January 2010
Had a call from my Father who will be 85 in about three months. He'd received paperwork from DVLA about renewing his license and seems to think it's different at 85.
I've looked on the directgov site and couldn't find details. Phoned the 'helpline' that rings once then cuts you off!
Can anyone guide me?
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I don't know whether or not i'm teaching people to suck eggs here...but...
The modern Astras have the same fuse for the washers and the boot opening.... and if the washer jets freeze, you try to use them and they can't/won't work, they'll easily blow the fuse..which will mean they obviously won't work, but unless your stopped and can here the washer motor isn't working, you wouldn't know that because you'd think it was the ice blocking it...and when you get to your destination you won't be able to open the boot either.
Then, unless you have a screwdriver handy, you can't access the under bonnet fuse box to borrow a fuse from elsewhere just to get the boot open.
So...in this cold weather, work out which fuse it is, get a spare and keep a screwdriver in the glovebox, not the boot. Not sure if it's the same with other Vauxhalls. Read more
What a daft car and i have one.!
I'm considering one of these chips' from Ebay, as a cheap non invasive tuning fix. They all offer an item which seems to clip in line with your diesel HDi common rail injector, and claim to take most Peugeot Citroen (and BMW, and Ford HDi's) 110hp HDi up to 130hp, for somewhere in the region of £85-£100.
Anyone got any experience of these? Here is a link to several on Ebay now, under search term 'HDI tuning Citroen'.
BTW: Ive got the Citroen Synergie 2.0 HDi 2000 W reg, with 135k on the clock, which you can see here: citroensynergie.wordpress.com/
bit.ly/4XOoy0 (item no:
bit.ly/6V0Cgr (item no: 120441943597)
bit.ly/8LwioA (item no: 120442949918)
Thanks! Read more
Not an HDI tuning module, but I bought a similar cheap plug-in tuning box for my old Passat 130 TDI.
The box exploited the well-documented "resistor in the fuel temperature sensor" trick that's common to the VAG 1.9 PD motors, which fools the ECU into thinking the fuel is hot, therefore less dense, so it injects a greater volume of fuel per cycle.
It was £18 from an eBay vendor, if I remember correctly. It did give a useful boost in torque (for example, the 40-60mph interval in 4th gear was nearly 10% quicker) and had no noticeable impact on economy.
I ran it for about 8,000 miles but eventually removed it, because it made the throttle hypersensitive at low rpm / small 'openings', which made town traffic tiresome.
But it was fun and well worth the money, in my view. My insurance premium didn't increase, I told them it was a plug-in economy module.
I'd suggest it's worth knowing exactly how the module you plan to fit actually works .... some plug into the fuel pressure sensor on the fuel rail and increase the output of the high-pressure pump, further loading an already highly stressed component.
Hi,
I know very little about cars. I bought this Vauxhall Astra 1.6 8V LS recently and discovered that it is running very roung and the temperature guage normally stays below the starting marks and only goes up when stuck in traffic but comes back as soon as it is out of the traffic. In addition to this I noticed the fuel consumption is too high and the exhaust emissions are highier than normal. I get the timming belt and water pump changed as they were due. It improved the situation but it is still running slightly rough and the fuel consumption is too high as compared to my previous cars.
Could anybody in the forum help me to sort out this problem. Thanks in advance Read more
It is running fine and my car is now heating upto the normal temperatures. The thermostate I bought was set at 88deg C and the fan cuts in exactly when the temperature show me about 92degC.
To me it is just a genius solution to the poor vuaxhall design and their funny wisdom to locate the thermostate so deep inside the engine block and I really appreciate the person who invented this solution.
Standard car,standard tyres.
I nominate my Wife's elderly Peugeot 106 1.4 diesel.Not got stuck so far and leaves behind all the BMW's and Mercs stranded at the roadside.
Light,simple and most of the weight on the front driven wheels.
