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Father Ted

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Gave the Combo some love today as it has been thrashed mercilessly in the last few weeks. Got a slow puncture (nail in the tyre) sorted out at my local indie tyre place for £20, did all the other weekly checks, gave it a good wash, Rain-X'ed the windows, and just waiting on my cheeky offer on eBay for a set of 4 Doblo steelies to be accepted so I can take advantage of a good offer on Cross Climates at my local F1 (£50 a corner - are they mad ?). The front tyres currently on the van are close to 4mm, the rears are still at 7mm, (set of 4 purchased new in March - that's 43K miles for you - no, I didn't rotate the wheels somewhat foolishly) so the plan is to swap everything around so I can keep the two good summer tyres for next year.

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I still can't get the Rover 75's sat nav to work.  I bought a new map DVD in case it was the disc that had gone south, but that hasn't helped.  The disc came with a separate CD to update the firmware, so I tried that - it's changed the logo that shows on the screen when the system starts but it hasn't made the navigation work.  It will bring up a map, but the map doesn't move - it's stuck on the residents' car park.  It seems to be getting a signal from the GPS antenna as the compass still works after a fashion, so I'm now suspecting that it must be the navigation computer itself which has carked it.

So next thing to try is plugging the original CD-type nav back in to see if that works - it'll mean bunging out another 12 quid for a map CD, but that's cheaper than the 80-100 quid that secondhand DVD units seem to be making at the moment.

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2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I still can't get the Rover 75's sat nav to work.  I bought a new map DVD in case it was the disc that had gone south, but that hasn't helped.  The disc came with a separate CD to update the firmware, so I tried that - it's changed the logo that shows on the screen when the system starts but it hasn't made the navigation work.  It will bring up a map, but the map doesn't move - it's stuck on the residents' car park.  It seems to be getting a signal from the GPS antenna as the compass still works after a fashion, so I'm now suspecting that it must be the navigation computer itself which has carked it.

So next thing to try is plugging the original CD-type nav back in to see if that works - it'll mean bunging out another 12 quid for a map CD, but that's cheaper than the 80-100 quid that secondhand DVD units seem to be making at the moment.

have you tried running a cleaning disk through the optical drive or cleaning the laser directly if you can?

I often find from my computer tinkering that when ODD's go bad because of dirty optics or such they tend to lose the ability to read DVD's first before CD's and going by the fact it read the update CD fine but seems to refuse to play ball with the map DVD makes me wonder if thats whats happening

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One of the many things I hate about myself is my complete inability to disbelieve the AMAZING, LIFE-CHANGING PROPERTIES of snake oil products GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOUR CAR 100% MUCH MORE FASTERER AND TOTAL SMOOTHNESS OR YOU MONEY NOT BACK, EVER (terms and conditions apply and you can't have your money back, so shut up).

Since the TT is now behaving itself very well indeed, and also I ruddy-well-love-it-top-down-awesomeness, I thought it time to put some over-priced snake oil in it as I always do with a new car. I will then be semi-convinced that the snake oil will cause the car to JESUS CHRIST IT'S ON FIRE AND IN THE SEA at some point over the next week or so.

I chose (on the basis that it's one of the few I haven't drunk yet) Liqui-Moly 'fuel system cleaner'. It's made in Germany don'tchaknow and all the Germans use it. I doubt this very much. 

What I will say in it's favour is that it comes in a very, very well designed can which unusually for this nonsense didn't spill all over my hands, the car and a passing procession of ducklings. Unfortunately this has resulted in even higher suspicion than normal of impending HOLY CRAP IT'S MELTED.

Stupid human. 

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19 hours ago, clayts450 said:

just waiting on my cheeky offer on eBay for a set of 4 Doblo steelies to be accepted 

Cheeky offer of £50 accepted and I drove over to Little Ouse, nr Ely, to pick them up this afternoon, in my capacity as a same day courier. The only down side is, as I took the van, I had to charge myself £50 for the privilege. Still made a profit, mind. £1... Net cost still works out to me as £50, as the wheels will be paid for by the business, the shipping I'll have to fork out.

