The new news 24 thread

[hairnet]

the mans a nutter

[xtriple]

I had to take the Honda back to the dealers today for them to have a look-see why the right turn indicator doesn't always cancel and the stop/start thingy stops the engine then starts it agin a few seconds later.

 

Got there and.... it all worked bloody perfectly! Indicators cancelled themselves, stop/start did its thing properly and I felt a perishing fool. At least I got a free cup of coffee and ended up having a really nice chat with the chief tech bod about motocross bikes, he's got a KTM 530 and a WR450, my last bikes were a WR450 and a Husky TE450 (among another 8 bikes - ten in the garage at the same time used to make for interesting parking!) so we chewed the fat and traded stories of epic falling off sessions.

 

Nice.

 

Then, on the way home, the indicator wouldn't self cancel and the stop/start pissed about again!

 

Also, I've decided that auto lights and wipers are totally wank.  I'm going to turn off all these pointless bloody gadgets and go back to it being a 'normal' car. It's more fun when it's not in 'eco' mode anyway.

[twosmoke300]

The stop start only works under certain conditions . Temp normal , both batteries above a certain level . Ac in eco I think etc etc etc.

 

Funny how Honda techs ( I was one ) dont Honda bikes isn't it. I'm a Ktm and a Ducati man.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Thats good innit, you'd think the driver would like to be made aware that conditions were right for engaging the stop-start bollocks

[EssDeeWon]

Sounds like Phil is having fun* with his latest purchase.  I hope you're all following his twitter of @PMozzy, it's actually pretty horrifying/entertaining.

 

Presume this is the Princess collection capers?

 

Hopefully he will fill us all in on here.... I cant be dealing with twitter book faces or whatever it is.

[vulgalour]

To give a short version of the Twitterage, he got the electrics, brakes and engine sorted, found the thermostat cap from my car was actually bolloxed (but not quite as bolloxed as the one on the car) and then the radiator exploded when they tested the cooling system.  We had flushed the cooling system through a lot so I suspect it was the rad that was borked.

 

Still, he was capable of sleeping in it last night and there aren't many folk that will admit to that on social media.

[Cavcraft]

the mans a nutter

 

 

[Pete-M]

I'm glad they killed the Lada. If I'd had access to a helicopter at the same time I owned a Lada 1500 then I'd have to do what they did.

 

That Lada I had was fucking abysmal. I paid about a tenner for it, taxed and tested, and felt very short changed.

 

Communist piece of utter shit, definitely the least enjoyable car I ever owned and I include that other fucking awful communist disaster in that, the Rover 827.

 

May did the right thing.

[cort16]

I was surprised such a little helicopter could lift that lada.

[plasticvandan]

I have a lovely 2004 Royal Enfield 500 Bullet,one of the last of the all black,drum brake right hand change ones,but I am finding it harder and harder to resist selling it or pxing it for some 4 wheeled shite

[Inspector Morose]

So, the quest to find why the little yellow light of doom keeps illuminating on the ex Dolly BX estate. On the way to the yard a new thermostat was picked up and was soon swapped over and the system bled. Road tested. No change, the yellow light continues to wink away at me.

 

Maybe just an electrical short then? The sender earths the wire leading to it to illuminate the light so it could have worn through somewhere? Wire traced all along and checked. No joy there then.

 

I know, blocked rad. Radiator removed and found to be a little bit shit. Fins are crumbling away like the front wing on an Alfa but after a thorough cleaning and flushing out, the flow was pretty good. Rad put back in and bled again. No joy again. While the rad was out I checked the fan switch. It's fucked too. Ho hum.

 

Toys thrown out of pram and thermostat removed so I can go home. Little light of doom doesn't light and stays out throughout the journey home. I wonder, thinks I, is the new thermostat a duffer? Pot of water placed on stove with thermostat dumped in and heated till boiling point reached. Thermostat opens fully. Balls to that then.

I'm starting to think that the sender that puts the light on is buggered and earths at too low temperature. I've known this happen before on buses (Dennis Darts were a prime candidate for throwing up false overheating signals for some reason) but never had it happen to a car before.

 

I hate idiot lights. They give too little information for me. All it's really telling me is that the bulb in the light is working! If I had a temperature gauge to look at, I'd have known, by the way it rises or falls as I'm driving, what the hell is going on with it. I've spent a day pissing about and I still have no clue what's going on. I think I'll go off and see if I can buy a temp gauge set up tomorrow. After that I'll probably find that the head gasket's buggered (no bubbling of the coolant or any great pressurising of the system though so I still have hope)

 

Meanwhile, I might pop to Maplins and pick up one of those cheapie temp sensors to see what's going on. If you see a blue BX at the side of the road with what looks like someone under the bonnet shooting a pistol at the engine, it's only me.

[vulgalour]

Princess update from my bro and Phil.

