storm monkey

I haven't had an oportunity to get it to the dealers yet, as it's going to be bit of an expedition. The trailer I borrowed bent, and wrecked my mid undertray . As a last ditch effort yesterday, I replaced the battery, and no change. I'm starting to think it's an immobiliser problem, as the thing just stops and then won't even try to turn the engine, and there are no other noises when the key is turned. Everything else seems to function ok, lights, MFD, radio, wipers etc. Last night's lock out took nearly an hour to clear. Hopefully my local friendly garage will be able to lend me a towing A frame to get it the 40 odd miles to the nearest main dealer.

I had another 2 engine stops yesterday, in my 5 min drive home. I've put a meter on the battery and it is fine. The charge rate from the altenator is fine too, so I am satisfied that it is not that. Intermittent failure of a connection is a possibility, but whatever it is could take a while to find. The MFD and dach warning lights were lit on one occasion, until I turned the ignition on and off again, then nothing for a while. Whatever it is takes 5 mins to recover each time. I would have thought a wiring fault would not be time dependent to rectify its-self, which is why I think this is probably electronic rather than electrical, however I will check the wiring this evening anyway. The only other symptom I noticed this time was a large black puff of smoke on restart, so I guess it is overfueling at some point, either when it dies or when it restarts. I don't get this smoke on a normal restart. To make things worse, I can't even get the Corrado out and use that instead, as the tractor is knackered too, and its in the way :'( . Phil

It is not the battery (I know this because it is my car!). Once left for a while it starter as if nothing had happened. Pleantly of battery power. also a dead battery would not lead to a cut out. Once running, you can disconnect the thing and it will keep running (although not good for it really). Phil

Thanks...... At least I'm not alone with this then!

A few wooks ago, both of my headlight washer covers fell off, within about a week of eachother. I haven't crashed, impacted, tampered with them in any way at all. One fell off in the yard (well out of the way, very private and secure, so not vandalism) and the other went whilst on the move somewhere. The one I've got has small cracks in the clips that mount it to the mechanism. Anybody else had this problem? The car is about 1 year old, so I'm hoping to claim on warranty. Many thanks, Phil

Nah, I was just letting you go on a bit so I could put my foot down:rolleyes:. Glad you got back safe (eventually) Len, and Mike, good video! Phil

Dammit! Can't get YouTube at work. Will have to wait till this evening. It was a great drive, apart from the punctures. Thanks for organising it. As I live up ther now I might even bring a Skoda to the next one! Oh, I realised once I got home should have introduced myself properly, and by forum name. I do post here see.....just not much recently. Phil (corrado!)

you can also get "reactivator spray" from halfrauds that breaks down the top coat, supposedly allowing it to re-settle, and smooth out orange peel. Never tried it, so don't know how good it is. Also a note on the machine polisher heat thingy.......only counts for a rotary (spinny, if your being technical) polishers. Random orbits polishers like the Porter Cable type only spin with light pressure, otherwise they just wibble (again with the technical stuff), and don't generate the heat. Part of the reason why they are much safer in the hands of the partially trained fool (like me). Still gets most of the lighter scoring out though, but will not shift the deep stuff. Phil

Had a similar problem a few years ago. Woman hit me as she went wide on a roundabout exit. She admitted fault at the scene, but then changed her tune. I had evidence that I was stopped, as the scrapes on my wheel trims were straight, not curly, but she didn't give up. After a problem with my useless legal representatives, and just days before the 3rd court appearance, when the evidence would finally be presented, the woman just gave up, admitted full liability, and the case was closed. The really annoying thing was my insurance company kept pushing me to settle 50/50, as it was the "easiest option". Phil

I had the same problem recently (all be it on a bathroom cabinet door). I found 600 was taking its time to shift the peel effect, so dropped to 400. Big mistake. Although generally the appearance is now very good, smooth and shiney, there are a few deep scratches that will not polish out. As for products, I used well wetted and soaped wet&dry, some cutting paste, again mixed with soap and water, then Megs scratchX, then Sonus SFX1 to 3, all with the PC and sonus pads. Painting with cans was a pain in the ***. Balancing too little paint/laquer (rough dull finish) with too much (smooth, but runs all over) was not easy. The laquer can seemed to empty at a ridiculous rate. Phil

Ok, so I've been very hypercritical and bought one. Lets just say it ain't industrial quality, but seems pretty good for the money. Some of the plastics are a bit dodgy, but the main parts of the compressor look pretty reasonable. I hadn't spotted the 3 year warranty, but saw it and figured what the hell, if it is really bad, then it can go back. I fired it up yesterday and it filled up to pressure in about a min or so, and seems to supply air at a good rate. I have some spraying and shot blasting to do this weekend, so we'll see how it goes. Phil

Sorry, forgot you had to register. This is one of the photos...........

I made one for the Corrado from fiberglass. It took quite a while, but was pretty easy really. I lined the boot with plastic sheeting, then lined the area with glass matting. Then mix the resin and pour/brush in. The hardest part was getting resin into the top surface, as gravity is against you when its in situ. Once a thin layer was set, the blank came out and was thickened with more mat and resin. A lot easier this time as you can rotate the thing. Finally, I decided where to mount the front MDF plate and trimmed the blank to suit, and attached with more fiberglass mat and resin. Final finish was to stuff it with loose packed rockwool (helps keep the sound "tight") and cover in black carpet. Total cost probably about £25. End result here..... Linky Phil

Many banks will ask for a few days to clear bankers drafts now, so check with your bank before handing keys over. Also, for your "title" photo, take an arty picture, an angled shot or close up of the front corner looking up. It will stand out far more in the lift of cars on autotrader than the standard side on shot. Phil

I really hope the liters/min figure is a misprint. 27l/m is about 1 cfm, which won't run the smallest of air accessories. Assuming they mean 270 l/m, then its not a bad spec. With all the accessories though, I cant help thinking it will be low quality junk. A true "professional" spray gun will cost that alone! Phil