June 2008
Hi All,
Have got an 04-plate Rover 25 (1.6) that's developed an odd fault when turning the ignition key.
When the ignition key is turned to the final position nothing happens, all the dash lights are on, radio, fan etc but nothing happens. With repeated turning to the final position at some point it will fire up. Also, if the key is just held in the final position and wait it will at some point fire up. Of course sometimes it just starts first time no problem!
When it was serviced the garage checked the computer systems but no fault was recorded. There seems to be mention on the web, but the solutions are quite varied (cam shaft sensor seems to be a possibility).
The problem is erratic but it will still happen even if just previously started successfully, also makes no difference if it?s hot or cold. The garage did get the same problem happen to them, but no fault recorded.
Any thoughts / ideas would be very welcome!
Thanks.
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I've just replaced the Dizzy cap on a colleagues 216 16v as it was running like a bag of spanners. When I took the cap off, the carbon brush literally crumbled into dust & the main coil lead snapped clean off at the cap end (it had gone a mouldy green colour). I replaced the coil lead as the other 4 looked brand new and the car now starts first time and runs nicely now, but I am amazed how the car was even running in the first place!!
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Yes, another one dreaming of the holy grail - free fuel forever , but I may have a case ?
One of my cars is a US Ford F250 pick up truck of 1986 vintage, with an International 6.9 V8 diesel ( factory standard, this engine ) . Now, this is used sparingly as it's big around London's streets and on a limited mileage policy. It used to be an only vehicle used for my business around 1994 - 2000 , I've owned it for 14 years now .
It is IMHO suitable for a veg oil ' conversion ' as : a) It's an old style engine , not a high pressure common - rail . b) The truck has 2 diesel tanks , with a dash mounted switch to move between the two , so one can be used for the Veg oil. c) I am a part owner of a restaurant business and we have free waste veg oil every week, that at present gets collected .
I actually went to see a company that does these conversions in Wolverhampton about a year ago, when diesel was a bargain 80p a litre . They said the reason it wasn't feasable was that this truck comes with Stanadyne injection pumps and these are prone to snapping their shafts under the strain of running veg oil. It's now 132 p and rising ... have found out that Bosch and other diesel pump makers can and do run on veg oil, this from an outfit in Germany that fits these veg oil jobs. So the question is , who can advise whether fitting a replacement Bosch diesel injection pump is possible without much tinkering , and who stocks/ fits them ? I know it won't be cheap, but it will have paid for itself in no time , in the grand scheme of things and I won't need to go near a forecourt more than once a year ..
Anybody out here know this issue in detail ? Read more
If you can get hold of a magazine called Auto from Germany it specialises in US motors with umpteen companies doing conversions.My brother in law has a Ford V8 diesel engine in his mobile home and that runs on nothing else but cooking oil as do all his vehicles.
An interesting article on the new scientist website today. They have some researchers arguing that presenting fuel efficiency in miles per gallon confounds decisions on how to improve overall fuel consumption.
Their argument is very simple. An increase of 3 miles per gallon on a vehicle sounds insignificant, and on an already fairly fuel-efficient car it would be. However, they point out that on a very sure inefficient vehicle, and this might actually be extremely worthwhile.
Once fuel economy is expressed in gallons used per unit of distance, then it becomes much more obvious what a sensible decision would be when trying to focus on overall fuel savings. Unfortunately for the petrol head, it becomes clear extremely quickly that focusing on even apparently very small improvements in efficiency on very thirsty vehicles is far more worthwhile van with large improvements on already efficient vehicles.
I thought this was both obvious, but also strangely interesting in how counterintuitive this is in some ways.
Article and related video here:
tinyurl.com/4xduwt Read more
The fuel gauge was broken on an old car I had some years ago, but I knew it did roughly 30mpg and petrol was about £2 per gallon so when I put, say, £10 in and set the trip meter to zero, I knew I was ok for about at least 150 miles. I don't recall that the then expense seemed worse when computed in this way and £2 a gallon wasn't cheap in terms of my then income.
As someone said, there are many more factors in car purchase than economy or doing the least possible damage to the planet. I don't think people would bother to contribute to this forum if economy was all that mattered where cars are concerned.
