J.R.

Thanks for the clear explanation.

Should they? Thats a new one on me, sounds like they need therapy!

Just let the radio do its thing even if it asks you for a code, be patient and it will spring back into life after a while. I wasn't patient even though I knew better and tried all the numbers I could find handwritten on the handbook, eventually it locked out after too many incorrect code attempts, I kicked myself and sulked but it came back to life the next day. You might get fault code city on the dashboard, again dont panic, drive for about 25 yards and they will all go out. The one touch window operation will likely need resetting, I can never recall precisely how but I hold the button down for a while and it works afterwards.

I'm pretty sure that on my MK2 the Maxidot display indicated which bulb was showing as an error, IIRC it was always my left front headlight but it was always functional. That said the Yeti does not indicate it unless I go through a couple of sub menus to "Vehicle Status", this option is only shown when there is a warning light illuminated and something to report, otherwise it just aint there! On the Yeti its always the LH rear light which again is always working perfectly when checked, the warning light comes on now and again seemingly without rhyme or reason.

You could pull 30 amps from a socket on a ring main although I'm sure the charger would limit the current to 3kw and be protected by a 13 amp fuse.

Whilst I agree with all that you say voltage drop is more significant the lower the supply voltage, cable sizes for 12v systems are far larger for a given length and volt drop than they would be for a 240vac system. Unless you are dealing with starter motor solenoid, headlights, air horn compressor, accessory sockets etc then 0.5mm csa is the order of the day.

Permanent or intermittent warning? Did it happen immediately after replacing the bulb? Did you replace the bulb because of a bulb warning?

If it is not giving the voltage output, and frankly I am starting from a base that everything your mechanic claims is questionable, then you dont condemn the ECU and make up some fairy tale about a missing battery vent hose that never existed in the first place nor gravity defying expelled acid you look at what relevant inputs to the ECU are missing or implausible like the boost pressure sensor, MAF sensor, MAP sensor and many others. Does anyone know what this means? Is there an adaption procedure requiring a certain voltage or is it mechanics waffle? Coolant leakage which you have already spoken of I could see causing corrosion but they are quite capable of seizing on their own.

Only if the electrolyte has boiled and then it would be mostly hydrogen, the labyrinth gallery system is intended to condense and drain back any acidic vapour, some also have Gore membranes. If it has vented then damage to the wiring and connectors as you suggest is much more plausible which is why I asked for the photo of the ECU connector. The next logical step would be the turbo actuator connector or is it one on a vacuum solenoid valve?

It makes more sense now but I do think the term depreciation is misleading as is ownership of the car (yes I know its registered to you) if you have no intention of paying the final balloon payment and retaining the final vehicle but that is semantics, its the numbers that matter. From what I can deduce you put in a PX worth X (please confirm the value) and effectively rented (my wording) a new vehicle thereafter starting at £150/ month a decade ago rising to £300 or so nowadays, you only ever (directly) pay road tax if you keep a vehicle more than 12 months (but you are still paying it) and when you decide you want another new vehicle you have to put in between £500 and £750 additional deposit. At the end of this journey you are left with no vehicle. Is that a reasonable summary? I definitely understand your logic and its quite convincing, I would just like to crunch some numbers and to do so would need the original PX value. There is no question that someone buying a new vehicle and PXing it for another new one every 12-18 months would pay out way more than you have. It could well be that someone keeping their PCP vehicles for the full 48 months then taking out another would pay a lot more as well. I can't get my head around whether that person (the 48 monther) would actually have anything to PX, surely they would have to give the vehicle back and have no equity hence my questioning it being their/your vehicle, by the same token how can you have any equity after 12 months? I think I can answer my own question there, its the motor trade VAT scam, they claim back all the VAT on the initial sale, the equity they purchase from you is VAT free and they have a low mileage 12 month old vehicle to sell as an ex demonstrator or sales manager car to a mug punter for more than the VAT net price of a new vehicle giving them more profit than a new vehicle sale plus they get another kickback for your new finance agreement. Their only other source of a low mileage 12 month old vehicle of their marque is to buy it at a closed to main dealer auction from the manufacturer of the vehicles they register and push out for 12 months to family members and fleet operators. It has been a very interesting and revealing discussion, I'm sure most PCP purchasers would not realise its costing them more to go the whole term, maybe even a lot more than having a new vehicle every year.

If only there were anything remotely resembling that on a S**troen 🙄 Plastic casings over everything other than flimsy ungrounded pieces of tin, only possibility was a bolt on the engine mount in front of the cam belt at the other side of the engine bay. Been thinking about how to recover it today, I suspect alternator failure because the power steering and handbrake release would not function even after it had been revving for a few minutes, I think we will have to remove the battery, charge it fully and refit it for the 5km journey, trouble is it looks virtually impossible to remove all the plastic crap and circuit protection enclosing it without dismantling half the vehicle. Many many ways to get the vehicle home even without the engine running but with the handbrake locked on its a recovery truck job and even then it can be winched on but getting it off will be a real challenge. Electric handbrakes are a stupid, stupid idea AFAIK, last time I had one fighting me was when I was trying to get another people carrier out of a field it was bogged down in, without it I would have done so, even when being towed out by a tractor it was fighting, the car was slaloming most of the way which is not good news on a slippery side slope above a river gulley.

