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• cavalier diesel 3 Sep 2006 (Forum)
  This time the car would not turn over and it was left parked up. Suspecting a starter motor problem I disconnected the +ve lead from the starter and jump started the car so we could bring it home. We got the starter off but could't get the solenoid to operate using leads from a battery. A starter was sourced at a local yard and prior to putting it on the car I tried to test it.
• Golf Mk3 1.8 Misfire under load 20 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  Possibly related, on two occasions (once after unavoidably driving through a big puddle, the second time when driving while it was raining horizontally) the engine cut out and took another few minutes of cranking to fire up again. I replaced the HT leads and WD40'd everything, but this didn't help, so the car was at a local garage last week to try and fix this. The garage reckoned they had fixed the problem by replacing the distributor (not cheap!).
• MG - Roadster 1970 1.8 running problem with classic car 18 Jul 2009 (Forum)
  Before this, I fitted new points and condenser - no change. 2. New coil. 3. New dist cap. 4. New rotor. 5. Tried different set of leads (borrowed from TR6 - no difference - so assume leads ok). 6. Checked vacuum advance is working by sucking on tube at carb. 7. Checked advance springs are intact in dist (removed base plate and looked inside - all there correct and clean). 8.
• Calling all engineers and web whizzos? 14 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  Anyway? My question is: What are the long-term effects of running cars designed to use UNLEADED on leaded fuel? Either in general terms or vehicle specific. Issues to consider might be: fuel injection system, ECU control of timing, combustion temps, combustion chamber materials, spark plugs, Lambda sensor.
• Dacia Duster - Battery charger 20 Dec 2024 (Forum)
  What I'm going to do this winter is connect the charger to the battery as normal, the unit would then be plugged into a waterproof socket outside the garage. Then instead of lifting the  bonnet to disconnect in a morning, I'll be leaving the charger leads connected, but isolated at the socket outlet. Obviously I'll make an easy access, waterproof connection behind the bumper to link the two. I can't see a problem having the charger connected to the battery whilst the engine is running.
• Volvo C70 MK1 - Changing automatic transmission fluid 5 Jan 2024 (Forum)
  A famous American youtuber called Scotty Kilmer has said that changing transmission fluid on an old car when it's never been done before could lead to problems with the transmission shifting properly. Do you agree, or should I change the fluid? Thank you, Alfie  
• Any - Can 'jump starting' cause damage? If so, what? 14 Aug 2023 (Forum)
    Admittedly our cars have usually been older than most, but what exactly can go wrong if the advice regarding correct sequential connection and disconnection of the jump leads is followed?
• Is this a valid way of thinking about car finance? 8 Sep 2022 (Forum)
  That was locked in and will be the rate I pay for the next 3 years if I go ahead with the finance option when the car arrives in a few weeks after the long delivery lead time.  Obviously 4.9% is less than the rate of.inflation is at the moment and for the foreseeable future.  My alternative is paying cash and buying the car outright when it arrives.  With inflation reducing the real value of payments is it a no brainer that I should borrow at 4.9% because inflation will reduce the real value of payments, which are set out at the outset, more than if I paid interest at 4.9% over and above the cash price?
• Jaguar I-Pace - Heater Control unit failure 11 Jul 2022 (Forum)
  Apart from “ Range Anxiety “ and finding a compatible charging station after discovering his car won’t charge from an extension lead at home he experienced the Heater Control Unit failure that seems to have snowballed recently leaving many cars at the Main Dealer waiting for a replacement unit which are on back order and a 14 hour dashboard out job.
• Electric ride on Scooters - Using in London and legalities 29 Mar 2022 (Forum)
  If it was a licensed scooter, what was it doing in an area not included in the test, which leads to the question (and I have seen it here, Neighbour  young children.. 14 15 and 16 riding the licensed spin scooters. Many others are riding unlicensed scooters too. If an illegal scooter, then there is zero training, online or otherwise.
• Moderators' email 12 Apr 2021 (Forum)
  Could we please ask members not to use the 'Report as Offensive' button for reporting Spam. This is leading to a large number of emails! We're on the case now at least in the main forums, as I hope you will agree. Spam is annoying but rarely offensive so this would  help us by keeping the inbox more manageable.
