The new news 24 thread

[DLR]

Is this what people mean when they say “living the dream”?

[Dan29]

11 minutes ago, DLR said:

Is this what people mean when they say “living the dream”?

Nice! I bought a car for my mum from that Carbase once, they're actually ok to deal with.

[davehedgehog31]

Spent this morning carrying out the most marginal of fixes on the Bini, the exhaust sat a bit low at the back, with the cutout in the bumper it was quite obvious. I planned to just change the sagging rubber mounts but the bracket dissolved on removal so I had to replace the full thing. 

I hit the underside with the lanolin rust proofing while I was under it.

Also managed to sell the faulty power steering pump for just under £50 which was a welcome bonus. Next up, fix the wonky rear number plate, the front bumper gap and then give it a wash and polish and a service. Some winter beater this...

[JakeT]

Last week I got a ‘yellow’ overheat warning on my E91 330i. It’s been 93,000 miles since the last one, so I thought it was time. Had the following codes…

Pump speed deviation, loss of communication with the pump and a battery drain error. Classic pump failure symptoms. We were away Saturday-Friday, so I tasked my father in law with getting a pump, coolant and bolts. Which he dropped round. Legend.

Stuck the pump in, filled with coolant and started the bleed procedure on INPA. Requested pump speed, 98%. Actual speed 0%. Shit. Also pump communication back. Have I got a dead pump out of the box? My nerves were building, as this is my Christmas transport. So In checked the wiring. Pulled the red power wire and it snapped. Well, at least I know the issue.

Someone has been here before and crimped a butt connector on to make a wiring repair. They had covered one of them well, but the one at the connection on the pump had corroded and broken. There was also the tell tale green crusties of breached insulation further up. I’m running out of options. I can’t get a connector any time soon (I discovered this at about 3:30 on Saturday). There’s nothing to crimp or solder to, great. I’ve got one option. I have to de pin the connector, and either solder to the remaining good wire, or open the crimp and let in new wire. I nipped to Halfords at 7:30 on a Saturday evening to get wire, but connectors and some other bits. De pinning the connector lying on my back, with the anti roll bar in my face wasn’t easy but it came out. I soldered to the existing wire (it wasn’t pretty), put heat shrink on and tried to install it. No dice, too tight of a fit. So I had no option than to open the pin up, and add new wire. I hammered a nail down it so it was barely loose enough, and then added new wire. Re added the weather pack, gave it a good ‘tug test’ and it seemed fine.

Wire cut to length, and a butt connector added. Time to bleed it and check it works.

It worked! Now we know it’s a goer, I taped the ends of the butt connector to help keep moisture out, and added back the loom protection. It fits in the T piece handily.

Ran it up and the heater is red hot and temps are good. Phew! I’m grateful to the car and it failed gracefully. Not on a work trip, abroad, or leaving me stranded. Not a nice repair to do lying on the floor, but needs must. I’m just glad it works now.

 

I should add these cars have an electric pump. Good as it’s independent of engine speed, and allows bleeding without starting the engine. Bad in that a corroded wire will stop it from working. And they’re £3-400. Bloody BMW.

[SiC]

3 minutes ago, JakeT said:

I should add these cars have an electric pump. Good as it’s independent of engine speed, and allows bleeding without starting the engine. Bad in that a corroded wire will stop it from working. And they’re £3-400. Bloody BMW.

My two N52 seem to behaving themselves in the water pump + thermostat department 🤞🤞

Not sure on my 330i but the date code on my Z4 says it's an original factory part - complete with a split in the plastic thermostat housing. No leaks and no codes so I'm sticking my head in the ground ignoring it. 🙃

Both on 150k+ (162k on my 330i) so probably due to blow at any moment!

[comfortablynumb]

So does that mean your original pump hasn't failed @JakeT? Id be keeping it as a spare if so.

Of course, I'm a legendary hoarder🙄

[JakeT]

11 hours ago, SiC said:

My two N52 seem to behaving themselves in the water pump + thermostat department 🤞🤞

Not sure on my 330i but the date code on my Z4 says it's an original factory part - complete with a split in the plastic thermostat housing. No leaks and no codes so I'm sticking my head in the ground ignoring it. 🙃

Both on 150k+ (162k on my 330i) so probably due to blow at any moment!

I think in that case, don’t poke the bear! If you can get a cheap pump to keep on hand it might be worth it, but they set trouble codes before they fail anyway.

1 hour ago, comfortablynumb said:

So does that mean your original pump hasn't failed @JakeT? Id be keeping it as a spare if so.

Of course, I'm a legendary hoarder🙄

It was either on the way out, or totally fine. I will be keeping it as a spare!

[davehedgehog31]

Yesterday this beast returned from an extended loan period with @sdkrc, it has created a bit of a situation with my perfect 3* car fleet now standing at 5, fortunately a second council lockup has hit the towers so I'll have somewhere else to shuffle things to, albeit this one isn't as conveniently located as lockup #1. 

Sam rewarded me handsomely for this extended loan in the form of a signed Steve "The Bronzed Adonis" Beaton darts shirt. 

[Split_Pin]

A fleet of Guid Wee Runners by all accounts, lucky man!

[sdkrc]

1 hour ago, davehedgehog31 said:

Sam rewarded me handsomely for this extended loan in the form of a signed Steve "The Bronzed Adonis" Beaton darts shirt. 

Thanks for the loaner @davehedgehog31, massively got me out of a hole. 

And let's not forget the time Steve Beaton was sponsored by Hyundai . What a man

[lesapandre]

High fuel prices - who'd have guessed?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2dzk4kz722o

[loserone]

7 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

High fuel prices - who'd have guessed?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2dzk4kz722o

No, low fuel prices.  High profits.  

