December 2009
i have just purchased a 309 gti 1.9. the engine was running very nice, smooth and was firing up every time. the next day i was sorting out a few of the bits that needed doing and had the engine running for a while. while i was fixing the clip hoding the fuse board up the engine cut right out as if someone had turned the ignition off, was very strange. since then the car has not started, it will turn over but will refuse to fire. i looked to see if i had pulled anything out in the fuse board an noticed a tiny little switch up in there that had quite obviously been added to the car.
the car does have an immobilizer near the ignition, the type you put a fob to, so i was unsure what this mystery switch was. after lots of messing round im 99% sure it was some kind of fuel pump immobilizer as when i connected some wires together could hear it working. this still didnt get it started.
i have tried everything i can think of, checked the spark, thats good. checked there is fuel getting to the injectors by disconnecting the pipe and turning it over, there was a healthy stream of petrol squirting out. took the plugs out and checked spark again, this time pouring a little fuel into each bore. still, not even a pop out of the engine.surely fuel + spark = fire?
any ideas would be muchly appreciated as im totally clueless as to what is going on. as for the mystery switch, could it just be throwing me off from the actual problem and has nothing to do with it? ive heard that it could be injector regulator but even with fuel in the bore there is nothing.
many thanks Read more
I'm thinking of buying a 3 series (2004) 330d saloon. Car is automatic, full black leather, one owner and has done 106k miles. On sale at a dealer for £7990.
Is this a good price and what do I need to look out for? Are there any 'big' services due soon? Read more
Hi
Can anyone help me I have a peugeot 206 diesel that has an orange warning light on the dashboard that looks like a car skidding in a broken circle???
Thank you for any ideas I dont have a manual
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Thank you for reply.
Tonight, I had the misfortune of travelling along Seven Hills Road - In Weybridge - to anyone who knows it,it is a very busy main road, and almost pitch black.
I was unfortunate enough to find a pot hole that removed the air from my wheel in a nano second - I managed to join the 4 others within 50 yards who had done the same - one poor guy had both tyres taken out.
I was fortunate in only 1 tyre being affected -a roadside assistant (who had just dealt with 2 others) company came along, knocked out the massive indent and reinflate it - it seems to be holding ok - but should I insist on a new wheel tyre - from the council - because within 15 mins there appeared a council truck - who said it should/had been filled in earlier - its was about 18" long and at the worst 6-8" deep . - They also revelaed a similar situation occurred in Banstead Read more
What the hell am I paying £171 a month for?. And they say they have NO money.
Good news for mince pie lovers, but not if you like a bit of cake.
Never liked Christmas cake anyway, but I'd hate to give up my mince pies!
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8399386.stm Read more
I still try to get people to make Christmas cake for my birthday at 71 deepwith, although they often demur citing health and safety reasons. I will pass on your advice to my cake-makingest daughter...
When I turn the key nothing happens apart from a click. Its a 1.6 petrol and has hardly been driven over the past week but started OK yesterday. Could it be the battery, alternator or starter motor? Read more
Turned out to be the battery. It now starts fine, cost £50 inc fitting. Garage had initially fitted a new battery for whatever reason was discharged.
But I'm thinking what if my battery was actually fine but the alternator is not chraging it properly so in a few days/weeks time I could end up with the same problem. If that happens can I be certain the alternator is faulty?
For what seems ages, the A40 Acton railway bridges have been undergoing a re-building programme. I've been down there twice now, and I still can't believe what they have done.
West of Gypsy Corner and east of Savoy Circus, the A40 Western Avenue has long been a 3-lane dual carriage way. In between there was a section that went over a couple of railway bridges that has long been a 2-lane bottle-neck. A few years back proposals to subsatntially upgrade both the Gypsy Corner and Savoy Circus junctions were dismissed on grounds of cost, but not before a row of houses on the south side of the Western Avenue were demolished in preparation. The renewal of the Acton Bridges (the bit in between the two circuses) went ahead, presumably on bridge strength grounds, but rather than make a 3-lane section and remove the bottle neck, the Highways Agency have decided to renew it with a 2-lane section with nice wide paths etc. (where 3-lanes would easily fit).
Thereby ensuring congestion continues, along with its raised emmissions, CO2, and drivers' blood pressure! Madness!
Or is it just me? Read more
I drove 2 miles this morning and there were no roadworks.... : )
No, really, I would have to agree... I don't get any of these schemes. There's a similar one in Crewe... 2 lanes down to one, despite the fact that it's the main road past the station (quite a busy one as some of you will no doubt know) and there is no decent public transport.
I hate to quote Clarkson, but I had to agree with something he said in an article the other day: something like "when the government says "motorists" it basically means adults who need to go somewhere". How can we need to keep the economy going and at the same time be stopped from doing it? I apologise most insincerely that I don't live in London and have an inhuman underground train option to get to work, but I think you will find that about 80% of the country doesn't. If only our elitist rulers would get this into their thick skulls...
Hi everyone.
My daughter bought a new Kia Ceed s 5 door for a total price £9300 December 2008,on finance.
She has done about 13000 miles in it. She is now realising that it is tough to make the payments and is thinking of selling it and buying an old banger. She owes £8100 still on the finance.
Anyone any idea what she might expect to get for it ?
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What sort of finance was it bought on? Straight forward loan? PCP? HP? The finance type will have an impact on what can be done with regards finance.
She might also find it difficult to get a decent old "banger" with scrappage still running. Someone could get £2000 off a new Ceed for example by trading said old banger.
Hi, I've just bought a 1998 16v GTi VW (mkIII) golf. The fuel guage doesn't work and it's going to be an expensive job to fix. I'd rather just set the tripometer each time I fill up. However - I need to know how far I can get on a full tank of petrol......does anyone know?
Thanks Read more
Dave I'd suggest fill up at 230 miles first time, and see how much it takes to fill up again. Then keep extending the mileage between fill ups until you reach 45 litres at the refill. That leaves you with a good safety margin. G' luck!
During a drive to Bury St Edmunds on the A14, I've noticed some digging up and laying of some purple pipes on the embankment/road side, that re-surface every so often (probably inspection holes or somesuch), but these seem to have been installed from the M6 junction in recent months. Anybody know what they're for, as I'm curious. Read more
If it says "M6 Toll Clear" and nothing else, you can surmise the plebs' M6 will also be reasonably free-flowing... If there are any hold-ups they are quick to announce them on the matrix signs.
I guess the M6 Toll operators must have had a clause in their contract requiring the adverts on the overhead gantries, to try and gain "best value" from their investment ;-)
I've only been on the thing once, and that was when my passenger was paying.
Browse
A lot of E46 & E39 3.0d's with the right spec are currently going 1000-1500 over book at auction at the moment so anyone who thinks they'll find a cheap one is kidding themselves (unless it is wrong colour, spec or dodgy history).
BMW use standard ZF & GM autoboxes (I think GM in the diesel) so they are no more, or no less, reliable than a long list of cars using the same autoboxes.
Injectors can give trouble about 120k - check for any misfire or uneven running, as with any TD the turbo can be a weak spot. Also investigate swirl flaps - loads on the 'net.