The grumpy thread

[mercedade]

FFS

The CLK has the worst kind of electrical fault - a randomly occurring, intermittent cut out that I can't replicate or force, and doesn't appear to have any specific conditions associated with it.

I noticed a few weeks ago that it wouldn't always start when I got in it. The full selection of dashlights would light up when they key is in position 2, but turn it and absolutely nothing would happen. The dash lights would all go out except the SRS light. If I locked the car and then unlocked it, it seemed to work normally. I think at the time I convinced myself that it was an immobiliser.

Then was I driving a few days ago, doing a steady 30 mph, when it just totally, electrically died (apart from the radio and the dashlights). Just like someone had turned it off. I coasted for about 3 seconds, trying to signal that I was pulling over - but didn't even have any indicators. Hazards still worked. Whilst coasting, in gear, I didn't do anything - it just sprang back to life. Drove on as if nothing had happened.

Didn't happen again for a few days, then it happened yesterday. Only this time, it didn't restart. Coasted to a stop (same electrical systems - radio fine, hazards fine, everything else dead). Tried locking and unlocking the car, tried wiggling/shuffling through P/N/R/D, tried removing the key and retrying - but nothing. Sometimes I would get no dashlights at all except the SRS light, sometimes I would get all the lights as normal, but no start. The roof was down - which meant I looked PRETTY FUCKING COOL - and I thought I could hear the fuel pump running the times when the dashlights illuminated. Then, after about 90 seconds or so (which is a really long time) it just randomly started again.

Battery voltage is mega healthy, and the car - once it agrees to crank - starts beautifully. No struggles to fire or anything.

I hate random electrical faults.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

32 minutes ago, mercedade said:

FFS

The CLK has the worst kind of electrical fault - a randomly occurring, intermittent cut out that I can't replicate or force, and doesn't appear to have any specific conditions associated with it.....

Bad earth / contact somewhere? But if so, where?

[Dan the van]

1 hour ago, mercedade said:

FFS

The CLK has the worst kind of electrical fault - a randomly occurring, intermittent cut out that I can't replicate or force, and doesn't appear to have any specific conditions associated with it.

I noticed a few weeks ago that it wouldn't always start when I got in it. The full selection of dashlights would light up when they key is in position 2, but turn it and absolutely nothing would happen. The dash lights would all go out except the SRS light. If I locked the car and then unlocked it, it seemed to work normally. I think at the time I convinced myself that it was an immobiliser.

Then was I driving a few days ago, doing a steady 30 mph, when it just totally, electrically died (apart from the radio and the dashlights). Just like someone had turned it off. I coasted for about 3 seconds, trying to signal that I was pulling over - but didn't even have any indicators. Hazards still worked. Whilst coasting, in gear, I didn't do anything - it just sprang back to life. Drove on as if nothing had happened.

Didn't happen again for a few days, then it happened yesterday. Only this time, it didn't restart. Coasted to a stop (same electrical systems - radio fine, hazards fine, everything else dead). Tried locking and unlocking the car, tried wiggling/shuffling through P/N/R/D, tried removing the key and retrying - but nothing. Sometimes I would get no dashlights at all except the SRS light, sometimes I would get all the lights as normal, but no start. The roof was down - which meant I looked PRETTY FUCKING COOL - and I thought I could hear the fuel pump running the times when the dashlights illuminated. Then, after about 90 seconds or so (which is a really long time) it just randomly started again.

Battery voltage is mega healthy, and the car - once it agrees to crank - starts beautifully. No struggles to fire or anything.

I hate random electrical faults.

First signs of the Electronic Ignition Switch failing I fear.It controls all the cars systems and when it eventually goes it won't even unlock the column making it a bit*difficult to move.My E class did this and is still mouldering in a corner of the yard.

[artdjones]

14 hours ago, Lankytim said:

I used to work for them and out of all the large operators they're by far the worst for drivers. Non-stop roll overs, bridge strikes, collisions with members of the public etc. 

Do they still have to keep their tie on at all times?

[mercedade]

1 hour ago, Dan the van said:

First signs of the Electronic Ignition Switch failing I fear.It controls all the cars systems and when it eventually goes it won't even unlock the column making it a bit*difficult to move.My E class did this and is still mouldering in a corner of the yard.

I reject this answer and demand you come up with a more palatable one immediately.

[Dan the van]

Sorry,ok,check your key battery is ok.Does the little tiny light come on when you press a button?.If so change battery.EIS can be refurbed for<200 quid I've been told.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

31 minutes ago, mercedade said:

I reject this answer and demand you come up with a more palatable cheaper one immediately.

