February 2009
Being a relatively new driver, It is hard for me to gauge how things have changed over my lifetime as 17 of those years were as a passenger. The other day I was watching a 'road wars' type programme from the early 90's and for me it was quite interesting to see the subtle changes over today's roads. There was a noticeable lack of traffic calming measures and general road furniture in urban areas, cycle and bus lanes also seemed to be a much rarer sight. Traffic also appeared to be considerably lighter.
It led me to conclude that life for the motorist has, by and large, gotten worse over the past 20 years. I wonder what the older generation feel was, all things considered, the best era for motoring. I think that the greater trouble today is the negativity and lack of optimism, enthusiasm for motoring is definitely waning. All we hear are dreary environmentalists condemning the car and politicians acting on their wishes. Any road building proposals are met with outrage, car manufacturers are stifled by regulations that stifle innovation. Traffic calming this, anti-car that......etc. etc.
I am fully aware that motoring in the 50's and 60's wasn't that great either. Cars were truly awful by today's standards and the number of fatalities were shocking when you take traffic density into account. However, I get the impression that there was a greater sense of optimism and enthusiasm in those days. It was the dawn of the motorway age, people were getting wealthier and looking forward to a mobile and independent future. With interesting advances in automotive engineering there would have been little doubt in most people's minds things were looking up as they had much more freedom to enjoy their cars. Read more
This amused me, but it just might have some value:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7891239.stm
Read more
>>What about the other 6 days of the week? Pointless.??
In our area, it's every fortnight for household rubbish with garden waste in between.
However, the point does seem to have been missed by most people that wheelie bins are emptied in most towns and cities over the course of a week - so each day a large proportion of the streets and roads would have the signs on display.
I have a focus that is starting to have a few issues.
The fuel gauge takes from between 10 - 30 seconds to register after the engine has started - it used to be instant.
The aircon button on the dash has stopped working.
The heated rear windscreen button no longer comes on, it flicks briefly and their is a click from the central fuesbox.
Oh and the radio has died.
Now anyone of these things I would have thought could have been a fues. But all of them makes me a little more suspicious. It's off for a service in a week or so, but what shoudl I be looking out for as I don't want to get stung.
Cheers in advance. Read more
I am not sure about the Focus but I know a lot of Fords from this era can suffer from rust in the fuse box, it could be that the connections are corroded into the central fuse box.
i have an intermitant fault on my 54 plate c5 1.9vtr estate. the rear window opens when i start the engine. it will do this every time for about a week then won't work at all. any ideas anyone?
{put engine info into main box of post to make room for complete question in header being asked} Read more
When reverse is selected, the reverse lights do not light up. I have replaced the bulbs and checked the fuse and these are both fine. Any ideas? Read more
Its is probalbly the switch that completes the circuit when you engage reverse, this would need be (if fitted to this type of car) checked, and replaced if neccasary.
On my Vauxhall the switch is locaced on the gearbox IIRC however it may be different for your make, a Haynes manual would tell you where it is.
Hi,
I've got a bit of a problem with my 306 1.9TD. It really struggles to start from cold - maybe 30 secs plus to get going. I thought it might just be a case of heater plugs as I got the usual hard to start then sounds like it's missing on some cylinders until it warms a bit.
Plugs changed and doesn't do that now. First start from cold it takes ages turning over but does eventually splutter into life kicking out lots of white smoke. If I leave it for a bit then start it again no smoke - and starts fine.
"Pig-tails" don't take longer than ordinary to go out.
Battery voltage from cold this morning (09:00) was 12.7v. I got it going then drove it for about 40-50 mins (had to drop the maid to work) and left it running whilst I checked the voltage on the battery. Was fluctuating between 14.5v and 14.7v so I guess the alternator is ok.
I then turned the engine off and re-checked the voltage 13.2v.
I left it for about 30-60 mins and started it again - started fine - turned engine off then re-checked voltage and still at 13.2v so I guess the battery looks fine on the surface of it - just a bit of a drop as it gets cold overnight.
I was hoping someone could help me with where I can go from here as I'm not sure what I should look at next...
Thanks. Read more
Hi Chris,
Well - tried it this morning - primed it by hand after scraping the ice jacket off of it and it started first time! thanks very much. Will get replacement tubing and hopefully that'll be that.
Thanks again.
I recently had a problem with nearside front brake binding which caused overheating of hub/wheel.I changed calliper with front of car up on axle stands,the car was left on stands for about a week without use .After the work was done i started car(still on stands)and found that front wheels were driving although car was in neutral ,i hadn't had any problems with clutch or gearbox before car was off road and can still change gears ok can anyone help diagnose this problem .thanks Read more
thanks for the info
We've been punting around for a new family car and have settled on a Vectra C as a good value bet. As they are on run out now and have never been tremendoulsy loved there are some real bargains to be had on 9-18 month old models.
Yesterday I had a run down to Trade Sales in Slough to look at a 57 Vectra 2.2 Elite Estate Auto. The Elite spec has all the kit and this model with just 15,000 miles showing was on at £8199 (would have been about £25,000 when it was new) so looked a good price.
There were a few scuffs and scratches on the bodywork which I could have lived with, but the salesman said they would sort out anyway. What I'm more concerned with now is the lack of accessories on it. It was missing the spare key, the CD-ROM disk for the SatNav, user manual/audio manual, service history, the load cover and the key bolt for the locking wheel nuts. The salesman said they never promise more than one key on any car, that the CD and the service book would be provided (and that it is definitely still covered by the 3 year warranty), but he's made no promises about the other bits.
I intend to make sure that the servicing has been done and that the warranty is indeed good before parting with any cash, but I'm just a bit concerned that if he doesn't come through with the other missing bits I'm going to be looking at £500+ to source them all separately (that's if I make it home without getting a puncture given that I wouldn't be able to get the wheel off to change it).
I imagine Trade Sales will lose interest fairly quickly once I have paid for the car and driven away, so do you think I would be better off insisting that all the missing parts are provided first, or just accept I'm getting the car at a good price and live without them?
Darren. Read more
....German voice ordering me home from Slough....
Even the Germans want out of the place - Betjeman might have been amused.
Slight thread drift, but I was sat in a Ford Kuga yesterday equipped with Ford Voice control.
I tried to teach her to swear, but she was having none of it.
Hi i have just started to have a problem with the indicator stalk ,it used to switch it self off when you had gone around a corner. But now its decided not to do that anymore is there a simple solution or will it require a new one, if does need a new one is it difficult change myself.
Regards Trevor. Read more
It sounds as though the lug on the clock spring which contacts the cancel lever has broken. Not an uncommon fault on a Focus. it will mean removing the air bag and steering wheel to access the clock spring.
What are the rules on applying handbrakes in stationary traffic? Anyone got a section from the highway code or from the police? I'm having a discussion at the moment, I'll be honest it's one of my pet hates people sat for long periods, say in standing traffic on a motorway with brake lights on. The general concensus seems to be, it's ok why worry about it? I have on occasions thought, after say 10 mins, of this to tap on the window and say 'You do know the handbrake is free?'
Further more I am I being a pedant, or do other people think that it's unsafe and especially annoying at night? Read more
It's a big shame, the HWC online used to be searchable but no more...
www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/highwaycode
Now it searches the whole website. It wouldn't be so bad if there was a PDF you could download as you could then search and alt+g in Acrobat Reader.
Also, they should publish a list of changes so that you don't have to re-read all the obvious dross every year.
Browse
I did say "lucky (or rich)". I didn't own anything which would maintain 70 until long after the introduction of the 70 limit, so for me the limit was academic for quite a few years.