July 2009
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I'm having problems with the central locking on my picasso. In summary it locks and unlocks again as and when it wants. I lock the car, it unlocks itself after a period of time which can be anything frm seconds to hours, it relocks again and the cycle repeats. Alternatively, I can unlock the car and it relocks its self. Sometimes immediately, or after a few minutes or longer. It then relocks again and the cycle repeats. I can be driving the car and suddenly it will lock, or unlock. The locking button on the dash sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. The central locking seems to have developed a mind of its own. This has been going on significantly for a few days but ocassionally for a few months. Note that the remote keyfob has been dead for sometime and I have only been using the key since before these problems began.
Yesterday another fault developed when I started the engine and all warning lights went out as normal and after a few seconds the airbag light came on and has stayed on ever since (the locks are still playing up). Unlike the other lights this one seems to be flickering slightly.
Historically, about a year ago, I was parked up in bad weather during a thunder storm and when I went to unlock the car the remote locking wouldn't work neither did the central locking off the key. The interior lights stopped working and the dash displayed 'Battery Fault'. The car started and I drove off only to find the wipers and indicators were not working. I stopped the car, switched off and studied the handbook for a couple of minutes. I then started to check through everything to isolate the fault only to find the problem gone. Subsequently I checked the battery and alternator for charging output. No fault found.
Last week I had a cooling system problem which resulted in approx 3 litres of boiling water soaking some of the units (including the alternator) under the bonnet. I don't know if any of these units control the airbag but I need to resolve the problem urgently.
Unfortunately I am having trouble even buying fuel to keep the car on the road so any help would be gratefully appreciated.
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The c/l problem could be one of the lock switches (driver's or passenger's door), either that or the receiver's gone mad.
The airbag seat connectors are a common problem on many cars, not just PSAs.
I've had this vehicle for a number of years now, regularly serviced etc but when I first got it, within the first 100 miles the engine light came on.
I bought an OBDII reader and found it to be P0172 - mixture too rich. I cleared the fault thinking i may just be a one off but over the years it has returned a little more regular. Up until about 4 months ago it would return after about 4 or 5 months but now appears within 2/3 weeks.
Although the fault doesn't affect the cars running I will be looking at selling soon and do not want to sell with this fault still present. I remoed and cleaned the MAF sensor today as some sites advise this and also cleaned the Lambda sensor as I am told this is responsible for calculating the Air/Fuel mix at emission stage.
A few things did make me puzzle. with the engine running, the unplugging of the MAF sensor caused the engine to stop with fault P0110. But when the Lambda sensor was unplugged with the engine running - no fault occurred. Does this sensor only get noticed at certain running times?
Any other advice for the P0172 fault code and it's cause/remedy Read more
blocked/restricted air filter?
Saw a nail head in a front tyre , so took the car into my local tyre shop . a minute later, and without removing the wheel, job was done , £10 thank you very much.
The guy took out the metal head with a pair of pliers( a sheared stud, as it happened ) which was luckily in the middle , warmed a stick of sorts with a cigarette lighter , and pushed it into the hole, declaring the job done once the pressure was topped up .
I was fully expecting the wheel and tyre to come off , then for the hole to be prepared and patched.
what's this all about, a proper repair or a bodge ? Read more
FMOTS's comments were very interesting.
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In this thread you may ask any question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.
It does not need to be motoring related. In fact, in this thread it should not be.
No Questions About PCs. Please use the current "computer Related Questions" thread instead.
No politics
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which we think is not following the spirit of the thread
Nothing that risks the future of this site (please see the small print for details -
www.honestjohn.co.uk/credits/index.htm )
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However, as has been said a couple of times, there is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.
This is Volume 301. Previous Volumes will not be deleted,
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When posting a NEW question, please "Reply to" the first message in this thread, i.e. this one. This keeps each question in it's own separate segment and stops each new question from getting mixed up in amongst existing questions. Also please remember to change the subject header.
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The East Coast mail line - Kings X to Edinburgh is electrified. I've used it dozens of time and had a diesel once - a 125 last year, I do think National Express were using quite a few 125s as I've seen them in Leeds.
Depite this most services use 225s - great locos, but they are due to be replaced.
I'd like the German style ICE trains where you can sit behind the driver and see ahead!
hi iv got a citroen picasso 51 plate wen i put the air conditioning on it blows cold but not as cold as it should i think,my friends car blows ice cold air,i think it needs re gasin any ideas anyone if thats the case you can buy the gas from halfords is it an hard job and were is the gas bottle thanks glyn............. Read more
Don't bother with the DIY death can.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=42800&...e
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=22...1
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=17944
Pop along to your local Kwik Fit who will do the job for around £45, BUT if they find a leak or are unable to improve the coolest vent temperature from your car by more than 10% then you pay nothing.
www.kwik-fit.com/about-air-conditioning.asp
I am looking for some advice or experience from anyone else who might have had this problem.
