October 2009
Today i have received a notice of intended prosecution as i allegedly contravened a red light. I just wondered if anyone could offer me some advice as to my options. I passed my test in june this year. The letter states that this offence was in august, and i can remember going through an amber as i knew it would be more dangerous to stop on a 40 road than to go through i was commited to carrying on. I completley dispute the fact that it was a red light. I was told by my instructor it is better to go through amber if you feel suddne braking would cause an accident and this is what i did. It was 100% not red.Would it be worth fighting this in court or should i just accept the 3 points and fine? I am now paranoid that ive done it since because this was 2 months ago and i am so worried that my licence will be taken away. would they have told me with this letter? Im so worried and need some advice. Thanks Read more
I'm currently getting amusement watching the antics in the back street where I park every day near work.
Basically about half the residents' cars leave each day to go to work, and the spaces are taken during the day by other people, such as me. This seems to work quite amicably, apart from one householder who marks "his" space with traffic cones as he leaves each morning, so that he can park outside his house again when he returns in the evening. (There are no parking restrictions, residents' permits, etc in force)
One morning recently when I arrived there were no spare spaces, so I removed the cones and parked in the space. The following day I noticed that someone else had done the same, and so it continued for the week.
Today I found that he had escalated the action and had placed an extended step ladder on its side in the road outside his house. I am keeping well clear of it now, having started this little piece of drama just for the hell of it.
It's not as if he wants to keep a space clear for a delivery or something like that - he wants to reserve a section of road all day so that it is clear for him in the evening.
I'm tempted to report him for obstructing a public highway. On the other hand I'd quite like to watch how this develops. Read more
BOL!
Seriously though, on a public highway, it is first come, first served, end of. Clearly, if any reasonable person saw a sign requesting space because of mobility issues etc they would oblige, but anyone hoping for a claim on roadspace just because they own the house overlooking it is optimistic.
Hi, my Focus had the now seemingly common loss of power followed by Engine System Fault light the other night, and doesn't seem to have quite the same get up and go that it did previous to this.
So I took it into the local garage and they identified 2 faults that had been logged - one with the Turbo, and the other with the Fuel Pump.
Since I only bought the car back in August (having only covered 32000 miles) they thought one may have been carried over from before, so they said I should keep driving the car until it happens again, so they can diagnose a problem.
While I am not sure if this is good advice or not, I have been driving it (but not on long journeys - I am a gigging musician) and it just feels like something is wrong, but despite spending an hour pelting down a stretch of dual carriageway I cant get any real loss of power or lights to come on.
So I wonder if there is a crack in the pipe as mentioned in the honest john what to watch out for section of the Focus II listing, but since I know very little about cars I don't know where this pipe is.
Can anyone help with a diagram or description so I can check it if possible?
Could really do with getting this sorted out as I have lost all confidence in it, and feel like I ought to sell it (its my first car purchase - not a great experience!!!!) and go back to my dads old Fiat Brava which despite having a 1.2 litre petrol engine has never had any problems and only needed about £1000 worth of work in over 100,000 miles and 9 years.
Thanks
Stuart Read more
Hello. You may have already located it by now, but the pipe to the intercooler runs along front of engine and then down side of engine block. Have had similar problem with a 1.6 tdci, on which the pipe had a huge crack causing the car to overboost and then the turbo would just drop out entirely. The pipe, I would imagine, is the same in principle on the 1.6 and 1.8's.
Had a "discussion" with my wife yesterday about roundabouts. Can anyone settle this?
Imagine a roundabout with 4 exits - 12 o'clock, 3 oclock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock. You are approaching the roundabout from 6 o'clock, and want to go straight ahead, and exit at 12 o'clock. There are two lanes to enter the roundabout, but only one on the exit at 12 o'clock. There are no signs, or road markings indicating which lane to use.
I'm pretty sure that when I learnt the highway code to pass my driving test in the late 80's, the advice was to use the left lane for taking the first exit of a roundabout, either lane could be used for the second turning, and the right hand lane should be used at any junction beyond the second. (unless otherwise indicated)
Assuming my assumption above is correct, as you are approaching the roundabout, you notice there is a queue in the left lane, but the right lane is clear, so you decide to use it. At the point of entering the roundabout, the car in the left lane enters the roundabout at the same time as you to go straight on, but as there is only one exit lane, one of you has to give way.
Who has right of way?
The Highway code seems a bit vague about which lane to use, suggesting that you use an "appropriate" lane. Clearly it is easy to determine which lane is appropriate for turning left or right, but not straight on. I'm sure it used to say that you could use either, but can't find an old copy of it anywhere. Read more
The whole thread's going around in circles.
It's quite apt that the discussion is about roundabouts then ;o)
Time to turn off into a Cul De Sac and park up though I think.
