September 2009
The speed setting number 2 has just stopped working on the air blower. Speed settings 1,3 & 4 still work as normal for both hot or cold air. Also the Air-con still works as normal. Any idea's if this would be an easy fix or would this be a job for the garage? Thanks for any suggestions. Read more
Shopping about to replace our 2006 Corolla at the end of October. Hyundai have no stock of i30's, i20's or i10's. Kia very limited stock of Souls and are quoting November delivery. The Soul Samba is out of production and the facelifted Ceed is supposedly on sale from 1st Oct - no stock of existing Ceed. Skoda supposedly have limited stock of the Roomsters. Toyota supposedly have limited stock of the Auris. Some models of the Jazz are order ony.
There was a report out today talking about the rise in value of used cars and the scarcity of used cars around three years old. I'm now not surprised at this. People who want to buy new and px their three year old car seem to be having to hold onto them as they cannot get new ones.
I seem to be left with a three year old Corolla I cannot part exchange for a new medium sized car. Looks like I'll have to MOT the Corolla and look to changeeither in November or early 2010.
What a change from early 2009! Read more
Picked our new i10 up yesterday, and the salesman told me very much the same story. They have effectively stopped taking confirmed orders; they are taking details on the understanding that the scrappage scheme is winding down and the customer may not get the deal they want.
Glad we got ours early, and a very nice little motor it is too.
There's another side to this as well; there are no more bargains to be had from cancelled orders, as there is a ready market for these from people who have been late getting on the scrappage bandwagon.
I have a 6V Vw camper 1965 sp[lit screen. Comming home the other night I smelt burning under the dash. Found some thin insulation tape around the headlight connectors. The connectors are brass with a Tjunction Teeing into another T junction if u know what I mean. One wire from the ignition,one to the main fuse box and one to the switch. When I put the headlamps on The wire to the fuse box gets very hot and this heats up the brass Tpieces making the wire to the switch hot. I,ve traced the wire down to the fuse box and it is not hot, left the van running for 10 minutes and the wire gets to a temperature and gets no hotter. You could not grip the tPieces between your finger as they are too hot. I cannot find any touching or earthed wires. Is it usual for these brass/copper tpieces to hot up? I don,t want to put insulation tape on until I know whats causing the wire to heat up. I ran another live feed from the ignition and the same wire heated upo again (the feed to the fuse box). If anyone has any ideas on whats going on here it would be appreciated.
many thanks
rob
{Typo in header corrected} Read more
over time (40 years or so ) copper wire will lose some of its conductivity especially where it is working near to its max load and as has been said connections will corrode
I would sugget running a slightly heavier wire up to the T which is heating and fit new connectors
my radio a cd 6000 is not recieving any stations and when it does they are very weak. i've had the coax tested and it seems ok. i tuned galaxy fm couple of days ago signal was good but only lasted about 5 seconds . any advise would be grateful Read more
Could be worth unscrewing the aerial mast, and cleaning off the corrosion and pop on some grease.
Does sound more like the radio though, plenty of 6000 CD on Ebay for sale.
Now that we're well into '59' plate territory, I thought I'd ask your opinions on who were the main winners and losers between March and September 2009? The combination of the recession and increased car tax for larger engined cars does seem to have changed things somewhat.
From what I have seen
Winners:
Ford Ka/Fiesta - I must admit I have trouble telling them apart sometimes
Fiat 500 - Appears to be the new cool car
Hyundai i10 - Cheap and cheerful - especially with scrappage
Golf Mk VI - Despite delays in orders, I'm seeing loads of these now
Audi A4 - Appears to be the new company car of choice where I work
Losers:
Anything with a big petrol engine. Obviously it's hard to tell with vanity plates, but I haven't seen any 09 plate Range Rovers, 7 series Beemers, very few MPVs and ever fewer hot hatches (although the latter may be due to young male drivers not being able to get finance).
What have you seen (or not, as the case may be)?
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There are lots of old shape Priuses in London where they make very good sense.
The new one should have wider appeal as the petrol engine is more powerful and
it may be less disadvantaged on motorways.