I had my 52 reg. V70 D5 service 4 weeks ago, and mentioned (and had documented) a whining noise coming from the engine that was related to engine revs not roadspeed, and asked for this to be diagnosed and fixed during the service.
The service was a big one and cost over £1500 all in from the local volvo dealer, and they advised that the whining noise could be coming from the power steering pump as the fluid level had been low due to a leak which I advised them about and which was also fixed during the service. I had been topping up the power steering fluid prior to the service to make sure that is did not go too low.
On 18th July, less than 4 weeks after the major service a pulley wheel bearing gave way on the alternator / ancilliaries belt. No doubt this was the cause of the whining (which had not gone away). As the wheel failed, the belt snagged it and cracked the engine casing where it was mounted, the belt then snapped and smashed through the cam belt cover and tangled in the timing belt stripping the teeth from the belt.
The car was recovered by the RAC to the same Volvo dealer who have diagnosed the damage to the engine.
I have pointed out to them that the failure of the pulley wheel bearing is due to them not carrying out the service corectly and diagnosing the cause of the whining noise, but they are unwilling to accept that.
No doubt the replacement engine that is looming will cost more than the value of the car, but I cannot afford a new car and bought this one to last me 10 years plus. Its is imaculate and dealer serviced with 126,000 on the clock and nothing else wrong with it.
Where do I stand legally? To me the dealer is fully responsible for this damage having not carried out the service correctly and diagnosing and replacing the failing bearing. I authorised all the other work they recommended for the service, so they have no excuse to say I would not have authorised the work. Read more
Fair enough, take your chances. I know if I still had my D5, I'd be getting it done early!
It does only seem to be on cars at least 5-6 years old, so it might be a while before we find out how bad it can get... D5s didn't get really popular until about 2004..
After recommendation on this site, last year I took this out for my wife as it seemed the cheapest and most straight forward, especially as her car is used primarily for work commuting and never too far away from home.
My own SEAT's 2 year SEAT assistance has now ran out so need to arrange cover for that as well. So thinking that 2x £37 isn't too bad for 2 cars.
However on reading the Autoaid wording, and phoning them to confirm, it would appear that this £37 covers the policyholder AND their spouse in whatever cars they drive!! (Interestingly one of the criteria is that the car must have a spare tyre!).
OK I know its an insurance policy rather than staright forward breakdown cover, but £37 to take away the hassle involved in a breakdown for 2 different cars (or people in reality) is a great deal.
Unless anyone has seen anything different? Read more
i insure my car and bike seperately with carole nash and they throw the full uk and eu service for free. they use a local garage network and call them instantly. under 30 minutes each time i have had to use them.
Hi,
Problem with my 406 2.0 HDi.
The cooling fan runs as soon as the key is turned, regardless of engine temp.
Is it likely to be a sensor which is faulty, and where would i find it?
If I keep an eye on the temp guage would it be ok to run the car with the fan disconnected for short journeys, until I get it sorted as I've never heard the fan running before now, even on hot days. Seems this engine runs quite cool.
Cheers Read more
Here is how I solved the problem on my 406 HDI 2002.
The relay to the fan is placed just in front of the battery. It is clipsed on to the plastic box that contains the battery. Earlier when I has replaced the battery, I must have forgotten to clip on the relay again to the battery box.
A consequence of that is, that the relay has been hanging down and have been filled with water!! I placed the relay inside my house on a radiator for a night and the next day the fan works perfectly....
We are often told that a bad posture at your desk can lead to long-term injury but what about the long-term effects of a bad driving position? Given that many of us will spend a large chunk of our lives behind the wheel, is this something that we should be giving more thought to? Many people attribute their discomfort behind the wheel to bad seats but given the scope for adjustment on most modern cars, is this a tad unfair? Surely things like height-adjustable seats and reach & rake adjutable steering wheels should make long distance comfort attainable for anybody?
I ask these questions as I have recently modified my driving position and have noticed a fantastic difference on longer (1hr+) journeys. Being tall, I always used to set the seat as far back as it would go and while this gave me plenty of legroom, I had to crane forward a bit to change gear, even with the backrest fairly upright. Pulling out the steering wheel as far as it will go also reduces the need to crane forward while maintaining maximum legroom.
What tips do backroomers have on how to attain the perfect driving position and maintain long distance comfort? Read more
Try being 6ft 7 and meeting all those criteria!
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Traffic shaping is more to do with slowing down particular traffic for users that use a lot of bandwidth. If you hit the limit for particular IP protocols you get slowed down - period. So for general surfing etc you will be fine. If you download a lot of say movies via Bit Torrent (thus effecting users sharing your connection) you get penalised.
I am happy with that. And sometimes (due to downloads of DVD ISO images for work) I get slowed down. But it's still faster than some on here seem to get ;-)