Thread locked.
Help!!
I have been meaning to replace the wifes rear wiper arm for ages (since our youngest decided it would be good to swing from it while no one was looking).
So, got out to the car with a spanner this morning, released the single nut holding the arm in place and thought I would be finished in another 2 minutes! Ooooooh No!!
How on earth do you now remove the wiper arm? I have tried whacking it to loosen it, tried hoiking it off with mole grips, tried wedging it off with a screw driver but it won't budge!
I've got an old Frontera Haynes manual and it says that if it sticks pull at it with mole grips, well if i'd pulled any harder I would have pulled the motor through the boot lid.
Hope someone can help me!! Please! Read more
Hi Peter
I managed to fix this last night with a Screwfix puller for
www.screwfix.com/prods/48634/Van-Car-Accessories/M...r for £13 odd.
Thanks for the tip!
Adam
Just bought a Corsa C this week and have struggled driving at night, seems that the lights are not very bright. With dipped headlights on i cant light up the bumper of a car parked 5 to 6 metres in front of me.
Tried the headlight range adjustment but this only moves and lights up when the main beam is switched on.
I have tried changing the bulb but the outer lights don't light up unless the main beams are on.
Any ideas? Read more
The only time the outer light comes on is when the main beams are on.
This to me sounds like there is a fault with the indicator/headlight stalk if the dipped beams only come on with high beam.
i have just bought a 2001 seat alhambra with only one key, i thought it would be simple to get a new key for it but in the handbook it says it can't be done without the key tag - which didn't come with the car...
does this mean it's impossible/ridiculously expensive to get an extra key cut? and what if i were to lose the one i have???
am a car key virgin so any advice appreciated! thankyou Read more
I hope help from a newbie on this forum is acceptable.
Reprogramming the keys on an Alhambra (once you have them) is a breeze.
Unfortunately nigelbrooks, you didnt read up your stuff very well.
The procedure you describe is to program the remote locking unit in the car, to accept the key.
So now you have a key that will open the doors using the buttons....
To start the car you need to program the PATS chip in the key to match the ECU (immobiliser) in the car. This can only be done by specialist equipment and security codes.
i am going to change my halogen head light bulbs for Xenon type bulbs, the driver side lokks straight forwaed but on thpassenger side there seems to be no room to get to the back of the headlight connections, there is a black box between the battery and the back of the headlight unit, can you advise me as to how i can access the back of the unit
Thanks Read more
The bash comes later when you put the black box back onto its mounting bracket.
Wonder if Hyundai have addressed the problem that has been known to affect this model. I may purchase one if a cure has been found. Thinking it was probably just the odd car I had a look on the web and was amazed at the number of owners complaining (only looked because of the reference on this site). Anyone know? Read more
This is so frustrating. The same is often said of new exhausts and brakes. I have never picked up a new car with shrieking brakes a juddering clutch and an extra loud exhaust. You know you are being fobbed off but at least you have given them a time limit. I also find that when there is a problem like this you can become hyper sensitive to it. At least they recognise there is a problem. Good luck
This morning I went to a dealer to look at a suitable trailer for moving my old car around the country. I already had something in mind for size and length but was rather thrown when the dealership owner insisted that he would not be able to let me drive away with any of the trailers I was thinking of buying unless I had a suitable vehicle. He says - and I can't see any advantage for him in saying this - that if I buy a trailer weighing 600kg itself but plated to carry 2500kg I cannot drive the 600kg empty trailer home unless I have a vehicle rated for the full 2500kg rather than the 1500kg-rated car I had in mind for the trip home. This was news to me since I had always assumed it was the actual weight being towed that counted and not the potential weight the trailer could carry. I had ultimately thought to tow a trailer and light car having a combined weight of about 1300kg but the most suitable trailer is plated at 2500kg which means only a limited number of 4x4s could be used legally. It is possible to ask the trailer manufacture to plate the trailer down in weight terms but this could make the trailer hard to sell later. This was in Leicester where the dealer claimed the local police had an officer dealing specifically with trailer regulations and offences. Is all this correct because I can't see it on the Department for Transport trailer info on its website? Read more
Of course you could have a trailer plated within the limit of the vehicle and
accidently overlaod it exceeding the manufacturers limit and so operate illegally and
unsafely. It's as broad as it is long.
Not at all and you must be missing the whole point of this thred.
The hypothosis here was that just by using an unladen trailer that is plated above the limit of the vehicle you are breaking the law.
Of course you are breaking the law by exceeding the manuacturers limts, but that applies to ANY vehicle.
Quite a lot longer there than it is broad I'd say.
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Why so long to receive the log book, having bought the car in July?
Seems to me you've lost this fair and square. You'll have to drive perfectly for the rest of your first two years to avoid a 6 pts totting up ban.