September 2008
I was amazed the other night whilst watching Police Interceptors that a blond Essex Bimbo got stopped for having a number plate that contravened every rule - font, spacing, colour, bolts , misrepresentation and no supplier mark.
Even though she admitted that she had been stopped before she got a £30 fixed penalty. Hardly a deterrent is it?
I would have the first offence a £100 fine, the second offence the number is taken from you and confiscated and you have to keep your car off the road until you have re-registered it on new number supplied from DVLA. Which won't happen overnight.
Thoughts? Read more
Berlingo 51 reg speedo not working. New sensor fitted to driveshaft. Will work with ignition off, and then remove and refit black connector at rear of dash panel display board. Speedo flicks a bit like an electronic reset, then sits just off zero and will work when engine started. After switching off ignition speedo hits zero stop hard and stays there, next time no speedo working unless you pull plug and refit plug again before turning on ignition. Also found removing and refitting unknown fast acting fuse on centre of drivers side fuse panel does same as long as ignition and lights are off. Fuse now fitted with a pushbutton to press before starting car, until I can resolve problem. When battery went flat during investigation speedo would sit just off end stop and work. This stopped when battery charged.
Where is the speedo interface unit? is this built into the dash panel. There is not a direct connection between the black socket and the speedo meter movement on the dash panel. Must be some electronics or something. Can't seem to be able to remove the dial pointers to enable removal and inspection of the dash panel pcb.
ANY TECHNICAL HELP PLEASE.
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From the originator; I have also recently looked at a working citroen and peugot partner speedo. There seems to be a relay clicking for my faulty car after a time period which kills the dash info. The working speedo car waits until the end of the time period for the speedo to drop to the zero end stop. My faulty speedo immediately drops hard to zero end stop when the ignition is turned off. Maybe its just a faulty relay. Ihope to find the relay when I have time and hope I can find somewhere to buy one.
I have also recently cleaned all the earth tags under the driver and passenger foot wells, plus in the engine compartment.
The ABS warning light and the one next to it come on sometimes while driving. Switching off the ignition and re-starting usually solves the problem. I've just had the diagnostic test done (£35) and it shows a wheel sensor fault. I've also noticed sometimes the speedo shows a speed when stationary. I'm assuming these faults are connected? can the sensor be cleaned, adjusted or only replaced? if so how easy is it?
I still have my alarm problems too (see other posts earlier) . We have cleared all fault codes and will see when they re-appear and get it re-tested (no extra charge )
I'm still not sure if i should change the powersounder in case it is another fault?
many thanks, Mike Read more
Oh boy ! the hub for a sensor. What sort of cost and how easy is it to DIY ? Guess it's worth taking a look at it first to see if there are any loose connections etc. It's intermittent so may be a chance.
have to go back monday to have the diagnostic confirm the fault after clearing the old codes.
Still struggling on the power sounder though. If it's not bleeping (prior to going off)does that indicate another fault not the sounder ?
cheers, mike
Hi, need some advice on a problem that?s been bugging me for a few days now.
Jumped in the car a few days back and not sure if it was just a coincidence but shortly after plugging in my phone into the charger (connected to cigar lighter) I smelt something burning. Not long after the battery light came on and I thought I had blown the relay for the alternator.
However, the electrics windows (front and back), rear wash wipe, clock/outside temperature do not work and the battery light is permanently on. I googled the problem and it seemed that a 30A fuse had blown. Replaced the fuse and was able to operate the electric window for 2 secs or so and the fuse blew again.
Came home googled a bit more and found that it might be the rear wash wipe (which hasn?t been used in over 2 years since it got jammed and blew the same fuse). Disconnected the rear wash wipe and removed the relay connected to it. Replaced fuse again and it blew again.
A friend has said it could be the wiring that runs through the A-pillar to the door, which seems logical. But before I start investigating I'd really appreciate if anyone can give me any other ideas on what might be causing this.
Thanks
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***Fixed*** Wiring loom was burnt near rear wiper motor.
