October 2008
Having probs with rear demister element not working. 30amp fuse OK. audible click when switched on, rear view mirrors defrost ok.
I don't think there is any power at the connectors on the tailgate.
Any ideas, or wiring diagram maybe ?
Cheers Read more
As some of you will be aware, more recent Haynes manuals now include a 1 to 5 'spanner rating' for each maintenance/repair job.
So how would you rate your own level of 'spanner competence' when it comes to repairing cars?
I'll allow a sixth "what's a spanner?" category, if that helps :-) Read more
An exellent article by the BBC's Robert Peston this morning:
www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/
Apparently Hedge Funds have been 'burnt' to the extent of £18bn over the last two days by the meteroic rise of VW shares caused by the proposed Porsche takeover. How gratifying that these parasites are at last suffering along with the rest of us, and how ironic that the losses are thanks to the manufacturer of the Hedgies prefered ride! Read more
What most people seem to forget about short selling is this.
Shorters have to borrow the shares to sell in the market.
Who lends them the shares ? Yes the institutions who get a fee for doing so.
Where do the institutions get the shares from ?
They buy them in the open market with their customers money, your money,pension holders money.
Who wins ?
Usually the shorters when they drive the price down and the institutions when they get their lending fee and as the fee does not form part of your pension investment, they get to keep the lot.
Who loses ? The mugs who provide the money in the first place i.e the lowly worker who hopes to have a reasonable pension after years of hard work, but you can bet your boots that their fund will not match expectations, because the share price will not have performed as well as expected.
Do the fatcats at the top care about your pension ? Does Gordy care ?
NO.
Meeting Henry K for lunch tomorrow.
Expect reports!
He promises to wear a trilby.
Read more
Met HK for a few ales yesterday and some interesting chat.
Thanks HK much appreciated.
My thanks to you Ian. Delaying a working man (at the brewery on the Waterfront, in the sunshine) is dedication indeed.
Thanks for the local motoring mags. I will enjoy the local motoring view.
The watering hole.
dostuffct.com/activity/waterfront/mitchells-waterf...y
Now I am back in the UK I will post my comments re various cars I hired etc when I have read a bit of the past months postings.
Looking down on to the top of the motorcraft battery in my Mondy, there is a small round window with a coloured indicator. I notice it has recently turned from green to red.
There's plenty of fluid in there, and it isn't at all sluggish to turn over. I've also tried trickle charging it overnight to no effect. What does the red indicator mean?
I've had 7 years out of the battery so far, so I suppose I can't complain about the durability of the motorcraft batteries! Read more
Check the Bosch website re the correct battery type before you get a replacement.
The spec changed in 98 for the Mondeo .
Had this 406 HDI since August 2008, Model = Rapier Estate HDI (110), Recently it has had a tendency to switch on the front fog lights on it's own and if I do not switch them off it will also switch on the rear fog light,
The air con is ok whilst in motion but not when stationary (I think that the A/C colling fan is not working) looked at the relays and a gave the terminals a clean but no change. Latest thing is the hazard lights activated when braking heavily to avoid a side road pull out.
Does anyone else have any of these problems an if so is there a root cause or is the loom starting to fail?
Thanks Read more
Is the BSi getting damp?
The rad fans suffer from corrosion everywhere - nightmare wiring.
The hazards may be programmed to do that under emergency braking.
Are you biased against a particular make of car (in your price range), and do you have definitive proof that your bias is justified, or (as I suspect) are you just being irrational? Read more
if I had a Renault I will keep a large supply of coil packs in case I brake down :D
Never needed a coil in 7 yrs with my Scenic. At least, if one fails, you can still drive it.
Plenty available on Ebay cheap.
Ted
In the road test it states that the 18" tyre gets more of a bump from potholes and bumps than the 17", and also that the 16" tyre is the least affected.
I always thought that the bigger the tyre, the comfortable the ride.
Could someone explain please. Read more
With the increase in rim diameter the tyre profile is reduced to retain the tyre outer diameter and the speedo calibration For example 195 55 16, 195 50 17 and 195 45 18. The sidewall is much smaller on the latter and makes the car prone to pot holes, cats eyes etc etc. It's al a case of balance, no pun intended. Regards Peter
hi i got a 52 reg 2.0 110 hdi and it started missing and not reving above 2200rpm so i unpluged the MAF sensor and away she went again, so i went and brought a new sensor and plug'd it started up and it started missing and not rev again. Anyone got any help or advice? thanks Read more
oh well most of the time u are!! lol
i'll try get it onto a code reader tomorrow then, and in the mean time drive round with the MAF unpluged!
Just wondering if there are any in our little community who have experience of U.S cars of the 80s. A friend of mine in the States of British extraction has seen an Oldsmobile Diesel saloon with 80k genuine miles for the equivalent of about £1500. He says it runs sweetly and is a curiosity for him as it's unusual. Apparently though this engine 5.7 litre 125 hp is infamous for bad reliability and is touted as the car that caused the U.S market to show such resistance to Diesel passenger cars.
Do you think there is a market for Diesels in the U.S? I know that VW sold a few TDIs over there a while back but stopped? I would have thought the yanks would love modern Diesels as they seem to like low down torque. Read more
I have noticed though that VW has launched the 140 bhp common rail Diesel in the Jetta in the U.S and are selling it as a green car to rival the Prius.
Browse
Back in the bad old days [ 1950's ] I was taught by Father up to about 4-spanner level, and went up to about 4.5 level in the 60's. From mid-80-'s, I have reduced to about half-spanner by having company cars on fully-maintained leases. I do, however, maintain my multi-spanner rating on the small non-electronic Italian diesel engine in my boat. I do have to surrender the unit injectors to a diesel shop if they need any work.