May 2008
Hello,
I recently changed the timing belt on my 2000(W) Astra G 1.6 8v following the instruction of a Hayne's manual for this vehicle. After I had finished putting it all back together the car wouldn't start.
I have found that I have no spark when turning the engine over and I don't understand why. I checked all the electrical connections and all seemed okay. The only thing I disturbed (electrical) was the fuel pump relay which was removed and the engine run to depressurise the fuel system as instructed by the manual.
I understand that there are many components in the ignition system that could fail (sensors, wiring, ECU, etc..). and cause this fault.
I discovered on the internet a way of reading the ECU fault codes by counting the blinking ECU light on the dash and I got three fault codes : 0230 (fuel pump), 0105 (inlet manifold pressure) & 0443 (unknown).
At this stage I gave up trying to fix myself and took it to my local Vauxhall garage and explained what I had done. They have had it for two days now and still can?t trace the fault. I find this hard to believe as surely they have advanced diagnostic tools and a lot of experience of these vehicles.
They have phoned twice with updates and the latest update informed me I need a new ECU (£230 fitted) which I reluctantly accepted but they wouldn?t say for sure if this would cure the problem.
I am now worried that I could end up with a huge repair bill for some simply cured fault.
Am I expecting to much competence from the Vauxhall trained technicians?
Or is it really a difficult problem to solve?
Cheers Read more
Does anyone know if these new tyres make any noticeable difference to fuel consumption or are they just a gimmick?
I check my tyre regularly and they are usually pretty close to the recommended pressures. Read more
The Michelin carcases were the same, its the added ingredient to the rubber in the tread that makes the difference.
Michelin found that using the ingredient in some of the 4X4 tyres improved grip and changed over to it without rebadging them energy.
Strange this is... my TDI golf flashed a warning to stop and check coolant. the engine temp was near the 130 mark.
pulled over and put the heater on max and the fan too to try and help cool the car.
looking under the bonnet at the expansion tank and it was full to bursting! (checked regually allways at the reccomended marked level)
Got back into the car and the fan was blowing cold air (air con was off!!)
squeezed the top coolant hose from/to the rad and it appeared to be empty with no squishing noise...
any ideas anyone? owning VW's is starting to get expensive!!!.. Read more
It has been leaking, but cant see were from , its going in the garage this week so I shall keep you posted as it happens, thanx for your speedy reply, any ideas how much the compression (sniff) test is? sorry I put M reg , just shows u wot I know ... its a 51 plate as my Hubby just explained lol.
I have a problem with the aircon not working at idle on my car.
The compressor is cycling approximately every 5 seconds when the car is idling - I can hear the click and see the compressor clutch engaging and disengaging. The results in no cold air entering the cabin. The engine bay fan runs when the aircon is turned on.
When the car is moving the air con definitely has some cooling effect, but I'm not sure it is as effective as it should be.
The car has climate control fitted as the air con has very rarely been turned off in the last 2 and a half years I've owned it.
Any ideas what the problem could be? Read more
The "partially blown fuse" was in 2008! It'll be 2012 in three days!
I am looking for some advice and too see if anybody has had the same problem with nissan almera immobiliser. My car is in the garage at the moment and is going to cost a fair bit which i am really not happy about. the car its self although its now 3 and a half years old has only done 22000 miles.
My immobilser will not recognise any of keys so it will not start. I was told by the RAC that it needs re-coded. The garage have tried this today and it has not cleared the problem. they are now telling me the next thing to do will be to re-place the decoding ring? and this may not sort it.
my bill so far is 2 hours labour at £110 and £180 for the decoding ring plus another hours labour at £55 total is £345, and they still cant guarantee this will fix the problem.
Does anybody have any advice or has had simmilar experience with immobiliser problems?
I am a very dissapointed in nissan and will never own one again, the vehicle has been hassle after hassle since i got a year ago.
Thanks in advance
Graeme Read more
What was the resolution to your earlier problem?
I'd guess cooling system?
I sold a car last week in the auction and the day after it was sold the auction rang me up and said the buyer wants to reject the car because the car has been clocked. I was not aware of that but I have checked with the main dealer and it was known to have done 145k miles in 2004. It is now showing 122k miles and there are two recent MOTs consistent with this. It is now obvious that it has been clocked. But when I was selling the car in the auction the mileage was not warranted anyway. The auction said I should have said it was incorrect. But doesn't 'not warranted' mean there is possiblity that it was clocked? If so then what's the point of having 'warranted' and 'not warranted'?
