SWM went for a decent run in the C2 yesterday, told me last night there was a problem with the driver's window, would only go half way down then jammed up, she managed to get it back up but didn't dare open it again for the wet start to the 80 mile journey home.
Hoped it was only going to be the switch, but being a Citroen i expected it was going to be a pita.
I had a look today and spotted the telphone holder suckered half way up the drivers window, it's fixed now..;)
So i led her out by the arm and teased her gently about it, then went into the garage to put some stuff in the freezer, which when i got there i didn't have so back in the house to get some gentle teasing meself.
You'd think i would have learned by now not to take the mickey, glass houses and all that..;).
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I had a MK3 Fiesta which the temp guage didn't work on. I noticed the wiring to it had been chopped so I got a crocodile lead, shrinked it onto the existing cut wire, and attached the crocodile lead to the temperature sender. It worked perfectly :D.
I suspect it had over heated at some point, and a rogue seller tried to hide the fact it was over heating by disconnecting the gauge.
Simple solutions are always the best.
I had bodged most the wiring loom on that car, although it was always very low voltage circuits.
I would not be as daft as working out why the window would not wind down in your case though :).
Females eh.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Fri 2 Dec 11 at 17:26
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When I first got the X1 a blast around my favourite roads was essential - driving along the A470 (after the initial blast through the valleys) I first heard the rattle - from behind the dash or trim - really, really annoying.......Anyway I was a few miles from the dealer and decided to drop in - to this day I still don't know what made me check that the sun visor was seated properly in its little bracket.....
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I had that same mistake on one of my cars too, I think it was the Corsa, couldn't get rid of it, until I needed to use the sun visor and quickly worked out what it was.
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Some years ago I had a driving tuition car (can't rember which) that suddenly developed an annoying click on one lesson whenever the clutch was depressed. Try as I might I just couldn't replicate it myself afterwards, and forgot about it till it mysteriously returned with the same pupil next week. I was watching as he changed gear to find out what he was doing to cause it and couldn't figure it out, till I mentioned it to him and he told me it was his knee which always did that as he straightened it.
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Did you then look in the rear view mirror and rub your stubble before getting out of the car, walking away laughing muttering always something R.P. ?
Sounds like an 80's car advert that VW might dream up. :-)
Lucky you didn't have dangly earrings in needing a drop of oil.
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It irritated me beyond reason for about 15 miles. Lucky I wasn't wearing my heels as well :-)
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I once took a very nearly brand new Mondeo to a Ford dealer having completed a painfully slow 350 mile trip. I suspected a turbo problem. Couldn't get the thing above 50mph foot to the floor and on hills it was worse.
The service manager pulled the rucked up rubber mat out from under the accelerator pedal and asked if "sir" felt that was any better?....
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I had bodged most the wiring loom on that car, although it was always very low voltage circuits.
Didn't this go up in flames?
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No, it is a bit difficult for circuits of about 0000.1ma to burst into flames :).
I would never bodge any wiring which carried any real current but all sensors do in the main is send a resistance figure to the ECU.
The engine died as the piston rings were shot, being more electrically minded than mechanically fixing that is beyond my capabilities. Got rid when the compression was so bad it would no longer start.
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>>Got rid when the compression was so bad it would no longer start.
Thicker oil, man... thicker oil....
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>>Thicker oil, man... thicker oil....<<
Or Holts pist on sea l
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I already moved from 10/40 to 20/50 and the 20/50 did help but even then when my dad took it on the motorway (I hadn't passed) the max speed it would go was 55mph and with a cloud of blue smoke behind us.
It is the car which I got the name Rattle from, as it had a lazy oil pump (hence the piston ring wear) and rattled like mad for the first few miles.
Paid £400 notes for that shed too. I was young, had £2k sat in my bank doing nothing went past a garage and bought it on the spot. My dad had an injury so couldn't drive, and I need access to car for my business, so I drove it on L plates.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Fri 2 Dec 11 at 22:03
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I'll never forget my first car - a Triumph Herald convertible I bought for £30!
