December 2008
MK 1 Petrol version (old shape) 65k miles
Evening BRs Hope you can offer some advice.
Drive belt which runs the power steering/aircon/alternator has worn out. It slips worst first thing in the morning.
Bought a new belt and went to slacken the tensioner as per the Haynes manual by turning the bolt in the middle. Only problem is it is stuck fast. Had a long 1/2" spanner on it with a breaker bar but that did nothing.
The tensioner rotates perfectly and quietly when the engine is running. It is sprung loaded, but i cannot fathom out if i am doing something wrong when trying to move it.
Help! and thanks.
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Further to the other thread about fog lights, I am seeing more and more cars with these "cornering" fog lights. The car will go round a corner or roundabout and one fog will come on and then slowly extinguish again. What's that all about?
When would you ever drive in such a way that one fog light lighting would make a difference? It will make no difference through town streets that have streetlights and if you are driving country lanes so fast at night then, sorry, that fog light illuminating won't avert an accident!
So.... why? Read more
Re: EU Type approval: this does not so much override UK law as BECOME UK
law automatically. A study in Germany a couple of years ago revealed that some 65%
of laws enacted in that country in one year came directly from the EU and
were never debated in the national parliament. (One more argument for the Europhobes eh?)
Sadly, this isn't only a habit of the EU -- the UK government has its own domestic equivlaent of no-debate laws.
Primary legislation (i.e. Acts of Parliament) increasingly resemble a sort of skeleton document, with large -- and sometimes crucial -- chunks left to be refined by regulations. Those "regulations" appear as Statutory Instruments (SIs), about 90% of which are passed under the "negative resolution procedure". That means that when the minister tables them they automatically become law unless one or other of the Houses of Parliament votes to chuck them out with 42 days.
This happens less than once a decade, and there are about 3000 SIs per year ... so they are effectively a form of rule by decree. They are all theoretically scrutinised by the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments, but with the vast majority of SIs the ctte only has time to do cursory check that minister actually has legal power to do what he's going -- there's no time to check whether the SI has being done well, or is even if it's a good idea.
So it seems to me that whatever the merits of the Europhobes wider case, they are on sticky ground here. When Westminster does so much of its own business as legislation-by-decree, why condemn the EU for doing the same thing? And actually, EU directives require the approval of the European Parliament, where the UK has its MEPs. That's more scrutiny than Westminster does of the same sort of thing.
I found this Q&A buried on a Vauxhall forum, it's from a service training guide for their latest-generation DPF equipped cars.
Obviously the details will differ a little with other manufacturers' DPF implementations, but it does give a good insight into the conditions needed to get typical catalyst-coated DPFs to regenerate, how long a regen. takes, how the ECU manages a regen cycle, effect on oil quality, etc etc.
Question: The glow plug symbol is flashing. Why? What should be done?
Answer: The DPF regeneration has not been completed during normal driving and now DPF has reached its maximum saturation at which it can still be regenerated. The limit value depends on variant and Model Year, but is in the range of 105% - 125%.Possible causes for this are:
a.) Frequent short distance journeys, i.e. high soot loading while at the same time regeneration of the DPF does not take place because the conditions necessary were not fulfilled.
b.) Frequent interrupted regenerations, i.e. the engine was switched off during regeneration. Applies to short journey drivers who have at least fulfilled the conditions for triggering regeneration. If the glow plug light flashes, the vehicle should be driven until it goes out.
Important: Regeneration is carried out more often (2 - 3 times) during the first 1000 km of driving in order to achieve a defined loading status of the DPF. This is necessary to reduce component and system tolerances, and forms the basis for precise calculation of the soot loading in the DPF.
Question: What conditions are required for the DPF to begin regeneration?
Answer: The following conditions must be fulfilled for regeneration to begin.
a.) Engine running since start for longer than 2 minutes.
b.) Calculated saturation higher than 80%.
c.) Coolant temperature over 70°C for at least 2 minutes.
d.) No DPF-relevant faults stored in system.
e.) A defined vehicle speed threshold must have been exceeded (e.g. for >80% loading, 100 km/h)
Question: Under what conditions is regeneration interrupted/ended once it has started?
Answer: Normally when regeneration has been successfully completed, or:
a.) After a maximum regeneration time (20 - 25 min.).
b.) If the engine is switched off or has stalled.
c.) If the engine is left idling for a long time (5 - 10 min.).
d.) If 1000°C is detected by the exhaust temperature sensor.
e.) If during regeneration, a fault is detected on the components relevant for combustion (injection/intake system). If a regeneration is interrupted once started but before it has been 50% completed, the glow plug lamp flashes on the next engine start (cold or hot) and regeneration begins again once the operating conditions (see 3) have been fulfilled.
Question: How long does complete regeneration take? a.) In the most favourable case? b.) In the least favourable case?
Answer: a.) Under constant conditions, i.e. the exhaust temperature necessary for regeneration always lies above the required value, for example during motorway/cross-country driving, the average regeneration time is 10 minutes.
b.) Vehicle conditions such as long down-hill descents, frequent driving in the low-load range (city driving, idling) allow the exhaust temperature to fall. If the conditions for triggering regeneration were fulfilled, the active regeneration time can be extended up to 25 minutes (depending on engine type). If complete regeneration is not possible within this period, the regeneration will be interrupted.
Question: How does regeneration affect the oil life?
Answer: On each regeneration or attempted regeneration, a certain diesel fuel amount is injected into the engine oil which reduces the oil life. If the "INSP" light in the instrument cluster comes on, the engine oil is exhausted and must be changed. Failure to do so could damage the engine.
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This is unbelievable!
