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• Ford Focus - Focus Speedo Problem 5 Nov 2014 (Forum)
    It only seems to happen in the winter, and usually on wet days, so I'm wondering if the lead coming off it is at fault or something. Sometimes the odometer goes to ------, sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes the yellow skid light comes on, sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes the engine management light comes on, sometimes it doesn't.
• Alfa Romeo 156 - Engine Temperature gauge not working Alfa Romeo156 12 Jan 2014 (Forum)
  He also says there are no warning lights present on the dash. I have previously has a Saab 93 with thermostat issues that lead to a head gasket failure in less than a week. So am weary of this 156's issue. I'd be travelling from London to Huddersfield. Is this car a risk or an easy fix?  Thanks for reading and any help and advice that can be given
• Toyota Carina E 1.8GS Petrol 1997 Manual - Intermittent Misfire 14 Oct 2013 (Forum)
  It doesn't seem to happen when the engine is cold, only when it's thoroughly warm. It has just had new plugs and HT leads but this hasn't made any difference. The distributor cap was dusty but this has been cleaned out and it has no signs of cracking. The pins in the distributor cap do show signs of wear but they are all intact.
• driving lesson ? 3 Jul 2013 (Forum)
   The car was travelling down a straight road by a pub that was the only building for several hundred metres on either side.  The pub car-park was next to the pub with kerbs for the footpath leading into car-park.  The car turned to park on the footpath using the turnoff to the car-park but going too fast.  The near-side front wheel bounced high as it ran onto the kerb and the car turned off the footpath back onto the road.
• Volkswagon Golf S 04 - Steering Wheel Won't Lock VW Golf S 2004 28 Jan 2013 (Forum)
  Hi guys   recently just had my ECU repaired due to a fried circuit board because some idiot i know decided not to put the jump leads on right when i let them use my car to jump start theirs. cost me about £575 in total for a full service aswell so not sure if thats cheap really for a repair on the ecu and a full service plus a fuel pump relay   Recently though my steering will not lock and it feels really light, like i can full lock the wheels with the engine not running and the key out of the ignition, today i had a problem getting my engine to start like the wheel had locked and you needed to nudge it to the left or right a little before turning the ignition on   i do not understand why this happened when the wheel was unlocked whats the problem does anyone know ?
• mercedes 190e 2.0 - misfiring engine 26 Dec 2012 (Forum)
  Ive had the car for 5 years and never thrashed the engine .Even now she is starts strait away, but she just wont run smoothly like she used too.My local garage has checked the distibter cap ht leads spark plugs etc and they seem ok.they have surgested that it might be something internal. I was just wondering could it be somthing more strait forward like a blocked and varnished up fuel injector or a partly blocked catalitic convertor. when it strted to run uneven at the time I did open my window to hear the engine and I got a strong smell of sulfer from undernethe the car for a brief second.could it be damaged sensor other electrics somewhere or am I missing something really simple. would welcome some surgestions. thanks.
• Vauxhall Corsa C 1.2 - Corsa C totally lifeless... What's fried? 20 Oct 2012 (Forum)
  (It was a new battery although only used for one run after installation.)  After finding the battery dead, I managed to find someone with jump leads and after connecting them up, all dash lights came on and the engine turned over, but the car went totally dead again after a couple of seconds. The car now remains totally dead even when connected to a more powerful battery, my 12 plate company Peugeot 308.
• Ford Focus 1.6 petrol (2005) - Rough idle, occasional trouble starting when warm 31 Aug 2012 (Forum)
  There's no hesitation when accelerating though it does seem to 'pull' slightly on and off when trying to keep the same speed. Any ideas on what the issue could be? It's just had new HT leads, plugs and an air filter to try to rectify the problem. Could this be MAF sensor? Coil pack? Fuel injector? something else? I have no idea how to pinpoint the issue without spending huge wads of cash.
• Ford Escort/MK2 1978 - Battery light glowing 26 Aug 2012 (Forum)
  I have checked, cleaned and tightened all earths to engine and body and  the same with all positive leads to battery, starter motor ect ect, basically everything while I was at it but still no improvement, also the  head lights are more of a reddish glow and not their white bright light  that they are ment to be  but do slightly get brighter when the revs rise but still very dim, wipers slow too.
• Leather-covered steering wheels 26 Jan 2012 (Forum)
  The car had been valeted and, sure enough, cleaning the glass inside (with Windowlene) got rid of the problem. That leads me on to something else. The leather steering wheel feels hard and slippery. In those instances where it’s useful to be able to spin the wheel with the heel of your hand, you can’t do it.
