February 2008
does anyone know the tracking information on the delica? local tyre place said set it to zero, but that cant be right can it? Read more
Hi All,
I have a 2003 "03" reg BMW 330Ci.
Recently I have the MIL "Check Engine" light up on my dashboard. The car is very sluggish lower MPG and the idle rate rev counter when stationary is hopping up and down.
I suspect I have emissions related problem on my car, maybe its one of the oxygen/lambda probe sensors faulty. Since my car has 2 sensors (one at the front exhaust visible on the engine block and one at the rear exhaust under the car) I dont know which one is faulty for sure.
If I take my car to a garage for a diagnostic check it will cost me anything from £40 upto £100 and then repair costs added on extra.
I was thinking of buying a Diagnostic Kit to connect to my laptop and do the diagnostic check my self.
I have seen may several types on the internet for sale the most prominent ones to come up on the searches are Carsoft 6.5 Kit and the ELM327 Kit.
As far as I can understand the Carsoft kit is specific for BMW cars and the ELM327 kit is more generic to most cars (Ford/Vauxhaul/Japanese)
Can any one tell me,
Which one is best to buy that will check all or majority of the functionality on my car like, engine,ABS,Air Bag, brakes, electrics etc etc and also be able to reset all the fault codes/lights?
Also will any of these kits be compatible with my laptop running on Windows Vista?
Thanking you all in advance for replies
:-) Read more
The last time I looked at Carsoft; it was near dealer-level and several thousand up front and hundreds a time for the regular upgrades. ELM should normally work - but with Vista??
You may only need the Mk I earhole to diagnose your fault. With it idling; can you hear hissing coming from under the front of the inlet manifold? [Don't get anything caught in the fan! Use a piece of hose if needed.]
I am about to change my insurance company to get a better deal. In comparing my new quote with my old one, I noticed my old statement of demands and needs recorded an incident where I had reported a third party bumping my car whilst parked. The third party agreed to pay but because he was tardy in paying up I reported the incident to my insurers making it very clear that there would only be a claim if the third party fail to pay. The third party eventually paid me directly for the damage and no claim was made. On seeing this listed on my old statement I reported the information to the new insurer only to be told that there would be an additional charge of £15. Since the agent could not give me a reason why the premium should be increased when no claim was made, I wonder if anyone else can?
Regards sherryb
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When I moved from grotty SE1 in London to smart W1 ..............
my premium went up ..........
Premiums are all about the risk to the insurer, and different areas carry different risk ratings for all manner of reasons.
I bought replacement wiper and indicator stalks for my Golf mk2. The parts are used and the indicator feels like it might be a bit more stiff than my current one is. (obviously I have not fitted the new one yet so it is difficult to compare them).
I was thinking that I could put some grease in both stalks and clear out the little bit of grime that I can see in them, but then the components inside seem to be mostly plastic so I am not sure this would make a lot of difference in any case. Also, would grease be bad for the metal contacts, which need to pass a current to make lights and wipers work??
Also, I undone all the screws on my current stalks and tried to withdraw the wiper and indicator stalks after taking the steering wheel off, but they were very difficult to withdraw. Is this normal and should I just tug extremely hard at them. I don't think there are any screws I am missing as I have looked in the Haynes manual. It should only be the electrical connections that are holding them after removing the three screws from the metal panel. Read more
Cheers guys. I think I'll wash the little bit of grime that's already in the used part then grease it too.
I have had this car a year and over the last two months it has started having acceleration problems. It doesn't seem to be able to make it past 2500 revs and on steep hills it vertually looses all power. On the flat the car still accelerates easily to 90mph but makes its own mind up if and when it will accelerate. This has become dangerous when trying to pull out onto motorways or overtaking vehicles at 60/70mph because I'm never sure that it will make it. The car should accelerate really quickly and my husband is pretty nifty with fixing problems if anyone has an idea of what it could be.
{subject header made less vague to include a brief summary of the problem being asked} Read more
I recently had a similar problem .. but on my 1999 110bhp Tdi .. there's a ball shaped reservoir with a thin hose going to the inlet ...the hose can fracture on the joint into the reservoir ... when it's cold .. the joint is tight, but when it warms up, the crack opens up and lets in air to the system which makes all the sensors read wrong, and put the engine into 'limp home' mode.
Don't know if this is any help on your car?
{8< SNIP - this question also asked in Technical Matters. This one deleted to avoid repetition of answers.} Read more
Plan to make an insurance claim to have my car repaired. If i am unsatisfied with the repair work what shall i do?
do i refuse to collect the car and ring the insurance company?
am i supposed to collect the car and tell them i will be complaining?
Would like to know beforehand what my rights are before i take it to the garage. Read more
First of all thanks for the replies.
Lud - fortunately the damage is not as bad as that. Some plonker drove or rather reversed into my car damaging the bumper and rear wing near the rear wheel arch. Scraped the paint away and it is starting to rust. It is just the car is finished is a non solid paint colour and wanted to make sure it will match etc. Also the a lot of plastic fell off from inside the bumper. Will want them to replace the bumper and not just tart it up.
The warranty runs out on my 3 year old car in March. We have had intermitent problems with the electrics: faulty temperature gauge which affects a/c; windows fail, central locking problems etc. The car has been returned to the Main Dealer under warranty and some of these problems appear to have been resolved through replacement of the door wiring looms. One problem remains however: sometimes when I take the key out of the ignition, the lights remain on and the central locking doesn't work.
I have been told that unless the problems presents itself whilst it is in the garage, they cannot resolve it.
The car was recently in for its 3 years service with an approved dealer who carried out a VIDA systems check and they discovered a possible internal failure of the drivers door actuator.
My question is, if this fault - that I have reported since Oct 06 - continues after the warranty period, are Volvo obliged to carry out the repairs free of charge?
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Kate,
As already said, I agree that you should push Volvo now for a proper repair before the warranty expires. On the technical side, you'll find a lot more discussion on V50 faults/issues at:
www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=58
Possibly (I haven't hunted) you might find someone else who has had this same problem and can help.
James
The pad wear indicator has come on.
I have checked the pads on the front and there is plenty of friction material left.
I assume the indicator is not triggered by worn shoes on the rear drums.
So where do I look for the problem and how do I fix it? Read more
Thanks. I will get searching.
I did notice one of the wires by the caliper had split insulation but seemed to be otherwise intact. I taped it up to protect it but I will re-visit.
To all the BR's who appreciate a drivers cars, I believe Lancia are coming back to the UK !!!!! Read more
Well written Lud. Are you trying to follow on from George Bishop?
JH
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