I can fully understand the need for wider bays and dedicated spaces and thank goodness that I am not disabled but why do are they allowed to park for free? Just wondered in the light of this blue badge rumpus. Read more
I think everything that could be said has been said. Unless there's an objection from the OP along with a good reason not to lock - its locked.
Guys, I have an AWX engine on my drive and the serpentine belt is going balistic at tickover. It is shaking the tensioner quite violently. Above tickover it all calms down. On inspection and depressing the metal centre bolt the tensioner moves down at least 3mm before the plastic pulley moves. Is this soft mounted or is the centre bearing wearing through the plastic pulley ? Regards Peter
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Thanks 659 my visitor got home safely and left the car at his local VW garage. Regards Peter
My dad's Octavia 1.6 petrol has developed a fuelling problem (multipoint injection, same motor as Golf, Audi A3, various Seats etc)
About 10 days ago it started intermittently revving up by itself at idle to 4 - 5,000rpm, gearbox in neutral, foot OFF the pedal. It would shut off on the key, and then refuse to restart straight away.
If left for 15 mins or so it will restart and behave normally for a day or so, then repeat the above.
Only does it when warmed up. Runs fine when cold.
No check engine light, and no fault codes on a Skoda dealer's diagnostics nor an independent garage's.
The independent had a look at the throttle body and said there was some muck in there, but not much. He sprayed some cleaner in and wiped some gunge out, but because he couldn't see any fault codes he could only suggest driving it for a bit and see if a code came up.
I'm thinking it's possibly: a) Idle control valve, b) throttle butterfly position sensor, c) MAF d) Lambda sensor or e) a dodgy connector on any of the above :-/
Any other suggestions / recommendations please?
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update -- coolant temp sensor replaced (£28 plus a bit of labour) and car running sweetly.
Thanks again for your help, Screwloose.
Hello,
I've got a T reg SEAT ibiza.
Basically the 'bite' point on the car is fine, but once i start to move off at low speed the car shakes heavily then stalls unless i rev the car A LOT (and constantly) until it's going at 10mph.
The car lunges a lot when i move into second gear also, and it makes that stalling, rumbling noise until i put my foot down. However it's fine once in 3rd/4th gear.
It clearly doesn't like going at low speeds with low revs. I have to put quite a lot of power into it to stop it from stalling.
I thought at first there was a major problem with the clutch, and took it to the garage a week ago and the guy told me it was working fine, so no major clutch replacement needed (phew!).
Although i am getting used to the way the car handles, i am not keen on the fact that the car stalls so easily at low speeds.
Is there anything that could be tweaked to prevent me from having to rev the car so much to stop it from stalling?
P.S. My dad won't drive the car, and he's been driving for 35 years! Read more
Hiya,
I had a misfire problem with my seat about two months ago where the engine ran fine in neutral, third and fourth gears but needed a lot of revs to pull away in first and second gears.
Now we changed the spark plugs (new bosch ones), the oil and oil filter and the engine is fine in neutral, first and second gears now, but it seems the misfire happens in third and fourth gears.
As i change into third the car starts juddering and sounds like it wants to conk out and so i have to put my foot right down on the pedal to keep it going. Once the speed gets up it sounds a bit happier but then if i don't keep my foot on the pedal it loses speed/power very quickly.
This seems to be an unusual problem, but i really would like my car to be happy in all gears with no dodgy misfiring - has anybody got an idea what could be causing the problem?
Ta!
Hannah
I have an oil leak underneath the engine i would say it leaks about half a dozen drops or something like that each night on my drive its in line with the oil sump plug or there abouts its been like it for months but i only noticed when the patch built up on my drive.I took it to my local garage who checked the vehicle over & decided to replace various gaskets as it was not coming from the sump plug nor the filter they didn'nt really know where but assumed the changing of gaskets may solve the problem me not knowing an awful lot about what goes on underneath the bonnet agreed to this.
