December 2009
On the local news, the A80 has been blocked for almost 4 hours due to snow and jack knifed lorries.
The M8 Eastbound is closed at Shotts, presumably due to snow as well.
In this weather do you use the main routes, as they should be gritted and ploughed first, or do you use town and back roads? At least with the latter you can usually go for a plan b if plan a doesn't work. If a lorry jacknifes ahead of you on the A80 or M8, then you are totally snookered!! Read more
Hi there, my Focus TDDi X reg central locking is slow to operate. On a frosty morning if you unlock the drivers door it can be 5 to 20 minutes before the other doors unlock. Once unlocked the central locking is fine until left for a while (eg overnight).
Any ideas where to look, I am happy to remove the drivers door trim but if anyone knows where the problem may lie I would pleased to have a pointer where to look.
thanks Read more
I think that was a bad link, remove the ; between the & and the word highlight and it should work.
Failing that if you go to http://www.focusfanatics.com and in the forum search box on the top left type in
central locking problems
the thread title is
Central locking problems - Finally a solution! and it should come up first.
Is your car stuck in snow? Show us it :)
i167.photobucket.com/albums/u141/amazingtrade/snow...g
PS I hope that reg dosn't really exist!
I am pleased of how this picture turned out, the movement in snow captures it perfectly. This was taken this morning and a lot more snow has fallen since. Read more
As well as a sad story about three road deaths, there are some evocative motoring pics taken in the last day or so here:
tinyurl.com/y9c83oh
with the current frosty weather we are having i have noticed that my heated screen clears all but the right hand 6-8 inches.
it was the same with my last car, is it typical of fords? (current transit, previous mondeo)
OR
is it something to do with most cars being destined to be LHD. the left side clears first and quickest.
any ideas or thoughts on the matter would be appreciated
cheers, alf Read more
If you get a non Ford windscreen fitted during the warranty, any problems with the screen, Ford wont want to know. So always get a Ford replacement.
Hi all,
Whilst window shopping this weekend, I've seen that a garage local to me has 3 defleeted, black 06 reg focus estate 1.6 tdci lx's.
First of all the long shot - does anybody out there have an inkling of which outfit runs / ran a fleet of such vehicles?
Secondly, they were all priced around the £4k mark which struck me as quite reasonable for a 3y old example with 100k. Recent experience with mine and my wife's 10y+ old cars seems to suggest that it is age and neglect that kills cars far more that mileage. If a car has seen this intensity of use, I would expect the mileage to be mostly motorway miles and the cars to be mechanically pristine. Also any common rail -diesel related horror stories should have raised their head and been sorted by this point. Any opinions?
I'm close to being more than a window shopper.....
Read more
is the owner called paul?
When I put my car into reverse it works fine, but if I reverse then let the car roll again and reverse again etc, the more times I do this the less I have to let the clutch up and eventually the car will end up reversing whilst my foot has pushed the clutch pedal right to the floor and it even over powers my brake and then eventually stalls, at this point my gear stick is stuck in reverse and will only free up once my foot has left the clutch. All my other gears are fine, it just seems to be reverse, any ideas what this could be?? Read more
>>>>normally they change the friction plate in the clutch its self and leave the hydralics alone.<<<<<
No one in their right mind would NOT change the tthe master cylinder in this car!
>>>>If's it just a seal in the master cyliner then shouldn't be too expensive to change, or it might just need a fluid top up.<<<<<
It will be about the same price to change as a clutch since most of the work is labour!
About a 3 hr job.
Hi all im a newbee so please bear with me. My rear demister and heated mirrors have stopped working. The power light does come on when you press the button but i checked at the rear screen and there is not a feed. The fuses are ok. Does this sound like a relay. Would i still get the light on the switch if relay was faulty. Also when i pulled the fuse for the rear demister the light at the switch stayed on. Im confused. Read more
Thanks for that, had a good read but it seems that is a slightly different problem as the light on there switch comes on but then goes off again mine stays on.
I have a suzuki swift 1.5, last week on checking the oil their was a white creamy deposit on the dip stick, this is an 2009 model and has only done 3500 miles.
I suspect the cylinder head gasket. What to do? Read more
Is it losing any water?
I would be suprised if there is anything wrong with this car. These a great little engines and will take a lot of abuse without falling out of bed.
