December 2008
I have read the discussions regarding the Ford Mondeo TDCI glow plug engine cut out issue and wonder if someone could tell me if this is happening to my c-max.
It will cut out EVERY time if left to idle for say 5mins or so then as soon as the throttle is touched the engine cuts out, it has also cuts out occasionally on gear change while driving (VERY DANGEROUS!). The engine warning light sometimes come on, not always. She ALWAYS restarts after cut out and electrics do not seem to be affected.
Is this a sensor issue (throttle?), ECU update issue or Fuel Pump issue, my local mechanic has tested the system twice and a fuel pressure problem appears (among others), the filter has been changed by him, but not fixed problem.
PLEASE HELP,
D
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Anyone else been taken in as I was by that newspaper ad for the Q7 - the one that says "After an accident, no-one asks how the car is" ? It took me a couple of looks to realize what they'd done - photographing the thing with nothing to give any impression of scale, and in a less aggressive colour than the black of most real Q7s. It manages to make it look almost svelte - and then you notice the child's face looking out from the back seat to add a comforting note of emotional blackmail.
I wonder if the same agency might take on the task of rehabilitating the Range Rover Sport - or is that a lost cause?
}:---) Read more
The problem is - it may well last forever!
hi there wonder if anyone can help. looking at a 1997 toyota corolla 1.3 4e-fe. it wont start had a quick look and it doesnt seen to have spark or fuel when cranked over. has ne one had a prob with the crank sensors before and if so where are they i couldnt find it. any help would be great ful thank you.
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Hi Andy, did you get to the bottom of this problem after? The reason I ask is my 1997 1.3 Corolla cut out last night and wont restart (had to get AA recovery out). I'm thinking one/both of the coilpacks has gone.
Cheers.
Stepson had a prang in our old Yaris on the slippery roads last week, and has got a quote of £1400 to fix the damage. It might be reasonable, but we've got no idea, so were just wondering if any of the experts on this forum might be able to say whether it appears to be in the right ball park or not.
Garage didn't spend much time looking at it according to stepson; I can imagine that if the chassis was bent in some way then that would push the price up, but they didn't appear to check for that. Perhaps they could just tell from looking at it.
Photos here: tinyurl.com/6gorkz
F Read more
Thanks again chaps. Stepson has a friend who does work on cars so DIY might be an option, but it sounds like he'll just have to pay out something near to the £1400 he's been quoted. I'll tell him to get some more quotes first.
F
You don't need me to tell you that there's a lot of salty muck about on the roads at the moment. The back of our silver Verso was almost black with it when I got home last night; but the number plate was still reasonably clean and entirely legible.
So what's different about Golfs, Polos, Ibizas, A4s, A6s...? Name practically any VAG model - not just the hatches and estates - and I'll have seen one with a rear number plate that could be read only by a telepath. And while I also see the odd bright yellow oblong to indicate that the driver has taken the trouble to walk round the car with a cloth before setting off, most evidently don't worry about it.
It's hardly new either - Golfs have done this since at least the Mk 2 - but it's only recently that it seems to have infected the entire stable.
Am I being unfair to VAG and its customers? Is this to do with conditions unique to the UK that the cars would not encounter in their home markets? And are there Golf drivers here who are aware of the problem and curse their cars for the extra effort they require to keep clean? Read more
Two near identical cars, same road, same conditions, a week apart...
700km trip along road from East Cape to Cape Town
318i, no problems, 323i, with silly factory-fitted black hi-density foam spoiler on bootlid, had to wipe huge layer of dust and road crud etc off the rear lights and plate at every stop.
As they say in the USA... Go figure.
The tyre pressures for this (245/75-16) should be 31(F) and 41(R), for both loaded and unloaded. Assuming the weight distribution unladen is about 50/50, that means the rears are carrying 1 ton unladen, and 2 tons laden.
41psi seems a bit high considering when unladen they are only carrying the same weight as the fronts - possibly less. The reason I ask, is that even with studded tyres, there isn't much rear grip and I'm considering reducing the rears to the same as the front. Will I have a problem with this, do you think? Read more
I'll give it a try then and see what happens. I'ts a bit difficult to tell how the handling characteristics will change as the roads are all ice and snow at the moment.