 

Spare radiator found and bodged to work, this is the radiator I removed from the car as it had a leak but the replacement has blown the entire lower rail and can't be used.  Fan wired to perma-on as the switch is duff.  Cause of rad explosion was the waterpump having a big clog of limescale, I hadn't changed the waterpump as I hadn't had the time or resources to do so and I feel bad about this.

 

After they sorted all that, the alternator decided to stop working.  Luckily I hadn't raided that off the Orange Slice so they've taken that and pressed it into service.

 

One tyre has a leaking rim, another tyre has become too badly cracked while in storage and the spare tyre I found yesterday with exceptional tread won't seal on the rim so they have, at best, 2.5 tyres they can use.  They have a plan to resolve this.  Again, I feel bad about this because at MoT fail time the tyres were all serviceable and should have been good for the return trip.

 

Now the car is sat in the garage warming up while some Wonderweld works its magic on the radiator and anywhere else it might be needed.

 

I keep trying not to worry and even though I warned that transporting the car back was wiser I can't help but feel responsible.  I wanted to spend a lot more time and money on this car and really get it tip top, Phil had to step in a lot sooner than I would have liked and the whole thing has been a bit shambolic... but then this is Autoshite and this is what collection capers are made of, right?

 

Tomorrow I find out the fate of the car.  Will it be abandoned or will it get Phil to that pre-booked MoT?  I am anxious to find out, but probably not as anxious as Phil!

[drum]

More evidence that I need a camera is brought to you with the aid of some Dundee car show entries on a soggy Sunday.

 

Having been to a few shows this summer, I'm getting struck down with a heavy dose of déjà vu. No doubt my russet brown allegro is inducing a similar affliction on others.

 

I hadn't seen this '57 merc before though.

[Ratdat]

Shite is right.

 

Twice the shite... twice as right.... right?

 

[vulgalour]

I'm sure I saw that Stranglers** Prairie for sale recently, are we to assume you've been a legend and bought it?

 

 

 

**it's gold and brown

[Ratdat]

Yep. Won it on ebay yesterday and fetched it from Newcastle today. Apart from the grotty rear arch it is amazingly good really and drives perfectly. Result!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Looks nice!!! What happened to the Mk2 prairie from Panda pops?? Alwways thought they were a neat-looking thing.

[Ratdat]

Looks nice!!! What happened to the Mk2 prairie from Panda pops?? Alwways thought they were a neat-looking thing.

 

Er... I saved a bit of petrol getting it home! OMGHGF!

 

 

Currently mid way through a complete top end rebuild along with a waterpump, cambelt etc. It just needs a bit of TLC as it's had quite a few years of total neglect by the looks. I think they are pretty smart looking things but all the good features of the Mk1 are nowhere to be seen in the Mk2 which is a pity. It's a totally different car with more emphasis on being a tall family estate than an all-round MPV.

[dollywobbler]

Prairie-overload! Truly winning at life. Well, apart from OMGHGF obvs...

 

My biggest problem with the Mk2 is that it actually has a B post. Boring!

[Ratdat]

Plus it's also completely useless as a load carrier!

[cort16]

So what's philweldio up to then? Is he doing some kind of roadkill build and living in that princess until he can get it mot worthy?

[vulgalour]

Twitter update:  alternator charge bulb blown and replacement alternator providing only 1 volt.

[dollywobbler]

As M'Coli and myself have pointed out, those two facts may be linked. Often the bulb is in the 'exciter' circuit - the alternator needs an input to create more volts.

[twosmoke300]

^^^ what they said .

[Craig the Princess]

Rover 200 Coupe's MoT resulted in a reasonable fail. CV gaiter and handbrake on the nearside wheel and an insecure battery. The (knackered) radiator failed during the emissions test and also needs to be replaced.

 

It went into the garage today for the CV gaiter and new capliper (and it was buggered when we took it apart). Also going to get the garage to do the radiator swap as I can't see me not getting a massive airlock and buggering the thus far really good cooling system.

 

[The Moog]

Picked up the new handbrake cables from Peugeot this morning for the 405.

 

An hour later and I now can handbrake turn like a mo fo. This was tested in the gravel out the front

 

I have been driving the saab convertible for last few days but I am so glad to get my 405 back

 

It has helped cement my idea of restoring it.

 

Waiting until it stops raining then I will fit the Xsara alloys to see what they look like.

[phil_lihp]

Phil's Twitter account is the first one I've ever found myself checking several times during the day for more nail-biting Princess installments.  He's a brave man!  

[CortinaDave]

I really fancy one of those Rover coupes. Im turning into a right BL pervert. Must be my age.

[trigger]

Im turning into a right BL pervert. Must be my age.

 

You're not alone. Hit mid 30's and BANG, It's beige cardigans and Austin Maxi's all the way.   

[EssDeeWon]

Im only 31 and have already owned an SD1 and now got the horn for a 75 Connoissuer. By the time im mid 30s I dread to think what I'll be horning after...