Austin 7

Hi. I found this description for a VW Golf, which should give some idea of what the charcoal canister does: Evaporative emissions system Function description of EVAP canister system Depending upon the air pressure and ambient temperature, fuel vapour will form above the level of fuel in the tank. The Evaporative Emissions system prevents these HC emissions escaping to the atmosphere. In limited quantities, fuel vapours pass through a gravity valve (which closes at an angle of 45) located at the highest point in the tank and through a pressure retention valve into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) canister. The EVAP canister stores these vapours like a sponge When the oxygen sensor control is active when driving (engine warm), the EVAP canister purge regulator valve -N80-, is activated (pulsed) from the engine control module depending upon load and engine speed. The opening period is dependent on the input signals. Intake manifold vacuum draws fresh air through the vent opening on the underside of the EVAP canister during the purging procedure (regenerating the activated charcoal in the canister). The fuel vapours stored in the activated charcoal and fresh air are pulse-fed for combustion

Hi rover220 "problematic as the earlier 122ps ones" What problems are you referring to ? My 1.4TSi 122ps has been problem free for 8 years and 60K miles. It returns 42 MPG long term average.

In case it helps understand the balance shaft function: "Two cylinder block housed balance shafts are used to counteract unwanted vibration at engine speeds above 4000 rpm from being transmitted to the car body.The balance shafts run at twice the engine speed in opposite direction from one another. The direction of the second shaft is reversed by an idler gear. The horizontally staggered arrangement of the balance shafts also helps reduce vibration.The balance shafts are made from spheroidal graphite cast iron and run in three bearings." In essence, these are rotating eccentric iron weights which produce a vibration equal and opposite to the engine's secondary vibration, which therefore cancels it out for smoother running. This refinement in engine design tends to be used for larger capacity 4 cylinder engines, and has been around since Lanchester invented it many decades ago. The shafts are buried fairly deeply within the cylinder block, and are normally a reliable component unless there has been a problem with the lubrication of their bearings.

You could try a 21 Watt halogen type. Same current drain, same heat but roughly 40% more light.

Hi Helix I know this is an old thread, but did you resolve the issue ? It looked to me as though 1.) your car was OK, 2.) the garage worked on it, and then 3.) it wasn't OK. Conclusion, they must have done something ! If the cambelt is fitted one tooth out, it will run poorly but the software may just be able to maintain the correct idle speed and mask the issue to some extent. One tooth error either way probably isn't quite enough to incur any valve versus piston damage. I once had a Polo which had the cambelt changed by an independent VW specialist near Totton in Southampton. It ran like a dog afterwards, but they were adamant they had done it correctly, even going as far as to say that the notch marking on the lower pulley (which didn't line up with the fixed mark) "must have been put on wrong in the factory". Four years later I replaced the belt myself, and the car was transformed back into a lively youngster. By then the franchise had gone bust. Yep, despite the bluster they had indeed got it one tooth out.

From your description it doesn't sound like wheel bearings to me. They tend to get noisy gradually over 1000's of miles, and are unlikey to both fail at the same time. One test is to listen when cornering on a smooth road - the noise will tend to get louder when the bad bearing is on the outside of the corner, i.e. when it is loaded up. And of course, they make no noise at all when stationary. The only time I have ever had a wheel bearing fail suddenly on a car was after fording deep water and then not using the car for a week, the bearing internals went rusty as water had got in past a faulty oil seal (it had a tiny nick in it). By all means get the bearings changed if you have confidence in the diagnosis. But brace yourself for it making no difference. I am in more agreement with the posters who suggested the noise came from escaping exhaust gas or a hole in the air intake or breather systems. Also worth checking the exhaust and engine pipework for any contact with the bodywork which could conduct buzzing sounds. As an example, I once had an Audi A3 that made underbonnet exhaust-leak noises. After a lot of investigation, a combination of ears, nose and touch found a leak at the back of the engine. Impossible to see without a mirror. A casting with various stubs for pipes had an unused way blanked off in production with a thin metal plug. This had rusted through with a hole a few mm across and was puffing out exhaust gas.

I bought Brembo rear discs and pads. Equipped with a windback tool and a 12 point spline bit adaptor for the caliper bolts I set to work. After an hour I gave up as I just couldn't shift the caliper bolts and couldn't even get the disc off the hub (yes I did remove the retaing screw) to try fiddling it past the caliper. In the end my local garage fitted the parts for me, and said that even they found the bolts tight. So be prepared for a struggle !

