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• Peugeot 205 (1983 - 1997) - 88 1.9GTi - Misfiring after running out of fuel 17 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  hi i was really hoping somebody can help me out here, im busy restoring my 205 1.9 gti 1988 model. i currently banned form driving so its my project, i have bean strating it up and letting her run for about 10 mins a day, but one i ran out of fuel, i filled up my petrol can before i put it in the tank i was doing a bit engine clean up making all the metals shine again, i had the fuel rail off ect. and clean it up with a wire brush, any way i put my petrol in the tank and started it up the car was ideling at 2000 rpm and eventually dropped to normal and started missing hugely when i rev it it wont go past 4000rpm and when it hits 4000 it misses hugely and you can hear popping in the exhaust and it stinks which leads me to belive its over fueling ive checked the spark and they seem to be working fine. also i should say that since this is happening my fuel pump has gone mega loud i thought it was starving of fuel but i dont no any more..... please help, thanks. lee
• Vauxhall Astra H (2004 - 2009) - Dumb diesel design or cant be helped? Which? 8 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  As most modern CR diesel owners know, the EGR valve will eventually soot up one way or another, leading to the valve sticking. This requires either a jolly good cleaning of the valve or replacing it to the tune of about £125 depending on wether its salvageable (these valves can corrode internally so siezing the mechanism) Symptoms of a sricking open valvle are (among others) usually low power at low revs - feels like turbo lag.
• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 04 2.0tdci Won't start; flashing glow plug light 1 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Next morning would'nt start, battery getting low, called out AA who checked fuel to rail, ok good pressure and a slight pulse to glo plug electronic leads. Tried different key still did'nt start, put on diagnostic machine faults found P0191 fuel rail pressure, P0204 injector CR, P0340 cam sensor (twice) and P8888 control pressure injector and finally P1000 manufacturers specified fault.
• Ford Fiesta (2002 - 2008) - 03 1.4 Noise From Engine 14 May 2009 (Forum)
  I then explained my problem to garage left it with them for an hour, they then rang me back and explained my coil pack had gone, my oxygen sensor had gone and also my spark plugs and leads also needed replacing. i had the work done and the sound had gone when i picked it up, but the next day it was back?!? it seems to be louder when the engine is warm, does any one have any ideas as im begining to think its something serious?
• Peugeot 307 SW (2002 - 2008) - 02 2.0 Low on power/exhaust smoke suddenly appeari 16 Apr 2009 (Forum)
  The air filter has been changed and I was going to change the fuel filter and disconnected the 3 fuel feeds and the electrical connection. Unfortunately the wrench I had was not big enough for the housing top,so I reconnected the fuel leads etc The car started and idled over without any problem so at this time I decided to use a charge and start cable (I have never used this before) to boost the battery on another car. During this time the 307 started to blow smoke from the exhaust - it has never done this before There are no fault codes and showing and I cannot see how the charge and start cable has caused this problem So I have 2 questions : 1) according to Haynes it is almost impossible to unscrew the filter top without damaging the housing.
• Ford Mondeo 1 (1993 - 1996) - 95 1.8 Help! Car's dead! 12 Apr 2009 (Forum)
  There doesn't appear to be anything loose or hanging off anywhere. In the past year it has had the alternator , fuel filter, oil filter, HT leads and spark plugs replaced. If anyone can help it would be much appreciated. Many thanks ;-)
• Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 96 1.9td won't turn off - no glow plug light. 18 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  Also when i reconnect the battery the glow plugs warm up(no light on the dash to say the pre heat is working) which also indicates a bad earth? i am going to clean the earth straps and connections to see if this helps. All earth leads and connections nice and clean and covered in copper grease. I seem to think after checking the earths they are all ok and make a good connection. i feel that the problem is the BLACK BOX at the back of the Battery box.
• Renault Clio 1 Petrol (1991 - 1998) - 1996 1.4 RN Auto Start Problems 11 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  Once started, it runs without fault, no weak idle or stalling etc. I've changed the distributor cap, rotor arm, Coil, ignition leads and cleaned and checked the plugs. I've broken down and checked all the plugs I can see, all were very clean and dry but have been soaked in WD40 since being broken down, just in case. I'm baffled, I'm an engineer but electrics are my blind spot I'm afraid, I'm ok with all the basics, hence whats been changed so far, but now it's got too deep for me.
• Ford Fiesta (2000 - 2002) - 00 1.25 Genuine V Factor coil packs - worth the ex 10 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  I diagnosed a misfire on my '00 1.25 Fiesta last week. Changing the spark plug and swappning HT leads did not move the misfire from No. 2 cylinder, so I decided to change the coil pack. I was keen to do this quickly to prevent unburnt fuel from damaging the cat. A genuine Ford coil pack from the main dealer was about £60 but I bought one from a factor for £30.