EFA

[mercedade]

1 hour ago, Dan the van said:

Sorry,ok,check your key battery is ok.Does the little tiny light come on when you press a button?.If so change battery.EIS can be refurbed for<200 quid I've been told.

This has (genuinely) been instructive. As soon as I can definitively confirm that the EIS is toast, I can send it off for (seemingly) sub £180.

I mean, still OUCH, but only the price of, say, tyres, rather than a whole new exhaust.

[Dan the van]

A few years ago refurb wasn't an option,£450 from Merc,coded at the factory then 90mins on Star for data transfer.Not an economical repair on my rusty E320.Btw,if the EIS starts clicking but not unlocking the column,even just a couple of times,that's pretty much conclusive.

[Lankytim]

6 hours ago, artdjones said:

Do they still have to keep their tie on at all times?

No, I don't think ties have been part of the uniform for decades now. 

[Spiny Norman]

Includes video:  https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/east-kilbride-lorry-crash-dramatic-21505504

The sheer vicious cuntery of some people never fails to amaze me. Don't know if this has hit the national news media but in East Kilbride last night some deranged fucker in a Stobart wagon tried knocking down a house while a family with kids were in it.

 

[Supernaut]

8 hours ago, Dan the van said:

First signs of the Electronic Ignition Switch failing I fear.It controls all the cars systems and when it eventually goes it won't even unlock the column making it a bit*difficult to move.My E class did this and is still mouldering in a corner of the yard.

Any other expensive maladies to look for on E-classes, such as air con issues?

[Minimad5]

12 hours ago, 155V6 said:

My Mum has been in hospital since Friday,after collapsing in town.She has a low heartbeat,they've been monitoring her & it looks like she may need a pacemaker.

We've been sharing looking after my Dad who has limited mobility,& walking their dog who is too much for them now.

This morning while I was loading my van at work,I misjudged the height when I got out of the back.I twisted my ankle which is now very painful & swelling up.

I managed to drive home,braking hurt a bit & climbing the two flights of stairs to my flat took a lot longer than usual.

I'm now lying on the sofa feeling totally useless & hoping I can get back to normal before my Mum comes home 🙁

Don't beat yourself up, these things unfortunately happen at the shittest times.

Get your foot / ankle looked at by the local A&E or walk in, get it mended and then you'll be able to get back to looking after folk, your health is important too.

[TataBobu]

1. Elantra. Whenever I turn the right signal on, main beam comes on. It's not the lights switch, checked and changed it and it's the same. Phase two: overnight it put the lights on by itself, and consumed the battery. Had to buy a new one and drive 100 miles to where my wife was with the car, in the middle of nowhere, to  make sure she'll be able to drive it. It had a nice feature, where you could leave the low beam on, and it would automatically turn the light off completely when you turned the engine off. Apparently it's misbehaving, so instructed my wife to make absolutelly sure she'll turn the lights off before turning the car off.

2. Motorola. My phone started turning of on it's own on Sunday. It got so bad in a couple of hours that it went from turning off in 5 minutes after turning on to turning off while turning on, and yesterday to not turning on at all.  About 1000 pictures, and all my accounts logged in on that phone, no way of getting the pictures off it (all on the internal memory), and no way of wiping it clean before sending it to warranty.

3. Bank card. For the second time this summer a hole in a wall ate my card. I only had this, the replacement, for a couple of months. Now I have to go again in a bank to ask for another one, and because I blocked it from their app I'll have to pay for the replacement. The most annoying thing is I was trying to get 20 RON (just about 4 pounds) because I didn't had any cash, and wanted to wash the Elantra  from the first grump in a self-service car wash.

[Dan the van]

8 hours ago, Supernaut said:

Any other expensive maladies to look for on E-classes, such as air con issues?

Not aware of any air con issues tbh.My experience is of W210s.Mechanically pretty robust,complex electronics though.Rust is their main problem.

[Talbot]

1 hour ago, Dan the van said:

complex electronics though

Simple compared to later models.  the W211 is a step beyond when it comes to electronics.  The facelift W210 got canbus, but the pre-facelift ones are not.

[Dan the van]

Complex to me lol.Anything more than simple earth and live is witchcraft.🤣

[Tadhg Tiogar]

12 hours ago, Spiny Norman said:

....The sheer vicious cuntery of some people never fails to amaze me. Don't know if this has hit the national news media but in East Kilbride last night some deranged fucker in a Stobart wagon tried knocking down a house while a family with kids were in it....

Possibly a stolen Stobart?

Could be someone with a grudge against the householders. And who might have targeted the wrong address....

Whilst Stobart drivers might not be the best* on the road, would they actually go as far as using their workplace to destroy someone's home?

