The new news 24 thread

[wuvvum]

On 22/06/2024 at 21:43, wuvvum said:

I had an impressive collection of warning lights by the time I got back though.

I have a new ABS sensor to fit, tomorrow if the weather holds, which should hopefully put most of those lights out...

That's a bit more like it.

Got the sensor fitted this afternoon.  It was one of those jobs which was more difficult than it should have been but less difficult than it might have been.  My hopes weren't high when I saw that the head of the bolt holding the sensor in was basically just a blob of rust, but with a bit of persuasion from a hammer I managed to get a Torx bit to grip enough to wind it out, and the sensor itself came out with some prolonged and enthusiastic wiggling.  The plug is hidden in a little box up inside the inner arch behind the liner, so that took a bit of getting to as access isn't brilliant, but it wasn't the worst I've done.  Plugged the new one in, put everything back together, started the car up and pulled out of the car park, and as soon as I got over 10mph the dash beeped at me and all the lights went out.  I didn't even have to clear the codes.  So that's that job done.

I've been having a poke around the Merc today.  I'm still reasonably convinced that it's the rear discs causing the brake judder, and given that a. they're cheaper than the fronts and b. one of them is badly scored anyway, I'm going to replace them in the first instance.  I'm hoping there aren't too many rinkydinks with them - a HBOL is available for the W203 but it only covers 4- and 5-cylinder models so all the engine-related stuff is going to be useless to me, so I probably won't bother unless I find a cheap secondhand one.

I plugged the laptop in and got the Delphi to read the codes - only permanent engine code is one for one of the MAF sensors being out of spec - that might need doing at some point, but it runs fine, pulls as it should and there's no lights on so I'm going to leave it for now.  The interior lights don't seem to want to come on when the doors open - I'm sure they were working before.  The lights themselves still work when switched on manually so it's not going to be a fuse.  I'm not sure on that one.  Another electrical oddity happened last night while I was out in it - the battery light came on with a message saying "Battery / Alternator visit workshop", it stayed on for a few seconds then went out again, and it's not done it since.

I didn't get time to investigate the radio - removing it is rather an involved procedure - so that'll have to stay broken for a bit longer.  The aircon doesn't work either - it's showing a fault code for low refrigerant pressure.  I poked one of the Schrader valves with a screwdriver and it hissed, albeit not very enthusiastically, so there's obviously some gas in there, so hopefully a regas M8 will sort it.

Speaking of aircon, annoyingly the Rover doesn't seem to be blowing cold air anymore, so it looks like it's got a slow leak somewhere.  There's still some gas in the system as the compressor still kicks in, but not enough to provide any noticeable cooling.  The garage did say when they did the checks that the condenser looked a bit ropey, although they were unable to check it fully as it's a bit hard to access.  So it looks like it'll need a new one of those.  I've got a week's holiday coming up soon, and it looks like I'll have plenty to keep me occupied...

[SiC]

2 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Got the sensor fitted this afternoon.  It was one of those jobs which was more difficult than it should have been but less difficult than it might have been.  My hopes weren't high when I saw that the head of the bolt holding the sensor in was basically just a blob of rust, but with a bit of persuasion from a hammer I managed to get a Torx bit to grip enough to wind it out, and the sensor itself came out with some prolonged and enthusiastic wiggling.  The plug is hidden in a little box up inside the inner arch behind the liner, so that took a bit of getting to as access isn't brilliant, but it wasn't the worst I've done.  Plugged the new one in, put everything back together, started the car up and pulled out of the car park, and as soon as I got over 10mph the dash beeped at me and all the lights went out.  I didn't even have to clear the codes.  So that's that job done.

Disconnecting and reconnecting the front sensor in that box on my 330i fixed that. Rear sensor I had to replace though to get that to work...

I have to say that the BMW fixings I've come across can look pretty grotty from the outside but actually seem to be really high quality and don't snap or round if gone at carefully. I'll give them that one.

[SiC]

4 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I've been having a poke around the Merc today.  I'm still reasonably convinced that it's the rear discs causing the brake judder, and given that a. they're cheaper than the fronts and b. one of them is badly scored anyway, I'm going to replace them in the first instance.  I'm hoping there aren't too many rinkydinks with them - a HBOL is available for the W203 but it only covers 4- and 5-cylinder models so all the engine-related stuff is going to be useless to me, so I probably won't bother unless I find a cheap secondhand one.

