November 2009
the recent rain has created a nice swimming pool in the passenger footwell. i have isolated it to the sunroof (scuttle drains/windscreen ok). it is coming in through the rubber seal that the passenger door closes onto. anyone know how i can fix it? Read more
My 94 polo match has done 68000 miles and is in good condition apart from it will not start, about two weeks ago i came home from work one night parked the car, then the next morning it would not start, it is getting petrol to the injector and spark at the plugs but the petrol is not getting to them, i have tried towing it but nothing and after the tow i took the plugs and they where dry, any help would be great. Read more
I have a Suzuki Baleno that had never been very happy in cold/damp weather. I had a couple of days where it took a lot of willpower and persuasion to get it to start (it would turn over but not "catch"), until finally it wouldn't start at all. The battery was old so I had it serviced and bought a new battery which was fitted. The mechanic dropped it back at my house, and yet I haven't been able to start it since. I'm basically in the same position I was before the service albeit with a new battery. It turns over but doesn't "catch". The mechanic is now telling me it needs a new Cam Sensor based on the number of times the "check engine" light flashes to indicate different faults. Has anyone seen this before, and does replacing the Cam Sensor seem a logical step to take next? Thanks in advance (btw I'm not sure of engine size / age of car) Read more
Turn the engine over, makes a noise like it's turning over for a few seconds, but nothing "catches" - this is further to my previous post >>
it has been serviced
had brand new battery
had the cam sensor replaced
and it is still not firing. Mechanic says it's an electrical problem - does that seem right?
{Merged with your other questions as related}
I've been reading some interesting stuff recently on cycling forums about which tyres give best grip. The consenus is that slick tyres wil give the best grip in wet or dry conditions and that tread patterns are just to make the tyre look good. If I remember correctly, a cycle would have ot be doing something crazy like 150mph to aquaplane so water dispersal is not an issue.
Given that motorbike tyres are similar to cycle tyres in shape, albeit a bit wider, is there any need for motorbike tyres to have a tread pattern? Do motorbikes aquaplane? If a bald tyre will give more grip, then doesn't it make sense to allow slicks? Read more
>>
>> How does the shape of the tyre effect the calculation?
>>
Contrary to what would apparently make sense it has no affect.
The calculation given is as applicable to a 747 landing in pouring rain as it
is to your pushbike. The size of the contact patch or weight of the vehicle
doesn't come into it.
Wikipedia says otherwise:
"The longer and thinner the contact patch, the less likely a tire will hydroplane. Tires that present the greatest risk are wide, lightly loaded, and small in diameter. Deeper tread dissipates water more easily."
Helping my elderly father who has just had a serious op and needs to replace his 10 year old Civic with something more suitable.
Nearly purchased an Almera Tino earlier this year but changes in circumstances now means we have bit more to play with, its £5k plus the Civic so I am hoping for £6k to spend.
Ideal car would be something with the height and space of the Tino but be slightly more modern and something that isn't going to age quickly, rules the Picasso out I think.
2nd gen Focus seems to fit the bill but what else should I consider?
Thanks Read more
Thanks all, I will look at these. I love the idea of the Disco, but can't quite see it sadly!!!
this is the 1.8 16v none GDI type engine and will not tick over .
it will start up and run if you keep the revs at 1000rpm + but let the revs off and it just stops . also the cat rattles inside and sounds like a vibrating or loose exhaust heat sheild but there arnt any fitted .
is the cat if faulty enough to cause this type of problem
thanks in advance for any answers / advice . neil . in hull . Read more
Any advice on possible "failure to stop at an accident"? Does driver #1 have to report to police when driver #2 stops to let driver #1 change lane on a main road, then driver #3 skids in the rain and shunts the driver #1.
The law seems clear about actually hitting another car, but not the above.... Read more
The police advice given in HJ's post says you must stop/report/exchange if you are DRIVING a vehicle involved in an accident.
Cliff,
I think you may be right. It's a long time since i've studied this, is my excuse. There's a difference between the legislation in having to report the accident under s.170 RTA (which relates to a 'driver') and having some form of liability because of your vehicle being present.
I can remember an old exam question about a pedestrian falling over a parked and unattended vehicle..(and the need for insurance).
Hi, I wonder if I could draw on your collective knowledge.....?
With the onset of cooler weather, I have noticed that on my 5am drive to work, the temp gauge barely gets into the "normal" zone. This is on an 18 mile route that is predominantly downhill on 40mph roads. However, a fair amount of heat is available for the cabin.
On the way home (warmer air temp, mostly uphill) the temp gauge appears normal but if I put the heater on full I can make the needle drop back out of the zone.
