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3,832 · November 9, 2015

WTF is smart charge?

1,611 · November 9, 2015

Think of the worst possible thing it could be and that'll be it.

17,034 · November 9, 2015

Here's a Scimitar related question. Mine has aftermarket ignition and I was thinking of changing the coil as it has a random cutting out issue and a new one is cheap enough. How do I know if I need a ballast resistor or not?

1,611 · November 10, 2015

In the absence of anything actually useful...

I've not had anything to do with ballast coils (Ford aint it?) but I suspect either it'll say on the coil or you could measure the voltage at the coil terminals (I presume they only get 12 volts when they're cranking or it'd be pointless, ahem).

I presume there's no electronickery involved, just your actual points.

1,686 · November 10, 2015

Here's a Scimitar related question. Mine has aftermarket ignition and I was thinking of changing the coil as it has a random cutting out issue and a new one is cheap enough. How do I know if I need a ballast resistor or not?

If you are free to choose your coil - a ballast or no-ballast model, and are happy to muck around with the wiring a bit, then this is what I did with my old Rover:

Get one of these:

and plug it into your fag lighter socket, and watch the voltage reading while you are cranking the starter.

If the reading stays above 11 volts, use a no-ballast (12V) coil

If the reading is around 7-8 volts, use a coil that needs a ballast. In this case, the ballast resistor should have a resistance value of about half the coil resistance. A 50W unit should suffice. Here's a useless, gratuitous and pointless link to the one I used.

19,924 · November 10, 2015

WTF is smart charge?

Ford in their infinite wisdom decided that it was time they fucked about with the alternator. So instead of delivering a set level of charge, they added some monkey magic and made it so that the alternator checks the voltage of the battery, the temp of air, state of the moon and the mood of the wife before deciding what level of charge to provide.

Which is great except

1) You have to unplug it before you jumpstart the car - didnt know that

2) You need to have a silver Calcium battery - which barely any batteries have written on them

3) The smart charge plugs degrade and go crispy

4) It needs the alternator replacing if it goes tits up

So thats gr3.

Serves me right for trying to buy a car for a logical reason rather than I really wanted it.

1,686 · November 10, 2015

My mechanic explained it this way:

He said that coils designed for ballast use are really 8V coils.

In normal running, the ballast resistor is in circuit, dropping the coil voltage to the 8V it operates at.

During starting, the ballast resistor is shorted out, but only about 8V hits the coil anyway due to the starter load.

Coils that are used without a ballast are 12-14V coils and use the full alternator output, whether running or starting.

For those not bored already, I'll tell you a story.

A few years ago, my Rover 3500 died a couple of miles from home one night. Turned out to be a dead coil, which was forgivable because when I pulled the old coil out, the Lucas date-stamp told me the coil was older than the car! 40 years' service is OK in my book.

Being late at night, the only auto place open was the Autobarn parts franchise in the glossy shopping centre, but the first big surprise was that the callow and spotty snot-nosed youth behind the counter not only knew what a Rover P6B was, but was able to sell me the right coil on the spot! What were the odds of that? No Tatts ticket for me that week, already used up my luck quota right there.

Fitted the coil and away.

Epilogue:

Once every three or four years, I treat my Rover to a garage service. On the 'scope, the spark voltage was WAY too high! Turns out that my car has no ballast resistor behind the dashboard, and the 8V coil was being well overdriven.

I carried out the procedure from post #9595, fitted the resistor, and Roberta's your auntie.

17,034 · November 10, 2015

If you are free to choose your coil - a ballast or no-ballast model, and are happy to muck around with the wiring a bit, then this is what I did with my old Rover:

Get one of these:
and plug it into your fag lighter socket, and watch the voltage reading while you are cranking the starter.

If the reading stays above 11 volts, use a no-ballast (12V) coil

If the reading is around 7-8 volts, use a coil that needs a ballast. In this case, the ballast resistor should have a resistance value of about half the coil resistance. A 50W unit should suffice. Here's a useless, gratuitous and pointless link to the one I used.