I didn't realise it at the time but the engine totally cream crackered and it burned oil sooooo bad that when y'all was stationary at the t/lights etc., the smoke used to come through the bulkhead but, the final straw came when I pulled onto a garage forecourt (this was in the 70's) and the 'dolly bird' said "what logs d'ya burn mate" :-(
Outed it mucho pronto and bought a cream Zephyr 4 mrk 111 with bench seat and column change :-)
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Talking of knackered old nails, one time I pulled into the garage with my 1.1 Fiesta and as I handed the keys to the receptionist he said 'Its the diesel isn't it?' The tappets were a bit rattly, but I didnt think they were that bad!
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Hehe! reminds me of my mobile car tuning days ... often when a customer pulled his car up to the back of my van I'd say "is it diesel then mate", and being a bit of a wind up merchant I'd keep a dead straight face, like.
:D
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When I was serving on the forecourt, an XJ12 pulled up and the driver asked for £5 of five star.
The gaffer was on the island serving someone else, and said to the bloke: "Five pounds? Barely worth asking the boy to lift the pump.
"It won't even fill the carbs on that."
There were a few marginal motorists in those days, had to have a big car, but couldn't afford to run it.
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There were a few marginal motorists in those days, had to have a big car, but couldn't afford to run it.
Still the same I think...
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llandlord
That's a village on Anglesey ? :-)
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Either a Freudian slip or lack of glasses. Could be a welsh pub landlord I guess.
It is true though that pub landlords often have big old cars with big engines isn't it? Probably because they don't really go very far so it's not too painful on fuel.
Jag, sovereign ring, blousy wife and politics somewhere right of Genghis Khan. Don'tcha just love 'em?
:-)
Anyway, back on topic...
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I worked for one late seventies. That description is perfecto.
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>>had to have a big car, but couldn't afford to run it<<
S'right!
And I had to tune those those Jaaags, Mercs and Beemers on the sprawling council estates of S and E London :(
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Just fixed qn electrical fault on step daughters car.
A single filament buld was fitted in a dual fillament socket (rear brake light and dipped beam rear).
The car had failed mot on all sorts of electrical oddities.
Press brake pedal and side lights came on, or turn side light on and rear brakes on all of the time.
All fixed after changing to the proper bulb.
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No faults now.
Other electrical oddities were a reversing light that had become a temporary aquarium tank.
Cleaned out dried out and new bulb.
I couldnt find out how the water had got in there though.
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>> What's a fault?
>>
Ask your wife. She'll give you a long list.
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>> >> What's a fault?
>> >>
>> Ask your wife. She'll give you a long list.
>>
I asked her. She asked me if I had a spare afternoon and when I replied in the negative, another was added to the list...
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>> >>Thicker oil, man... thicker oil....<<
>>
>> Or Holts pist on sea l
>>
I saw dust once. Dog'll ged it!
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>>I saw dust once. Dog'll ged it!<<
Back ax is quieter, I hear!
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I saw dust once. Dog'll ged it!
>> Back ax is quieter, I hear!
So, comrades, recession has hit the beautiful motherland..we can no longer afford personal ads in The Imperialist Times, you will arrange dead drops in other ways.:-)
Are you two a couple of cold war sleepers?
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Vodka tovaritch nimnosco Russian!
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As a radio 4 listener while driving, but only when the Archers aren't on, I was annoyed the other day when some vegetation that had encroached on the road, just a few hundred yards from here, ripped the aerial out of the n/s front wing causing a radical deterioration in reception. The reason the aerial just came out was that it was a replacement itself, a substitute job from the accessories supermarket designed to be jammed down the centre of the broken telescopic original. Short and black, it worked very well. Now I suppose I'll have to get another one.
I certainly don't fancy replacing the original. It's invariably a filthy and tiresome job. Telescopic aerials are a pain. Even those luxury electric ones that extend when the wireless is turned on and retract when it's turned off don't last for ever. Anyone is capable of going through a car wash with the radio on.
More resistant aerials - rubber ones or aerials stuck on the inside of the windscreen and so on - simply don't give the best reception. Has anyone got a solution to the aerial problem?
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Wire coat hanger AC. Wrap some tinsel round it for seasonal effect.
Edit - you should persevere with the Archers you know. There was always something about Shula's voice. Not quite Mariella Frostruppppppp ( can't remember how many Ps ) but well, you know.