I would recommend changing oil and filter every 6 months/6 thousand miles to keep it all sweet (timing chain engines like regular fresh oil). Properly serviced this engine will give you many years of excellent performance.
I like suzukis, generally good motors but the spare parts prices can give you a shock sometimes!
I wondered if the incredible amount of tools and bits and pieces that I carry around in the boot are common to many HJ readers, or if (as I suspect) I am in fact a complete anorak:
Engine starter (one of those battery things with crocodile clips that is supposed to get you started in the event of a flat battery). I carry it because the battery is 5 years old and is bound to fail the day I decide to leave the device in the shed! I charge it every 2 months
Selection of bulbs and fuses
Foot pump and separate LCD gauge
2 litres of water
Tool kit with screwdrivers, sockets, insulating tape, pliers etc etc
Jump leads
WD40
Inspection light
Full gown that came with Duckhams Hyper Grade oil about 20 years ago. This fits head-to-Toe and the idea is that you wear it over your smart suit if you need to change a wheel
Ready mixed coolant (I have a weeping water pump)
Oil
Multimeter
5 metres of wire
12v inverter to 240v. Never used
Non-Tools:
Torch
Biscuits and drinking water in case we get stuck
4 x Tesco ?Rain Poncho and Emergency Foil Blankets? kits in case we have to hike in the howling rain or camp in the wilderness. (well?.)
First Aid Kit
Tablets
Disposable Camera, but film is probably well out of date now
Selection of household batteries and fuses
Gloves
Hat
Spare Coat (think I forgot mine once, so that sealed the fate that a spare cheapo would live in the car)
Picnic Blanket
Foldaway Chairs x 2 (the Motorway Services 2 for £10 ones)
Coins for car parks
One thing I note is lacking ? a towrope
Today I applied a little logic and at last removed the bottle of brake fluid from the car, as I check it every week - if the light suddenly came on whilst out and about I guess I would phone the RAC rather than just top it up!
Trouble is, if I ever throw something out I always subsequently need it, so it appears I have applied the same logic over the years with the amount of bits and pieces that I ?need? to cart around
Anyone else carry this amount with them? Over the top?
What have I used over the years? Well the spare bulbs and fuses have been useful, the WD40, the multimeter, the coins and the footpump. The household batteries and fuses have been useful when away from home
Cheers
Read more
anyone who carries a warning triangle and is prepared to use it should also carry a first aid kit, cructhes, spinal board and probably an organ donor card
New at this so please bear with me for the explanation.
The car's done 180k but over the last 40k is been progressively difficult to start needing several turns before firing, otherwise runs fine. Of late I have to pump the fuel primer bulb to get it to go. OK to start inside of 1hr after initial start otherwise back to the bulb.
I think its either getting air into the fuel or the pressure in the fuel system is able to fall when not running thus being a dog to start as the pump is initially starved. There is no fuel leak, any fuel smell nor can I hear any hissing noises after priming the bulb until its hard.
Its had a new primer bulb in case the one way valve was leaking, it wasn't.
I did read through the forums threads on cold starting, while interesting I'm confident its not battery, plugs etc.
Any ideas would be very much appreciated.
cheers Read more
Hi Peter and Dynamic Dave
Thought you deserved an update. it's fixed thanks to your suggestions!
Given I could not find any fuel or air leaks I went for the easier option of testing glow plugs. Two provided no continuity/ohm test at all so I took them out (fortunately they were the easy middle two) and tested again across a battery... neither worked. Two replacements later and she starts fine. The initial smoke on start has now hugely reduced as has the lumpy misfiring like sensation.
With hindsight I think i was getting distracted by the fact that pumping the primer bulb did make it better hence thought it was a fuel problem. I reckon for whatever reason it helped when only one glowplug had gone but with two gone it didn't but I was already convinced it was a fuel related problem.
Anyway job done with little expense.
Thanks very much
Browse
last Friday i took M1 from Luton to Durham with no real problems. There were a couple of accidents, but Natalie (my Sat Nav) suggested coming off the M-way ahead of the jams and rejoining later. Journey took 4 hours instead of usual 3.5.
Journey back today A1, but A6 blocked so Natalie suggested a little back road. Was passable with care, but twists, and ditch and serious climbs would ahve been impossible last Friday, and as I write now, equally so.
So - if stuff still falling and route a little tricky - stick with M-way, but if conditions have improved chance a few back roads depending on distance being covered, no right/wrong answers