@Stanky and @Talbot are our Merc W203/S203 rear brake experts!

[wuvvum]

I love Haynes manuals.  Just been looking at the procedure to remove the aircon condenser on the Rover.

"Remove radiator as described in section 3".

OK then, let's look at section 3 to see how to remove the radiator.

"Remove air conditioning condenser as described in section 11".

/facepalm

[High Jetter]

Loop y

[richardmorris]

[Snake Charmer]

7 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

You get more for a pair.

[lesapandre]

Got this very nice key tag yesterday out and about in France.

[NorthernMonkey]

23 hours ago, HMC said:

Taken just now from my living room….

 

Without reading the rest of the post, my first thought was ‘What the hell have you bought now?!’

[lesapandre]

On 23/06/2024 at 13:07, HMC said:

Taken just now from my living room….

 

Presumably Mr Rishi Sunak on the way to meet one of the Tory Party gamblers.

[egg]

On 23/06/2024 at 11:04, egg said:

Sprayster have a clearance sale on - just picked up some useful* odds and ends including a spray can of Mondeo Rimini Blue and some white grease.

Good for mini-shite painters who use rattle cans too.

https://www.sprayster.com/product-tag/clearance/

 

next day delivery from a Sunday order as well 👍. Sorry for 'Facebook marketplace' pic.

[SiC]

This is a shame it's closing 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp004vnze48o

My pics of when I went last here:

 

 

[vulgalour]

19 hours ago, vulgalour said:

One more job application rejection letter to add to the pile.

Tomorrow's job interview will probably lead to the same, I'm not deluding myself on that score.  Feedback is always that I interviewed well but there was a more suitable candidate, whatever that actually means.  Just love being second-best all the time, it's a great feeling.

I feel like the LDV Cub of employees.

Well that was catastrophic.

Laptop was tested before the interview, webcam worked just fine.  Today, webcam refused to work.  Then it kept flicking on and off rapidly making a distracting nuisance of itself.  We tried to do the interview anyway but I got stagefright (which I've never got in an interview before) and couldn't answer the first question.  Interview aborted (another first for me!) but they did suggest I rebook it for tomorrow.

Now the trouble is I can't get *any* of my tech to actually work with Microsoft Teams.  My mobile won't sign me in on it, the laptop webcam won't work, my pc won't see the separate webcam I've got, and NHS only do interviews via Microsoft Teams now.  Bloody stupid, the lot of it.  Even if I can get some tech working I'm absolutely certain I won't get through the interview now because I've made such an appalling first impression.

[lesapandre]

21 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

Well that was catastrophic.

Laptop was tested before the interview, webcam worked just fine.  Today, webcam refused to work.  Then it kept flicking on and off rapidly making a distracting nuisance of itself.  We tried to do the interview anyway but I got stagefright (which I've never got in an interview before) and couldn't answer the first question.  Interview aborted (another first for me!) but they did suggest I rebook it for tomorrow.

Now the trouble is I can't get *any* of my tech to actually work with Microsoft Teams.  My mobile won't sign me in on it, the laptop webcam won't work, my pc won't see the separate webcam I've got, and NHS only do interviews via Microsoft Teams now.  Bloody stupid, the lot of it.  Even if I can get some tech working I'm absolutely certain I won't get through the interview now because I've made such an appalling first impression.

I've interviewed and appointed a lot of employees over the years. Mostly good - a few bad and ugly alas in their job. Not many though.

I can't see unless it is a 2-interview process (and this is the first)  how they can possibly appoint anybody this way.

One of the most important things an organisation can do is get the right people.

If they can't be bothered to meet the candidates - and they should be down to 5 or less by this point - well no wonder the NHS is in such a mess. 

Rebook for tomorrow but they sound clueless if they are interviewing by computer. 

Print some prompt cards and put them behind the screen. If you are as eloquent and thoughtful and thorough as your posts on here you will walk it 2nd time out 🤗👍

I reckon this "NHS only do interviews via Microsoft Teams now" is illegal under the Aqualities Act. Nuts. Doctors too?

[vulgalour]

Solution found at least.  Can borrow housemate's laptop which works fine.  We then tested my laptop and that now works fine too, without anything being fixed, so heck knows what that's about.  Shall rebook the interview and hope I don't fuck it up on the second attempt.  I do not care for doing interviews "from the comfort of my own home".

