VWD

My Nextbase shuts down after circa 5 minutes of no car movement. But we noticed this years ago with the Transits. Leave the sidelights on and battery dies in hours, whereas other heavier use items can leave battery live for hours.

But where BOB (the builder) is involved, a bit of common sense installed at apprentice level might prevent this. Telephone / computer /socket/ alarm unit nearby- HOW is it fed, and from where. Easier to check before drilling than casue a problem. But then it's like the attidude of high speed cable riping machanes operators on rail network ( known to Mac a tampers & hated by signal techs), that if it's not visible and painted red, it's something to ignore.

Problem is, Amanda that as we age, our hearing band narrows. I remember 50 years ago trying this out with 18/19 year old apprentices in a Post Office repeater station, where we had broadcast spec speakers. I as a 25 year old could hear tones up to 18/20K, and sense higher frequencies, but the teenagers could hear well beyond this.

For those born outside of the Replibic of Nort Yorkshire ( unlike TMB) ,a SMOGGIE is a native /born in Middlesbrough, so named, I'm informed because of the smoke clouds due to the smelting industries. Hartlepool( wel in truth West Hartlepool ) gets it's fame from it's dislike of ???? TMB- best answer to the q of who did what was a reply I got from a mate in Hartlepool " we sent the other one to Middlesbrough to mate ,to bring up the IQ level".

At 75 years old, with a smoking Smoggie, I seldom get to turn the heater off on our short trips to the shops. 😄

Same idea as starter solenoid checks. Most meters can't measure the current through the cable, but what is more important is final voltage to starter which is battery voltage ( under load minus the drop on the solenoid). Very similar to what happens to old car batteries. Internal resistance limits cranking current and hence voltage to starter in winter.

On the meter front- check out both Aldi & Lidl for them. Usually circa £10 and as I'm more used to expensive Fluke ones, I'm impressed. Basic, but good enough for most jobs. On the topic of checking connections for continuity, may I suggest checking the voltage drop over connections when drawing a bit of power. e.g. at start up . A connection may show up as .01 ohms, but when drawing a bit of current that could result in a drop of 1 volt to a sensitive part when the current is that taken by a starter motor. It's another way using a cheap meter that is unable to check low resistance values/ high currents to detect bad connections using Ohms law as a partially bad connection will create a voltage drop on the connection.

Was being ( or trying to be polite). I could repeat what my Smoggie relatives call folks from North of the TEES,but I do not believe that story 😁

john, on MK1 fabia the lock key is spline coded. Possibly same on other models. It's an odd number of splines. Thing to remember is that lock key can be difficult to remove with wheel stsationary, but dead easy once wheel moves, never for lock key to be seen.

Youngest lad has joined the 2 wheel brigade on a Honda 125. he's got a small hole in a rear pipe and a) wants to know if its OK to patch it for forethcoming MOT and if so what is best method. It's a long time since I did any exhaust patches, but my prefered method was Gun Gum and an old tin can ,held with wire over the hole ,with GunGum sealing and the tin can to stop erosion. b- if there's any better way with modern stuff or is this a temporary way to save money( bit tight with him as he's using the bike to hunt jobs and get to a wage packet).

Thanks, Jim. I'm still in last centuary where sump plugs were hex and gear plugs were squarecor hex.

AG- I replied in good faith as from my experience of an OLD car.

Have gearbox plugs suddenly changed in type. Over my 50+ years of motoring and car mechanicing, sump plugs have always been hex/ external with gearbox /diff on RWD being square and internal. Unless some "home" bloke has used the wrong type of socket. Similar sort of discussion lots of months ago where ( I believe it was you) said gearbox plugs are either 7/8mm square.

Look at the wheel nut on car. Then COUNT THE NUMBER OF SPLINES ON THE LOCKNUT. Next ,head over to Ebay and search for that number of splines.

Depending on the amount of thread protruding from the gearbox it might be possible to use either a large set of moles or a pipe wrench to grip the outer. But then only after a trip to VAG to buy new gearbox plug, and tool store to obtain new socket. I believe the gearbox oil plugs are square sided, possibly 7/8 mm. Round here I see this a lot. Nut is 13mm, so local backstreet guy uses a 12mm and a hammer. Common from my son's recollect of job placement schemes in local fast fit places. He tried this once helping me. My boot hit rear end before hammer hit socket. Jars, the "correct term aka Haynes is "persuade". 😁

I can't remember where. It was the Indi that changed cambelt last that showed me where. I recollect that it was visible with the cover removed.