• KIA Cee'd vs Hyundai i30 15 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  Working on the basis that these are similar cars, aimed at similar markets at similar prices, I've been considering both as prospective purchases in the coming years. This has lead me to actively look out for examples on the roads. Now, I don't get out of town much and live in Reading so this observation is strictly local, however I have noticed that of the two models, there are far more examples of the i30 around my way, with the Cee'd being an extremely rare sight.
• I've repaired it, and i've saved all these bits! 21 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  So faced with stripping out again, i instead got out the faithful junior hacksaw, and cut a new rotor arm keyway in the distributor shaft almost opposite, but at 2 o'clock if that makes any sense. Anyway, changed the leads around, retimed and all good. Now i know this is a terrible admission to make, and the proper mechs here would have a fit. In mitigation, i was 18. (its a fair cop guv) Has that triggered any memories, or prompted any confessions of jobs done, and discoveries of rather important parts that should really have been inside the repair.
• Land Rover Discovery (1989 - 1998) - 97 3.9 wiring problem 3 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  car runs well when it is running on gas or lpg has a mallory distributor fitted with hyfire 4 coil no balast resistor and new leads had a misfire as mallory coil looked pretty ropey changed it for a intermotor coil(11410) cured misfire but now using car more seems to highlight other faults(overheating coil and cutting out dead occasionally any help will be appreciated regards les {phone number removed.
• Porsche Cayenne (2003 - ) - fairly unusual sighting logorrhoeic narcissis cut 15 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  It was set up perkily on its suspension, perhaps a bit higher than normal but perhaps not, and greatly impressed me by making the left out of Ladbroke Grove not into Westbourne Park Road, which is set up for buses, but Lancaster Road which isn't, and leads directly to recording studio or gangsta (please note the a) land. I was impressed because despite the very long wheelbase it made the corner with decent despatch, like a bus, despite the presence of a car in Lancaster Road well out in the opposite carriageway.
• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 01 2.0 duratec ticking on acceleration- ruined? 6 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  Ive owned it about 4 months, 5k miles. It had a stalling prob when i bought it which was cured by new plugs, oil (5w30), filters and leads. It has been using more oil than i would have thought was correct and has now developed a rather loud tick from the engine when accelerating and a little when idling. It sounds like its coming from right inside the block and I'm very concerned!
• Volkswagen Golf III (1992 - 1997) - Overfueling 1993 1800cc petrol 25 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  (fuel pouring down the inlet) I changed the throttle body and SPI unit (a spare off a scrapped one I have thank goodness), which ran ok until it got hot when the same happened which lead me to realise the cause of the overfueling was actually a temp sender that was sending the wrong info to unit and hence causing the overfuel. Once this was changed everything has run okish since, with no breakdowns.
• A Radical Approach To Performance Tuning.... 7 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  Folks, The following is supposedly gleaned from a boy racer forum somewhere on the 'net. I hope that this method catches on. It will certainly lead to quieter, safer roads. Hey guys, I've got a 98 1.8T. I've had a k04 and chip for a while and wanted to get more performance. I was recommended to port and polish the intake and exhaust. We found out they used abrasive material to do it like gritty sand.
• Citroen AX (1987 -1997) - Dim rear lights, dim mechanic? 14 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  When the rack that holds all the lamps in the cluster was exposed we noticed that other bulbs were glowing when the brake light was on. Certainly a bad earth then. Off came the nearside light cluster and the earth leads for both sides with its vaguely triangular-section bolt, presumably designed to scrape off the paint from the earth point threads when new. A bit of work with a penknife and a wire brush and a dab of Vaseline and all the lights seemed to be working properly again.
• Porsche Boxster 986 + Boxster S (1996 - 2004) - Aftermarket HID headlights 28 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  They are woefully inadequate (as were the stock ones) on country lanes at night with full beams on. I'd like to upgrade to HID and am confident I could fit the basic (non battery lead) kit myself, however wouldn't I need 2 kits as the full beam performance is inadequate on country lanes @ night, or would the dipped beam HID provide enough light to prop up the full beam performance?
• Sat Nav Questions and Answers Vol 1. 3 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  I tested it out today in my local town. Verdict ? Fun but a useless piece of junk that's as likely to get into trouble as it is to lead you out of it. It would have had me detouring through municipal car parks, short cutting via roads closed to all traffic except buses and meandering home in the most circuitous route imaginable. Granted it can't be expected to compete with local knowledge.
• Road Pricing IS a step to Big Brother 18 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  "Conversely, there may be surprise that the data collected by the congestion charge cameras is not already used for national security purposes and may lead to criticism that the matter is yet to be resolved." The document noted that the Department for Transport had "expressed concern about the potential for adverse publicity relating to... plans for local roads pricing". " http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6903902.stm madf already being discussed elsewhere....