Very pleased with the wheels, and more specifically the tyres on them which are decent Goodyears all with a fair amount of tread on them, certainly more than advertised. I may have to revise my thinking on all season tyres.....hmm. I also have some nice Fiat hubcaps now too.

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17 hours ago, wuvvum said:

It seems to be getting a signal from the GPS antenna as the compass still works after a fashion, so I'm now suspecting that it must be the navigation computer itself which has carked it.

Are you sure the GPS works? On car nav systems I've seen (old and new), if GPS signal is lost, the satnav will dead reckon based on steering wheel angle and speed. Especially as older GPS receivers aren't very sensitive and can easily loose lock in an urban canyon. I'd see if there is a diagnostic menu that can give you a satellite lock count. 

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19 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I still can't get the Rover 75's sat nav to work.  I bought a new map DVD in case it was the disc that had gone south, but that hasn't helped.  The disc came with a separate CD to update the firmware, so I tried that - it's changed the logo that shows on the screen when the system starts but it hasn't made the navigation work.  It will bring up a map, but the map doesn't move - it's stuck on the residents' car park.  It seems to be getting a signal from the GPS antenna as the compass still works after a fashion, so I'm now suspecting that it must be the navigation computer itself which has carked it.

So next thing to try is plugging the original CD-type nav back in to see if that works - it'll mean bunging out another 12 quid for a map CD, but that's cheaper than the 80-100 quid that secondhand DVD units seem to be making at the moment.

Note where the car thinks it is now (Co ordinates etc) then push it 10/15 miles somewhere and see if it's different. 

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5 hours ago, SiC said:

Are you sure the GPS works? On car nav systems I've seen (old and new), if GPS signal is lost, the satnav will dead reckon based on steering wheel angle and speed. Especially as older GPS receivers aren't very sensitive and can easily loose lock in an urban canyon. I'd see if there is a diagnostic menu that can give you a satellite lock count. 

I don't think the 75 has steering angle sensors, and if it does they're not connected to the sat nav.  There isn't a diagnostic menu that I can find.

3 hours ago, beko1987 said:

Note where the car thinks it is now (Co ordinates etc) then push it 10/15 miles somewhere and see if it's different. 

I tried something similar - I programmed it to take me to the office, it said 16 miles, I drove 3 miles towards the office and it still said 16 miles.  I don't think that's a conclusive experiment though - I don't know what (if anything) the unit can do without a functioning disc in it.   I haven't found a way of getting it to read out latitude and longitude - it's quite a basic system by modern standards.

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10 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I don't think the 75 has steering angle sensors, and if it does they're not connected to the sat nav.  There isn't a diagnostic menu that I can find.

Does the car have Traction Control? If so it'll be got from that and sent over the CAN bus. It could have a separate magnetometer in too of course. 

Aren't these a system identical to what used in BMW at the time?

I know a similar age Laguna II have their roof GPS antennas fail. Cheaply/easily fixed by plugging in an external antenna. 

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Nope, no traction control.  It really doesn't need it, being a heavy old lump with an autobox and 130 bhp.

It is indeed a BMW system - used in the later E46s.  If I can find a cheap GPS antenna with the right connection that might be worth a go I suppose - I didn't really think about the shark fin on the roof "failing", I didn't realise there was anything in it to fail...

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The series is still on target to be on the road for Christmas. But, you wouldn’t think it from the bleedin’ state of it at the moment. 
Bulkhead is removed, replacement on the way. Front left chassis leg welding today and then painting the rest of the chassis. 
Dashboard, interior, brakes and clutch will all be renewed. 
Hopefully then reassembly while restoring all the shitty rusty parts as I go. 
Fun is being had. 
 

CFD 

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8 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Nope, no traction control.  It really doesn't need it, being a heavy old lump with an autobox and 130 bhp.

It is indeed a BMW system - used in the later E46s.  If I can find a cheap GPS antenna with the right connection that might be worth a go I suppose - I didn't really think about the shark fin on the roof "failing", I didn't realise there was anything in it to fail...