You sir, are a legend.Thanks

3,190 · November 11, 2015

Can i ask a stupid question? My astra's temp guage reads cold most of the time only rising after i've been sitting in traffic for a while. It will then approach the half way mark. On Saturday i decided to take the family to a bonfire display at a farm. It was a bit of a disaster as the rural roads were gridlocked due to no signage. We queued for half an hour to get in only to be told to turn around and queue all the way back down the road to another entrance. Anyway, i digress. The kids were kicking off in the back and the Mrs was getting grumpy and to top it all the temp carried on going up, and up. I opened all the windows and put the heater on full and it just coped.

My question, is this a sign of a sticking thermostat? I thought it would still stop at the halfway mark if it was fitted. Or could this indicate a half open thermostat? I will remove it at the weekend as i've now got a replacement but just curious as to why it would overheat?

10,233 · November 11, 2015

because your fan doesn't work?

November 11, 2015

Yup, sounds to me like it's stuck half way and cooling when it shouldn't, and not cooling enough when it should.

5,507 · November 11, 2015

or theres no stat fitted.

5,326 · November 11, 2015

Thermoswitch screwed into the radiator. It's a coil so breaks after a while. It's normal on Vauxhalls for the temperature to fluctuate. (As they are ORL SIHT)

10,784 · November 12, 2015

Has it got damp inside it?
Either that or a loose connection, dry solder joint etc.

(A removable radio front).

Two days on top of the central heating boiler has made it as good as new.

Thank you.

23,497 · November 12, 2015

Can i ask a stupid question? My astra's temp guage reads cold most of the time only rising after i've been sitting in traffic for a while. It will then approach the half way mark. On Saturday i decided to take the family to a bonfire display at a farm. It was a bit of a disaster as the rural roads were gridlocked due to no signage. We queued for half an hour to get in only to be told to turn around and queue all the way back down the road to another entrance. Anyway, i digress. The kids were kicking off in the back and the Mrs was getting grumpy and to top it all the temp carried on going up, and up. I opened all the windows and put the heater on full and it just coped.

My question, is this a sign of a sticking thermostat? I thought it would still stop at the halfway mark if it was fitted. Or could this indicate a half open thermostat? I will remove it at the weekend as i've now got a replacement but just curious as to why it would overheat?

What you describe sounds as if there are two seperate problems.

1 - The thermostat is stuck open causing the low temp most of the time. Replace.

2 - The high temp after long time stuck in traffic likely caused by the thermo-switch for the radiator fan.

Check that the fan and the fan relay work ok before changing the thermo switch. I don't know about this Astra, but usually this is done by shorting the thermo switch connections together.

3,190 · November 12, 2015

What you describe sounds as if there are two seperate problems.

1 - The thermostat is stuck open causing the low temp most of the time. Replace.

2 - The high temp after long time stuck in traffic likely caused by the thermo-switch for the radiator fan.
Check that the fan and the fan relay work ok before changing the thermo switch. I don't know about this Astra, but usually this is done by shorting the thermo switch connections together.

That's what I'm starting to think too. I'll check it at the weekend. I'll check the fans work first and take it from there. At least parts for this car are very cheap!

1,169 · November 12, 2015

More of an annoyance than an actual issue, but .....

The radio in my car is getting increasingly crackly. There's also an underlying swishy noise that's getting worse as well - like a mild version of the noise you get when you haven't quite got a station tuned in correctly.

The car is a 2000MY Ford Cougar, with a Ford 6000CD stereo. It lives in a lock-up most of the time, though it does get at least a run of a few miles every couple of months or so at the least. More often if I get the chance and/or the weather isn't too bad. The lock-up is a bit damp though. I also take the aerial off when storing it, to make it easier to put a cover over the car. The aerial seems to go on and off fine though, and the base on the roof doesn't seem to move about at all.

At first the crackling was worst on MW channels. My solution was to listen to FM instead, or play my iPod through an FM transmitter. It's now moved on to FM though. The crackliness is worse on MW, the swishyness worse on FM, but both symptoms are present whichever waveband you're listening to.

Self-seek doesn't seem to work at all, as if it can't home in on a strong enough signal.

The CD player seems completely unaffected, and the speakers all seem to work fine - it seems to be related to radio signal only.

I've checked for anything obvious under the bonnet as well, and all visible wiring/fuseboxes/relays/earth straps all look to be as normal. As far as I can see, at any rate.