AP- advice on here & from Skoda was never to go less than 50% screenwash. Otherwise pipes could pop off. Over the years I've found that "Clearalex" added to an alcohol screen wash helped git rid of flies and diesel road throw up. Sadly, Clearalex is not to be found, so I've resorted to as cheap and nasty a washing up liquid as I could find as it does not foam , but does remove road fuel deposits. Occasionally I find that my screen needs "road oil" strip to remove road oil from the screen. I use a neat film of cheapo washing up liquid for this, spread over the windscreen using wipers and washed off with copies quantities of water .

Engine code is also on cambelt cover as well as on first few letters of "engine number" on V5.

Just drive it. And if it's a 1.4TDI MK1,and you don't do a lot of miles, don't forget to treat it like a DPF model and give it a once a week hoon of at least 10 miles. I've found that in over 15 years and 120k I get the same MPG whether I drive like Miss Daisy or bury my right foot and watch Fiesta man go backwards on corners.

And temporarily using tape on the rear doors to prove that this is the problem. Usefull during wet weather at least to give the rear floor a chance to dry out.( or let you wait till late summer to affect a repair,and floor to dry). One of the problems with the solution during warranty was the different approaches taken by dealers. Some believed that once one door showed signs of leaks, then all doors should be guilty. My repairing dealer took the view that only either front seals or rear seals should be done ,depending on which set leaked and the repair needed either seals replacing ( if cards held in with screws) or sealing with mastic if rivited.

There was a post ( long time ago) that Skoda would not honour warranty if the system was not 50% screen cleaner. I've also seen warningings on here by learned folks not ot clamp pipes if lower alcohol screen mix was used. Since my main dealer refitted my firewall rear washer pipe, some 16 years ago, I've always used at least 50% screenwash and had no blow off problems. September to April I use straight mix, always with a good dollop of cheapo (Usually Asda) washing up liquid to get rid of bus deisel/road grease on screen. That's the advice of a 55 years on the road /in/on all conditiond/roads from C to M

Can't speak for Estate /Combi, but its one tank in the Hatchback. One reservoir passenger side under front wing, with two pipes .One to rear, with common failure point on firewall next to ABS unit, and other over rear seat. Front washers are fed from pump to front washers.

Early Skoda advice was to se screenwash to keep the solution below 50% , otherwise pipe pop off could occur. On my car I had rear screen pip pop off as a car check company had replaced the mixture with water ( some 17 years ago). I've always used at least 50% scrteen wash in the 17+ ears I've owned mine and never had a problem. I shold add that along with 50% screnwash ( I use ASDA STUFF) I alays add a dollop of the cheapest & nasties washing up liquid ( to get rid of road muck) . I've found thet in over 50 years motiring that the cheapo washing liquid removes oil/diesel from the screen, withought out foaming as themore expensive washing liwuidsdo.

An idea for both the screws holding the drums( to hub) and the fixing bolts for the wheel cylinders. The hubs are held in place with screws which either rust in place or prove difficult to remove. I've removed mine and use ( sourced from work) allen screws of longer length .Screw into hub till tight and then lock in place with a locknut. It can protrude from the drum as the wheel can cope with the excess. Wheel cylinders- do likewise. The allen screw need not be tight, as the nut will secure the shaft to the drum. I can't remember if I saw the next bit on here, or whether my local garage told me, but the adjuster wedges can ( and do get clogged with dirt). I had this problem a few years ago where the wedge failed to drop. I had to ensure the wedge dropped enough to get involved in the self adjustment proceedure. Another handbrake issue is the clip on the rear arm rusting through the handbrake cable. Something that garages "tend" to miss. But it can stop the internal cable working efficiently.

I changed one side before MOT( some kind person had reversed into it and made off) ,but I'd gotten tired of the short life of Halogen lamps, so changed both dip to LED. At MOT, tester had no problems with beam pattern just fact that lamps were not as per spec, so I changed them back to Halogen. Looking back a few posts, the units I got from "energized custom" were DEPO. As I've posted, I've changed both sides and have one passenger side with broken securing lugs and a driver side totally intact, and needing a good polish. The bits on the broken lamp are free to anyone needing them ( unless someone can repair the unit lugs, and then it's free to take away etc), The driver side is intact and is free to a good home ,if collected etc.