October 2007
Renewed RFL via web on 15/10/07. New disc arrived 08.30 today.Top marks to DVLA + Royal Mail.
Happy Motoring Phil I Read more
My wife's 98 Fiesta 1.25 Zetec Auto has a misfire/stutter when driving but the problem doesn't show up when the car is stationary (or on the Ford diagnostic testbed)
The car momentarily looses power and then picks up again and drives OK. (until the next time)
The car has been recently serviced by Ford and the CVT has been checked and is OK.
The speedo needle always "flickers" slightly when the car is being driven but I haven't noticed it going to zero or anything during tha actual "stutter"
Any ideas? Read more
An update - Problem solved !!!
Got the car back from the garage 2 weeks ago and wife has been driving it with no problems.
After checking just about everything the garage checked the crankshaft position sensor and found it was mis-aligned. They cleaned it and re-fitted it properly and the car runs fine.
Why a mis-aligned crankshaft sensor would cause the car to mis-fire intermitently I have no idea (I would have thought it would mis-fire continuously) but it does seem to have cured the problem.
Anyway, all fingers and toes are crossed that the problem stays away (makes driving a bit difficult) and MANY MANY thanks to POLAR FORD in Runcorn and Screwloose and Wicked_Buffy for their help.
this started after the car went in for a service; the car seemed to be missing as I drove away. The mechanic said that there was a plug lead not fitted properly and all was OK until now (a few months ago)........the car starts and runs fine but after a normal run if I have to stop for a short time the car then misfires, as if its not running on all cylinders,,,,it smooth no pops or bangs but it only happens under the situation above, I was wondering if there could be a faulty plug fitted that was failing under high temperature..any ideas. Read more
Now sorted it was one of the coils, got a new one and all is now OK.....plugs are NGK....thanks for replies.
hi guys,
just an idea.will it work?
mitsi evo 8 as a daily commute car for wife......she loves the looks on one.
driven daily from west yorkshire to manchester, round trip of 90 miles.
fuel is fully paid for via company fuel card.
running costs?
reliability?
our lass is no girl racer revving the guts off an engine
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My wife has a 1997 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Estate (Legnum) as an everyday car. There are no problems with drivetrain roughness or whine. It's not quite as sporty as an EVO, but it's quick enough to see off almost anything. Steerable rear differential (AYC) makes it a real cornering expert, and is the best handling car I've driven. Its well regarded in the CBC guide here too. Worth considering for a 90 mile commute.
www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/16/road_safety_vid/
That doesnt go straight to the vid which can be found here
www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/advertisingcampaigns...l Read more
I always make sure that I never exceed 30mph as I spin away from the lights in a cloud of smoke. If I find my speed is getting close to the posted limit I normally find that a quick application of the handbrake along with a sharp turn of the steering wheel brings my speed back to an acceptable limit. Spinning away from the lights (front wheel drive) is warming up the tyres and therefore improving grip and stopping distances.....
:0)
Yes, absolutely, as usual the rest of the world seem to have the correct attitude. Meanwhile, back at the UK 31mph makes you an anti social monster.
This afternoon whilst picking up a passenger at a large airport, I was signalled to pull over by a PCSO. I was informed that I had comitted an offence by stopping on ziz zag markings at a crossing, and that she was going to issue a fixed penalty notice for £60 and three points!! She then proceeded to examine my cab, and recorded the details of my hackney carriage badge, whilst twice stating that I should have pulled into the correct zone (I Know!!)
After asking various questions such as my height, any tatoos etc, she passed me a green 'producer' slip requiring me to show my licence, insurance and MOT, even though I had offered her my licence already and pointed out to her that as a Hackney carriage, it doesn't require a MOT. She then muttered about how my offence merited three points but that would take too long to issue so she would give me a non-endorsable £30 ticket instead. At this point, she sealed the notice and literally threw it across me so as to land on the passenger seat.
My question is... Upon examining the green producer slip, She has spelt my address wrong, put down the wrong postcode, not asked for a signature when giving me the slip and also left the box which states where the documents are to be produced blank too, despite me twice asking where the docs were meant to be shown (and incidentally, ignoring my requests.)
I appreciate I was in the wrong and intend to pay the £30 but what should I do with regards to the producer?