The old ones don't seem too shabby, if the numbers I see at 100+ mph in lane 3 are anything to go by.
I often find myself wondering what fuel returns they get driving like that.
had my engine bay pressure washed the other day.
couldn't get it to start after.
garage replaced my coil pack.
drove it on slowing down car idled iraticly or stalled.
got it home didn't use it for 24hrs.
started fine and drove 400yards and just cut out and had 2 push home due to no chance of it starting. when you try starting it fires up then cuts outs almost instantly. runs with accelerator fully down but with max rpm 1500.
Things tried;
Replaced spark plugs
Cleaned throttle body and idle control valve
Disconnected the ECU overnight
Re-connected ECU, car ran for short distance
Idle ticked over - very erratic, then stalled when accelerator pressed.
Towed home, have now replaced;
Coolant temperature sensor.
Engine starts, then cuts out almost instantly.
Please help, Adrian.
{Post amended to substitute the 'txt / MSN' language for proper words} Read more
Hi All,
As seems to be normal with renaults, my auto transmission no longer wishes to take me anywhere unless in reverse. Strange because it was fully reconditioned at a cost of £1200 just 20K miles ago. I suspect it's terminal because there are filings in the oil and the oil looked dark and burnt. I realise that these creatures are more complicated than the average human brain but the average human pocket cant affor £1200 every 20K miles so, I would really apppreciate any tips to either repair it or replace the whole transmission for a manual. If anyone knows do any other models like Laguna 2.0 8Valve, Scenic 2.0 8Valve use the same box or a box than can convert it would be most helpful. Renault are deaf dumb and blind when you ask this question.
I believe that all shells can either be fitted with manual and auto boxes without modification. If this is the case then all the correct holes should be in the right place.
I can find a doner car for the pedal set, cables etc.
I can find a decent manual 5 speed box.
I can find the dash replacement trim to change from the auto shift.
Has anyone done this before? I am concerned about certain requirements. I think the box and ECU are related so how do I create the relationship with the new box.
Are the drive shats the same.
Before anyone suggests sending it to the big renault heaven in the sky, which would probably be the the cheapest solution, I like it and I would like even more the fact that I beat it even with an average human brain.
Thanks in advance guys
Paul
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Economic Write-off IMHO unless you are strongly attached to the car - owning it for a long time!
When I press the accelerator on my nissan sunny 1.4L (auto 1994) the car does not move from a stationary position even though i can see the rev counter and hear the engine reving up.It will start moving very slowly after 3 or 4 attemps at pressing the throttle and this sometimes cause the car to switch off. once the car has picked up speed, I can drive it and feel the gears changing normally. The problem starts again if I brake or stop at a junction or bring the car to rest. There is no problems with starting the car or any misfiring. Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated
{No need to include make/model in the subject header - the drop down menus takes care of that for you} Read more
Change the oil and filter in the gearbox might have never been done.
hi all
can anyone help me? me wifes 53 reg clio is playing slightly, the car problem is that it starts up fine and off you go for miles but the sometimes it wont start but just turns over ,the battery seems fine as there is plenty of power when trying to start.
could it be a simple fix or is it trip to the garage...
cheers dave
{Year of manufacture means just that, NOT '53' from the registration number!} Read more
The crank position sensor can play up, often needs cleaning.
Also the Coolant Temperature Sensor (CTS), this sends info to the ECU so if it is faulty the ECU may fuel the engine for a hot start when it is cold and visa versa.
Second-hand cars are gaining rather than depreciating in value due to a shortage in supply, an industry-wide research company has found.
CAP Motor Research Ltd, which provides valuation data to the car industry, said the usual 15%-a-year depreciation of used car prices has been reversed.
Companies delaying replacing their fleets and the government scrappage scheme has led to a shortage in supply.
This year the average family car has increased in value by about £600.
Full story here: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8251920.stm Read more
No, you misunderstand completely. The asset appreciates in value in the short term. How long is the risk. If you sell before this run ends, you come out on top then you have more cash to pay down your mortgage.


I agree it would save abit of hassle, However I'm looking to sell this car so would like to try and fix before advertising it. So would be grateful if anyone can help. Thanks.