[davehedgehog31]

31 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

High fuel prices - who'd have guessed?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2dzk4kz722o

I am deeply distressed by the fact I instantly identified the car in that image as a Mini Countryman.

[comfortablynumb]

22 minutes ago, davehedgehog31 said:

I am deeply distressed by the fact I instantly identified the car in that image as a Mini Countryman.

That's  not a mini countryman.

THIS is a mini countryman 

#pedant 🤣

[Metal Guru]

2 hours ago, comfortablynumb said:

That's  not a mini countryman.

THIS is a mini countryman 

#pedant 🤣

Yes because it’s the Austin version. Morris versions were called a Traveller.

[comfortablynumb]

Yeah I know, my mum had one until about 3 years ago, we called it "auris" because we didn't know if it was an Austin or a morris

Edit- - this one 

Don't pay attention to the badges, we fitted them

[Asimo]

R.I.P. Chris Rea

 

[taxi paul]

I was behind this work of art in widnes today. Still had the rear Widnes car centre number plate. 

[stuboy]

Between the missus burning all her garden waste.. I awoken my archaic laptop too update both fault code readers.. it too ages because of the laptops age and kids having friends hogging the network thingy, I don't understand downloads..upload..offload  etc etc

And looking through a dicky eye...

[Hawkeyethenoo]

The Greg Biffle Plane Crash. Does seem poor choices were made and the NTSB briefing also seemed poor. 

 

[wuvvum]

On 21/12/2025 at 08:08, BorniteIdentity said:

Can I bore you shitless? Mostly because I love a tangent and most people don’t know this.

The evenings actually stopped drawing in over a week ago. The days only continue to get shorter because dawn becomes later between the 12th and 21st.

Nerds will explain why if you’re really interested but it’s the orbit speed and the tilt of the planet.

So things have actually already been getting better for a week now. 

And today’s the shortest day anyway, so I bring good news all round. 

I’m like a fat bald messiah.

Joyous Yule 

According to the Beeb sunrise is still getting later now, it doesn't start getting earlier until ~5th January.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, stuboy said:

Between the missus burning all her garden waste.. 

Have you triggered the enthusiasm siren? 😀

[wuvvum]

The aftermarket Android radio in the Merc had been playing up - it had a tendency to lose reception on long runs and also kept cutting out sound to the driver's side speakers.  So I spent a fun* hour or so yesterday pulling out most of the centre console to refit the old Merc Comand unit.  Plugged it in, switched it on and it came to life and produced choonz through all speakers.  So I put the dash back together again.

Went out in the car this evening and the unit kept rebooting itself every 5 minutes or so.  That's going to get slightly* tedious on the 250-mile drive down to Somerset on Wednesday.  I do have one more radio I can try, a standard CD player unit from a base model, but I'm not sure I can be arsed taking the dash to bits again.  The only other options are to use a Bluetooth speaker with my phone, or take the Leapmotor which has fully working ICE including DAB, but is less comfortable than the Merc and will need two charging stops on the way down (on what is already likely to be a tediously slow and busy journey), and two or three on the way back depending on whether or not I can charge it up at my parents'.

First world problems...

[Asimo]

What a lot of shit this digital radio crap is.

Just use long-wave f.f.s.

What worked in the 1930s still works.

[BorniteIdentity]

7 hours ago, Asimo said:

What a lot of shit this digital radio crap is.

Just use long-wave f.f.s.

What worked in the 1930s still works.

Yes and No. 

Certainly with Droitwich, the biggest problem isn’t energy costs or saving the planet - at all. It’s spare parts for such a large, valve powered transmitter. Rumour has it the BBC bought up just about every spare part going over the last twenty years or so but they simply don’t exist. Anywhere.

This has really been the powering force behind the change to smart meters etc. At some stage, if they don’t turn off 198, it will turn itself off. Gradually - but it will. 

[Asimo]

36 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Yes and No. 

Certainly with Droitwich, the biggest problem isn’t energy costs or saving the planet - at all. It’s spare parts for such a large, valve powered transmitter. Rumour has it the BBC bought up just about every spare part going over the last twenty years or so but they simply don’t exist. Anywhere.

This has really been the powering force behind the change to smart meters etc. At some stage, if they don’t turn off 198, it will turn itself off. Gradually - but it will. 

Or they could build a new transmitter!

198 kHz is hardly a technical challenge for high power semiconductors these days. 

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

This has really been the powering force behind the change to smart meters etc.

Utter drivel.

To build a replacement transmitter is solid state semi-conductors for that sort of power output is really quite simple.

 

[The Vicar]

Sad one doing the rounds in the Irish classifieds this week:

‘79 e21 was for sale last week 

Now it’s being broken for parts looking like this:

[BorniteIdentity]

39 minutes ago, Asimo said:

Or they could build a new transmitter!

198 kHz is hardly a technical challenge for high power semiconductors these days. 

You are - of course - correct. 

But rather than 4kw of FM like the typical regional station, it runs (or certainly ran) at 500kw.  It would be a huge investment for the BBC and they’d (probably quite rightly) get frowned upon for doing it.

Don’t get me wrong - I like it too. But it’s impractical in 2026 and won’t happen. 

[BorniteIdentity]

23 minutes ago, Momentary Lapse Of Reason said:

Utter drivel.

To build a replacement transmitter is solid state semi-conductors for that sort of power output is really quite simple.

 

If you can build a 500kw LF transmitter for them I’m sure they’d listen. (Pun intended)

Nobody’s ever said it’s not possible.  Not once, not ever. They said that replacement valves for the existing transmitter are NLA. They are. 

But investing large sums of money in legacy infrastructure is folly. The world changed. I don’t much like it either, but we are where we are.