July 2010
I parked my car legally by the side of the road in Harringey, London, and went on holiday for 3 weeks. When I got back, my car had been removed for the council to paint double yellow lines on that stretch of road, where there had been no parking restrictions before.
I was given a Metropolitan Police Fixed Penalty Notice (£40), which I felt was unfair as I'd parked my car legally, so the case is going to court. The alleged offence is that I "caused a vehicle to stand on the road so as to cause an unnecessary obstruction in that the vehicle was obstructing a yellow line painting operation."
There were no advance warning signs up when I parked the car. 11 days after I parked the car, the removal and line paining took place. (The police statement says the council put up signs 2 weeks previously, but i don't think that's true.)
If I lose the case, I'll have to pay court fees as well as the fine.
Anyone got any idea what my chances are of getting off?
Anyone any idea how much the court fees will be if I don't?
Thanks
Debbie Read more
How about renaming this part of the forum to "Oilrag's ramblings"
Jeez man, you don't have post a load of tosh. Read more
Agreed - nothing to object to. We're quite easygoing here and this section in particular is all about giving people an opportubity to air their views.
The more constructive those view are, the more interesting the debate. I'm sure this side of the forum will develop in time.
does any one know the gear ratios and final drive ratio for the be gearbox Read more
I have had the car for a year, and since I bought it there has been a hissing sound coming from the passenger side foot well. I eventually took off a small cover just adjacent to the blowers, and found where the linkage for the foot break goes through the bulkhead. inside the gaitor I could hear the hissing, which eases off when driving at speed and when braking.
It has not got any worse, or better ! over the time I have owned it, but I need to know weather it is safe (if a little annoying) to keep going as is, or replace the master cylinder, or if I can do anything to fix it myself?... Read more
Search down the threads for the same car with the same problem. Regards Peter
My pride and joy above has been making an occasional, mild, gearbox "thump" when changing up from 1st to 2nd together with an amber engine warning light and or "gearbox fault" display that self cancels. After the 3rd attempt at diagnosis the dealer recommended a replacement gearbox and throttle body with a bill north of £4k. A mechanic friend suggests the gearbox may be getting misinformation from the ECU (???) since the problem only occurs when crawling in traffic queues or similar situations. Needless to say my confidence in the dealers solution is undermined by their indecision and desire to chew on my very thin wallet. As a regular reader of Honest Johns excellent column I am desperately hoping for some much needed guidence My thanks in anticipation. Kind regards, A.L.Jones. Read more
I am very sorry to hear that, the aluminium Super 8 is a magnificent car. I am currently trying to find one myself. Curiously enough, I viewed one last week with 55k miles and I saw from the service history that the gearbox was replaced under warranty at 40k miles. I would imagine that gearbox failure is very rare though and that a competent transmission specialist should be able to solve the problem.
If all else fails, it could be worth entering the car in a car auction as it's unlikely it will make £4k under market value. A friend recently bought an S type auto that was plagued with gearbox trouble that was impossible to detect at auction.
I found an old container of Castrol SLX Long Life II HTHS 3.0 SAE 0W-30 in my garage - can someone kindly confirm if this is a fully synthetic oil?
Although I bought it for my Audi A4 3.0 (2004), would it be suitable for my 2001 BMW 740i... Read more
It is full synthetic and should be suitable, but check the specs on the bottle against your driver's manual requirements, BMW probably have their own specs.
As the BMW is the older engine, the OW viscosity might be a bit too thin for it.
Ok.. So i know it's an old Topic .. I've read all the treads regarding this topic and loads of other Techy Stuff regarding Fords Smart Charge System. But i'm Stumped ! So Help Please :-)
Sister in Law has Mong Gayo 2.0 petrol on a 99 V plate. it has the smart charge system.
Been having probs starting car. No previous warning with Battery lights or anything. The Battery light does as it should in the start up sequence ..
If the Battery is removerd and charged overnight, the car will start and run to wherever u need to go.
It will also allow you to jumpstart it(3 pin connector removed to isolate smart charge) the car.
The Alternator with 3 pin plug disconnected is chucking out 13.2 v with Heating, light, heated rear window on..
With 3 pin connected the alternator is chucking out 14.4v..
The Battery with the car not running shows 12.6-12.8v at the terminals. If i turn heater, and lights on, it go's down to 7 volts but after switching them off it soon reverts back to 12.6-12.8v..
I have also tested for Battery Drain and this gives results of 0.02v with all doors closed and 0.13v with driver door open. I read that upto 0.5v is OK.. ?
So my question is ? Where do i go next ?
Cheers
Wodj Read more
Thanks for reply..
...
I have 2002 Rover 75CDT from new. Recently the instrument panel warning lights for indicators, headlights and haz lights all stopped working although the indicators lights and haz light do continue to operate. Other issues occurred at the same time: A) central locking has stopped working for closing the locks, but ocassionally does work for opening them. B) the air conditioning has stopped working and there is ERR message on A/C control panel.
I have found a similar problem on a ROVER owners website relating to the Fuel Burning heater and problems with the KBUS, but the solution (to remove the fuses from the FBH) did not work for me. My Garage is also stuck for solution. All the Instrument panel components have been check out and found to be fully functioning. Can anyone assist with a likely solution. ... Read more
You can safely remove the fuel warmer from under the rear offside of the car more trouble than its worth.You have not by any chance got the main ecu under water it is situated under the plastic trim on the left by the wiper.If you have never cleared the plenium underneath the unit it will be toast also the cable socket which feeds it comes loose worth checking.The faults you describe are common with ecu water problems thats why I would look there first.
Looking for a diesel Focus for under £2000, there's two different engines, the TDdi and the TDCi, I know the TDCi is newer and more powerful but is it reliable? I've heard of people complaining about clutch and flywheel failures.
Also looking at the Primera 2.2 diesel, seems to have a timing chain rather than a belt. Read more
The Primera uses a RENAULT-derived diesel, not PSA. This engine in early 2000s guise was one of the most unreliable units on the market, almost on a par with the Mazda one. The Renault original wasn't much better, frankly.
I'm an (older) Nissan fan, and to be honest I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole.
The Ford DMF problems mostly affected the Mondeo. I'm not sure I'd have a TDCi Mondeo from work colleagues' experiences, but the Focus seems to be a different story.
All that said, unless you're doing 20,000 miles a year I'd say that a CR diesel isn't worth the hassle. Get a petrol instead.
If you're talking older cars though -- the old agricultural Nissan 2.2Di was a ridiculously reliable engine. 300K without pausing for breath.
The spark plug on the middle cylinder is shorting.
Put new plugs in, car runs OK for a few days then starts coughing which steadily gets worse. End cylinder plugs are always fine, middle one gets a streak down the white outside ceramic where it has been shorting. Problem is not the plugs. I have tried two different makes of plug. A plug runs fine in end cylinger for 1 year, move to middle cylinder and is shorting a week or so later. Engine management light does not come on. For those not familier with Corsa there are no HT leads as the coils sit directly on top of the plugs. I cannot see any damage to the rubber socket for the middle plug.... Read more
Swop coild packs I suspect the shorting problem will follow the coil pack as it is faulty. Regards Peter
Thanks Peter, I'll try it....
Browse
They pick them up and put them on a lorry. It's not complicated. Just like any tow away.