Is this the best formula? Read more
one with a driver that knows what the pedals at his feet are for
We have been posting in the backroom recently about Winter tyres & Battery charging. Just thought those who are interested Lidl are having a bit of a motoring week starting from Thursday 14th Jan. I notice on the brochure you can by a wheel stand at a resonable £4.99p great for putting your winter tyres on when its spring. They also have a battery charger at £12.99p, i don't know if this is any good please report backanyone. They also have a few other items BR's might find of interest. The website offers. Read more
Went to stock up on espresso/pasta/olives and also bought a Car Boot Organiser from Lidl today. Super bit of kit for £3.49. Much better than the cardboard box it replaced.
has anyone use this?
www.pelapumps.co.uk/default.aspx?orig=ga
If you have used, in your judgement, are you able to drian approx 98%+ of the opil out of the sump? (if not, a bit of new oil and suck again should clean up the oil that is left behind.)
Imo, saves a lot of time for the diy Read more
Bought one last year for the Panda, left about a litre in the sump, so next time I'm going to give it a wiggle on the way in. placed the missed oil in the Pela, and marked it on the side of the pela with a marker so I know if it's all out, next time Very easy to use bought mainly for my Octavia which has a huge undertray and a zillion fasteners. What no one has mentioned is that this makes it so easy to
take the old oil to the recycling centre to dispose, as it's already in the unit which comes with a top to stop it coming out.
First post here. We recently bought a 1.4tsi DSG. It is a joy to drive, as widely described, and definitely not underpowered. But I have been disappointed in the fuel consumption. Anyone else have any experience?
Background is we live in the country and I regularly match or exceed the extra urban figure in my car. We were way off that with the Skoda, but I figured it was stop-start winter motoring and we needed a run to form a true impression. Xmas brought trips to Bournemouth and North Wales. Long runs on A roads, few traffic lights, average speed between 40 and 50. Result - 43 mpg. Not bad in itself, but the claimed extra-urban is around 55.
Golf drivers who have had the same engine for longer appear to be reporting similar figures. Anyone differ?
Jon Read more
I have noticed a significant drop in economy this winter. Far more than previously. Must
be due to very low temps at start up and worse traffic.
Not just startup, atmospheric air becomes more dense the colder it gets, the fuel injection system senses this via a ambient pressure sensor and adds duration to the injectors (fuel to compensate for the denser air) in order to maintain the correct fuel/air ratio. You will also notice your car will perform more eagerly in colder weather as it will be making more power for the above reason.
Hi Folks,
I am the latest in the line of unofficial development engineers for the famed Espace 2.2DCI, however I will not be beaten by a mere machine (hopes).
In six months I have been through two EGR valves, prior to the last change oil was finding its way out of the valve connection to the induction pipe/hose and of course was loosing oil though not at a tremendous rate - also along with this the management light would come on under mid to high load and the turbo would cut out until the engine was turned off.
Took the car to a specialist and eventually to a main dealer who both diagnosed that the EGR valve (the second by this time) needed replacing as this was causing oil to be drawn through.
Valve changed pipes cleaned and all was well for about 1-2 months then exactly the same problems happen again with the adde bonus of oil appearing somwhere out the top of the engine as the underside of the air intake box is covered.
I have booked the car in at a different garage (one with a lot of experience with diesel engines) for Monday but wondered if anyone could add to the list of things I will ask them to look at below:-
Clean EGR valve and pipework as required (possibley replace)
Oil and filter change to fully synthetic
Check breather pipes (top near injectors)
Check turbo, bearings seals etc.
Check turbo hoses
Check inlet manifold
Check and replace brake light switch and reset
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Cheers
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I have the exact same problem with my 04 Espace 2.2 dci. Occassional Big and i mean BIG puff of blue smoke. Car drives perfectly otherwise. Did notice , when i serviced it, EGR valve was stuffed with oil sludge. Removed and cleaned it. Not sure what probable cause is? Can faulty EGR valve draw oil into induction pipes? Is Turbo most likely problem? It seems to be working fine, no fault codes. I know inlet manifolds can give trouble, doesn`t have any crankcase pressure issues. Any suggestions would be appreciated
I've just spent the past half-hour watching RWD BMWs and Jags struggling to get up a snowy slope.
Small FWD cars had no problem.
Why do people buy cars that are more suitable for touring car championships than for everyday use? Read more
Audis are either FWD or 4WD.
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If you'd care to start another thread (IHAQ, perhaps) about 85-year-old HGV drivers or commercial pilots....