Tried this to get into the diagnostic menu?

http://mr-fix.info/hidden-menu-bmw-navigation-mk3-mk4/

 

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On 11/5/2020 at 8:12 PM, Vince70 said:

Today I put the misses Ford Ka into hibernation till spring and gave it a wax and put a cover over it.

It recently just passed its MOT with no advisory’s and the MOT tester thought he had gone back to 1998 as he hadn’t seen a rust free example before but It has only done 19000 so it’s not surprising I guess and the best £150 I’ve spent on a motor.

I was thinking of drilling a couple of holes in the  sills and filling them up with old engine oil to stop any rot but hopefully if it’s not going near any salt I think it should be ok.
 

But now it’s upside down I should be able to check the underside at least.

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Blimey.  My first car was a silver Ka, registration S434 LCW.  Not too far off this one.  Great to see such a pristine example, even if it is in Australia.

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So last week the 206cc past it's test but with an advisory for bottom ball joint covers being bo11ocked. So naturally I looked on fleaBay for replacements. Not knowing the size I spotted an auction for a box of covers of various sizes which was £8 including p&p. Naturally I bid, and actually won!

They turned up day, all 42 of them. That's a lot of bo11ocked cars I can now buy (but what's the chance there isn't one that fits the cc).IMG_20201114_131844.thumb.jpg.0e48f14c2752bd286c65422618e11d66.jpg

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38 minutes ago, SiC said:

Leaky exhaust then. Did you not hear that on the drive? 

Should be a easy fix though. Otherwise looks not a bad fail at all!

No I didn’t hear it, and that’s what the tester said, to listen to he didn’t think there was anything wrong with the exhaust, it was only when the emissions wouldn’t read he traced it back and found a big hole right at the top... neither of us expected it! 

But he’s been extremely fair on the test... the rear seat removal got it through on corrosion.

But as you say easy fix and back in next week hopefully. 

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6 hours ago, SiC said:

Tried this to get into the diagnostic menu?

http://mr-fix.info/hidden-menu-bmw-navigation-mk3-mk4/

 

Well whaddya know!  Every day's a schoolday.  I knew about the hidden menus in the instrument cluster, but I never knew there were more in the computer. 

This suggests it isn't picking up a GPS signal. 

DSC_1361.thumb.JPG.3b29fe410e831bb4f5c7c67ff1e8dab7.JPG

Although if I'm reading it correctly this screen suggests that it can in fact see some satellites. 

DSC_1362.thumb.JPG.574d9d6dc57436a784f61f556533cf48.JPG

It seems that it does indeed have a gyro, so that's probably where the compass is getting its info from. 

DSC_1363.thumb.JPG.f1fd3e0c29683c32197835c2fa634cf6.JPG

So now I need to find a cheap GPS antenna that fits and see if that brings it back to life. 

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Well whaddya know!  Every day's a schoolday.  I knew about the hidden menus in the instrument cluster, but I never knew there were more in the computer. 
This suggests it isn't picking up a GPS signal. 
DSC_1361.thumb.JPG.3b29fe410e831bb4f5c7c67ff1e8dab7.JPG
Although if I'm reading it correctly this screen suggests that it can in fact see some satellites. 
DSC_1362.thumb.JPG.574d9d6dc57436a784f61f556533cf48.JPG
It seems that it does indeed have a gyro, so that's probably where the compass is getting its info from. 
DSC_1363.thumb.JPG.f1fd3e0c29683c32197835c2fa634cf6.JPG
So now I need to find a cheap GPS antenna that fits and see if that brings it back to life. 
It saying it hasn't downloaded the Alamac. The Alamac is the database containing all the present and future positions of the satellites. The GPS module needs this for its position computation. It's downloaded from over the GPS signal.

It can vary but it usually takes about half hour to an hour. Also the vehicle ideally needs to be stationary and in view of a clear sky. Possibly the sat nav will be need to be switched fully on during that time too.

I'm not sure what S/N is, but I imagine signal to noise ratio. Could be still not picking any satellites up and they're the last lot it previously saw.
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