I was whinging to my mechanic about how I couldn't fix my volvo V40 which is almost a right-off after 10 years, whereas anything that had gone wrong with my 25 year old 140 used to cost about £30 and could be DIYed.
So my wife borrowed a friend's mazda6 (which she wanted me to buy) and is now stuck 200 miles away on the M5 at 11:30pm with a baby on board with DPF problems.
This is not progress! this is lunacy! My tractor is 40 years old and there is nothing on it that you do not need to make it go! Certainly no computer. If it plays up, you hit it with a stilson.
I heard that the Apollo 11 got to the moon with less computing power than a mobile phone.
Its high time engineers designed cars to suit the people who drove them and stopped telling people they need to adapt to the rubbish cars that are produced, half the cost of which is 'value added' junk which starts going wrong as soon as you think you need it. The only winners now are the dealers!
This is a general fuel system bleeding question for diesel engines really but applies to the shogun 2.8TD.
I did a filter service on one today, car was 100% fine before hand (except for a cold starting issue which we are putting down to the glow plug relay at the minute) but is running like a pig now and cuts out after rough idling for a couple of minutes.
The only thing I can think of is air in the fuel system from doing the fuel filter, yet I bled and primed it as suggested in the service manual. I'm thinking maybe I didn't spend enough time bleeding, only problem is trying to avoid getting diesel everywhere.
can it take a while to get all the air out and is there any tricks to getting it right? not had much experience with diesel fuel systems.
Cheers in advance. Read more
An outside shot here, is the fuel filter a screw on jobbie like a modern oil filter?
If so unscrew it and check the seal and the stamping around the seal for deformation, i had a similar episode and the filter was a bad stamping and wouldn't seal at all.
If thats ok, and the filter is in the usual upright position, i usually fill the filter with super clean fuel before screwing back up.
Assuming you have a proper primer plunger once the primer goes solid thats usually it, i'd look for a badly fitting or faulty filter/damaged seal.
Hi All,
My dad's Octavia 1.9Tdi 110 estate (22,000 miles) which he as got recently has started to hold back around 3000 rpm at full throttle. I had a slight misfire when he got it and it has developed into this which occurred several time in one journey when I was in the car as a passenger. He describes it as feeling like a non-turbo car and then it goes no more than 300 rpm. We have had a look at he CBC and noted things like EGR and MAF and other things.
Do any of you have any pointers to the first port of call. I have just read a similar problem with a golf which just needed a "itailan tune up"?? Read more
We ended up buying a second hand EGR valve for around £35 off ebay. Whilst fitting we noticed that the old one needed a new actuator arm so we fitted the arm off the replacement and cleaned and refitted the original and that was in January and haven't had a repeat problem.
service due displayed bad starting only half revs check injection check emmision s displayed after starting Read more
the service due has been on for 5 weeks no probs it was just today while driving it lost power and iluminated check injection then check emmisions it starts badly and only revs 3.5k will get codes checked thanks
My car has developed a bit of an oil leak from the side of the sump. The area is solid but you can see the oil starting to weep through. Is there a repair i can do until after christmas when i can get a new sump fitted? Read more
The cost for a 1.8 zetec oil sump replacement is £35 for new sump off Ebay (200 at Fords!!!!)and 1.5 hours labour. No need to remove anything but the sump.
I have a Peugeot 306 2.0 Hdi (W reg) and I must say I am quite attached to my car, (probably a girl thing). Since September it has been to the Peugeot dealers 6 times because of the Engine Diagnostic light coming on, also the 'symptoms' have been minor, varied and intermittent, including, a reluctance to pull away on first drive after light comes on and running away without foot on accelerator, other times there's nothing to indicate a problem except that it doesn't 'feel' quite right. First time they said it was the throttle sensor, and they 'fixed' it. Then it went back, apparently it was a different fault and apparently they fixed it. Then the 3rd time they said they'd repaired it under warranty because the part was at fault, same again the 4th time. The 5th time they said it was a wiring problem, and the 6th time they said the wiring that was fixed last time had been done wrong and apologised. Then I got a phonecall to say that if it came on again (which it has) then it would need a new wiring loom at a cost of £1200. I really would like to know if this is a) an accurate analysis of the problem b) a reasonable price for it to be rectified c) worth getting fixed considering the value of the car. Any ideas? Read more
Hi Gerbil,
I have a peugeot 306HDI and I have been having the same problem, did you fix it?
I've just recently discovered my brake lights arn't working on my leon. The brake light of the tailgate works, but the other two don't work. I've changed the fuse no luck, and it can't be the bulbs as the light part of the bulb works. Any ideas???.
The only thing i can think off is that something electrical has gone Read more
hi i have the same problem, what was the cure?
Hello
My Suzuki Swift cranks very slowly first thing in the morning in the recent cold weather - not helped by a diet of short trips morning and evening with lights, blower etc always on meaning the battery rarely rarely gets a good charge. Although the manual recommends 5w-30 oil, I know the dealer who services it uses 10w-40 (no idea why, he's also a Ford dealer so you'd think he'd have supplies of the thinner oil!). Do other BR's think that I'd improve things if I changed to the thinner oil or would the difference be negligible?
Thanks & Regards Read more
It might get a longer run at weekends but not often (yes I know it's not good for
the car but that's how it is!).
I think that bearing in mind the car's day to day use you ought to make sure it gets a good run at weekend rather than it being a maybe.
In 5.2 miles journeys the engine isn't even getting properly warm - it's remarkable to drive a car with an oil temp gauge. It takes about 30 miles for the oil to get to temp.
If you can't do that then using the Optimate would help (assuming everything else is OK).
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Generally clockwise tightens anticlockwise loosens.