Railroad

Just remember that they provide a breakdown service, not a mobile garage and fault rectification service. The patrol will most likely plug in and tell you what fault code/s are present, and then advise you to take it to your garage. I've worked for both companies, and neither will spend too much time repairing it for free, as it's not in their interest to. On a busy day there will be plenty of members waiting for service.....

Just to reiterate what's already been said. Many people panic and think they have a head gasket problem when they see this, when in fact this occurrence is far more often than not due to the engine always being cool because of continuous short journeys, or an engine running too cool possibly due to a faulty thermostat. Try to use the car for longer runs if you can, and change the oil and filter at least once a year regardless of mileage.....

The cooling fans will only work when the engine reaches a certain temperature. Under normal driving conditions this will not be reached as long there is sufficient airflow through the radiator, the cooling system is circulating correctly and engine heat is dissipating properly. When you are stationary or in slow moving traffic this airflow is reduced, and then the fans should be deployed when required to draw air through the radiator. If your car has air conditioning the fans should work when it is switched on. The A/C will not work if the fans don't. The relay for the cooling fans is behind and below N/S headlamp. The engine ECM will switch the relay to operate the fans when the engine temperature gets too high.....

My sister has a 58reg Golf, and she can activate the anti-hijack facility or disable it as she wishes by selecting that function on the dash. She doesn't need VCDS to do it. I don't know for sure, but the new Octavia just may be the same.....

I don't believe it. I last posted about this over 2 months ago and it seemed ok, and now the fookin' thing's leaking again after all this time.......

Take all the manufacturers service intervals with a huge pinch of salt. They're nothing but sales pitch. The service indicator default is set to 15,000km on fixed service intervals, but that can be changed using VCDS. Even though oils and fuels have improved over the years and engines do burn cleaner it's still very good practice to change the engine oil and filter at least once a year, and twice a year is better still regardless of mileage. I change my oil and filter twice a year in June and December, and the air filter, fuel filter and pollen filter once a year in June. I do about 10,000 miles per year. The cambelt is recommended to be renewed at 60,000 miles or 4 years whichever comes first, but would you be happy if yours broke at 59,000 miles or 3 years 11 months? No, of course not, so some common sense must be applied here.

I don't altogether subscribe to this 'change everything just for the sake of it' ideology. I did my cambelt just over a year ago after it had done 80,000 miles, and I kid you not there was nothing wrong with the old tensioner or rollers. There was no wear in the bearings at all, and the oil seals were in perfect condition, yet I changed them because they were part of the kit. The water pump was also in perfect condition and so I saw no reason to change it......

The heater blower on my TDi110 Elegance seems to have developed a fault. It works, but the speed is constantly varying. It goes from slow to fast, and all over the place. I've checked the voltage using VCDS and it's constant for any given speed. This leads me to assume that the fan itself might be beginning to fail. Also when the ignition is switched on a noise from the underside of the dash on the passenger side is apparent. It sounds like a motor that's moving from one side to the other, and unable to find where it needs to be. If I go into basic settings using VCDS in the HVAC module I can induce a code relating to V71 Flap Motor intermittent fault. I can't remember the exact code off the top of my head, but I'll post again if anyone has any ideas. In any case if this code appears I can move all the motors one way and the other and then the code will clear, so I've never been that worried about it. I do wonder if it might be related to the blower issue though. Obviously I don't want to just go and buy a new fan if it doesn't need it, so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

It doesn't work with a Jaguar X-Type 2.0 Diesel. That's basically a Ford in any case so I'm not entirely surprised.....

I've scanned a V reg Astra 2.0DTi, that worked fine. Also a 08 reg 1.6 Fiesta was fine......

I plugged my VCDS into an 05 reg Transit today because it's developed a fault. It would not allow me to access the engine control unit via OBD II, the first vehicle I've tried that hasn't. Anyone know of any more that won't?.....

I have a friend with a Golf who has exactly the same problem. I've checked the fan relay and that's OK. I'm now along the lines of thinking that the fault is either the pressure sensor or the temperature sensor, but as yet it's not fixed. Please post back if you find out what the problem is......