[cobblers]

 

Maybe he was targeting 742 Evergreen Terrace

[Fumbler]

Woke up this morning and found there's no water pressure from the taps in the bathroom. Apparently there was a water leak in a kitchen on the ground floor, so they decided to shut off the entire accommodation block's water supply to fix it. I'm rather surprised each floor doesn't have its own stopcock. Brushing my teeth certainly was an interesting* experience. Others said they were midway through showering when the water just stopped coming.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 minute ago, Fumbler said:

..... Others said they were midway through showering when the water just stopped coming.

Awkward. 

[Fumbler]

2 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Awkward. 

Yup, the leak must've been bad enough for maintenance to come at 8:00 and shut the building off. A guy on my floor said he still had soap on him when it happened. Nice.

[vulgalour]

The vinyl dye saga continues.  Another supplier contacted because they had the quantity required, brusque "out of stock" reply, not even a courtesy apology.  Nobody else seems to have the product in the colour I need.  I now contact suppliers before ordering and it seems nobody actually has stock of TRG Super Color in Dark Grey (I've ordered about 20 cans so far, received 2 and plenty of refunds, and need another 8 cans to finish the job) regardless of what their listings otherwise say.  It's pretty frustrating really.  I'm finding more and more lately that things in general are just harder to get, stuff you'd normally pop to the shop for are often not in stock, or the shop has stopped selling them.  Online shops are harder to trust than ever with a common occurence of actual stock not matching the stock shown on the website.  I know there's a bit of a delay between ordering something and it getting picked, I've worked warehouse so I have some understanding of the logistics.  This is more like a company says they have an arbitrary amount, take your order, and then go and look to see if they have it or can get it from somewhere within the timeframe of the delivery.  It also seems to be very common practice now, particularly on eBay.

something something political sentiment something something

At least I haven't encountered a mini pork pie shortage yet, so it could be worse I suppose.

[Bren]

Despite being under a specialist for my asthma it has got much worse over the last two months - it is even keeping me awake at night. I was recalled to the hospital for an emergency review - was told my eosiniphils and FeNo were very high. I am waiting to go on a different shot.

I have also been suffering with aching joints, bones, headache, earache and nausea - it didn't register this started when my asthma got worse. I cannot even get through to my doctor and I have rang the unit that looks after me but they havn't returned my calls. My concern is that something like vasculitis is on the horizon.

It is so long since I felt well I cannot recall what it feels like.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

Managed to scrape the Jags NSF door, badly enough to look shit but not bad enough to get past the primer  (small dent, a good pdr will sort that) raaaarrrrrrr.. 

5 hours ago, Bren said:

It is so long since I felt well I cannot recall what it feels like.

Highly unpleasant and not fun. I  had similar for 5-6 years and yeah.. sucks. Get on at the Drs!

[jakebullet]

Idiot next door has got himself a GAT / other shitty pop gun. So nice warm night for sitting out listening to POP POP POP as the retard attempts to hit a pallet 10 foot away.

[155V6]

20 hours ago, Minimad5 said:

Don't beat yourself up, these things unfortunately happen at the shittest times.

Get your foot / ankle looked at by the local A&E or walk in, get it mended and then you'll be able to get back to looking after folk, your health is important too.

I have indeed broken my ankle,I don't think I've ever been so annoyed with myself.

They gave me one of those strap-on boots & sent me home,the consultant will call me tomorrow to tell me what's next.

I had to take the boot off again as I'd driven myself there 🙄

I think a few beers may be drunk tonight.

[MikeR]

So far I have been able to acquire 6 bottles of cheap diet coke that I like to binge on , also a crate of twist offs , but I did notice s lot of stuff is pushed to the front of the shelves , is everything going titsup soon ? 

[Talbot]

Fucking cheap Chinese electronic crap.
Normally I buy Sandisk SD memory cards.  They're reliable, quick etc.  On this occasion, I didn't need a quick one, just one for large amounts of storage, so I got a cheaper Chinese branded one.  It lasted 4 days, and now doesn't exists according to anything I plug it in to.  Not that it's there but unreadable, it just doesn't exist at all.

Utter shit.  I knew it was cheap, so wasn't expecting miracles, but to just stop existing after 4 days?  Arse.

[somewhatfoolish]

Have a word if he's otherwise a normal human being, if he's a zombie bellend dob him in to the police as he's breaking the law.

  

1 hour ago, jakebullet said:

Idiot next door has got himself a GAT / other shitty pop gun. So nice warm night for sitting out listening to POP POP POP as the retard attempts to hit a pallet 10 foot away.