• Nissan Almera 2003 - No way to unlock my car when battery failed 14 Apr 2020 (Forum)
  Last week I had a major fail. I left the light switched all day and my battery went dead. With a set of jump leads in the boot I thought now problem. Until I realised the is no way to get into the car as it has no manual key locks. I search the net and people spoke about one on the passenger door. But not on this model.
• What was the title of that film? 7 Mar 2020 (Forum)
  Please will someone out there remind me of the title of the film which may have had Tom Hanks as the male lead. He was a widower with a son about nine years old. I can't remember a great deal about the story but probably enough for someone to answer my question. The Dad listened to a radio phone-in programme which featured people in his situation and subsequently he became friends with a lady who was also listening to that programme.
• Fiat Ducato 2.3 2006 - Fiat Ducato won’t start 26 Jan 2020 (Forum)
  When you turn the key the lights for the coil and the immobiliser come on and go off as expected, but when you turn the key fully there is a loud clunk which we think is the starters dog kicking out but nothing else. We have a fully charged batter on and have checked the earth lead but still nothing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
• CHRYSLER VOYAGER - FLAT BATTERY 15 Jan 2019 (Forum)
  On the previous one I installed a "Battery Isolater" this is a device that you fit to end of your POSITIVE lead and then connect to the battery. It has a curled screw which you remove when parking up for the night and replace the next time you want to use the car. Get the item from Spares Shop / Local Garage.
• Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? 25 Oct 2017 (Forum)
  'Bangernomics' make sense in many ways, but if you are driving around in a car whose market value is £500 or less, then a relatively slight knock will lead to it being written off by the insurance company. Is it possible to agree that you want to insure your old car for, say, £1500 or £2000 rather than the usual 'market value'? When you insure your house you have a specific figure printed on the certificate for replacement value.
• any - Driving experience 24 Dec 2016 (Forum)
  A warning to all, be careful about drink driving especially over Christmas and the Police  are out there checking on drivers. Thursday night I was out for a few drinks. One thing lead to another and I had too many beers not to mention the odd wee tot and then onto the wine. Not a good idea. Knowing I was over the limit, I took a Bus home. Sure enough, I passed through Banbury and a Police checkpoint near the top roundabout, where they were pulling over drivers and performing breathalyser tests.
• n/a - Driverless cars - UK government consultation. 15 Aug 2016 (Forum)
  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-help-britain-lead-the-way-in-developing-driverless-technology Two paragraphs from the blurb - "Advanced driver assistance systems and ‘self-driving’ technologies will transform travel helping deliver safer, smoother and smarter road journeys" "The driver’s insurer will still pay out in the normal way so road accident victims are promptly reimbursed – but the insurer will then be able to claim the money back from the car company if the vehicle is deemed to be at fault" I'm not too confident about all this enthusiasm about driverless cars - the biggest snag as far as I can see would be that they have to share the roads with the cars that have unpredictable human drivers, and cope with their various antics, as we do now.
• Ford Focus 2007 1.6 - Antifreeze replacement 29 Feb 2016 (Forum)
  With my current Focus I've decided to be a bit more careful, and noticing that the level was a touch below the Min mark the other day I decided to do some research into finding the right product with which to top up, rather than just buying any old rubbish off the shelf.   My research, such as it was,  leads me to conclude that as long as the antifreeze matches the Ford/ Haynes spec (in this case WSS-M97B44-D) and is the right colour, it doesn't have to be the specific brand recommended by the manufacturer.
• T Reg 1.9 Diesel Mk 4 VW Golf - After sitting overnight not starting 14 Aug 2015 (Forum)
  But when you put the key in and turn all dash lights come on fine, then you turn to start and it ticks, the central locking goes crazy and the dash goes blank, resets the time and the mileometer. This morning I jump started the car with my wifes and it started first time once jump leads connected. I took it to Halfords for the Battery, starter motor and alternator checked and all showed as fine. Any Ideas