Supernaut's Cars - E36 323i / mk3 Megane / S1 Land Rover

[Supernaut]

1 hour ago, artdjones said:

Nothing, but it didn't work on my Scenic until the negative was run to a new earth on the car body. It might be worth trying a new earth on the cheap light, unless you already sent it back.

Ah, French cars and dodgy earths.

I still remember adding an extra earth to the taillights on a Peugeot 306 to stop the brake lights flashing with the indicators.

 

I still have the dodgy aftermarket brake light here. I just sent the message to the seller today.

A key feature of it seems to be that one of the pins is a lot shorter than the other. That can't possibly help!

[artdjones]

9 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Ah, French cars and dodgy earths.

I still remember adding an extra earth to the taillights on a Peugeot 306 to stop the brake lights flashing with the indicators.

 

I still have the dodgy aftermarket brake light here. I just sent the message to the seller today.

A key feature of it seems to be that one of the pins is a lot shorter than the other. That can't possibly help!

That's a bit sub optimal. The trouble is, decent quality lights are so expensive.

[Supernaut]

It's that time of year again...

See you in spring.

Hopefully this winter the Megane won't shit its entire ass (literally, last December it shat both rear springs, shocks and brake hard lines), causing me to drag the BMW back out of hibernation in the middle of December for a week or so.

 

I also just got a refund for the shitey high level brake light for the Megane, and they don't want me to send it back.

Perhaps on a day when the weather is slightly less horizontal-hailstones I could just shove 12V directly into that light with a spare battery and see what happens.

Today, I'm retiring indoors for the rest of the afternoon after lots of lifting and shifting in both sheds. I'm also beginning to make room in the tractor shed so I can, hopefully, get the Megane just inside the door soon. It's always nice to keep the daily indoors over the worst of the winter too so I'm not defrosting it every morning.

[Supernaut]

Seriously, Renault.

What?

Just... what?

I was investigating the brake light wiring earlier. The high-level brake light in the boot lid has a constant 5V to it all the time the car is unlocked, even with the ignition off. It doesn't vary when the brake pedal is pressed.

The brake lights further down the body have a constant 10.7V going to them all the time too. They also work properly and light up when the brake pedal is pressed but SOMEHOW the voltage to them doesn't vary whatsoever either.

 

I got a refund for the third-party high-level brake light I bought because I said it didn't work, and the pins were too short. I managed to solder two small wires to the pins and plugged those wires into the plug for the left lower brake light. It fucking worked!

It doesn't work when plugged in (or even with the extended wires directly connected) up top.

I even tried connecting it to the live up in the boot lid and earthing it via the left lower brake light plug. No dice.

 

I did debate extending two wires from the left lower brake light up into the boot lid, but ran into the issue of how to physically run them up through the body and into the boot lid. Plus, it's a November afternoon and the light is failing as well as my levels of arsed.

It looks like it would require a lot of trim removal and faffing about.

[artdjones]

5 hours ago, Supernaut said:

The brake lights further down the body have a constant 10.7V going to them all the time too. They also work properly and light up when the brake pedal is pressed but SOMEHOW the voltage to them doesn't vary whatsoever either.

 

That's because the switch is in the earth line.

[SiBriers]

Or they're CAN-based, receiving constant power and triggered via a network message

[Supernaut]

Fuck it, when I have the requisite amount of arsed I'll remove the boot trim and jump the high-level brake light off the lower left brake light. That trick seemed to work when I tried it.

In more pressing news, the occasional ping from the front left top mount when steering at low speeds has become more insistent this morning, after it was parked up over the weekend. It basically pings with any and every steering input below about 20mph now.

 

Doing any job involving spring compressors gives me The Fear, plus my next door neighbour is a proper mechanic with all the proper equipment. It's booked in with him sometime next week to have a look at it.

 

I looked at Gumtree the other day out of morbid curiosity and the utter dugshite on the used car market at the moment has reassured me that the Megane is actually A Good Car Indeed and I'd be wise to keep it going a long time.

[Supernaut]

Double figure temperature in November?!

Had some errands to run this morning, and it was due a test run with the fresh oil filter housing and stuff.

