December 2007
Hi - had a 1993 1.1 Petrol Fiesta auto choke for six months. It currently often refuses to start after a long rest (eg overnight) which may be temperature related. Engine turns over and you can hear it wants to go but won't catch and fire up even when I connect my jumpstart battery booster. Sometime if I leave it an hour it will start ok. Battery is good and spark is evident. When it does start it immediately ticks over and runs perfectly. If I tow it for a bump starts it starts ok and runs fine and seems to restart fine when the engine is warm. Have tried various numbers of accelerator pumps pre turnover and holding pedal to the floor, taking of air filter etc but cannot find a single reliable 'trick' to get it going. Got this car in the Summer and it started every time mostly first time - seems to have come on when the weather got cold/damp - but that may be coincidence. Have always owned older cars (this is the newest one I have ever owned) so fairly familiar with old car starting problems - but this one - with its electronic EMS etc - has got me baffled.
Any help welcome.
Many thanks Read more
I've got to drive 50 miles on Monday with 3 teenagers on the back seat of my 2003 Focus Ghia. I've tried the centre position myself for a minute or two and considered the backrest to be very uncomfortable. Has anyone any experience of being a passenger for any distance in the centre of the back seat of this model? Read more
Put two boys and two girls in the back of any car, there'll be plenty of room in the middle !!
Seriously, legroom may need to be shared front/back as the Focus is a bit small with the front seats right back - depends on the height of all those concerned. Shoulder room for three might be a problem, depends on size.
50 miles isn't that far - offer them a more expensive alternative, see which they accept.
can anyone helpme with my problem my reverse lights don't want to work i have checked the fuse's and they are all ok the bulbs are not blown also i hae the same problem with m foglight any help would be great cheers Read more
sounds like it could be a faulty reverse lights switch, usually located on or around the gearbox, it should have 2 wires from it, if you have just bought the car or they have never worked since you have had the car it may have been disconnected, they have a habit of blowing fuses when faulty. check for 12v.
does anyone out there have any quick ways or tips on how to change the cv gaitors cheers Read more
The only quick way is to use a split boot,some swear by them,others loathe them.Almost surgical cleanliness is required to make them work.
quiz.uk.msn.com/quiz/default.aspx?id=c957480c-37f6...b
Mine was a 101.2. Which is not big or clever. Read more
Er ........ 130 (16/20).
I was wondering in my mind if one keeps a car for 1,2 or 3 years, so it is in warranty period, how much it is likely to loose in value and at which point is best to get a new one again? It would certainly reduce the need for an overlly reliable car.
What with the current trend against CO2, Im thinking that if it is affordable, perhaps keeping with an up to date car is not a bad idea, but it really depends on what it costs.
How much per year should one put aside to replace a car that costs say £9000 after 1,2 or 3 years? Id replace the car every year if it didnt cost much. You only see figures for three years on depreciation - are some cars better than otehrs with initial depreciation?
Im thinking because back in '96 my dad bought an Impreza and sold it back to the dealer after two years 30k with a loss on purchase price of just £4000. Maybe it was an exception to the rule however.
Are there some cars that make good short term purchases, or atleast better than others? Read more
To answer the original question, you should swap your car just before it goes wrong big time.
Can anybody tell me what the wheelnut torque should be for a Subaru Outback 2.5 '56 reg. ? Alloy wheels, of course.
Two dealers have given me settings, one said 92 ld ft and the other 110 Nm. Ani fule no that these are different.
Advice, anybody ? Read more
Thank you number Cruncher.
Give me time to think about that !!
I have a freind who has driven for around ten years as a named driver,
he has never been involved in any accidents or claims. He wants to obtain
car insurance in his own name and hopefully some credit for accident
free driving.
can anyone recommend an insurance broker or company who may allow
him a no claims bonus ?
thanks you Read more
The only real way to do it is to apply to the insurance company he was a named driver with.
Direct line and the like will only accept time as a named driver if it was on one of their policies and the newly insured driver takes out a new policy with them.
Others may well give introductory bonus though.
I have been driving for 25 years.
In the last few years I have noticed an escalation in cars driving without brake lights. Having almost running into the back of a few.
Is this due to owners not checking their lights regularly. MOTs not being carried out properly. Or more sinisterly, muppets enticing a rear end shunt for a payout.
I managed to alert a driver at a set of lights recently that he had no brake lights. He just said,yeah I know!.
Considering all modern cars have a third brake light, I have lost count of cars with the two side lights not working. Or is there a general fault.
As we have a lack of police on the roads, I can see this situation getting worse. Especially if the government gets its way in having MOTs every two years.
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I think there is only one reason why drivers have one or no brake lights; they don't check them. They're either too idle or too dumb.
I have to check mine on the truck every day (and sign to say I've done so) and whilst I don't have a set schedule for checking my car I tend to keep a reasonably good eye on things. Bike gets checked before each trip for the simple reason that you've generally only got one back light on a bike and you can't see it whilst you're riding!
I do wish the police would clamp down more on duff lights in general; sorry it's a hobby-horse of mine, and yes I do know that certain cars need a major stripdown to replace a bulb, but I still think that if motorists took a bit more care on this issue, it would do a lot to reduce accidents.
One of my Christmas toys is a solar powered trickle charger. Before connecting it I thought I'd do more than just accept the little blue flashing light as proof it was doing anything so I used a multi-meter.
In the very cloudy conditions today its output varies very rapidly (i.e darts all over the place) between about 5v. and 17v. Is this normal? Will the car battery be happy with a constantly varying charge? Read more
I have 2 solar powered chargers, one for the pork & the other was on the TR7 until it was sold. Both more than kept the battery charged & the 944 has a thirsty Cat 1 alarm & also a MP3 player on backup. Not had a problem with either. All the theorists come out with the "they don't put out enough current to be useful" are wrong. Had the same thing on the Porsche forums.... Now know of many people who've bought the £9.99 ones from Maplin, all have had good results.
Jim
54 Jaguar S-Type 2.7 SE Diesel
87 Porsche 944 Lux 2.5
80 TR7V8 Now sold!
Browse
as far as i am aware the cts is underneath the inlet manifold with something like a 22mm socket fitting and a plug connecter that breaks with age as you try to undo it, so when replaced the loom connecter falls off
im ready to be corrected though