Garage phoned next day to say the work was done & i could collect the X -trail.... great got vehicle back only to wake up next morning with the usual drops of oil on the drive, took the x-trail back to garage where once again they started searching for leak now i am getting a bit cheesed off now because i paid them to fix a problem & they did not do it but remembering they told me they did not know for sure where the leak was coming from i should not really be surprised anyway they tell me now that i have a turbo problem because they have found some oil seeping from underneath the rubber hose that comes from the turbo to the intercooler they remove rubber pipe and sure enough there is oil in there enough to cover the walls inside they tell me this should not be there and the turbo seals have probably gone.
Now i bought this vehicle 6 months and i new it had a reconditioned turbo fitted and i have in my possesion the 12 month warranty for this part which the dealer gave me so i take the vehicle to the turbo people and explain what has been done and what is happening and what i have been told ( please bear in mind i dont know a lot about vehicles ive only ever driven them like most of us ) ok they remove the hose from the turbo to intercooler & agree that oil is getting inside and it should not be but when they check the breather pipe from engine to cooler pipe they notice oil inside the breather pipe & the cooler pipe that goes down to the turbo & this is where the oil is getting in they tell me there is probably a fault with the breather system inside the engine and i need to get that checked there is no problem with turbo.
Now from having a few spots of oil on my drive and nearly £200 bill from previous garage who did not fix my problem i am getting a little bit worried now ,i asked a local mechanic for his advice and he said i should really take it to an authorised Nissan dealer & they would be able to find out the real cause but when i called the local Nissan they qouted me £110 an hour for diagnostic check & in this case it may well run into hours.
Now i simply cannot afford that but niether can i afford to keep paying tin pot garages money just to tell me what the problem is not !
I am getting a little desperate now as where to turn if i have to go to Nissan then i will, i have been told many things, i could do with some advice , the vehicle runs fine allways has no smoke out the back or anything some people have even said that this oil is not a problem because its not unusual to have a little coming through the breather but surely it should not be there and is this the oil that is leaking down on my drive ,the oil level is ok .can anyone please help
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Check its not leaking out of the intercooler on the top of the engine. Very common fault, the seams leak and the oil that naturally passes through the intake system can drip down the front of the engine. New intercooler I am afraid from Mr Nissault....
Andrew
I need some advice (no flaming please!).
We have decided to replace my wife's car and would like something quick but reasonably economical. Preferably to buy used (up to 1 year old, 10000 miles) costing no more than £14k.
The Skoda Octavia VRS 2.0T FSI would seem to fit the bill. I dont know much about these cars though, so would welcome opinions from those that have owned or driven one.
I understand that this car is basically a Golf GTI, but with more room. Is that correct? Does anyone know what the top gear ratio is (in mph per 1000 rpm).
What does FSI stand for? Is it basically a standard petrol injection system that any garage could work on or would it require specialist repairer? Are they reliable?
Any other thoughts?
I have also considered a Focus ST, but they look a lot more expensive to run. Opinions? Read more
>>You must be rolling in it.
Unfortunately I'm not, so I didn't buy.
The £2k is enough to be the main dealer premium on VAG cars at that price point compared to private sale. The problem was, if the private seller couldn't get interest at £12.5-£13k from both an AutoTrader and eBay ad, chances are I would have similar difficulty selling further down the line.
The one who suffered most was the bloke selling. He started needing to visit central London daily so traded in the Octavia for a diesel MINI because of the proposed CC exemption, which of course never materialised.
In centuries past, a minor offender used to be shackled to the stocks in the village and would be pelted with rotten vegetables and fruit and general insults.
Nowadays, a minority of drivers quite voluntarily submit themselves to similar ridicule by devising letter and number combinations which *almost* spell clever words and phrases. They then deliberately draw attention to themselves by fitting plates in bizarre fonts which are intended to make the registrations simultaneously illegible to ANRP but legible to everyone else (doh!)
Reach for those aubergines and mangel wurzels, people: it's time to make the humiliation complete!