Refine by channel:  Forum (1717)    Ask HJ (1120)    News (136)    Article (19)    FAQs (6)    productReview (4)    Good Garages (2)  

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• Vauxhall Corsa B (1993 - 2000) - 95 1.2 Engine wont start after engine swap 27 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  hi all i am in need of desperate help, i have two corsas one 94 year one 95 year i have put the 94 engine in the 95 one as the engine was blown in it now the engine wont start, the 95 one has an immobiliser so i have disconnected it and are using the ecu from the 94 one still wont start, i have 12v coming to the king lead on ignition but when i crank the engine the volts drop there is no spark at the plugs but the fuel is getting through i have taken the crank sensor plug off and there is 12v coming out i tried the wire in the centre of the plug to earth as explained in an archive of this forum and the king lead sparks i have tried towing the car off but nothing any ideas would be appreciated, cant afford to take it to garage as on the old dole and parents need it off their drive thanks in advance
• Citroen C3 (2002 - 2009) - 05 1.4 My C3 is immobilised!!! 15 May 2009 (Forum)
  A week ago my Citroen C3 (2005) diesel wouldn't start. The immobiliser was preventing it. I had it towed to the local garage who plugged in the ECU to the computer but it wouldn't/couldn't read it. The garage then got another chap in with another tester and the ECU in my car wouldn't communicate. He has checked all the wiring/earths etc and after a week we are no nearer to a diagnosis.
• Mercedes Benz Vito 123 kombi (2005 - ) - 2001 110CDi - Starting Problems 16 Feb 2009 (Forum)
  This morning I got up tried to start it and no chance (it wouldnt even fire when my brother in law towed me!!) Anyone got any ideas please please please. cheers Matt {don't worry, I'll put the year/engine details in the subject header for you. Getting used to this now that I've already done 1000+ other threads because no one bothers to read the sticky messages or the other prompt under the subject header when they compose their question!}
• Volkswagen Golf III (1992 - 1997) - 95 1.8 - Cuts out. Could it be the fuel relay? 4 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  Last week it cut out again and this time it wouldn't restart, I called the AA and they came to the conclusion that it was a relay but he couldn't tell me which (I didn't know there was more than one - actually the whole thing is new to me!). I ended up being towed home and here it sits. If anyone could shed any light on this I would be eternally grateful.
• Renault Megane II (2002 - 2008) - 03 1.9 dci electrical fault after jump-start. 14 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  He reved his car and mine cut out and came out and displayed a msg 'electrical fault'. I had to have the car towed home. It is completely dead but lights, cd player, locks all work fine (although a message also at the time stated auto lights fault. I do not have the cash to take the car to the main dealers and have been told renaults can only be fixed at main dealers.
• Isuzu - NQR lorry - Sparks from battery when starting 21 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  I'm guessing there could be some kind of short with the starter motor? Starter relay? Really grateful for any ideas as it's too big to tow and I'm a bit stuck if I can't get it running... Thanks!
• Ford C-MAX (2003 - 2010) - 2004 / 1.8 Zetec - Oil Loss. Advice Needed. 8 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  Doesn't really seem to be too smokey either? But it uses lots of oil especially at long distance motorway cruising speeds or when i'm towing my caravan.....My mechanic spoke to two ford dealers and they too didnt know what the problem was.....has anyone encountered the problem before or any suggestions i could pass onto my mechanic would be REALLY appreciated!
• Pulling over or leaving a gap 19 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  All because the driver could be bothered to pull over for perhaps a minute in every 10 to let some vehicles past. On the return I was following two cars both towing caravans, they were it seemed together, I was not behind them for too long though could have overtaken and been on my way much more speedily if only the driver of the second one had left enough of a gap to allow an overtaking car to pull-in in between so as to be able to overtake them in two bites.
• Running two VAG diesels is uneconomic. 3 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  Running 2 VAG PD diesels will cost about £200 pa in belt changes alone as each car would need a belt every 4 years under my operating regime. The Superb is here to stay (towing, legroom etc) but it seems running another VAG diesel alongside it would be stupid. The spec for the hatchback car is pretty non critical but for a few essentials for long term bangernomics. I need a galvanised body, chain cam engine and a diesel engine (important to minimise risk of mis-fuelling and to limit CO2 emissions).
• Can you recommend a suitable car? 30 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  (Not just to and from kennels/airport, but nationwide). Manual gear change. Options that would be nice but not essential: A decent towing capability would be nice but not essential. A sunroof would be nice, so long as it does not impinge on headroom. Air conditioning and central locking. We have no real preference regarding fuel type, but shy away from LPG due to its scarcity in this part of Kent.