Anyone any idea WTF is going on with it? I had thought of just buying a new head unit (a secondhand direct replacement's only about 30 sheets on eBay), but that'll fix nowt if there's a problem with the electrical systems or aerial wiring. Plus, 30 sheets is valuable beer money.

12,190 · November 12, 2015

I'd start by getting another mast for the aerial.

10,233 · November 12, 2015

23,497 · November 12, 2015

Is the aerial cable plugged in securely? The braid of the cable is just as important as the centre conductor.

The braid must be well earthed at the aerial end , corrosion often ruins the earth connection here.

19,924 · November 12, 2015

Missus Moog has got a 1997 Honda civic es. It has central locking, but did these come with remote cl?

If so is it a case of buying plipper off eBay and finding a way to code it?

1,958 · November 12, 2015

Missus Moog has got a 1997 Honda civic es. It has central locking, but did these come with remote cl?

If so is it a case of buying plipper off eBay and finding a way to code it?

If not I remember my Dad bought a Moss remote alarm and wired it upto the c/l. Only problem is that if wasn't supplied to be remote then the drivers door might have only a switch.

Edit not on a civic!

5,117 · November 12, 2015

More of an annoyance than an actual issue, but .....

The radio in my car is getting increasingly crackly. There's also an underlying swishy noise that's getting worse as well - like a mild version of the noise you get when you haven't quite got a station tuned in correctly.

The car is a 2000MY Ford Cougar, with a Ford 6000CD stereo. It lives in a lock-up most of the time, though it does get at least a run of a few miles every couple of months or so at the least. More often if I get the chance and/or the weather isn't too bad. The lock-up is a bit damp though. I also take the aerial off when storing it, to make it easier to put a cover over the car. The aerial seems to go on and off fine though, and the base on the roof doesn't seem to move about at all.

At first the crackling was worst on MW channels. My solution was to listen to FM instead, or play my iPod through an FM transmitter. It's now moved on to FM though. The crackliness is worse on MW, the swishyness worse on FM, but both symptoms are present whichever waveband you're listening to.

Self-seek doesn't seem to work at all, as if it can't home in on a strong enough signal.

The CD player seems completely unaffected, and the speakers all seem to work fine - it seems to be related to radio signal only.

I've checked for anything obvious under the bonnet as well, and all visible wiring/fuseboxes/relays/earth straps all look to be as normal. As far as I can see, at any rate.

Anyone any idea WTF is going on with it? I had thought of just buying a new head unit (a secondhand direct replacement's only about 30 sheets on eBay), but that'll fix nowt if there's a problem with the electrical systems or aerial wiring. Plus, 30 sheets is valuable beer money.

Coil pack suppressor failed?

November 12, 2015

Missus Moog has got a 1997 Honda civic es. It has central locking, but did these come with remote cl?

If so is it a case of buying plipper off eBay and finding a way to code it?

My 95 civic had infra red 'plippers' if you can see the IR receiver (near the rear view mirror IIRC) then you may be lucky. They can be programmed to the car by cycling the ignition & pressing buttons etc.

19,924 · November 12, 2015

Ahh IR... Hate those things, never seem to work right or have to be close

November 12, 2015

Ahh IR... Hate those things, never seem to work right or have to be close

Yeah, they worked - but often you had to be standing right next to the thing....

27,997 · November 12, 2015

And will lock you out of the car on frosty mornings.

12,205 · November 13, 2015

Footman James are quoting Ã‚Â£95 to insure the Colt for the year...
Thats with 0NCD (its all on my daily), parked on the road (because they don't have an option for resident car park), and with no additional security.

That seems too good to be true? Have I missed something? Do they come round and take internal organs as and when they see fit in compensation?
Are they OK or a shower of shit?

Presumably I will get sweet FA back if I cancel or want to transfer cover, but that seems an awesome price...

It's Ã‚Â£950 and the decimal point is in the wrong place.

5,968 · November 13, 2015

Missus Moog has got a 1997 Honda civic es. It has central locking, but did these come with remote cl?

If so is it a case of buying plipper off eBay and finding a way to code it?

Honda was weird with C/L - my CRX VT had electric everything but no central locking.

20,202 · November 13, 2015

I had a '97 3 door civic that had the infra red central locking, I asked the dealer how much for a spare plipper : Ã‚Â£95 ! but he would programme it for free

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