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Sun 4 Dec 11 at 14:34
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ripped the aerial out of the n/s front wing
>>
How old is your car?
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"Has anyone got a solution to the aerial problem?"
Anyone who designs a car with a roof-mounted aerial - like a 1950's Austin A40 or my 2011 Skoda.
I had an Audi with the aerial attached to the inside of a rear window - seemed to work OK, but I believe aerials mounted here can vary in quality.
But I agree with Humph - I remember having a wing-mounted aerial nicked in the 1970s and a wire coat-hanger giving better reception than the original.
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Nothing wrong with proper electric aerials, the MB one still works smoothly at 15 years, gets a clean with penetrating oil now and again and lubed with an oiled rag, set in the NSR wing though so protected from most things except loose low lifes, luckily the post is cheaply replaceable from the main dealer if one hates their vehicle enough to put it through a car wash whilst raised.
Those roof aerials are OK but you should remove them now and again and lightly lubricate the thread, the threads do rust and you can end up with them corroded on, they sometimes kink when subjected to automated car wash torture if the top brush reverses on return, so best removed first.
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My car has what looks like a truncated sharks fin on its roof. I assume that's an aerial.
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>> My car has what looks like a truncated sharks fin on its roof. I assume
>> that's an aerial.
>>
Probably GPS for satnav.
Last edited by: spamcan61 on Sun 4 Dec 11 at 17:08
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Oh OK, that would make sense. Tell you what I was impressed with the other day, when I went through the Mersey tunnel, the sat-nav continued to work. Clever that.
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Doesn't it just assume that you are continuing in the current direction/speed of travel until it pick up a satellite again?
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That is probably the disappointing truth of the matter. With my old faithful TT it just dropped out in tunnels etc.
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GPS and 'phone only AFAIK - the radio aerial is in the rearmost side windows I think. IIRC the satnav also gets a feed from the speed signal to the speedo (or somewhere like that...) so, up to a point, can manage without a GPS signal for a while
Peter
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the satnav also gets a feed from the speed signal to the
>> speedo (or somewhere like that...) so, up to a point, can manage without a GPS
>> signal for a while
My Garmin does the continuing thing in tunnels too, soon as you emerge it resets itself correctly, clever stuff.
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Again, that would make sense. I think, if I thought about it at all that is, that the strips in the rear side windows were heated screen elements. Not been cold enough yet to test that theory though. You may well be right about them being the aerial. Maybe they're both. DAB radio if that makes any difference?
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There's all sorts of aerials on moderns cars, the remote locking/alarm generally has an aerial or two (on my Vauxhalls these are a printed strips about a foot long in the rear quaterlights).
Not sure about DAB aerials, in theory you need a length of conductor about half the length of an FM aerial, so maybe manufacturers try and get away with re-using the FM aerial.
My Omega and Vectra saloons used the HRW for FM, the Vectra hatch uses a 'bee sting' at the top of the hatch. Reception (with the same radio) much the same, apart from weak signal areas where the HRW arrangement gets a bit directional i.e. reception was a bit better when the car was pointing away from the transmitter.
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...can manage without a GPS signal for a while...
There could be a GPS repeater in the tunnel.
Some of the FM radio stations have that in the Tyne Tunnel.
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>> ...can manage without a GPS signal for a while...
>>
>> There could be a GPS repeater in the tunnel.
How would that work? Surely GPS needs to 'see' the satellites
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>> ...can manage without a GPS signal for a while...
>>
>> There could be a GPS repeater in the tunnel.
Not really, because they would all then be in the same place and you couldn't triangulate on anything.
Standalone sat navs (like your garmins and your tom toms, have a limited "guess feature" - you enter the tunnel at, say 40mph, and it will guestimate 40mph through the length of the tunnel. Get a jam in the tunnel and you are stuffed.
OEM built in sat navs use the speedo pulse, which works well for a while till you get out and it then corrects.,
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Another strangely cheering thing about the Merc satnav is that it says "please" before every direction command. It doesn't thank you for doing it though !
