August 2007
The horn on my Mazda 6 is not working. I want to check it but after looking for ages I cant find the damn thing! Anyone know where it is please? Also is it protected by a fuse? If so which one? Any help would be very much appreciated.
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I have water leaking into the rear drivers side of the C Max in the boot. It shows up on the plastic lip that the parcel shelf sits on. I have has the rear light out and also put a hose around but cannot find the leak-but as soon as it rains its there. Its not the rear door seal either so I am a little puzzled as to where it is coming in.
Any thoughts appreciated.
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Looked at the rails. They are held on by double sided tape and the roof mount holes are still covered. I just cannot see where the water is getting in but it is. Its not the washer either as it only happens when it is wet.
Very strange.
Hello all I have a new problem with my car.
When accelerating away from junctions, therefore with some lock on the wheel, in second gear there is a banging from somewhere up front. It seems worse when turning right than left. I was assuming its the exhaust - it had a new CAT recently - but I've taken the car back to the garage they've checked the exhaust and they say its located correctly. Any ideas? Read more
I took a mkII golf for a test drive once, and it made that sort of noise.
Giving one of the front wheels a wiggle by grabbing the wheel itself, not the sterring wheel showed the bushes on the lower suspension arm were completly shot.
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
I suspect that a lot of the backroom folks are like my dad in that they think a garage is not for the car, it's for storing all those "might come in useful" things, but anyway...
If you wanted to put your car in your garage, would it fit? Passat Estate driving other half is convinced that his estate wont fit in the garage of your average new build property.
How big is the garage of your average new build property and why don't they put this on the spec? Is he right? Have garages shrunk? Or have cars grown?
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We have a garage space with a doorway arch - the prefab asbestos garage erected there in 1959 collapsed in 1995 - fortunately only taking a few chests of books and a bike with it. I can park the x-trail and micra on the base, but could not open the doors of either if the walls were still in situ - getting through the arch is a skill and requires folding in the side mirrors.
Driving back from Derby to Cheshire yesterday, on the Derby - Ashbourne - Leek road.
It's mostly a 50 limit. Of course there are trucks with sheep-like queues of Micras etc all following and going 38mph.
So I do my usual stepwise overtaking to get past the queue -- without cutting in, and ONLY when I am not causing any other driver to have to swerve / brake / take any avoiding action.
Yet you get these silly old duffers flashing / honking horns etc at you, just for trying to make progress.
So what is it about the motorist's psyche that makes them so upset about being overtaken? I can honestly say it doesn't bother me. If someone wants to go past, fine, off they can go as long as they don't cut me up. Read more
Well said, Westpig.
Unfortunately, there are far too many cars on the road in top gear with their drivers minds are in neutral. Good observation and anticipation are skills which require some effort on the part of the driver. Sadly, in-car toys, gadgets and passengers seem to occupy many drivers' minds at the expense of roadcraft.
Speaking, tangentially, of Roadcraft, I have found that the 'correct' use of the horn or lights when overtaking can actually make the overtaken driver react in an aggressive manner!
Now there's an interesting, if off-thread, thought.....what was the last model to be sold with a carburettor and choke? I think everything now on the market is petrol or diesel injection.
Moved over from PCP Thread.
Well Avant, its generating interest of its own so let's re-thread it ! - PU Read more
And, the previously mentioned, Kia Pride.
Mine was first registered March '94.
I have a Y reg 2001 new shape mondeo with 105,000 on the clock with a full service history.
Recently, the engine has sounded a little loud when sitting idle, almost like a rattle. I have also noticed an intermittent noise when accelerating a little when in gear. It sounds like a rattle and only lasts for a second or two. Other than this, the car drives fantastic but am just wondering what it could be and the costs expected?
Thanks in advance
Subject tweaked to show problem - PU Read more
I have a 51 1.8 and had a similar problem. It was worse when put under a bit of load (ie put the aircon and headlights on).
Local garage diagnosed alternator springs (I think). Replaced them and it's been fine since.
After searching through many posts I've come up with lot's of solutions to these problems but I still can't be certain. So, from the beginning...