Is it normal for the cabin heater to make this much difference to the engine coolant temp?
(I've heard of mini drivers using the heater matrix as an extra radiator in summer traffic jams to stop the engine overheating - but I would have thought my mondeo would have more in reserve than this!)
I'm aware from reading another site that Mondeos have a couple of weak spots in the cooling system, so is there anything I can check before speaking to a garage? (i'm technically minded but not practically handed, so my preferred way of dealing with these things is to try to have an idea of diagnosis, then get an expert to fix!)
Read more
Hello all. Firstly thanks for your help and apologies for my late reply. Have secured myself the use of my father in laws nice warm garage next weekend, so will shut myself away with Haynes and a new thermostat and see if I can improve matters.
Thanks again for the help - I'll report back!
been chatting to a ford senior manager today
did anyone realise the costs involved if you take one of their cars as standard with no spare wheel?
if you need to use the foam kit in the boot you will need to pay 200 quid plus to have it recharged afterwards and a new pipe as once used the pipe is useless, you will also defintely need a new tyre as even minor issues which could have been repaired if you had a spare will now require a new tyre as the foam ruins the tyre
and of course if you find this out and try to replace the kit with a spare wheel you will need to buy a jack and brace etc for 200 quid plus
when ordered as factory option with new car order a spare is only 20 quid, as an after market retro fit its 300 quid
so ford are doing all this to save about 20 quid, but they will also make lots of money as we will have to go to them to get the foam kits recharged! when previosuly all the money was going to the tyre fitters and makers!
rip off my friends Read more
Ah but did you find the tool for releasing the electric handbrake if it should
fail and stick on?
After reading the handbook that was what led me on the quest of the toolkit.
SWMBO can't get used to the manual operation of the electronic park brake. Winter is coming and I just know that handbrake is going to stick on when left overnight below -10.
Now might be the time for me to buy one of those small gas blow torches to heat the caliper when it sticks.
Fortnight ago tomorrow my wife was driving through this junction when someone hit her.
tinyurl.com/yf25ehu
She was driving right to left down the single carriageway road in the straight-on lane when she was hit in the offside by a car turning right into her lane travelling top-to-bottom out of the dual carriageway through a stationary queue of cars in the right hand turn lane waiting to turn into the dual carriageway.
Quite straightforward accident you would think, wife in main road, other car turning right through give way signs into main road hits wife in side.
Other driver says someone in the queue waiting to turn right 'flashed me through'. Still straight forward as that, as we all know, means sweet FA. Wife even has independent witness at scene saying to other driver, 'so what?'
When we reported it to the insurers even they straightaway said 'No problem, obviously other driver's fault, hire car on way, will pick yours up tomorrow.' Easy.
Now, up to now I've been pretty laid back about the whole thing considering that said damaged vehicle is the first new car I've ever owned, is mine, bought with my own money, is 14 weeks old and I had to wait nearly as long for delivery and has not so much as had a bird relieve itself on it to date. I have taken the attitude, as always, that it is, when all said and done, a bit of bent metal and the important thing was that no-one was hurt.
Now comes the rant, despite all the above, damage evidence, witness willing to give statement to court, insurance co. onside, road markings, et al, I have now been informed that the other party is now refusing to accept ANY liability for the accident whatsoever and has told her company she is not willing to settle if she has to take any part of the blame; all this based purely on the argument that she was 'flashed out' so it can't possibly be her fault!
We now have to go through all the form filling, diagrams, witness statements, etc.
I know that at the end of the day we are still going to win the argument: BUT, IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN THE WRONG AND EVERYONE IS TELLING YOU SO, WHY DON'T YOU JUST HOLD YOUR HANDS UP AND ACCEPT THE FACT - YOU ARE WRONG!!!!!! and let us all get on with the rest of our lives.
Thanks for that, feel a lot better now.......... Read more
...The technology is there for cars to have a built in video recorder at very low cost...
I was looking at a new service bus the other day.
It has either six or seven cameras, three or four inside and three more outside, looking front and back.
The bus was being prepared for one of the major operators and I was told the internal cameras were there mostly to defend false injury claims from passengers.
Routine scenario is bus stops quickly, half of those on board claim whiplash, until they are shown the footage of themselves sitting comfortably throughout.
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I asked a question last week about why my polo would not start as there is petrol getting to the injector but not getting to the cylinder, and was told to check the injector has not gone open circuit, what is this and how do i check it, also will a ECU off a 1.3 off the same year do for a 1.05, thanks.
{merged with your previous question as related}