September 2009
Evening all,
My (entirely) better half toddled along today to renew the car tax on her daughter's car. The MoT expires tomorrow, and the tax expires on Wednesday. The chap at the post office refused to accept the MoT certificate saying that the MoT had to be in in force on the first day of the new tax disc. I have never heard of this before, presuming that if the MoT is still valid when you go to tax the car then all is well.
Anyway, SWMBO tried another post office and they happily accepted the MoT and issued a new tax disc.
So, who was right? Read more
I have a 1.6tdci focus lx and when I go to the car in the morning find that the clutch pedal has drawn to the floor by as much as 25%.
Before I start up I pull it back up to its resting position.
Is this a normal characteristic?
Thanks Read more
Thanks Peter. I had taken it back to the garage that sold it to me and they couldnt find anything wrong with it under warranty so I'll tackle them again.
hi guys, indicators working but when its not indicating the hazard switch chatters please help mee eeeeee Read more
hi guys sorted this problem with a new switch and now works fine thanks for your help
chris
The single washer pump works for the rear screen but not for the front screen. Any ideas why????????? Read more
Hi
Second hand switch worked a treat...........Thanks
When did you last buy/lease/receive a car that was new to you?
In my case, 2003 - September.
(Interestingly enough, in the 15 years between passing my test and finding the Back Room, I got 5 cars. In the 5 years I've been in the Back Room, I have got none.) Read more
January 2003 - Skoda Octavia estate company car which I bought at the end of the lease and still have, 133000 miles later
March 2003 wife's 02 plate Seat Ibiza TDI which we also still have 57,000 miles later.
Thinking of replacing one or other soonish - probably the Seat with something 4 seater coupeish.
Trundling back up the A1(M) on Sunday evening, I was quite surprised to hear lengthy traffic bulletins on 5Live.
Taken at face value, they indicate there are a large number of traffic jams around the country at any one time.
This got me thinking about roads that are routinely always busy.
In the north there's the A1(M) and, er, another stretch of the A1(M), and even those bits are quietish from late at night to early in the morning.
Are the likes of the M1, M4 and M25 busy around the clock?
And what about A roads and the smaller roads through the big cities? Read more
When I was driving down the A55 I didn't really notice it being busy as such just normal amounts of traffic for the time of day really. I was lucky enough to avoid the trucks too maybe due to the recession there is less trucks down there than there used to be.
In the last week or so I've noticed oil leaking from the drivers side of the engine and then at the weekend the flow increased greatly.
I have traced the leaks back to the block, above the fan belt there are two threaded holes in the block, quite large, I'd say M16/M18? You can just make out the timing chain when looking into the holes. The oil is being flicked out of the two holes and covering the engine compartment on that side.
I assume that there should be some kind of threaded plug or grommet in each of the holes that has somehow loosened and fallen out but I've had no replies when I've gone to parts specialists.
Can anyone tell me what the parts might be called or even a part number? Maybe if anyone has had a similar experience? Read more
Thanks Peter.
The car has been off the road since the oil leak was noticed, I took it in for test and it failed on a couple of jobs so I have been doing the work myself.
I have been phoning round local parts places and haven't been getting much assistance. There is a main dealer in the next town so I will try them.
Went to see our American lady friend yesterday and for the first time saw her Mazda 3 (saloon not hatch) in a fetching shade of kingfisher blue.
I noticed immediately that the shutline at the leading edge of the bonnet lid was too wide, and wider at one side than the other, ruining the look of the car. Suspecting poor crash damage repairs I looked uner the bonnet. Couldn't see any evidence of a serious front impact, but looking closely could see that the front panel, all plastic, which is quite complicated and has the headlights inset in it, needs to be refitted by someone who isn't a chimp. Perhaps it had to come off for painting, perhaps the old one was damaged and this is a replacement. In any case it is slightly lopsided and too low all the way across, and the n/s wing panel isn't fitted right either where it meets this big plastic bumper-grille thingy.