That could only result from failure of the alternator voltage regulator and would normally be witnessed by a bulging battery case. Me neither and there is nothing abnormal about the corrosion on the case, there is absolutely no reason to suspect ECU failure other than a lack of competence, there is no way that any battery electrolyte leakage, of which I doubt strongly, could have reached the ECU casing, what you should see in that case is severe corrosion of other plated steel or aluminium parts lower down if the battery has leaked especially the battery tray and clamp.

Mine is correctly programmed and functioning as it should but only displays limited vehicle data, door open visuals etc, there will be small print in the advert saying that not all the functions supported or shown in the photos will be available on all vehicles. If it comes up on the Maxidot screen does it matter?

There will be a menu offering a choice between different Canbus protocoles, you will probably need a factory code to access it, dont make any changes unless you are really sure. It should be correctly programmed if you bought a unit sold for your vehicle, they are all identical inside, they simply change the factory programming for the various maufacturers, there is a list of literally thousands many I have never heard of, the other thing that may change is the faceplate to fit in the aperture.

Unlikely: Of course they are not being blinded by them, but if they are so dazzling that they have to shade their eyes or look away then it puts them in danger and when they can look forward again their nigh vision is pretty hopeless for a long time after.

My crystal ball says they took a chunk of money off him for an inspection that was always going to reveal that the peeling lacquer is not factory applied paint. That they will have kept the car for a very long time and not looked at it, just selected the standard invoice line for refused paintwork warranty inspection. Cynical, - moi? 😄

A photograph taken end on of the ECU connector would be useful.

There is no drain hose on a modern lead acid battery, they have a gallery system for venting gases, it is implausible for acid to leak other than through massive overcharging when the casing would swell up like a melon before any electrolyte were to escape. The turbo actuators frequently seize just from the ambient moisture, the battery acid is a red herring. Your ECU casing has minor oxidisation of the electro-plating from ambient moisture, once again not gravity defying battery acid. The above claims are enough to tell me your mechanic is beyond his competence, falling back on "it must be the ECU" is further evidence of that. You are quite some way down a path of considerable expense for no positive outcome.

It should be big but with todays generation and the influences they have been exposed to I think it would be a flop and something to ridicule people for. There is no simpler, more reliable or easier to drive vehicle than an electric milk float or a dodgem car (autotamponneuse in my language), there should be simple vehicles available that do what they are supposed to do, tsafely ransport people without any more bells and whistles. But then there should be phones that are not computers that can also make a call if you have enough patience and knowledge and they are not to busy downloading some more crippling software.

So if the above is a more realistic example at the end of the 48 months if you want another new vehicle you have to stump up another deposit of say £6K and pay whatever the new monthly fees are, in the meantime you have rented a vehicle for 48 months at £435/month = £20920, is servicing and tyres etc extra? I cannot see how 30yearsacustomer can have done the same for £300 per month and have had 8 new vehicles during a 12 year period paying an additional deposit of £500-750 each time, something does not add up. I wont have had a new vehicle every 18 months but I wont have to pay an additional £10k to keep my old Scnorrer next year when I will have had it for 4 years or be without a vehicle.

Good point.

Entretien courant. Both cars had the cambelt changes typpexed on the bonnet slam panel so I think he has the servicing done, he has 2 work vans and she the little hatchback and a people carrier, I think she ignores all the warning lights and just bends his ear when anything goes wrong.

That I understand thanks! I presume thats a better deal than M. Tout le Monde gets? Servicing included sounds good, what happens if something breaks outside of warranty say a cam belt on an ICE or your battery pack taking on water, who gets the bill, you or Motability? Can you exit before the term without penalty to get a new car every couple of years or even every year like 30year........ has done? I paid £3200 for my vehicle 3 years ago, all in with the repairs it stood me in at £4K so after a year I was ahead of the game, short of having an accident I intend to run it forever.

Oh yeah, the little hatchback wouldn't start initially and was showing a low oil warning, French car, French language display and it said "Check Oil" in English 🙄 It wasn't even showing on the dipstick and it took more then 2 litres to get to the correct level, then the starter realy was clicking but no cranking despite the cell voltage being 12.6v, she got it started later after being on charge, probably as soon as I left saying dont try to start it for a couple of hours. Last week the undertray was dragging down the road, I offered to refit it (with tywraps probably) but there was no sign of it today, it probably ground away to nothing then detached itself!

And she cooked the clutch trying to reverse against the handbrake and was creating about the smoke! She's a lovely lady but a bit dramatic, I'm pally with the husband who is working all the hours under the sun at the moment so wanted to help out so he didn't return home to a bent ear! We call it Trop bon, trop con here! She runs an African takeaway resto, authentic Senegalese food and its superb so I'm sure I will be suitably rewarded.