December 2008
hi all ive recently bought a lugna est and heating never been very warm just luke warm and with cold frost coming if i run the car to boiling point with no heating on then turn it on in the front fans it comes out hot then comes out luke warm any one else had this is it a easy job to sort out thanxs
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I'm not sure what the name is, but its the belt that drives the power steering, alternator etc. The haynes manual said its an easy job, has an automatic tensioner and should be changed every year. The current belt has done over 40k. I'm quite a diy person myself but it looks very awkward to change.
It looks "OK" from the bonnet and there are no visual or audible signs its about to go. What should I do? Wait till there's evidence of a problem or change it now? Is it a diy job? I don't hear of any major problems when it snaps but surely it would make the car undriveable if it does? Read more
Recently my air con and radiator fan started running continuously when the engine was running. This is a June 2003 TDCi.
Air con switch did nothing. Heater controls are the 3 round dials (pre-climate control)
Fault was found to be the heater control panel which has all sorts of electronics behind it.
This has been changed and fault has gone.
Be careful though, the panel bought new is about £133
I bought a second hand one and the illumination bulbs had all blown, To change them you have to dismantle the unit and it has taken a month to source new ones as they are non standard.
Thought this might help others.
ITman Read more
Hi
Correct, mondeo is exactly the same, works a treat, when it works, but if you have the fault that I had you can triddle with your knobs all day and it make not the slightest difference. Air Con pump keeps banging in and out every 5 seconds and the radiator fan never switches off.
Changing the control panel is the only way to stop it.
ITman
I bought a second hand golf from an independant car dealer just over 6 months ago. Turns out the driver's sill is cracked from front to back. I found this out just a few days after the 6 months from purchase (sale of goods act). The dealer offered to repair the car at trade price. I am picking the car up today. Can I ask him to pay for half of the repair bill or......any other ideas???
Thanks!!!
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Spurano.
You may never read this but what you have described as a huge split in the sill would concern me as to why it happened and I would be looking at other aspects of the car *very* carefully.
Once had the in-laws buy a £6k used car from a main dealers and on their first visit here I uncovered the pillar between front and rear doors plus pretty well the whole length of the sill were cut from another car and crudely tack welded in.... all covered by trim unless you knew what to look for.
David
I have an 08 astra estate, 17cdti diesel and i want to fit an additional charging socket for towing the caravan. So the question is, do you know which is the charging light wire coming from the alternator, to which to conect the wire to the split charging relay for the battery/fridge in the caravan? I have had a look at the wires coming from the alternator and besides the thick red one, there are two wires, blue/yellow, blue/red (from memory) any ideas?
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The Astra H uses a 'plug in' system for tow sockets which comes off the fuse board in the near side of the boot, which avoids potential problems with the CAN BUS electrics. I'm sure this can accomodate the second plug for a caravan as that's an option offered with VX towbars. Try a decent towing company for the extra kit.
JS
Citroen C4 Picasso 7 seater
Right, if I dip the clutch down a hill the mpg counter gives roughly say 400mpg, as you would probably expect. Strangely though if I 'engine brake' it down the same hill it goes all the way up to 999mpg. Now I saw something a few weeks back that suggested modern engines when you take the foot off the accelerator stop the flow of fuel completely when going downhill.. Is that true ? It would certainly explain what I've noticed !
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Yes that is true! Most (if not all) cars produced this millennium cut the fuel completely when lifted off the throttle. Fuel does begin to flow before tickover is reached to prevent stalling.
I haven't tried on Dad's C4 Picasso but on my C5 the mpg meter reaches 999mpg faster if you tap the brake after lifting off the throttle. I think it cuts the fuel supply quicker.
Driving down hills with the clutch engaged prevents the car from running away and helps prevent overheating the brakes through constant use.
Hi,
I'd appreciate any help eliminating problems with my Escort Endura TD, its the crap 75ps version. I've recently lost all boost pressure removing any slight performance it had, it only occasionally kicks in and takes off but not very often. I haven't noticed any excessive black smoke or fuel consumption and have also removed the EGR valve and cleaned it all out, could it still be the EGR causing problems?
cheers in advance. Read more
Thanks Andrew, I'll try and find someone to give me a hand and do what you suggest.
I've had a quick look at the pump as I'd read elsewhere that it could be the fuel timing solenoid (?) is this the solenoid you mention? and is it easy to change should that be the problem?
Thanks again for the swift replies.
Any ideas from where it comes - only a small bit - does seem slightly oily although I imagine it must traverse some oily bits to get there! Read more
Well spotted as ever! Garage confirmed leaky clutch cylinder....
I own a 1999 Ford Focus 1.8 (petrol) 77k miles, and wondered how many miles or how long the ib5 manual transmission should last.
Thanks
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Insufficient pausing between gears is the chief killer of synchro's, boy racer getaways don't improve it either but I would think that the clutch would give out first. Its possible that a mechanical defect could cause its early demise, but as already been stated it should last the life of the car. I have had cars with good gearboxes at well over 200k. It would help if we knew exaxctly what was wrong with it.
I need a battery charger for my Mk3 Golf. I have a £10 Argos voucher so would like to buy it from there. They have 5 types - the cheapest is not suitable as the battery is a 62Ah.
Has anyone any experiences of the ones they sell in Argos?
See this link tinyurl.com/5tanyb
{make/model deselected, as this question could apply to any car} Read more
Thanks for all the replies. I've borrowed a Halfords charger of a freind today. Put the battery on charge and the charging light was on for about 10 seconds, then the green 'charged/maintaining' light came on, so my issue may not be the battery after all.
Re - ignoring the lights - I'm going to leave it charging until the end of the night and see if it works tommorrow.
Browse
If your water temperature is running below normal it could be a defective thermostat.