Could anybody tell me which is right?
Read more
If the OP is a trader he has no more duty of care to his buyers via an auction than any other seller. From a trader's point of view that is the whole point of disposing via auctions: you can get rid of any or every bit old tat you wouldn't dare retail with no threat of comeback.
In this case it depends on the T&C's of the individual auction house. To be honest, if the OP did not warrant the mileage I see no reason why he was under any obligation to do any due diligence whatsoever.
Have approx 6 litres of 9 month old petrol mixed at 50 to 1 with 2 stroke oil for a small outboard motor of mine. I want to refill the tank with new fuel for it's 1st start of the season.
How can i legally dispose of it? The other thread about coolent disposal and it's useful link does not help seemingly.
I cannot put this in my petrol car can I?
Appreciate outboards are a long way off topic but wondering if it's worth starting/attempting to run engine with this fuel? Believe it can lead to alls sorts of running problems!
As a compromise i could put another 6 litres of fresh petrol into tank and give it a good mix!
Any guidance appreciated
Thanks Mark Read more
I always use my "last season" leftovers mixed 50-50 with fresh, never had a problem, most people that have problems (in our boat club) are the ones that didn't bother to either "run thier engines dry" or drain thier carbs at the end of the season before laying-up, and the residual petrol/oil has evaporated and left "gummy" deposits which block the jets. These problems are often mistakenly blamed on the "old" fuel. Interestingly, since the introduction of direct injection and four-stroke outboards, these problems have decreased, but havent been totally eliminated, especially in engines whereby the oil is injected seperately into the petrol (oil-injection models). So the motto is: keep your spare fuel in your tank, not in your engine!
Billy
I had trouble with coolant temperature sensor, some times work properly but others not. Were this sensor are located? Some times the fans do not start (Skoda Fabia 2001).
Tranks,
Vicente Read more
Thanks for your help
Vicente
I have heard many a tale of Rover K Series Engines blowing their head gaskets, be it in an Elise, Freelander, TF etc. Is the 1.6 Litre 115bhp engine bad in this sense too? Car desicion is between this and an MX-5.
Budget about £5,000 and my money will buy me an 03 plate MG or a T/V plate MX-5.
Keen on MX for reliability and legendary dynamics but prefer the styling of the MG and the fact that my money will buy me a much newer car. Many thanks.
Read more
>>but was wondering if the MG matches the MX for driveability?
I have driven both and my personal opinion is the MG is more balanced than the MX5 and isnt as scary on the limit either due to a near perfect weight distribution. Unless you are being daft though they both handle very well.
Again, this is only opinions and biased probably but the MG can very easily be driven like any normal car, its got a very light clutch, speed sensitive PAS, great visibility etc but once the revs climb you can have a lot of fun as well. The 5 I drove felt heavy and a bit hard work. The engine is nowhere near as willing to rev or pull from low down either. Best thing to do is drive both and see what you think. One critisism I have with the MG is that you cant get vertical enough - the seats should be a few inches lower but is comfortable all the same.
The 1.6 doesnt have remote central locking or rear speakers but both are very easily added for little outlay - infact a lot have already been done by now anyway.
Hello all,
I have 'borrowed' my old mans range rover recently, 03 plate autobiography.... and the car seems to have a really irritating buzzing noise from under the front the windscreen somewhere..
it happens from approx 55mph up and does not really stop.... I have tried the old slapping the dash trick but to no avail....
it seems to my like something is 'resonating' / vibrating.
recently the beast was converted to Gas, but it did not do it when I first drove it... it just happen on the way home from work today.
Has any one every come across this issue?
Thanks
H Read more
My thanks also to posters on this topic. I had the same problem with my 2005 LHD TD6 HSE (a buzzing noise from somewhere low down on the windscreen at motorway speeds) and was despairing - even after a visit to a windscreen "specialist". The cause turned out to be exactly as suggested - the rubber on the plenum trim vibrating. Applying black sealing mastic between the rubber and the windscreen cured the problem. It was relatively easy to apply: simply 'peel' (lift) the rubber away from the screen and apply the mastic, then press the rubber back into place, any surplus being easy to cut and peel away once the mastic has set). Cost of repair: 15 Euros & 15 minutes work. I too now have a smile on my face!Thanks to all!
.jpg)
I finally got my car back today from the garage and the faulty component turned out to be the coil/transformer.
They took the new ECU off and the price was reasonable, £110 for parts and four hours labour for all the time they had spent on it. I don't think I can complain too much about that.
Thanks again for all your help.