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>> OEM built in sat navs use the speedo pulse, which works well for a while till you get out and it then corrects.,
Unless they have reduced costs in recent OEM car sat nav units, they (at least used to) use the speed signal, have a sensor for reverse gear use and have a gyroscope. When the units first came out they needed these more of the time because the GPS receivers were nowhere near as sensitive as they are now.
I've not been through a tunnel in the VW CC yet so cannot comment on how the RNS 315 sat nav works in such a situation.
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>>
>> There could be a GPS repeater in the tunnel.
>>
I was going to say that's very difficult to do technically, as the frequency and timing of the signal have to be really really accurate, but I see people are selling 'em so maybe not.
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Either way, they are not licensed for use in the UK
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>> SWM went for a decent run in the C2 yesterday, told me last night there
>> was a problem with the driver's window, would only go half way down then jammed
>> up
You probably know this already GB, but any car with weak regulators can be helped by making sure the runners are lubricated. I sprayed silicon on the felt runners of my old Beemer when the windows got slow - made quite a difference and the silicon doesn't leave a messy residue.
Electric windows that go wrong are a PITA. One of the rears stuck down on my 90 Quattro after my Grandpa burnt the switch out (don't ask how he did it, he's gone now, I won't hold it against him). I operated it with the switch on the other side by connecting it across the seat with some wire. Since I never used them I left it shut - not a proper repair but an easy fix.
PS - I had a pretty drafty trip up from Sussex to Essex that night, lucky it wasn't raining :)
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Jaguar used to supply a little handle to operate the windows in the event of motor failure.
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>> Jaguar used to supply a little handle to operate the windows in the event of
>> motor failure.
I wonder if that handle had quite a worn look to it over the years :)
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...I wonder if that handle had quite a worn look to it over the years :)...
A few predictable comments, but I doubt the facts support them.
From memory, the Jaguars of the 1970s were as reliable as anything else around at the time.
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>> A few predictable comments, but I doubt the facts support them.
>>
>> From memory, the Jaguars of the 1970s were as reliable as anything else around at
>> the time.
Exactly.
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>> >> A few predictable comments, but I doubt the facts support them.
>> >>
>> >> From memory, the Jaguars of the 1970s were as reliable as anything else around
>> at
>> >> the time.
>>
>> Exactly.
>>
Well maintained they were dependable - poorly maintained they weren't.....
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>>
>> From memory, the Jaguars of the 1970s were as reliable as anything else around at
>> the time.
>>
It says a lot for the basic reliability of the straight-six engine that it was fitted into the Scorpion tank. A de-tuned version of course, but when I was in REME in the late 1970's we found that given the right tweaks they could be made to go somewhat. 80mph on tracks has to be experienced to be appreciated, and trust me it's fun!
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They lasted well enough - they"'ve just re-engined them and up-armoured them to make them last another 20 years
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but any car with weak regulators can be helped>> by making sure the runners are lubricated.
Keep meaning to lube the runners on the old car especially the rear windows as they seldom get used...hmm should do the sunroof too, have been quite lazy about maintenance this year.
Quite glad the suckered on phone holder didn't burn the window motor out on the little car though...yet..;)
'''Jaguar used to supply a little handle to operate the windows in the event of motor failure'''.
Very sensible too...with a Jag.:-)
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sun 4 Dec 11 at 17:29
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>> been quite lazy about maintenance this year.
Left it to rot for quite a while as I recall...
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>> Left it to rest during the worst of the winter as I recall...
>>
Fixed that for you..:-)
You are in no position to lecture seeing how Bessie was booted out without a thought, abandoned to the world of neglect by strangers unknown the second a sexy shiny new Geordie model made eyes at you, probably carrying builders materials round now unwashed and battered fed on a diet of vegetable oil and red, lubricated by some supermarket 20/50 on bogoff...sniff
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Actually, I recently checked to see if Betsy was still insured.
It isn't....
Probably a perfectly reasonable explanation of course.
:-(((
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I had a similar experience with our first Mk3 Mondeo, SWMBO was showing off the global opening of the windows, but forgot about the two suckered sunshades on the back windows, one fell but off the other decided to take the suckers down into the window mechanism and chew up the cable. ;0(
Last edited by: Kithmo on Mon 5 Dec 11 at 15:39
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Easily fixed faults. - RattleandSmoke
