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• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 03 2.0 Intermittent starting problem 13 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  If you switch off and try again, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Nothing wrong with the battery from my reckoning because when it does fire, it starts first time. It's been like this for sevral weeks now only failing once or twice before starting - so I just thought that the ECU was not "ready" or something .......
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 2004 1.8TDCi Strange noise - not the usual squeal. 24 Mar 2009 (Forum)
  It doesn't increase, (either in volume or intensity), when the engine is revved and usually disappears after 20 seconds or so. It is coming from the drivers side of the engine around where aux belt etc is. The battery light has stayed on once and very occasionally the engine revs fluctuate by up to 200rpm either side of idle. The revs only fluctuate while the noise is going on and settles once the noise has stopped.
• Ford Fiesta (1995 - 1999) - 96 1.3 Help before I try to change oil press light 8 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  My plans are as follows:- 1) Remove screws from the instrument panel 2) Prise the instrument panel cover off careful freeing the fog and rear heater switches 3) Remove instrument panel 4) Replace defective bulb 5) Try and put everything back Will I need ot disconnect the battery? Am I likely to get into complications while doing this? Free spelling upgrade and subject line tweak
• Ford Focus II (2004 - 2007) - 06 1.8 - Undriven for 3 Months 21 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  Good practice would have been to take this car out at least once a week to at keep things ticking over and lubricated I've already been told that the battery is flat which may necessiate a new one - I'm ready for that. However, my concerns are more around whether the brakes/gears/wheel bearings or something worse may have seized up. I've no mechanical expertise so wonder whether it's worth paying for a full RAC vehicle check.
• Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 97 1.4 Intermittent struggling to pull until warm 19 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  Then one evening both headlight bulbs had blown. The next day the car wouldn't start at all. The starter motor was trying and the battery was ok but the engine wasn't catching. It started a few days later and I drove 4 miles to the garage keeping it on very high revs and avoiding going up hill to prevent it stalling. After about 3 miles it was running pretty normally.
• Ford Fiesta (1989 - 1995) - 95 1.3 Central locking fault 21 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  As the motor assembly is integral with the door catch, I have had to fit it back on the car for now. Recently, we had a flat battery due to a broken cable on the alternator. I noticed that I was unable to lock the car manually without 12v power. Is this correct? I assumed that I would be able to lock the front doors with the key without power.
• Vauxhall Corsa C (2000 - 2006) - 02 1.0 Oil and performance problems - HELP! 14 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  My really urgent problem is that the car ran fine until I left the radio on while working on it for the MOT and the battery ran flat. I charged it the next day. It is now running like a bag of bolts. There is a distinct dip in power when starting off almost to the point of it stalling if you do not keep the revs up and it now sounds like my blinking diesel Vectra.
• Vauxhall Corsa B (1993 - 2000) - 95 Corsa radio 3 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  Been driving daughter's 95 Corsa lately with nothing to listen to but my moaning at having no power steering! The radio is not working because the battery went flat. I've got the code and the instructions emailed to me by her but all I get is SAFE. It doesn't move on the the next stage. So is anything missing from the following instructions? 1. Switch on ignition 2.
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 1999 - Doors deadlock when driving 16 Dec 2007 (Forum)
  It's probably worth mentioning that the remote key has not worked for many years - I changed the battery (which made no difference) and have never got round to finding out the cause, as it locks and deadlocks manually without a problem. Cheers.
• BMW 3-Series E46 Compact (2001 - ) - 2003 318 - Sticky Central Locking 15 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  And sod's law it had to happen when we were showing the car to some prospective purchasers..... my luck all over. I dont think its the key fob battery, it happens with 2 keys. I dont want to get robbed at a bmw garage, any ideas??