• 2002 matiz ez+ - matiz still stalling after 4 garage visits 22 Nov 2011 (Forum)
  Then starting jerking, misfiring and stalling constantly. After 4 garage visits I have paid out £800.New leads and plugs, new petrol tank, new cat and front exhaust. Cleaned Iac valve. New map sensor has cured the problem of the misfiring and jerking after stalling, but car still stalls (just once) everyday but starts again with no problem.Just before it stalls, very audible rattling from exhaust gets louder.
• Citroen Berlingo Multispace - Faulty heater/blower 23 Oct 2011 (Forum)
  Do you thinks this could be the problem with my mothers? the garage now want to change the switches but I am concerned that my mother is being lead a merry dance as she has already paid £100 for motor that is not needed I wold be grateful for you advice. Would you agree that maybe the old motor could go back on and look at replacing the parts you advice.
• Learning more about cars 29 May 2011 (Forum)
  I have noticed how technologically awesome some of you are on this forum, which leads me to believe that there are vehicle mechanics and hobbyists among you. I enjoy reading about cars and have a good memory for what the vehicles I see on the roads have inside them, and I can perform very basic maintenance on my own car (y'know; bulbs, oil, water, changing a wheel, tyre care, jump start).
• Ford Escort 1.8 TD - Battery has me flummoxed - one for HTH possibly 26 May 2011 (Forum)
  I have an 18 month old Varta Blue E11, a superb battery that has now seen me through two winters down to -30c here in Latvia and is still very strong indeed. What I can't understand, this being a standard 6 x lead acid cell accumulator, is how it is providing the voltage that it is. I use a 3 stage charger (in the Summer the battery is off the car as I have an older one that is OK for Summer). It boost charges at about 14.10v and when fully charged, backs off  to about 13.87 for a maintenance charge.
• Renault Laguna II 1.9 dCI - Whistle from engine 16 Nov 2010 (Forum)
  Earlier on sunday I did an oil change, and no differently to the many times before, so I cannot see why this would have caused any problem. I have checked all the piped leading to and from the turbo, but all seem fine with no splits. The sound only gets noticable whilst accelerating at around 3000rpm and not any higher than about 50mph. Any ideas?
• Renault Clio II - possible key/immobilser problem 30 Oct 2010 (Forum)
  I have been given a few opinions on what this could be but nothing concrete, first of all it was the wiring harness, then the crankshaft sensor, immobiliser, transponder in key. Most recently i called the RAC out, he put the jump leads on and it started straight away, in his opinion it was the battery, he was going to check properly but that meant turning the engine off and risking the car not starting again. My head is battered with this now so hope somebody can help.
• Ford Fiesta - Ford Fiesta not starting- cambelt gone? 21 Oct 2010 (Forum)
  Went to start it last night, turned key, heard a clunk and dash lights all went out, as well as interior light. Got RAC man out and he tried jump leads- nothing, still only a clunk and the lights went out. I then put it in gear and tried to roll it down the hill, it went a few feet and stopped itself without any interferance from us. Same thing when we tried to push it back up the hill.
• astra G 1.7 dti - astra G 1.7 dti 2004 model missfire and power loss 26 Jul 2010 (Forum)
  it drives great from cold but when it is warmed up , after 25 mile or so it starts missfiring , very similar symptoms to a lead breaking down on a petrol engine...it also has a loss of power  , a sort of lag , up to 2500 revs , then its ok after 2500 rpm. when cruising at low speeds , 40-50 mph at very light throttle it missfires. if you put your foot down there are one or two misses and then its ok untill you setlle down again .
• MK1 FORD FIESTA - MK1 FIESTA RUNNING PROBLEM 16 Jul 2010 (Forum)
  Hi, i have a Mk1 fiesta 1981 1.1L, the problem is:  when i start my car and drive away from cold it will pull away lovely with just a touch on the accelerator, the pedal feels nice and light and responsive and the car revs freely and pulls along lovely, then as the car warms up it seems to bog down and needs to be revved harder just to get it to pull, and feels like i only want to use a light acceleration and change up as soon as i can because it seems to be killing it if i try and drag each gear out. I have changed the points,rotor arm,leads,dizzy cap,plugs,condensor,air filter,oil and oil filter, set the dwell angle with a dwell meter,set the timing but it still wont play ball, i am convinced it's once the car is warmed up that is causing the problem.
• Vectra C - diesel or petrol Vauxhall? 16 Apr 2010 (Forum)
   I was looking for a Seat Leon, astra, focus size but the value comparision to the Vectra is leading me there. Having spent a lot of time reading this forum on the problems of modern diesels I resolved to go for petrol.  Then the price of fuel started to climb and I'm wondering if I know what to look for, and what to do in the way of preventative maintenance, I could avoid really damaging expense.