The new news 24 thread

[New POD]

I haven't used the omega since Christmas due to wife having a car and the fact that we use that for local trips.

Obviously the battery is flat.  So jump leads off the Astra and it started fine. Reversed it onto the shared drive so i can put my battery charger on it.  

Which is in the boot. The ignition needs to be off to open the boot. 

Then The boot won't open due to low battery. 

So I try to start it. No. 4 mins of idling is not enough to get enough charge. 

So I have to use the Astra to get it open, with jump leads, and then I can start it again.

Only now it won't rev above 1500 RPM and is throwing up ignition fault codes and the traction control light is on.

Get my new fault code reader.  Thank you farther christmess. 

Fault codes erased. 

So now I go to turn the ignition off so i can put the charger on.  No the charger won't work below 9v, so i have to put the jump leads on, get it started again. Connect the charger with the engine running (I was questioning the wisdom, but thought ah fuck it) 

Once the charger is working, the engine off, and back indoors for a cup of tea.

I'll give it until lights out. 

 

And then I'll put it on again tomorrow morning.  

Last time. I found I needed 3 sessions of about 4 hours to get the battery holding full charge.  

Of course the battery may be fucked but hey. 

[brownnova]

OMGSNOKAOS!!

Or... a Saab in its natural habitat... 

 

Considering you can see the sea from our garden this is very unusual! 

[Cord Fourteener]

I hear even the South is getting snow! Here is snow in the Highlands of North East Wales, so a few hundred metres higher and a bit more inland than @brownnova

[brownnova]

Show off 😉

[chaseracer]

HILLSTWS12+SNOW  1:0  LEXARSE

(Blingo on winter rubber: no problem...)

[catsinthewelder]

On 1/23/2021 at 11:53 AM, wuvvum said:

How's the Sherpa coming along Rich?  Looking forward to it being back on the road so I can race you round the FOD in the Iveco.

Slower than it should be as I was working constantly through to Christmas and it feels like constant snow up here since.😂  I need to make some replacement sills to weld in and sort out the fuel system as well as a load of smaller jobs.  Should keep me busy for a bit 😉

[wuvvum]

4 hours ago, chaseracer said:

HILLSTWS12+SNOW  1:0  LEXARSE

(Blingo on winter rubber: no problem...)

Is the washing machine not 4WD?

[wuvvum]

Well it seems that the 75's battery is indeed goosed.  I took it off and had it on charge overnight, ran a 12v tyre compressor off it for 20 minutes and it didn't have enough power left to start the engine - I had to jump it off the Iveco.  On the plus side I left it overnight and it didn't lock itself or run the battery down any further, so that's good.  I've stuck the spare wheel on the back for now as I'm fed up with having to constantly pump the tyre up - once I start using the old girl again I'll treat it to a pair of rear tyres as they were an advisory on the MOT anyway.

Not got much further with the C2.  I say that, the interior light has started coming on when I open the door, but I don't think that's due to anything I did.  I can also confirm that the ABS works fine, after a fucking muntjac ran out in front of me on a dark A road.  I'm still no further with getting the passenger door open though.  There is a wiring diagram in the HBOL, but it doesn't match what's in the door (to nobody's great surprise) - for one thing the locking mechanism has six wires running to it where the Haynes manual only shows five, and for another the colours don't match.  Most annoyingly there are two yellow wires - which is a pain given that the wiring diagram shows the (single) yellow wire as going to the central locking motor.  There is also a violet wire going into the motor - I assume one is to lock and one is to unlock.  It's not really like a "proper" wiring diagram though where you can trace wires from the battery to the fusebox to the switch to the component - the C2 wiring diagram shows short lengths of wire disappearing into various ECUs, where their functions are presumably determined by the little magical pixies which live therein, so there's no way of telling which wire actually does what.

I'd also been planning to take the steering column shroud off to see whether the pre-wiring for a cruise control switch is fitted or not.  Unfortunately my Torx bits were too fat to fit in the hole (fnarr) and I couldn't find my set of "normal" Torx keys, so that'll have to wait for another weekend.

