Ask a Shiter

[Joseph]

Here's a stupid question fur yis':

 

...Why is the Autoshite clock one hour fast?

[M'coli]

Mine's fine - which means that your clock settings on the user control panel are incorrect for this time of year.

[Joseph]

Mine's fine - which means that your clock settings on the user control panel are incorrect for this time of year.

 

Fair enough, although I'm usually an hour behind in most things lol!

[Spiny Norman]

Had a chance to fiddle with the Saab's electricity supply today and would appreciate some help/opinions etc...

 

The battery warning light came on suddenly yesterday, previously it had only ever shown itself for a couple of seconds after a start, then gone off as the throttle was blipped up to 2000rpm or so.

Charged up the battery last night, reading 12.9V just sitting on its own.

Put it back in the car this afternoon, started it up and the battery light was still on. Checked the voltage at the battery and the + output from the alternator and it's showing about 12.2V at both points.

Connected a jump lead from the alternator body to the engine block to give another earth - no difference in either reading, still about 12.2V, so I don't think it's a bad earth.

 

At one point it did recover and the light went out, showing about 14.2V for a minute or two before decreasing back down to about 12.2V.

 

So....whole new alternator, brushes & regulator set or something else?

[Richard]

It's almost certainly worn brushes then. The brief recovery would just be the brush finding a little more travel for a moment. A brush/regulator pack for a little over a tenner is basically a new alternator and, as you say, can be fitted in minutes. Take the old one out and read the number off the back of it, then do some googling to find an equivalent. I got mine from this seller on eBay and it seemed pretty well made. http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Vehicle-Electrics

 

Although there are seemingly thousands of Bosch part numbers there are relatively few variants, each one covering dozens of Bosch numbers.

 

Edit- just had another thought, it could be a bad connection or loose bolt on the engine to body earth strap, in fact the last 900 I saw with charging problems turned out to be exactly that

[Spiny Norman]

Cheers Richard, the earth strap seems pretty secure. I can't really see it or do anything more than give it a good tug ( ) but it feels sound and the voltage didn't alter when I was trying to move it. The thing's buried under the A/C pump and a few coolant pipes so access isn't that great, getting the regulator out will be fun...

 

Also wouldn't the duplicated earth I tried with the jump lead have ruled out an earth fault or am I barking up the wrong tree?

[Richard]

If you put a jump lead between the engine and battery negative it would rule out an earth fault there, you've already ruled out the alternator to engine earth. It's almost certainly worn brushes though. Other things can go wrong with the alternator but they rarely do.

[pompei]

When/if you put replacement plates on a car, is it true (as I was recently told) that the postcode of the supplier of the car or the plates must go on the bottom of the plates? In other words, can you have plates made up with nothing else other than the numbers and digits?

[Bobthebeard]

When/if you put replacement plates on a car, is it true (as I was recently told) that the postcode of the supplier of the car or the plates must go on the bottom of the plates? In other words, can you have plates made up with nothing else other than the numbers and digits?

 

Depends on the age of the car. Think it is only cars manufactured after 1st September 2001 that this applies to. As long as the plate is in every other way legal it will be fine on pre Sept 2001 vehicles so I am led to believe.

[skattrd]

I've just brought a car back from Ireland that was previously registered in the UK.

I have the Irish v5 type thing, but no UK registration paperwork

I put the old UK reg in to the dvla website and this was what it showed:

 

Date of Liability 01 04 2012

Date of First Registration 28 10 1998

Export Marker N

Vehicle Status Unlicensed

Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

 

Unless I'm mistaken it's not showing as exported, and the tax expired last year, so could I just apply for a new v5 from Swansea?

[The Moog]

With the saab change voltage regulator first. On all my C900s it has been the thing that went and was cheap and two second job to fix.

[Spiny Norman]

With the saab change voltage regulator first. On all my C900s it has been the thing that went and was cheap and two second job to fix.

 

Theoretically yes, but a combination of awkward access (one screw is directly behind the oil filter and I have nothing that will get close to getting at it) and my current physical inability to bend or twist due to a muscle strain means that it may well end up being a garage job.

Thanks everyone for their help, I've at least got a diagnosis now and will get the part next week hopefully.

[skattrd]

skattrd wrote:

I've just brought a car back from Ireland that was previously registered in the UK.

I have the Irish v5 type thing, but no UK registration paperwork

I put the old UK reg in to the dvla website and this was what it showed:

 

Date of Liability 01 04 2012

Date of First Registration 28 10 1998

Export Marker N

Vehicle Status Unlicensed

Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

 

Unless I'm mistaken it's not showing as exported, and the tax expired last year, so could I just apply for a new v5 from Swansea?

