October 2006
Hi,
Can any mechanically minded souls please help a newbie?
My airbag warning light has come on. I know there is a diagnostic code for when it flashes, however, it doesn't flash but is constantly on. I have cleaned the connectors located under the driver's seat but that hasn't solved it.
Could it be a broken circuit due to a blown fuse? Can I remove and replace the fuse without the airbag going off?
What else can I check?
Also, is there a danger that the airbag might deploy at any time whilst I'm driving?
Thanks for any help you can give me.
RoCas Read more
i have a problem with my golf over heating i have put on a new thermostat and a new headgasket still not cured it.not sure if its water pump even though if i remove hose off outlet on head to radiator i still get flow. Read more
The cooling system needs to pressurise to avoid the coolant overheating. The rubber sealing ring inside the cap of the expansion chamber (the container where you top up the coolant) degrades over time and the result is the system cannot pressurise leading to overheating - usually symptom is the coolant spouts past the lid and makes a mess in the bulkhead. If this is the case then change the cap, otherwise look for leaks elsewhere
The car is a 2.0l HDI 406 diesel with 160k on the clock reg 2001.
I'm getting clutch judder when starting off, needs about 2000 rpm to eliminate it.
Also when accelerating/braking the gear lever moves but not out of gear.
I'm assuming that this is probably worn engine mounts rather than the clutch.
Is there any one in particular that is prone to wear. Is this a common problem with 406's.
How difficult are they to replace?
As far as I know the car has done mainly motorway miles so I thought the clutch should be OK.
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Neil - Have a look at the condition of the rear mounting at the back of the engine. I had the same problem and found that the inner and outer had cracked. cost about £15 for a new one. See my www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=32774 for details. Hope this helps.
Mike M
Simple enough thread here. I am short of opinion where it comes to cars.
I have a budget of around £7000 for a car. I'm looking for pre-reg cars or used up to a year old and a 56 plate Mitsubishi Colt Blue is going for £7200 with delivery miles.
The new Colts seem to be getting pretty good write ups on the internet and the price of 7.2k seems great compared to the list price of 8.5k. I'd just like some opinions on what you would do with the same budget. I'm looking for a small car to get me to work and back round town and for the occasional motorway trip, rarely more than 2-3hours. Read more
Been around some garages today looking at larger model cars. Would
consider a ford focus if the price was right, can you
pick up 1-2year old mk2 focus for between 7 and 8k?
Ford Direct advert in the Independent today was listing 55 reg Focus 1.6 LX for £7999.
Someone ran into the back of wifey's Jazz recently (which is registered and insured in my name). Other driver insured with M&S (AIG) and all above board.
Decided simplest thing was to claim through my insurance company and get the car fixed through our friendly local Honda dealer. The way they work is that they have a sort of 'virtual' bodyshop manager who takes care of the whole thing, and deals with their outside paint/body contractor on our behalf. This suits me fine. And we get a Jazz courtesy car, which suits Mrs Payer.
In the event it just needs a new rear 'bumper' and they come ready painted from the factory, so it can be fitted at the dealership anyway.
My insurance company was fine about this (I guess they don't really care as AIG will be paying, but I was surprised that AIG called me directly. They refused to talk to me, saying they could only speak to Mrs P. Even though the car is mine, insured in my name and I made the claim? 'Yep'. So I said that due to the data protection act I couldn't speak to them or pass their message on! Cheeky beggars - apparently (according to my insurance company) they'd have wanted to offer their approved repairer, so my wife would have had to refer to me anyway. Read more
The fact that Mr Payer's car didn't have a bumper and that Mr Payer had made the claim through his own Insurance
company wouldn't have given the game away then?
...and that I could tell the person all about the accident? They just don't seem to use any common sense.
I have had a 1997 Audi A4 1.8 SE (ADR 20V engine) for seven trouble-free years and 120,000 miles until earlier this year when it started using water but in fairly small quantities (1 pint in 500 miles). This continued for several months while I tried to work out whether I had a coolant leak or a head gasket problem. Suddenly the problem worsened when oil started entering the coolant and collecting in the expansion tank (1 pint in 50 miles). I had it checked an my local garage who confirmed that it was the head gasket as they found exhaust gases in the coolant as well. Having had a lot of experience re-building engines in the past, I decided to replace the head gasket myself along with the water pump, cam belt, roller and tensioner. I used Audi parts and new head bolts as recommended by my local dealer. The odd thing was that old gasket seemed fine and the head/block surfaces were flat and undamaged but I replaced the gasket as planned. To my shock, within a few miles I realised that the problem as just as bad. I flushed the coolant system and re-tested it but oil was still entering the coolant at the same rate. I am now worried that the head may be cracked or the block corroded between the water and oil ways but don't don't know how to identify the problem without massive dealer bills. Have you heard of similar poblems or do these Audi engines have a history of this? Can you suggest any ideas to help me identify the cause of the problem?