[vulgalour]

Right... turns out the department I need to call to rebook the interview closes at 1pm (my interview as at 3:20pm) so I can't do that.  Did some digging, found the e-mail for the department and sent one over.  I'll also call them first thing tomorrow to double up on that.  To cap that off I got another rejection letter from another department in the same hospital, so I'll add that to the pile.

[BorniteIdentity]

Sounds like a ball-ache, but I am a complete advocate for first interviews being on Teams/Zoom.  At the end of the day the NHS is constantly under fire for inefficiencies, and this is a simple way of doing a quick filter through people who won't make the second round.

Hope the kit holds out and you get through to the next round bud.

[Ghosty]

On 23/06/2024 at 12:07, HMC said:

Wirksworth is outside Matlock in the Peak District, insert obvious 'bet that was a long journey' comment.

[grogee]

23 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Wirksworth is outside Matlock in the Peak District, insert obvious 'bet that was a long journey' comment.

That makes my LEJOG on 50cc idea look like a nice warm bath in comparison. 

[danthecapriman]

6 hours ago, egg said:

next day delivery from a Sunday order as well 👍. Sorry for 'Facebook marketplace' pic.

Just taken advantage* of the clearance stuff for my miniature shite projects! Cheers for mentioning that👍

[sutty2006]

Finished my post box 

 

 

[Rust Collector]

5 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Well that was catastrophic.

Laptop was tested before the interview, webcam worked just fine.  Today, webcam refused to work.  Then it kept flicking on and off rapidly making a distracting nuisance of itself.  We tried to do the interview anyway but I got stagefright (which I've never got in an interview before) and couldn't answer the first question.  Interview aborted (another first for me!) but they did suggest I rebook it for tomorrow.

Now the trouble is I can't get *any* of my tech to actually work with Microsoft Teams.  My mobile won't sign me in on it, the laptop webcam won't work, my pc won't see the separate webcam I've got, and NHS only do interviews via Microsoft Teams now.  Bloody stupid, the lot of it.  Even if I can get some tech working I'm absolutely certain I won't get through the interview now because I've made such an appalling first impression.

My advice would be to try and use it as an opportunity to show how you can resolve a situation that’s not gone as expected, and show that you can resolve the problem calmly and confidently. In my book that demonstrates a skill that’s useful in most workplaces!

[Snake Charmer]

1 hour ago, sutty2006 said:

Finished my post box 

 

 

How have you managed to make two large lumps of cast iron with four spark plugs sticking out the side look so small? 😄

I hope it's connected to a humongous lump of concrete. 👍

[stuboy]

Spent the day in gravesends football grounds assessing new pts drivers.

[sutty2006]

22 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

How have you managed to make two large lumps of cast iron with four spark plugs sticking out the side look so small? 😄

I hope it's connected to a humongous lump of concrete. 👍

 

that reminds me. Need to put 4 plugs in it. 

[Lacquer Peel]

POV: you're an estate agent in 2001 admiring your new base model Audi A3 TDI

 

[EyesWeldedShut]

9 hours ago, stuboy said:

Spent the day in gravesends football grounds assessing new pts drivers.

Feck me - those new, fangled electric ambulances need a hell of a charging station.......

[andy18s]

11 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

Finished my post box 

 

 

By finished I guess you mean the Cavalier has finally rotted away?

[RichardK]

On 24/06/2024 at 12:01, lesapandre said:

Got this very nice key tag yesterday out and about in France.

I got one on eBay for the C6 with a similar vibe...

 

[vulgalour]

Right then, job interview done and it went way better.  Ironically, Microsoft wouldn't let me log in on the back-up laptop (or my mobile, for that matter), even when I tried all the stuff that should allow that to happen so I *had* to use my laptop.  My laptop which then decided that after several tests throughout the morning was going to have the webcam crap out ten minutes before the interview was due to begin.  Just about at my wits end with tech, it miraculously started working and stayed stable throughout the whole interview which was a *lot* shorter than I was expecting.

It was kind of odd when I mentioned having worked for the NHS before and they didn't know, like... it's in my CV, I had several temp posts through an agency doing medical secretary work with almost exactly the same responsibilities as the one I applied for.  So if I got shortlisted without them knowing that then I definitely do something right on paper.  Or they're desperate for staff.  Might be both.

Anyway, key thing is I'm feeling a lot better about it and now I just have to wait for a call back to see if I'm adding another rejection letter to the pile, or starting a new part time job.