Didn't get much else done this weekend as it was too bloody cold - I did try washing the translucent section of the roof on the Iveco to see if I could get it to let any more light in, but standing on the door step and reaching onto the roof with a sponge I couldn't really get very much of the roof cleared - I really need to either prop a ladder up against the side of the van or get a jet wash up there.  That's not urgent though.

[chaseracer]

8 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Is the washing machine not 4WD?

No, just looks like it should be.  Another fauxby4, I'm afraid.

[stuboy]

Go pick up ambulance from the garage, bloody frozen shut and freeeeezing..  oh and a turd parked near it..

[Cord Fourteener]

Here is my attempt at a Swede in the Snow...

[beko1987]

Well Ive paid my £354 to Hastings for a year's insurance, but their payment page didn't refresh me to anywhere so I guess I'll just wait for an email? 

Good job it's not needed until the 19th feb

[yes oui si]

Took a wee detour on my way home last night... 

[Split_Pin]

The outside temperature seems to have gone up today and the cars have defrost meaning I can get into them again after 4 days.

When I got the Audi 2 years ago the driver's side carpet was wet. Water was getting in around the fusebox so I sealed it up and modified the scuttle to direct water away from that area and over to the correct drain hole. The carpet was wet again today which is strange since my repair has held for so long. All looks dry around the fusebox so my scuttle mod is working but I sprayed silicone grease liberally around the bonnet cable grommet in the bulkhead in case it might be that.

[Burnside]

4 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

The outside temperature seems to have gone up today and the cars have defrost meaning I can get into them again after 4 days.

When I got the Audi 2 years ago the driver's side carpet was wet. Water was getting in around the fusebox so I sealed it up and modified the scuttle to direct water away from that area and over to the correct drain hole. The carpet was wet again today which is strange since my repair has held for so long. All looks dry around the fusebox so my scuttle mod is working but I sprayed silicone grease liberally around the bonnet cable grommet in the bulkhead in case it might be that.

Has it had a replacement windscreen fitted?

I had a similar problem on one of my old cars, after some idiot failed to seal mine correctly after fitting a new screen. So had to get them to pull it out again an reseal it.

[Supernaut]

I decided to take the Saab out today to get some shopping, seeing as it had defrosted.

Swiped the wipers and most of it was on the inside of the screen. Arse.

A few minutes at full blast with the fan still managed to clear it, eventually. Maybe I should put a pollen filter back in it. I took it out to see what shape it needed then never put it back because it was honking. I also never got round to ordering a new one either...

[Stanky]

/\ /\ /\ 

Has reminded me, how are others getting on with the cupboard/wardrobe dehumidifier bags? I'm a bit underwhelmed with my ones if I'm honest, they have absorbed some moisture, evidenced by the little ball things having lost their shaped and sort of mushed together a bit, but the colostomy bag bit is still empty and the windscreens are still fogging up quite badly when the car is parked facing away from the sun.

Not total crap, but just a bit 3/10.

They are hung from the rear view mirrors in both cars so its not like they're at the other end of the car to the foggy screen or anything.

[Split_Pin]

12 minutes ago, Burnside said:

Has it had a replacement windscreen fitted?

I had a similar problem on one of my old cars, after some idiot failed to seal mine correctly after fitting a new screen. So had to get them to pull it out again an reseal it.

Not that I'm aware of and my previous efforts at stopping the ingress were successful, not sure what's up with it now.

The dehum tubs have done her haw I'm afraid, might put them on the front carpet now that it's actually wet though and see what happens.

[SiC]

My experience on several leaky cars is that the sound proofing foam gets so sodden, it's not possible to dry out with tiny humidifiers. Best case is to physically remove the foam then both dry it out mechanically (squeezing) and with heat (next to/on radiators). Also need to find the source of the leak before you go to that hassle too. 