Cars are about a lot more than transport. They can be fun. They can represent success. They can present a challenge. We know that the government sponsored figures on economy relate little to the real world. But you still get people on here wondering if they can reject a car which doesn't live up to the "official" figures.
I drove a friend's Merc 380SL on a few occasions years ago and it had a sort of rainbow coloured dial that showed whether you were driving economically or burning the fuel: the further into the darker colours the needle went, the more you used. I liked it because you could enjoy yourself and the car, keep the needle in the red for a while, and then cut back a bit. I think something like that would be worth having because of the immediacy, rather than an electronic gizmo that works out averages since re-set or whatever.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7464958.stm
Downward spiral from now on....
....as in all the major cities and towns will probably follow :( Read more
Most MPs across the parties in the region have come out against it ...
...and you believe them Nsar, soon as they are on the train back to London the knives will be out. Just look how they slip in the need for GM food, Monsanto shares must be sky rocketing.
Found what I hope is the cause of increasingly noticeable on/off throttle jerkiness and an odd click / clonk sound when taking up drive in reverse, or the first time taking up drive in 1st after reversing - the top engine mount has a dirty great crack down the middle of the rubber, and has acres of freeplay.
I'm going to change it this weekend (parts in stock at GSF) and in the absence of any form of workshop manual for the car, just wanted to confirm it's as straightforward as it looks. Plan is:
Support engine underneath (usual trolley jack / broad bit of wood)
Undo the centre bolt that goes through the rubber.
Undo the three (from memory) bolts that attach the mounting bracket to the cylinder head
Remove mount
Fit new
Reverse of above.
Anything else I need to be aware of?
Cheers as always
DP
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Hi DP,
Thanks for posting, if you look on the VOC website you'll see this is a pretty common occurrence.
Volvo themselves sell the uprated part and it's about the same price you were quoted.
You've only got the bottom bushes and the drop links to go and you're good for another 100k miles :)
As I have just renewed my tax disc online, without requiring insurance cert. or MOT cert., has the "producer" reached the end of its life?
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none of your driving documents (apart from the MOT) are strictly speaking legal documents in the fullest sense of the term because driving without them in your possesion isnt against the law as such because the police have the option of giving you a producer, >>
Are you saying you have to have your MOT with you in the car, welshlad?
Hi,
I just bought a 5 yr old Ford Mondeo. This problem occured twice. As I start the engine and drive for a few metres, the engine stalls and I had to restart the car to run again. Pls advice on what the problem could be?
Thank you very much
130 miles - 5 years
Mondeo TDCI Auto Diesel 130 Read more
does youre glowplug light come on when it cuts out?
Hi guys
My missus is changing her motor this year and fancies a rag top any advice
she likes the 206 but I said it would be to small and I ve been told by my pal who works for r.a.c. that then are prone to electric roof mechanism problems does same apply to 307 and what about renault megane what would be a stylish looking convertable medium size that is relatively trouble free and won,t break the bank Read more
The solution to the vulnerability (and coldness and draughtiness in winter) of ragtops is a decent removable hardtop. Aftermarket ones of varying aesthetic merit used to be sold for small sports cars in the fifties and sixties. More recently, and a long way upmarket, I have seen a beautifully made and designed hardtop on a Porsche 911 Cabriolet, OE I imagine and a pretty penny.
I don't much like these folding-tintop jobs myself but if there's one with a reliable mechanism that might be the thing for someone who wants that sort of car if it's going to be left in the street anywhere these days.
Speaking of that sort of car, a friend now dead alas used in the fifties and sixties to call Sprites, Midgets and so on 'wine gums'. Insulting but apt, like many of his bons mots. When the Range Rover appeared in the late sixties he took one look at it and said: 'The fuzz car of the seventies.'
A nice bit of silliness - from "The Daily Telegraph":
tinyurl.com/6x5zvg Read more
In surprised he didn't leave any skid marks behind LOL!!
Not seen the Lampkins in ages myself!
Browse
If it doesn't crank; then it's not the cam sensor.
Ignition switch, immobilizer, starter relay, or the starter itself are all possibilities. It won't be found by plugging in a computer - you need a man with a good old-fashioned test-lamp.