March 2006
I'm asking this one on behalf of a friend's car.
He's got a mid-90s Honda Civic 1.5 16v engine I think.
If he leaves the car overnight it seems the battery hasn't got enough grunt to start the engine. But if he disconnects the battery overnight it starts fine. So I decided to measure the current drain to see if it was exessive, but it was only around 30mA, which shouldn't really drain a newish battery overnight.
I checked the charging voltage and that was fine, so it seems the alternator is doing its job.
I'm a bit mystified to how the battery could apparantely lose its charge with just a small current drain. I haven't actually seen it not start myself, so haven't been in a position to test it when it is in the 'morning after' state.
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Any suggestions why the front alloy wheels on a two year old Yaris should be bubbling
Regards
John Read more
It is a known problem with the wheels - go back to the dealer and they will get them replaced under warranty without any trouble.
A friend of mine is about to sell his 2003 (53 reg) Passat TDI 130 sport estate with 30,000 miles on the clock. I have a 2001 (51 reg) TDI SE estate with 85,000 miles. If I were to sell mine and buy his, what difference do you think I should be paying ? Many thanks in advance, Charles Read more
I have read numerous accounts of diesel cars being run on various cooking oils...I am thinking of giving it a try.
I have an Astravan 2003 1.7 dti with 35000 miles on it.
Has anyone tried this or is it a false economy.
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Only way you could consider it would be if you converted the engine with a fuel preheater kit at a cost likely to exceed £800. With biodiesel it's the fuel that's converted (from vegetable oil) to suit the engine. Comments above are correct wrt the need to register with C&E (aren't they now merged with IR to become Revenue & Customs?), as well as tendency of vegetable oil to become heavy/viscous at relatively high temperatures. I suppose you could get away with mixing in 5%-10% vegetable oil with diesel, but it wouldn't be something I'd bother with unless you did some more research and looked into the suitability of that particular engine.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
The XM is dead, (or on its deathbed anyway), long live the ????
My dad's 1993 Citroen XM 2.1 turbo diesel auto estate, which he has had from new, has been recently diagnosed with a myriad of faults that mean it is not cost effective for him to repair as it will probably fail the next MOT which is due in a few months time.
So the question is: what next? If I was he, I would be spending money getting it fixed or lining up an interesting series of cheap motors along bangeromics principles but alas, unlike me, he couldn't tell you which was the business end of a spanner. Plus, he is hitting 70 later this month so has slightly different priorities.
His long legs are getting stiffer (access is one of the very few gripes he has of the XM especially when the suspension is down on the bump stops), so I have been steering him toward considering small MPVs - Picasso and Zafira which are very easy to get in and out of, but a large hatch or mid-sized estate would also do. A seven seater would come in handy only a dozen times a year when we all visit. It does need to be able to sit five and still have a good sized boot for holiday luggage.
As a sports nut, he needs a radio with good reception (another XM gripe) and space enough for two sets of golf clubs with trolleys. The XM's lack of a/c has frustrated him on many occasions over the past 13 years but he has enjoyed the frugal and torquey diesel engine and, of course, the class leading comfort. An auto box is not a must-have, but it would certainly be a nice luxury, however many of the cars below are not available with automatic gearboxes. My Dad has been happily driving my sister's manual Punto on many occasions over the last months, after many auto-only years. (My mother's car is a 1995 Xantia auto).
His budget is between £6000 and £7000. His new car needs to be cheap to run (diesel) and reliable (so no Laguna nor 406). He still drives about 8 to 10 thousand miles a year.
Cars on the shortlist so far are:
Citroen Xsara Picasso 2.0 Hdi,
Vauxhall Zafira 2.0 Dti
Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4d
Ford Mondeo 2.0 Zetec Tdci 130 Bhp
Vauxhall Vectra 2.0dti
Skoda Octavia Hatchback (98-04)
Mazda 6 Hatchback 2.0 D (119bhp) S 5dr
Volkswagen Passat Estate (99-05) 1.9 Tdi Pd (128bhp)
What models I have missed? And are the engines I have selected above the ones to go for? Let's hear it from the BR collective!