 

Well, I've just phoned up our friends in Swansea and they confirmed my suspicion.

I can just apply for a new v5, no need to faff about with new UK registration as according to their records it never left the country.

[willswitchengage]

Is a clutch pedal with one/one and a half inches of free travel approaching some sort of impending doom?

[barefoot]

Piaggio Ape- lots and lots of money here in the UK,

Are they as cheap as I'd like to think that they are in France or Italy?

[catsinthewelder]

Don't think so, there was bugger all on french ebay and very little the italian site so I tried Mr B's favorite http://www.leboncoin.fr/annonces/offres ... iaggio+ape

[RoadworkUK]

Defo not worth its own "Tell me about xxxx" thread, but:

 

Sista Roadwork has just, almost completely without warning, chopped in her lovely but dying Puma 1.7 for an '04 Focus ST170. Approx 60k.

 

I'm reckoning these are pretty viceless carriages with a reasonable amount of fun to be offered but, cambelt aside, are there any serious twatfalls?

[Spiny Norman]

This looks a bit of a dog. ATCNBE

 

I've forgotten what ATCBNE stands for and amusingly Google only leads me back here....

I know I know it, but some possibly useful piece of information has displaced it from my brain, anyone?....

[Cavcraft]

And The Car's Not Bad Either

 

 

 

barefoot: I thought the Apes were cheap over here due to them being absolute rubbish?

[Spiny Norman]

Cheers Cav, that would have annoyed me all night!

[barefoot]

barefoot: I thought the Apes were cheap over here due to them being absolute rubbish?

 

I don't dispute that they're absolute rubbish, an acquaintance is after one because a bloke in the next village - actually a brain surgeon drives one (together with a 944) and he fancies something cheap to run to take bits from his workshop to the paint shop about half a mile away. In theory it could be ideal as there are no hills but they all seem to be about £6K on ebay and not that much cheaper on the French site.

[Mr Lobster]

Defo not worth its own "Tell me about xxxx" thread, but:

 

Sista Roadwork has just, almost completely without warning, chopped in her lovely but dying Puma 1.7 for an '04 Focus ST170. Approx 60k.

 

I'm reckoning these are pretty viceless carriages with a reasonable amount of fun to be offered but, cambelt aside, are there any serious twatfalls?

 

I like 'em. Pretty decent and fairly reliable, not incredibly quick but respectable enough. Seem to recall they can be a bit thirsty. I loved the mk1 Focii's I had as company wheels and would have another if I could find a good reason for one.

[coalnotdole]

Any Fiat 127 Experts on here?

 

Do they use a Lockheed remote servo on any version? If so does it look like this?

 

 

 

 

 

If not Can anyone Identify the above servo, I've never seen one with the extra bracket on it before.

[RoadworkUK]

Defo not worth its own "Tell me about xxxx" thread, but:

 

Sista Roadwork has just, almost completely without warning, chopped in her lovely but dying Puma 1.7 for an '04 Focus ST170. Approx 60k.

 

I'm reckoning these are pretty viceless carriages with a reasonable amount of fun to be offered but, cambelt aside, are there any serious twatfalls?

 

I like 'em. Pretty decent and fairly reliable, not incredibly quick but respectable enough. Seem to recall they can be a bit thirsty. I loved the mk1 Focii's I had as company wheels and would have another if I could find a good reason for one.

 

Cheers Lobbo!

[Cavcraft]

If you had a CD that was badly scratched and jumped/skipped a lot, put it into your computer and copied it, would the copy also jump/skip? I appreciate that's a real mingebag of a question but I felt obliged to ask to save me shelling out for this again

 

[warren t claim]

Plenty of places can "T Cut" a CD for you so it plays well again.

[warren t claim]

Is this utter bollocks?

 

 

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their mobile phone from your cell phone.

 

Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors.

[The Moog]

Copy will skip, it can only take data sent to it. Just get a new one and slip Jim Bob a few quid!

 

Android the key fob won't work over phone.

 

Edit:http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/keyless.asp

[Spiny Norman]

Usually a PC won't even read a damaged disc, never mind copy it.

Toothpaste removes light scratches but if it's bad you'll be lucky to get anything to read it. If the laser can't follow the line of dots then it just skips a bit, or gives up entirely.

 

That mobile phone bollox has been doing the rounds for 10 years that I know of.....

[Mr_Bo11ox]

MACS SUCK BALLS etc