Only dehumidifier I've known to extract water from a car is a desiccant dehumidifier. They work much better in cooler climates (i.e. not room temperature) and also handily put out heat. Not cheap to buy though and still use an awful lot of energy to do the job. 

[N19]

1 hour ago, Stanky said:

/\ /\ /\ 

Has reminded me, how are others getting on with the cupboard/wardrobe dehumidifier bags? I'm a bit underwhelmed with my ones if I'm honest, they have absorbed some moisture, evidenced by the little ball things having lost their shaped and sort of mushed together a bit, but the colostomy bag bit is still empty and the windscreens are still fogging up quite badly when the car is parked facing away from the sun.

Not total crap, but just a bit 3/10.

They are hung from the rear view mirrors in both cars so its not like they're at the other end of the car to the foggy screen or anything.

I bought a pack off Amazon when they were mentioned on here. One in the Mondeo (hanging off the passenger seat back), and a couple in various cupboards which tend to go a bit damp. All have worked pretty well actually and seem to be taking the moisture away nicely. Whether they'd be any good on a car or room that was actually actively leaking, rather than just seasonally damp, I don't know.

[wuvvum]

I have to say I've been a bit underwhelmed by the bags I bought too.

[Jazoli]

They don't really work, a car is not hermetically sealed so all they do is remove the moisture from the air, which is constantly replaced with more humid air! 

[busmansholiday]

Do you know that trees don't always fall where you expect them to when attacked with a chain saw ?;

 

 

 

and a bag of pegs on a washing line can get dispersed widely when hit by a falling tree branch;

 

 

 

embarrassingly far over your neighbours garden;

 

 

 

but it was their pegs and washing line;

 

 

don't think they noticed;

 

 

well there's a pile of sawdust in their garden now after somebody had to chop a fallen tree up in their garden.

 

 

Oooppps......

 

[High Jetter]

They get free sawdust, what's not to like?

[taxi paul]

Went for a blood test today. Nothing exciting just my usual yearly one. On my way back to the car park I noticed I have turned into one of them old bastards who walks in the road and not on the path cos path is  icy. 

[RayMK]

22 minutes ago, taxi paul said:

Went for a blood test today. Nothing exciting just my usual yearly one. On my way back to the car park I noticed I have turned into one of them old bastards who walks in the road and not on the path cos path is  icy. 

You are lucky.  I can't walk at all on ice unless I use a rollator (zimmer frame on wheels) and then look like a much older bastard than you.  A Canadian aunty gave me some spiky things which attach to my walking sticks.  They work but are probably classed as offensive weapons these days, hence the GT zimmer 😃.

[vulgalour]

First fuel up of the Maestro today since getting it.  Almost squeezed £40 into the tank.  Can't do the sums yet, this is my starting point, but given it's done at least 150 miles on the nearly full tank it arrived with and I've only used it for local pootling, I'd say it's probably doing high twenties to low thirties which is perfectly acceptable.  This week I'm hoping to tackle the rocker cover gasket, check the valve clearances, and maybe have a look at the exhaust leak (I hate doing any sort of exhaust work) which is hopefully just a case of tightening a clamp and/or reseating the join that's blowing.

Over all though, I'm delighted with the Maestro.  It's feeling like a very sensible purchase and I can see me just continuing to fix it up over this year because it's so nice to work on in general.  It's that pleasant balance of old and new that's right in my comfort zone.  Still don't want to go long distance in it on the motorway as I think it'll be a bit buzzy, but that's what the Princess is for once it's fixed again.

[w00dy]

20 years ago today my E39 rolled off the production line. Happy Birthday car! 

 

 

[Ghosty]

20 hours ago, yes oui si said:

Took a wee detour on my way home last night... 

Glad to see this has found its way back into the fold.

[wuvvum]

That car must be a contender for the car driven by the highest number of Shiters, given than half the forum had a go in it at SF19 and it's been owned by several of us since then.