Tsk. I thought women noticed that sort of thing. I would expect a decent body shop to be able to adjust it quickly and cheaply, but when I mentioned it she became alarmed. Didn't want to know.
Cars look a hell of a lot better when everything on the outside is lined up properly. It amazes me that a dealer could offer a car for sale in that state, but I have often had to realign doors and so on in the past just so that my eye wouldn't be offended whenever I saw the thing. Read more
Reminds me of the Autocar article from the sixties; A journo visited the Ferrari factory to see the latest model. He remarked that the right front wing looked slightly different from the left.
Of course it is, said his guide, they were made by different people.
I have a 1986 peugeot 205 with a Mi16v engine from a 405 that was put in about 4 years ago. The car has never idled properly and we have been searching for an answer the whole time we've owned the car. Basically the car will not idle when its cold it stalls as soon as you take your foot off the power. Once warmed up it seems to idle fine if a little high. I have ruled out the idle speed control valve because it works if I connect it directly to the battery, but when connected to the car it just hums. I've checked the voltage to the idle valve and it reads 12v. The problem seems to be the switching of the idle control valve. For some reason it isn't getting the right signal to turn on or off. Coolant sensor was changed and this did not affect anything apart from increase the fuel consumption so I've put the old one back in. Coolant sensor is getting 5V at the pins. Could it be this or maybe the tps, I'm not sure how to check this so if anyone has some advise on voltages or resistances I should be checking please contact me. Is there anything else that switches the idle valve? I don't have the engine with the lambda sensor and SAD. Please help this is driving me mad! Read more
If I remember correctly (used to have a BX with the same engine) there is a throttle position swich on the butterfly housing. It signals closed throttle and wide open throttle. I would be looking for correct operation of the switch. Also from memory there is a vacuum port in the same area with a very small hole. It is either part of the breather system or fuel pressure regulation. It is very prone to blockage.
Hi There,
Wonder if anyone can give me their thoughts on a problem I'm getting with my 306 before I take it to Peugot and pay out a lot of coinage :(
My car is currently un-drivable.
2 years ago the engine warning light would occasionally flicker on, but would soon go off again and not cause me any bother. Someone told me it was likely down to a faulty sensor and nothing to worry about, as it was a common problem on the Peugeots.
It has driven fine since, then a couple of months ago it starting juddering as if about to stall, or in too high a gear. I pulled in thinking it might correct itself but it didn't. After calling for some help we noticed that it was also juddering while idle (out of gear, hand brake on) and under the bonnet the engine was physically rocking back and forward. Managed to drag it back home 20miles and stopped driving it until a friend could take a look. They did the following day, only for the problem to have disapeered. They disconnected the battery and reconnected which removed the warning light, and it drove fine again.
Then the weekend it has reappeared again in full force. Car barely moving, extreme loss of power and engine warning light flickering. I've stopped driving it so not to cause further damage, or get stranded.
At first we thought muck in the fuel line, but now that seems unlikely. Could it be an issue with the injectors? Or sensor related as others have suggested? I'm no mechanic, but we all know what main dealers are like, so i'd like to get some idea first before having them run up a huge bill.
If sensor related, are these cheap enough and easy enough to replace ourselves first as a hit or miss effort?
Some extra info...
It does not appear to be cold weather related.
It happens in any gear or when car is idle.
It happens regardless of fuel amount in tank.
Thanks in advance. Read more
maybe ignition coils? The symptoms you describe are similar to what I had when my ignition coils failed on my clio. Warning light used to come on but go out again if the car was stopped and then restarted. Then one day all of a sudden started the car and got the symptoms you describe. Worth pointing out that from the time the warning light came on to the coils failing completely was approx 6 months
Why not get your car MOT one month early and save these sort of hassles? It also buys you some time should something expensive crop up on the test.
I've had many a 13 month MOT issued over the years.