Thanks,
Duncan Poxon Read more
I had a similar experience with a 1.8 PB engine. Oil in coolant at 80,000 miles. Took head off. Noted that head bolts were not very tight.
Re-fitted head with new bolts, gasket etc. Problem persisted - oil in coolant. Without removing head, slackened bolts off and then re-tightened extra tight. Problem cured. However, In view of forthcoming trip to south of france, I decided to do the job again. First got my torque wrench recalibrated and found it had been about 9% low. New gasket and bolts, a smear of Hylomar Blue around the oil-way and tightened very carefully making sure to achieve the full torque readings and the full angle turns specified. Subsequently, the engine ran to 260,000 miles without gasket/oil/coolant problems.
Just been looking for car hire in January 07 - used the travelsupermarket.com website and was pleased to see a new firm in the Canaries market, obviously trying to drum up some trade. I wanted a car for 2 weeks and was quoted £160 for a Clio; that would have been OK for the sightseeing but a bit of a squash for 3 adults + luggage to/from the airport. In the end I got a Picasso for the 2 weeks for £230 which, with a pick up and drop off at the airport saves us £60 in taxi fares to and from the airport. Seems like a keen price and was a lot cheaper than Hertz or Hol Autos. I don't think the Mods will mind me naming the firm as Auto Reisen - please delete if inappropriate. Read more
I think Auto Reisen are trying to move in and be rivals to the other Canaries specialist - Cabrera Medina. The price seems good, the few reviews I have found speak well of them. I'll report back in January! I have booked a Picasso and I have to hope that if I am offered something different it has a similar luggage capacity - that is the only problem I can envisage at the moment.
The temperature gauge on my vauxhall astra 1.6 club only moves when my car is stationary it doesn't overheat but it doesn't move until i'm stuck in traffic where it'll hit about 80 degrees. Cheers Mike
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Besides what bigtee has mentioned, if the engine isn't running at it's optimum temperature it will more than likely use more fuel as well.
I?m on the lookout for a replacement for my ageing 1997 Passat Tdi, which is rapidly approaching 200,000 miles and MOT time, which I fear may be expensive this time!
I like my cars to be cheap and frugal, and have a habit of buying a car with reasonably high miles and running for a couple of years.
I have seen a 2002 (02 plate) Peugeot 406 Hdi 90 LX with 109,000 miles at a local dealer for £2,895. Whilst not the prettiest in non metallic red, it does seem a bit of a bargain, given that mileage adjusted Glasses retail is £3,895. I?m going to have a look at it, but in the meantime would really appreciate any suggestions for replacement diesels, up to around £3,200.
Cheers all!
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Thanks for everyone's advice....
I went yesterday and viewed the Peugeot. Apart from a couple of light scratches on the osr, everything is a-ok. Mechanically it seems fine, with no mysterious knocking or noises. Exhaust looks amost new, climate blows ice cold and the couple of interior issues are being sorted prior to collection (new catch on glovebox and electric window contacts sorted).
So, the result was, for anyone interested:
Cash price of Peugeot - £2,895
P/Ex (1997 Passat TDi 110 S with 194,500 miles, MOT expiring next month) - £895
Balance to Finance - £2,000
Comes with 6 months tax included (the trader had just taxed it to use himself) and floormats.
Personally, I think that's quite a good deal.
Right, off to the Upsolute website to price up chipping it...
Cheers,
DB
I just read an article on a yamaha rd125LC. The owner says that he had fitted nitrous. I notice that the bike is fitted with carb induction and a twostroke engine so this goes against my understanding of nitrous. I should have thought that nitrous fed into the air box as stated would just give u a weak mixture. I did not think nitrous was explosive but simply allowed more oxygen to enter the bore and it helped cool the air after a turbo had heated it up. If the article was not in a previously considered credible magazine I would have dismissed it . Read more
Nitrous oxide isn't flammable or toic, but at 296°C it breaks down into nitrogen and oxygen. Since it contains a higher proportion of oxygen than normal air (36% compared to 20%) and is more dense (50% denser than air), a cubic foot of nitrous oxide contains 2.3 time the amount of oxygen that air does.
When used in a combustion engine, it has the same effect as a turbocharger or supercharger, generating more power. A small dose can generate a 25-35% increase. However, it's not as straightforward as that. Timing needs to be retarded. If you feed nitrous to the engine without enough extra fuel, the lean air/nitrous to fuel mixture will make the detonation problem even worse. Combustion temperatures will skyrocket and catistropic failure is certain to occur. If the proportion is such that too much fuel is delivered, the power advantage degrades rapidly.
So, in the case you describe, it probably doesn't work.
Browse
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A fault with the seat belt tensioners or the connections under the seat will cause the airbag light to flash 4 times.As you have a steady light I would suspect a control unit or power/earth supply problem as previously mentioned.