A faulty battery's much more likely to show up when the engine's cold. Does the engine crank over well when it's warm? If not I'd check the starter motor connections and engine earth. Measure the voltage drop on both sides of the starter motor with a multi-meter, it should not be more than 0.5volts. If the engine cranks over properly then I'd next look at the crankshaft speed sensor. I think they're the inductive pulse type, and if they are it's resistance may be too low when warm which would mean the ECM doesn't get to know the engine is turning. You can check this with a multi-meter too. Disconnect it and measure it's resistance. I don't know the actual value, but I'd guess it'd be somewhere between 200 & 1,500 ohms. Then switch to AC volts and crank the engine. Your meter should read upwards of 0.5volts AC. If this is not achieved the sensor should be replaced. Having said that this test will prove nothing if it's the Hall Effect type. Often the IP type will have two wires, or possibly three but one will be a screened earth. The HE type will definitely have three wires, labelled +, O -. (positive, zero & negative). In the case check for a live supply at +. Make sure - has a good earth, and then crank the engine with your voltmeter probed between O and earth. You should see a switch on and off. If you do it's working. From there check to make sure you have a good supply to the fuel stop solenoid, and check to make sure that fuel is not draining back to the tank, but again this will be much more likely when left overnight......

This topic has been done to death but since you mention it my TDi110 estate averages about 42mpg overall. I can get 50+mpg on a longer run, and have even seen 60mpg average on certain runs. I do put it down to the way it's driven and the type of journeys it's used for. I've scanned mine several times with VCDS, and it runs very well. It doesn't smoke which would otherwise indicate over-fuelling, so I'm not convinced there's too much wrong with it. Other owners do claim to average 50-55mpg consistently, but mine never does. I'd say I get 450 miles to a full tank on average......

That is indeed very true. It's also why these extended warranties on such items that the retailers want us to take out at extra cost are nothing but a con. The first year is covered by the purchaser's statutory rights anyway, so you're paying for the years after that, where as rwbaldwin quite rightly says the chances of failure are extremely slim......

On an Astra F you must clamp the brake pipe and open the bleed nipple when you do this. Failure to do so will result in the master cylinder seals becoming irreparably damaged and will need to be replaced. Just thought I'd mention that......

The alternator's job is to charge the battery, which would otherwise go flat as you drive as electrical loads such as headlamps, heated screen, heater blower, wipers, indicators etc are used. Assuming your car's charging system isn't working, it might start today, it might start tomorrow and the next day, but there will come a time when the battery's become discharged and it won't start. And the more electrical loads you use the quicker that time will come. If it isn't charging you are asking to break down, and you will soon enough. It's very easy to check the alternator. As long as there's a good battery supply to it, and it has a good earth, and the warning lamp works the alternator itself must be suspected if it's not charging. There really isn't a lot more to it. Your garage presumably will know this. I would expect to pay somewhere around £100 for a replacement alternator + the cost of labour......

My TDi110 Elegance has light colour seats and trim. The seats get easily stained, especially when the kids spill their drinks despite me continually moaning at them not to leave bottles on them. I've tried steaming them, vaxing them and rubbing with a towel with various upholstery cleaners but nothing seems to get them really clean. So can anyone recommend a product or method that works well? Thanks in advance......

This is very common with alloy wheels and surface corrosion. It will come off, you just have to be a bit ruthless and give it some elbow grease......

Not much has changed then it that respect. Vauxhall used to be very sparse with their information too, and in fact I recall one time when we had a running problem with Corsa and eventually turned to Vauxhall Motors for help because despite all our efforts we just could not locate the fault. Vauxhall's answer was "we don't know what the fault is either, but when you do find it please let us know 'cos we've got another 200 just the same"......

Cheers for that. I worked in a Vauxhall dealership for 15 years from 1980-1995, and for the AA and then the RAC from 1995-2007. Things have moved on a bit since then though.....

Thanks for that. How do you find all the codes, and can you tell me where I can find them?......

Cheers, could you point in the direction to find it? Ta......

In that case I might not bother. Even though I do have VCDS I don't know what the code is......

Thanks for that. My mate bought the kit for £54 and fitted it himself. I'll do the same......