• Astra air con problem 5 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  The car has had a new air con radiator and it was recharged or whatever they do to it last October as someone reversed their tow bar through the rad. Has anyone got any ideas what it might be before i take it in and get told it will cost me loads to put right like they always tell you,it is booked in next week for a air con check at the garage that repaired it after the damaged air con rad.
• 1997 Alhambra 2.0 auto - opinions? 27 Nov 2006 (Forum)
  My second question is, as this would be bought as a car to run to the scrapyard, would the 2 litre/auto combination be capable of towing a caravan or small trailer (with a suitable cooler fitted to the box) or would I become a rolling roadblock as soon as I set off for the ferry? (Its priced at 6000 euro; for comparison, a similar age Primera would cost approx 4000 euro, or an imported Toyota Previa would be about 7500 euro) All advice gratefully received!
• 'Sticking' Polo Clutch Pedal 3 Nov 2006 (Forum)
  Daughter got caught out on her way to work yesterday. Unfortunately I wasn't in the county at the time so unable to help. She got a tow via her Breakdown recovery service to a local garage who bled the hydraulic system (£30total cost) but were unable to find anything else wrong with the mechanism. She drove home without any difficulty last night.
• Micra Starting Problem 26 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  Last 2 days, however, it wouldn't catch first time and wouldn't bump either (got the wife to give me as tow start yesterday which was a funny experience as she had never done it before - big terrano pulling little micra all over the road). Wish I had got something done in the warranty. However, found several hints about resoldering throttle control PCBs and suggestions about air flow sensors.
• Garages - have you had bad experiences? 29 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  Arhh another episode in my saga to get my car fixed... Cam belt broken.. had to get my Renault Laguna 1.8 RT towed to a garage.. Its been in there almost two weeks. I got a original quote over the phone..£450 plus Vat to fix it... apparently more than one valve was bent.. it seems to drag on and on.. All garages promise they will phone back but they never do..and all i get is excuses there a problem with this and that and they doing it now..i was supposed have car back on friday and its Tuesday now..they say that engine is running but cuts out - might be the sensor..and that they have to contact renault..I just think they are dragging things on to bump up charges or one of the mechanics has borrowed it to go on holiday!
• new discovery - no gearbox 7 weeks 8 Jul 2005 (Forum)
  I've not seen my car for 7 weeks now, its a 1 year old landrover, the gearbox broke on 22may, (10,000 miles on clock) Landrover are being seriously unhelpful, they've promised my replacement gearbox will be delivered to the dealership who's holding the car 3 times ....guess what its never turned up I drive a seven seater as I need a big car, i also tow a trailer every weekend & at least once during the week guess what , they offered me a ford focus as a replacement- so we've had 2 children to a seat belt & ruined weekends for the last few weekends , I've just been told if the dealer cant get one of a few gear boxes that arrive on friday ( and guess what there arnt enough to go round, my car could be off the road several more weeks) ok.... besides being very upset about the whole escapeade, what would you do... revenge... or publically shame landrover....ideas please (legal tho') thanks
• Best Auto MPV 9 Feb 2005 (Forum)
  I am perhaps tempted by a newer Discovery automatic. I know they are hopeless on economy but I do find myself needing sonething to tow a trailer on occasions and I like the Discovery, and it would reduce our car count. It seems that wifey is not too bothered about size but definitely needs an auto. The alternative is to swap Almera and disco for an automatic MPV, I would be looking for something perhaps 3 or 4 years old, and 7 seats, though it wouldn't have to be a large 7 seater (grande scenic size) what have you all got, tried and what would you all recommend?
• Megane Alternator problem 12 Mar 2004 (Forum)
  The next RAC man said that the drive pulley on the alternator had gone - the attaching bolt was loose and appeared to be extremely worn - it was clear that it had been like that for some time. He assured us that he would point it out to the Renault garage when he towed it there. The same Renault garage are now quoting us over £500 + labour for a new alternator - because, as the car has air-con, it requires a higher spec alternator. What's going on? The service wasn't cheap but this is something else.
• 1991 ford fiesta 1.1 starting problems 12 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  Plenty of juice in battery and engine always turned over fine. Garage never could work out what problem was as could never find the fault but towing always seemed to start the car. Garage eventually replaced all possible problem parts they could think of and referred to Ford main dealers without anyone ever really ever finding out what problem was.
• Seethe...! Parking Extortion.. 27 Nov 2003 (Forum)
  (The car park is usually free on a Sunday.) When he returned later in the evening, his car had been towed away, together with several others parked near it. There were no signs that parking was restricted other than a small notice on the ticket machine (which he hadn?t thought he needed to check as he had parked there before on a Sunday..) stating that parking was restricted ?