• Renault - Can anyone give me some advice please! 19 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Bought my renault last jan and the fiat garage (they told me they own renault dealership in another town) had lost the service history between the trade in and me buying it, they said when they come across it they will let me have it gulliable as i am i accepted this, as they assured that they had serviced it for years etc details all on their computer. the battery died last week and the radio has gone off - local renault garage said i should never have bought it without the service history and service book, also i need to take it back to fiat garage i bought it from so they can apply for the radio code.
• 01 Saxo mk2, ECU warning light problem 27 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  A few days ago, my engine warning light came on, so I checked out the engine and connectors and such like, running 100% OK. I disconnected the battery for 2 hours, to clear any fault codes, restarted, still have the same light, took the car to my mechanic, whose has a full test setup, first used a new diagnostic tester, would not "see" the ECU, which was weird, so he then put on a old diagnostic tester, which was used on the car about a year ago, which at the time worked fine, again did not "see" or could talk to the ECU.
• Fiat Punto Mulijet, poor acceleration 28 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  MAP sensor checked as ok by substitution With MAF sensor disconnected, test drive revealed no change in performance New Fiat MAF sensor fitted, no improvement EGR actuator checked for resistance, approx 8Ω, 9V present with ignition ON, 12V present with engine running. EGR actuator disconnected and test driven, no change. EGR actuator fed directly from battery, clicks could be heard from solenoid Help please!
• Dealing with speed traps - GPS gadgets? 15 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  The unit would need to know the limit of the road and if it has a camera datbase even better. I would fit it in the car so its on all the time so it would ideally need to be battery powered. Cheers James P.S No smart alec comments about using your speedo, there seems to be little margin for error now with the new "zero tolerance" policy and I don't want to risk it. If anyone wants to debate about it, or speed traps themselves, please start another thread.
• re-initialising Xsara remote 29 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  Confident off my work.. we tried it out, only to find it didn't work! There was a reference in the handbook about re-initialising after removing the battery (which I did to protect the circuits whilst soldering.....replaced with new one) This seemed to be simply putting the key in and turning till ignition lights came on and pressing the remote control.
• What Sat Nav? Advice appreciated 7 Nov 2006 (Forum)
  I want to be able to: 1, Type in postcode onto the screen and then be directed to my destination. 2, Transfer the unit from one car to another as we may share it in the office for journeys to customers we have not visited before (unless they are really cheap). 3, It needs to do mainland Europe pretty well (France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland) - I managed to take the wrong route roung Brussels 3 times yesterday. 4, Do they charge from a 12V socket in the car or are they just rechargeable-at-home AA batteries? 5, If it covered speed camera locations this would be a bonus. A recognised brand is preferable (Tom Tom, Garmin, Navman?). A key issue is price. The cheaper the better. Can I get all of the above for £200?
• Nissan Alternator problem 29 May 2006 (Forum)
  I?ve got a Nissan Primera (2002) ? and a week or so ago the battery warning light came on. The AA came round and found out that the alternator was pumping out 18Volts ? hence the regulator had gone. Anyway, I took it to a local garage who tried to locate a replacement Alternator ?
• Slow Starting Honda Civic - Spark Plugs? 28 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  t care but as my neighbour has the same model car which is a year newer and it starts on the 2nd turn of the engine...?? I put a new Honda original battery as the old one displayed the need charging indicator and I noticed that the starter turned over quicker but it still takes 5 turns to start up. The car has full service history but only at smaller garages.
• Peugeot 306 Headlights Blinkin, Help !!! 4 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  turned lights off still does it. turn ignition off still does it , put full beam on and it stops.all other lights are fine,seems all relays are fine but not 100% is there any cure to this strange stuff happening ????cos its just not running every morning flat battery and then when charged i have blinkin main beam even in the day !!!! thx for your help ,michael
• Rover 416 98 Electrics problem 14 Feb 2005 (Forum)
  Only way radio will work is to connect both yellow and red to yellow in which case the radio stays permanently on after ignition which I don't want to do as it'll flat the battery. ALso all above things still do not work. HELP NEEDED PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!