Any advice gratefully recieved..... Read more
Surely PCSO 'Stoppy Pants' has put their ID number on the Producer. In which case wherever the documents are taken will be able to do a quick check on their IT system, find out where 'Stroppy pants' is based and stick the HO/RT2 in the internal mail. Thats providing its the same Force area.
As an aside I discussed this with one of my Student Officers who has come over to the Dark Side from PCSO land. He stated that our PCSOs could deal with both endorsable and non-endorsable tickets for static offences and likewise could give producers as they were given Traffic Warden powers after the yellow rats were privatised. Most of the Traffic Wardens transferred to the PCSOs and wear a little badge stating 'Traffic'.
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Fullchat
I'm just buying an 02 Mondeo diesel, how do I physially check under the bonnet that it is as claimed a TDci and not the TDdi? Read more
Just ring up a Ford dealer parts desk and give them your reg. or VIN.
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Mike Farrow
About twice a week my car will not start straight off. Turn on the ignition, warm up the glow plugs, turn the key to the start position and nothing happens - no cranking, no click and no dimming of the dash board display. After two or three minutes and half a dozen attempts the starter motor cranks and the engine runs. Until today the problem has only happened first thing in the morning. Today it happened first thing in the morning and then again in the afternoon when I wanted to set off home from work.
When the starter motor finally does work, there is a short delay between turning the key and the starter cranking. The headlamps are not dim. The relay system which cuts power to the headlights whilst the starter is being operated works, which would indicate that the problem probably does not lie in the ignition switch. Anybody got any suggestions?
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No, the switch can be changed independently of the lock.
The best way to test this is to wire a small pilot lamp (visible from the driver's seat) between terminal 50 on the switch and earth (31). Each time you crank the engine, observe the lamp.
659.
.*******
anyway I was about to arrange a test drive and hopefully sort a deal, when I noticed that I could also afford a Lexus RX300 SE-L on a 04 plate with all the toys ?
about the only thing I can find wrong with this car is the MPG but then I only do about 7K a year
what are your thoughts ??
many thanks
mitch Read more
mitchk, regarding the RX300, I see that you have been looking at the website of the Lexus Owners Club, and getting some useful thoughts over there. I take it you've also looked at the What Car? site.
The RX300 does well on satisfaction surveys like Top Gear and JD Power. Very well. In fact, I fancy having a shot at one myself, but would never own one because
1) they are costly to run,
2) people would get the impression that I was loaded :-)
3) it would attract the wrong type of attention from the less law-abiding members of society
4) I live too far from the nearest Lexus dealer
In the end of the day, if those things are not problems for you, and a test drive shows that you like it, then there is no reason I can think of not to buy one.
I'm currently playing about with some wiper system designs, and there's a type of wiper that I don't have any information about - wrap-over wiper systems.
These are the wipers which have spindles at the lower corners of the screen, and the wipers move from being parked nearly horizontally to being almost vertical at the screen edges. The area in the middle of the screen is wiped four times per cycle, twice by each wiper, while outside this "overlap" zone, only the twice as per a usual wiper.
The numbers I'm after are the distances;
1) between the 2 main spindles or pivots
2) between each main pivot and the wiper attachment point to the arm
3) the wiper length
and the model of car.
I'm not sure which cars have this type of wiper, and for a whole number of reasons, I'd rather not lurk around in public car parks with my tape measure! - if any backroomers have a car with this type of system, and are kind enough to post the numbers, they would be very helpful to me.
Many thanks,
Number_Cruncher
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I've not got as far as finishing the wrap-over wipers, but here's a screenshot of my code's simulation of a pantograph wiper as fitted to a train.
web2k.co.uk/fullsize.php?im=1193003229
Number_Cruncher
Browse
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In fairness the general feedback about DVLA customer service on this site is pretty positive. My recent contacts (one a paranoid contact about my motorcycle entitlement) were excellent. Most of the fleet's tax discs have been online applications of late - never a problem. I paid a visit there once and went to the department that manages the incoming mail, its mind boggling the volume of mail they get in a shift, truly mind-boggling, and despite the cynical comments from some quarters the fact that they make some money on the side from number plates is remarkable, if only certain other Government Depts were so efficient.
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PU without his Mod Hard Hat on !