My (overly) inquisitive 6-year old asked why some roads have yellow lines on them.

So I explained that double yellow lines means no parking, ever. And single yellow lines means no parking at the times shown on a sign.

As we were in London, he then asked why some roads have red lines on them.

So I explained that double red lines means no parking, ever. And single red lines means no parking at the times shown on a sign.

Of course, he then asked why the two different colours. Which reminded me of the very same question I asked when red routes were first introduced way back when. The Highway Code confirms the same legal status regardless of colour, and so I'm bound to conclude that red lines can only have been brought in after some very clever lobbying by road paint manufacturers. I wonder how many £millions of public money could have been saved by proper enforcement of the yellow lines, instead of introducing red lines! Read more

2006 FORD FOCUS ESTATE 2.0, 136 bhp DTCI:

Hi. I am afraid that I appear to be another gullible Ford owner who appears to have fallen foul to Ford?s long running list of excuses to explain away the problemsd they encounter with their diesel injectors. Tales of ?water in your diesel? & ?a batch of cheap fuel? all sound too familiar having now researched this site.

Having purchased a new DTCi Estate in May 2006 I was initially pleased with the car?s performance. However, by mid-Nov?06, the car developed annoying hesitation issues during cold-engine acceleration. It became very lumpy and difficult to start, often emitting copious grey/white smoke on turnover. It would be laboured & hesitant on acceleration for the first 200-400yards, and a real pain to drive on cold mornings. I took the issue to the local Dealer about 3-4 times, only to be told they could not find anything wrong with the car. The car eventually became a nightmare on a journey between Kent and Warwickshire, at junctions & roundabouts, when the throttle system ceased to work, albeit the engine would continue to tick over. After 40-90 seconds, the throttle would kick back in and become active again! I limped back to the dealership the following morning, where it remained for 4 weeks. After numerous phone calls, and woeful tales of circuitry diagrams and personal site visits for Ford Technical Services, they identified as a faulty throttle sensor and a 1-2 injectors (replaced). After this work, the car behaved like new for several months.
However, 6 months on, the vehicle again developed the same issues, spluttering and showing hesitation at low revs and low road speeds. I returned it to the same Dealership, and after yet another 4 week in dry-dock, I was told they had replaced yet another faulty injector (after a 2 week trial/error testing to I/D the faulty injector). I was further informed that the EMS had required a full re-calibration, as it was showing up as a 1.8 PETROL EMS setting, (* not the 2.0DTCI vehicle it was mounted in!). I was told that this was nothing to worry about, as the EMS had been successfully recalibrated. The Service Manager added that he had personally experienced the pronounced hesitation in acceleration prior to any work having been executed on the car. He remained equally concerned (and honest enough to say so) after the work had been completed, as he felt that there continued to be a hint of hesitation at low revs (i.e. 1000-19000 rpm ) & low road speeds. He also unofficially informed me that there were 2 other 2.0 DTCI vehicles in the workshop that day with identical problems. Following the return of my car I have completed about c.750-800 miles motoring, and sadly the car continues to hesitate at low revs, particularly in the cooler misty mornings which are now upon us.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues with the new diesel Focus? I now have little faith in Ford's ability to resolve this long standing problem. Sorry this is long winded tale, but it needs putting into context. I see from my search of the site that the injector theme is very common. I fully intend to take Ford on over this issue.

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I had a 3 year guarantee with the Halfords battery , but it started to struggle cold cranking our big old indirection diesel after only 17 months. ( correct battery and selected by Halfords themselves on purchase)
The Halfords staff suggested the glow plugs or a fault in the starter and tested it with a hand held device about the size of a 24 pack of weetabix.
Told me the test showed the battery was fine and not failing,it "couldnt be changed, as good batteries had been sent back before ".

So no replacement under the Halfords battery guarantee :(

But I wondered, can a battery tester that size really simulate the requirements of cold cranking a 1.9 indirect injection diesel with the glowplugs lit, on a cold morning?

I had to fit a new battery from a different source and there is no comparison on cold starts. No more weakly cranking with an obvious decline in cranking speed. It now fires up instantly the glow plug light goes out.

Just posting out of interest re the testing tool really and have no issue with Halfords, Just the nuisance of a wasted few hours tempered by the relief of getting a good new battery on.

I have never trusted warranty / guarantee on anything, so no surprises there........ :)

Regards Read more

A friend of mine has Nissan Almera, which has no manual key, only a remote key fob. There is not even a key hole in the door. Before going to New Zealand recently for 7 weeks, she disconnected the battery so that it would not discharge whilst she is away. She opened the bonnet, locked the door with the remote key fob, disconnected the battery and then closed the bonnet again. She then realised that on her return she would have no way of getting into the car, as the door will not open if the battery is disconnected.

Does anyone you have any suggestions as to how I can help her get into the car when returns? I assume that she could also be locked out at any if the battery went flat, for example, due to age or accidentally leaving the lights on.

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Hi. I have a R reg, 1.4 Nissan Almera. When I turn the heater/blower on it goes... 1,2,3 nothing, 4, full blast. I have been told that this is the heater resistor. I called nissan and got a quote for £37.51.
I think I would rather go to the scrappy and get one (and take a chance it works).

Can anyone tell me where the heater resistor is on these cars and what am I looking for (what does it look like)?

Thanks for any help.

Regards,

Dave
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