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I think I'd be considering the Mondeo, the Octavia and the Mazda 6. The Laguna and 406 would be the stylish choices, but as you say, not as dependable as perhaps you may wish.
One I think that should be considered, is the Vauxhall Meriva CDTi. A 55-year old friend of my parents has one and she reckons it's the best diesel, and best handling car she's ever had (the past one's were a Kia Magentis, Hyundai Accent and before that a Honda Accord).
Hello their, I am thinking of buying an 18 month old Audi A6 3.0 TDI or BMW 530i TDI or E class TDI, in each case the 3 litre version or near equivalent. I would be grateful of some opinions on the respective merits of each marque. I am thinking of keeping the purchase for at least 5-10 years, so durability and reliability is important. 10-15 years ago such a decision in my opinion would have been striaghtforward as Merc were the best, but today al premium band German cars cost the earth for so so reliability and quality...but i any event what do fellow back room guys think? Read more
A bit off the power and not always as smooth as the BMW units,the four cylinder jobs are worse.
The engines stick out the front,this is as stupid as sticking them out the back.
They would be smoother if they were narrow angle v6s.
Also,they seem to produce rather poor consumption figures.
If they were flat sixes and mounted behind the front axle line most of their handling troubles would disappear with no further engineering effort.
The mercifully defunct straight fives were the worst offenders.
Car design is quite hard enough without deliberately designing them wrong in the first place!
Whatever his other blind spots may have been Issigonis did at least know where to put the wheels!And it was'nt a yard away from the bumpers.
Finally,i've never heard anyone else refer to them so glowingly.
Robin
Hi
I know this is a lot to ask, but I could do with some help with a piece of coursework I have to do.
I have to look at the differences between the Automotive Engineering practices and set-ups between Germany and UK. (We can do it on Electronic, Chemical or Construction engineering but Automotive interests me more).
As guidance we've been told to look at: - Attitudes to work, research and development, investment and expected returns, and also size of operations or facilities.
So far I've just searched on the internet and apart from one webpage I've not been able to turn up anything that matches what I've been asked to find.
Any opinions or links to web sites or magazines offering information would be much appreciated.
I've also read these posts from a few years back www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=13573&...e
TIA
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Anyone ??
I've managed to find a bit more info now but am lacking anything about Attitudes To Work and Expected Returns on Investment.
I guess a greater return is expected on the same investment now compared to a few years ago but i don't know how this differs between the two countries.
Aprilias' first hand experience would be welcomed
I've always assumed the real advantage of alloy wheels was to save weight. But changing over some tyres at the weekend I took the opportunity to weigh an alloy wheel and its steel equivalent. Both weighed precisely 14lb.
They are more easily damaged, and difficult to clean, so do we fit them purely for cosmetic reasons? Or are Volvo alloys (like everything else Volvo) twice as heavy as everyone else's? Read more
I dont understand how you can have difficulty cleaning alloy wheels.
You wait until you're my age and suffer from chronic Sciatica!
However, each wheel has nine (I think) recesses into which I have to apply the appropriate sponge/brush and cleaner (shampoo) in order to loosen brake dust etc. I then valet the rubber on the tyres etc, before hosing the lot off and patting dry with my 'leather.'
Before all this nonsense all I had to do was give each wheel a fairly swift circular cleaning motion with a sponge and then rinse down. What was behind the wheel trim did not concern me.
With regard to using proprietary acidic alloy wheel cleaner I think that they are better left well alone IMO.
I have never seen any advantage to tailgating, so why do we do it ?
I don't tailgate and I an usually the one doing about 60mph on the motorway in the outside lane, watching as one car overtakes anouther but as doing so a whole group of cars brake to avoid this one car and rarely does one move to the inside lane so as to stay at the speed they were doing.