Even with 40psi it seems to ride ok, but don't forget we have decent roads here, and in over a year I've never been over a bump or down a pot hole that's made me flinch.
Ha, when I drive it in England it's like a bucking bronco, and my bum is only in contact with the seat for 50% of the time. I play 'spot the drain or manhole cover that's actually level with the road', but but yet seen one.
SWMBO's Saxo diesel has developed a strange glitch with some of the instruments lately. The clock has started to gain two hours a week and the temperature gauge now emulates a windscreen wiper, sweeping up and down from top to bottom all the time the ignition is on. The only thing down to the car recently was when I fitted new glow plugs and I can't see a connection with that.
Anyone got any ideas?
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My partner's 106D had instrument problems early in its (long) life. The fuel gauge would generally fail to make "full" but would sometimes rise as the car was driven - econmical behaviour.
On being summoned to investigate, I isolated the fault to the instrument head and removed it to find that the flexi printed board is full of zero Ohm links. These form track cross-overs and are crimped to the (unplated) track with little metal tabs.
These do not and cannot form gas tight joints and consequently oxidise and form poor connections. I isolated the offending portion of track by soldering a jumper wire from the print adjacent to the loom connector to the electronics daughter board for the fuel gauge. This bridged about half a dozen of these rotten links.
That was about 8 years ago - no trouble since. VDO, go to the bottom of the class for appalling detailing.
659.
Our household has accumulated many old cans of de-icer spray, one of which has lost its propellant but is still nearly full. Is there any reason [apart from risking being nicknamed Scrooge] why I shouldn't make a couple of holes in the rim and pour it into the screenwash bottle as antifreeze? Any guesstimates as to dilution?
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On some deicer sprays (I don't know if that's all of them) I've seen warnings about it damaging paint work. I don't use de-icer sprays for this reason, and there's no way I would put it in my screen wash if it's going to damage the car.
i drive this from my wheelchair and it can be fine for months but then it just cuts out, sometimes it will restart but presently after breaking down whilst at Asda it is stuck outside my house after being transported via a wagon back home. i left it 2days went outside and it started fine, turned it off and got my stuff to go xmas shopping turn bed it on put it in gear and it cut out, tried to turn it on it would not even turn over.
could it be my immobiliser? but i thought it would not even start and would not cut out whilst driving?
now and again i start it and the rev counter does not work, turn off and start it again, then it works?
i drive with hand-controls and this is serious if it cut out on the motorway with me driving.
please help, had it to chrysler at preston last year and they could not find anything wrong with it!
paul Read more
sorry error in date.
see my report HJ back room > tech matters > select voyager dated 04 Jul 011...
Was passing a caravan on the M4 last night when I heard a loud bang (sounded like a blown tyre) from the nearside rear of my car. Looking in the mirror I could see the caravan fishtailing wildly and assumed that their tyre had blown.
I pulled off at the next services but couldn't see any damage to my car so continued on. On closer inspection this morning there are several thumbnail sized chunks of paint taken off on the trim close to the back wheel.
Any suggestions as to the best approach to getting this sorted, or is it best to grit my teeth and think how much worse it could be? ;-)
I'm guessing that the police will probably have a record of this due to the number of "Highway Patrols" drifting up and down the motorway. Read more
That's him
Doesn't explain how some planes can fly upside though - does it? :-)
Actually, yes, it does, but they'll have to keep their wing leading edges tilted up, because the shape of the wing on its own won't do it when upside down.
Many stunt planes don't have aerofoil shaped wings anyway, they are symmetrical, giving better inverted performance.
You can get lift from a flat piece of cardboard so long as you tilt it a bit.
Browse
Very concerning to say the least. Best not to drive the car in it's current state and have it sorted by a garage with expertise with this engine. I'm not sure what the problem is though but my Focus has the same engine so personally I'd ship it off to be sorted and have a courtesy car in the meantime. Be interested to know what's causing the problems you are experiencing. Anyone else have any ideas ?