A few weeks ago the timeing belt went. My Dad and I got the engine apart and found 3 of the valves bent so my Dad decided to replace all of them anyway. When we came to refit the head and all other parts removed the weather was awful - lots of heavy rain. He stopped when the weather was bad but needless to say the engine bay got fairly wet. When it was all back together the car ran almost perfect - it seemed a little bit rough or like it was hunting for air or misfiring (not sure what exactly is causing it). So this is the rough running part of my thread - it does it all the time not just when idleing.
I read through the Haynes manual looking for what could be the cause and searched the internet. I checked all the electrical connections which seemed OK. Having had this problem on a Ford Escort a couple of years ago I thought it could be the idle control valve playing up. So I decided to unplug it and start the engine. It idled way too high so I thought great this must be the cause and plugged it back in only to find it was still idleing too high! I got a new idle control valve which didn't fix it but then found instructions to reset it and that fixed the problem (although the engine was still running rough).
Since then the problem of idleing too fast has come back. Turning the ignition off then restarting the engine will sometimes fix it. Disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes to reset the ECU also fixes it, but the problem always returns. Also, I removed the coolant/engine temp. sensor and cleaned that off which fixed it temporarily. When turning the ignition off, it idles normally on restart until the throttle is pressed. When reseting the ECU it last for 5-10 minutes of driving before idleing too high.
I took it to Renault to get a diagnostic check - no faults on the ECU but cos it was idleing high they disconnected the battery to reset it and that fixed it. Of course by the time I got home it was idleing too high again!
Sorry for such a long description of the problem but hopefully somebody can spot the problem in there! I need to know:
1. What keeps making it idle too high? (Which only started after I unplugged the idle control valve electrical connector)
2. What is making the engine run rough?
Thanks in advance,
Alun
{edited to make use of drop down menus that weren't originally here when first posted} Read more
Just check the throttle cable is not too tight first. Also redo the tappets and leave them slightly loose, tight tappets on these engines make them run like a badgers .........
Check also all the vacuum pipes from the throttle body especially the servo hose.
Interestingly you mention the coolant temp sensor, a failing sensor would not neccessarily generate a fault code but could keep telling the ECU the engine is cold which would raise the engine speed and slightly over fuel the engine.
Hello
A friend of my wife has a new pcp contract with ford.
She has a ka (Not another one)
She is unsatisfied with the fuel economy and wants to change to a Diesel Fiesta. (She drives 300 miles a week)
Can the PCP contract that she signed for 3 years be shortened to 2 or even scrapped?
All help and tips appreciated.
--
(iam not a mechanic)
Martin Winters Read more
Hello
I will pass all the good comments on to her.
I will not pass the sexist jokes on.
Having been driven around by my older sister i can testify that i had to hold onto the door handle especially around corners.
The granddaughters ka is also a bit thirsty and i know she does not drive too fast.
Many thanks for the replies.
P.s In my replies iam only quoting what the wifes friend has said re fuel tank size etc
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(iam not a mechanic)
Martin Winters
Hi there, I recently bought a 1997 mk4 Ford Fiesta and it came with only one key (a black one with a red bit on the top). I know this isn't the master key, and I've heard that if I wanted another key (which I do) I'd have to go to my Ford dealer to get a "Red Master" key which costs around £100.
I can't really afford to do this, so I'd like to get all the info I can before I have to shell out on the key, but I'd like to know what's so special about the red master key? What's inside it? Why can't I just buy a blank key from eBay and get my local locksmith to program it for a tenth of the price?
Secondly, on a completely unrelated topic, how feasible is it to get central locking in my car or even to go as ambitious as remote central locking with remote boot opening?
Thanks for all your help in advance,
Ali Logan. Read more
Surely it does though, as you are making a new working key and rendering the red one useless; because if you were to program a new key using the car, wouldn't it just give the transponder the same code as the first key would have, so both methods would produce exactly the same result, so the cloning method bypasses the PATS system by rendering its key copying facility useless.
OK, I admit it doesn't completely bypass it because you still need a key with a correctly coded transponder to start the engine, but it does bypass the copy protection it has where you are meant to have the really expensive "red master" key in order to be able to make a new key.
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Thanks for the update, Del.
Now the rest of us with a Mazda6 know where to look if we have problems in that area.
Clk Sec