It only broke down once.

The king lead from the coil to the distributor is only held in by friction at the coil, it came loose.

Need to find a better way of fitting it.

While properly hot and idling, the oil pressure was down at about 10-15psi but jumps right up to 40psi with even the slightest bit of revs. Is that alright? It doesn't seem to make any extra noises on top of its usual clunking and clattering.

[Supernaut]

Like clockwork, eh?

I just SORNed the BMW for the winter and the Megane starts making the front left topmount more vocal, and today on the way to work it beeped and came up with ENGINE FAILURE HAZARD.

My first reaction was "yes, I know. You're a Renault." But yeah, it has oil, and oil pressure. It's got coolant, it's not down on power, so it's not a boost or fuel pressure fault.

I've driven it at least 20 miles so far, flat out, with that warning and there has been no earth-shattering kaboom.

Methinks it's a sensor plus Renault's usual melodramatic warning style.

It's already getting the topmount looked at later this week, so it's just another thing while it's in with the neighbour...

[Supernaut]

The code reader says P242F - a DPF related code.

Blargh.

 

I guess I shall park it until further notice and tax the BMW again.

[Supernaut]

I have a verdict on the Megane.

It does indeed have a tired strut top bearing on the front left, as suspected.

Also the DPF is blocked. Blocked?

Mechanic asked if I do lots of short journeys, and I responded "Err, no. I commute about 18 miles each way and drive it... not gently."

[artdjones]

On 12/11/2025 at 21:36, Supernaut said:

I have a verdict on the Megane.

It does indeed have a tired strut top bearing on the front left, as suspected.

Also the DPF is blocked. Blocked?

Mechanic asked if I do lots of short journeys, and I responded "Err, no. I commute about 18 miles each way and drive it... not gently."

There's probably a sensor or something deteriorated enough to stop the dpf working. Also it's worth checking the egr, and whether the car is coming up to temperature.

Something must be stopping it doing a regeneration for it to get and stay blocked.

[paulplom]

My van blocked it's dpf and wouldn't regen. It turned out to be a temperature sensor that caused it. The guage read half way as normal but the code reader was displaying 70 degrees and therefore the engine was never hot enough to regenirate.

[Supernaut]

I just collected the Megane with a successfully regenerated DPF and a new strut top bearing.

No more suspension noises and it feels like it's gained about 30hp. Whoops.

 

I need to remember to kick its fucking face in every time I drive it, for its health. I'll also need to make a habit of taking it on a longer run every few weeks.

Having thought about it, I have basically been doing short journeys in it for a while. 7 miles here, 12 miles there, 18 miles there. All on back roads. No sustained 70mph or so at all. 

That'll probably do it. Despite me driving it enthusiastically it's still not enough of a sustained load for long enough to regen it.

[Supernaut]

A fresh MOT on this nugget I helped my brother source from here.

It's still so fun to drive.

Buzzzzz

[Supernaut]

Alright, cunts. I came crawling back but I'll just as likely fuck off again after this post.

No changes on the fleet.

This magnificent bastard got a clean MOT pass with compliments from the tester (I saw it on the lift, you could eat your dinner off the underside of it) plus the chassis outriggers filled with cavity wax. I also replaced the clutch flexi hose last week, and after pressure bleeding the clutch system it feels absolutely amazing to drive. It was sorely needed as the fluid that came out was almost as black as the paintwork.

This one is a happy little baguette. In the past couple of days I replaced the oil, oil filter, fuel filter, and the front discs and pads. It also seems to be driving superbly now.

This one continues to drink all the petrol while making all the noise and almost none of the forward motion. Good for inspecting all the fences last week before our tenant started putting sheep in the fields for the season starting from the other day.

 

 

I got shitcanned from the idiotic IT contracting gig at the beginning of February. Not exactly upset about it!

Next week I start a 3-day per week delivery driving job for a supermarket. The branch is in Peterhead but they deliver as far as Forres! Could be entertaining.

Meanwhile I'm giving serious thought to studying an AAT level 2 in accountancy and bookkeeping because IT can just do one.

 

I'm away for a while again. Cheerio.