs, check the timer, check valve clearances, ensure that the fuel filter is correctly assembled with all the O-rings, check the pump timing - especially after a belt change and finally do a cold compression test. I can't help you with the timer location as I have only dealt with this engine on a test bed." <<<<< Totally Agree
I had a mk5 Escort 1.8 diesel with 250k without any rebuilds, just regular services and belt changes. If at any time it started to be difficult in starting and run roughly for a few seconds, this was the sign of a duff heater plug or two.
The ways to test the Relay is using a large wattage bulb (H/lamp) and with 2 lengths of wire about 50cm long. One end of the wire touching an earth point and the other touching a glow plug connection. If the bulb lights up, you know the relay is OK, but it should remain on for approx. 20secs.
For testing the glow plugs using the same bulb. Disconnect all the interlinking wire connections from the glow plugs. With one wire on the live side of the battery, touch each of the glow plugs wiring threaded part, if the bulb lights up the plug is OK, if not its a duff one.
If you replace any of the plugs, make sure they are rapid heat type. If the relay is at fault you can get these from a good Motor Factor, same goes for the plugs. I always used NGK plugs with no problems.
good luck
As mentioned in another thread I have been driving a C-Max 1.6 TDCi Zetec for a few days.
Generally very easy to drive and impressively flexible for a 1.6 ltr diesel even five up though has a lot less ultimate urge than the 2.0. The electrically assisted steering is interesting, the Sport setting makes it feel responsive on the back roads though nervous in a straight line above 50 mph, the Standard setting is ideal though the Comfort setting would certainly help the elderly or slight with parking. The ride is impressive though the turn in is less crisp than a Focus or Mondeo and it understeers more. The instrument binnacle is a model of clarity though the rest of the dash is not particulary attractive, not helped by strange looking aluminiumm trim on the Zetec spec, also the inside door pulls look as though they would be more at home on a Scania. However it is easy to get into a very comfortable driving position which together with 2200rpm at 70mph makes it a comfortable motorway car. It is also very spacious with more than enough room for 5 adults and has a decent sized boot. I have not worked out yet how to get imperial distance and volumes with metric temperatures on the trip computer so I have degrees F to put up with currently, so far 47 mpg on the trip which is OK for a tight engine, it only had 40 miles on it when I picked it up. Refinment wise it is more thrummy at low speeds than my Mondeo though the noise it makes in satisfyingly deep in tone with no diesely tinkling evident. A bit of wind noise around the drivers door, more than the Mondeo which is not the best in that regard, so if it was my car I would have that attended to.
All in all fairly impressive though, for a car with a similar capacity and price, a Focus estate would probably suit me more.
Regards. Read more
Could also add:
Bong! when it reaches 50 miles to empty
Bong! when it is 3 deg or less outside
Bong! when you open the door with the lights on
Bong! when you open the door with the ignition on
Though you can turn the Bongs off.
I have had my renewal through today from NU direct, 500 quid, by chance I had a cold call from Cornhill today, ran through a quote, £327, did a confused.com search, £305. Ok, so I can save some money though the annoying thing is that NU Direct are quoting me £150 less via Confused.com. Is this another example of the finacial services industries constant focus on customer aquisition at the expense of retention, as per different mortgage rates for new customers only, 0% transfer rate for new CC applications etc etc. Read more
like anything in life shop around.............as an aside 2 1/2 years ago i honestly didnt even know how to turn a computer on .
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
Could I just say that the RAC ad with the man in rocket boots is so lame that if I was a member I would resign. Read more
I've seen a lot worse..
"Happy with your wash?"
"Yes"
"What about close up?"
"YESSS!!!!"
A couple of months ago the Inspector Morse 2.4 Mk 2 Jaguar was up for sale by tender. According to news stories at the time the asking price was 153,000 pounds, reflecting a complete rebuild by experts, ordered by its owner, who had already paid more than 50,000 pounds for it. The asking price was, I believe, described by one classic car magazine editor as 'frankly ludicrous'.
Since then I've been completely unable to find out whether it sold, in spite of numerous Google searches, scanning mags etc. And the magazine editor hasn't answered my email.
Does anyone here know if it sold, and how much for?
I don't have a personal interest - just wondering if somebody would really hand over that much money for a 2.4 Mk 2 - which John Thaw was allegedly on record as saying he didn't even like driving! Read more
Thanks for all this, folks. I well remember the Panhard rod at the back of the Mk 2 (I had a Daimler) - it was the stress-limit early warning system - it used to break away with a loud bang when the sideways stress equalled the surrounding area of rust...
Hawthorn, sadly, died in a quite heavily modified Mk 1 - Mk 2s had a wider rear track to get over just one of the handling problems with the earlier cars.
My neighbour bought an almost new old model petrol Avensis.So 4 ish years old now?
Having an engine rebuild under warranty due to high oil consumption.1000miles per litre roughly.
He says a new engine block has now been ordered! Is this a known problem?
Anyway, shows that Toyota take warranty claims seriously!
And he's got an Aygo on loan.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty. Read more
Just seen on HJ car by car breakdown that engine warranty on the VVTI was extended to 5 years because of this problem.
If only every manufacturer gave a five year warranty.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
Has anyone got any advice I have a Rover 416i 1997. When I'm stationary or up to 30mph the temperature gauge and heater works but as soon as I speed up the gauge stops working and the heater gets cooler.Any ideas? Read more
Has anyone got any tips on changing the thermostat to make it easier?
seems to be an el cheapo one. Anybody know whether its any good?
www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=48346&doy=9m...Y Read more
haha, very true. The annoying thing is there's no real specs or even a manufacturer's name so I could research some.
Browse
I replaced mine at this time last year. The cold spell really finds the faults with batteries - reduces capacity, engine a lot stiffer, more self-discharge. Batteries nowdays seem to fail 'just like that' not a gradual decline.