Tailgating leads to accidents, on a driving lesson doing 60mph down a single carridgeway I saw a lorry coming towards me but so close (tailgating) was anouther lorry which decided to pull out infront of me, The instructor was as shocked as me because he haddn't see this lorry either, so we slowed to 40mph pulled tight into the verge the lorry being overtaken did the same and the lorry performing the overtake came through.
The main problem facing the second lorry was - he couldn't see round the lorry had no idea what was there, his second problem was because he was very close to the first lorry he would have been passing it as he pulled out thus he would not have been able to pull in again.
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I don't condone tailgating in any way Nick but maybe if
you weren't doing 60mph in the outside lane you could avoid
it! ;-)
I will clear up your small confusion issue - I had three driving instructors ( just from moving three times in a period of 4mths ) Two of them both class the outide lane of a motorway as nearest to the Hard sholder or furthest from traffic traveling in the oposite direction. With one of these instructors I drove on the A2 between Strood and Gravesend ( the busiest part and while they were building the forth lane ON the wrong side !!
only one of the instructors (from sweden)classed the outside lane as nearest traffic traveling and furthest from the hard sholder But Just to clarify I do 60mph in the left lane (nearest hardsholder only ) always treat the two other lanes as overtaking lanes only - but would like to see a law introduced which would give a Minimum speed on the overtaking lanes of 70mph - This would stop large lorries from performing stupid overtakes which snarl up the traffic.
I know that Europe would like all countrys to go DLR and I think I have found a soloution which would interest most partys.
DLR's have always been Headlights, but in this day and age with ever brighter bulbs and 4x4's with headlights at eyelevel this is just asking for trouble.
so here is the solution we use front foglights, I can find a whole ream of reasons why it would be better including;
The beam isn't so powerful as to distract you.
we won't have problems with boyracers since we all will have the frontfogs on.
Bulb changes will be less frequent since at night we switch to dipped beam, so are only using the headlights the same length of time as normal,
If you need to flash someone they are more likely to see you flash.
Some manufactures are fitting headlights and indicators within the specifed distance this means approaching a car with headlights and an indicator going is harder to pick out.
Foglights on 4x4s are fitted nearer to headlight level (factory fitted jobs in the bumpers)those with them mounted on a bullbar may cause the same problem.
My final thought on the headlamp subject is dim-dip should be reinstated and used around town and the 4x4s need to have the beam aimed at max 5% not 1.25%.
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Well at least we agree on the roadsigns ! - I have visions of drivers doing 50 in a 30 zone.
The Volvo system is OK but the newer cars which I have seen have the most dreadful light systems rather akin to the BMW garish and overlight bright and poorly angled. The reason the Volvo system is OK in the UK is that most drivers are sensible, considerate and don't upgrade from the Standard stock lamps infact at least 50% have the dealer change the bulbs.
Other cars and there owners seem to change the standard stock bulbs for yellow tinted, Blue tinted, Hid kits (for about £300 you can change a standard H1 or H7 or for £400 you can change a standard H4 without any modification so no leveling )then there are factory fit Hids which have a stupid leveling system which fails to operate correctly.
headlights as part of there beam have a Kick to the left- this blinds people on the pavement even if lights are angled correctly
main beam -at night you can see the main beam from your lights, during the day - no chance and for those who say what about the tell-tale well how meny cars forget to turn off the rear fog which is anouther point headlights are linked to the fog light circuit if we drive around with headlights on all day how meny will have the rear fog on?.
Most front fogs are designed as rain usage lights so no need for headlamps and because they don't bounce a solid 80mtr beam down little or no chance of reflections in puddles.
If front fogs were made Day time running lights they would be inspected as part of the MOT.
but I still prefer a no lights during the daytime but that was the way I was taught
Sidelights to be seen Headlights to see
Browse
With the boot closed drop one of the back seats forward and check if the boot light is on, an old favourite, or glove box,take bulb out and try overnight.
Also check starter motor connections for corrosion.