Hi. The AdBlue has to be topped up from time to time, depending on your mileage. The tank holds 8.5 litres which is enough for about 4000 miles, and you will get a warning if there isn't enough left for about 1500 miles. I think it would be very unlikely that you had any in the tank that was over 4 years old, unless you covered less than 1000 miles per year. Any decent brand will do (All AdBlue is the same), but as filling the tank is a bit of a faff you might want to get the dealer to do it in which case they will most likely use Skoda branded stuff which I doubt is the cheapest.

I am of the age that remembers new-ish well maintained cars that were still a pig to re-start when hot, no-one would dare to cut the ignition when waiting in a summer traffic jam. I am rather glad that my current petrol Yeti doesn't have stop-start, I think I would find it a confounded nuisance. I am lucky enough to live in a semi rural area. When I occasionally venture in to Southampton (home of the red traffic light), the MPG readout drops from its normal 43 down to 35 if I am lucky. I guess the percentage fuel saving from stop-start must vary tremendously depending on how much idling time you are forced to encounter. Trying to put some figures on it, if you do 10000 miles a year at 40 mpg that's about £1300 in fuel. If as a city dweller the stop-start improved that by 4% to 41.6 mpg the fuel bills would drop by £50. Over 4 years that would be a saving of £200. But if you are paying near £300 a time for a special battery, compared to £100 for a normal one, that saving has just disappeared !

Hi Nicco The exhaust inspection light comes on to tell you that the vehicle emissions may be exceeding the standard. This could be caused by a variety of different faults, the fault code(s) will be logged (even if the light goes off again) and can be read/reset. A proper VAG code reader will often give more detail than a generic one. Modern diesels use the glow plugs for cold starting, but also to reduce emissions by turning them on when the engine is lightly loaded and not producing enough heat on its own. So their function is individually monitored by the ECU, and a glow plug which draws too much or too little current will be flagged up. I don't know if the Yeti flags up a general glow plug fault or if it can pinpoint which plug is faulty. Apart from using the ECU and fault code interrogation, glow plugs can be tested in situ. A simple ohmmeter is better than nothing ( a reading of about one ohm is typical ), but a specialist diesel workshop will have a glow plug tester. This applies enough test current to get the glowplug realistically hot, which can show up intermittent faults that an ohmmeter can't. Assuming you have a faulty glowplug, you need to get it replaced. It's often advised to replace all of them, on the basis that if one fails the others won't be far behind. However, as your garage have hinted, replacement can be problematic. Engine development has led to the adoption of long, slender plugs. After a few years, these can be seized in place due to corrosion and carbon buildup. An experienced mechanic armed with the right penetrating lubricant, heat and patience can often succeed in getting them out. An impatient or ham fisted one can easily shear off the relatively weak hollow top and you enter a world of pain. At this point, most garages (even main dealers) will pass the work over to a mobile specialist who can drill the plug out without damaging the head, using a battery of special jigs and tools. This could take over an hour per plug, so the attraction of replacing all of them begins to wane. From the above, you can see that the stakes are high, and you need to be certain that a glow plug really is the cause of your problem before going down the replacement road. The plugs are cheap enough, it's the labour that's the killer !

The 16" wheels I fitted were Skoda 7J x 16" ET45 "Spectrum" alloys, which are also used on the Skoda superb (3T) 2008> Ordering number for Skoda original accessories = Serial Number of the Wheel + Serial Number of the Lid (Centre Cap ?) CCR 800 001 = 3T0 601 025 + 6U0 601 151L MHB Bolt torque 120 Nm Wheel weight measures about 10.5 kg with no tyre. I use 215/60 R16 Tyres

I switch back and forth between summer tyres on 17" wheels and winters on 16". The 16" wheels/tyres give a slightly less harsh ride over sharp edged bumps, ruts and ridges. It feels like someone has draped a thin rubber sheet over the road. The underlying Yeti ride quality remains, i.e. fidgety on lumpy and undulating roads because of the firm dampers and strong anti-roll bars Skoda fit to counteract the raised C of G. This is true of most SUV's however. There is a little more dive on braking and roll on roundabouts, and the response to steering a little less incisive, I assume this is all due to more flexible tyre sidewalls. However, you soon get used to it.

Hi If you fit a single mass flywheel, the gearbox will be subjected to higher peak torque as the cyclic fluctuations aren't smoothed out. So even if you are prepared to put up with the increased noise and vibration, the gear teeth might not. Remapping will increase torque, which will further eat into any margin of strength the gearbox might have.

Hi umpie This warning light is oddly named, maybe a translation error. It means that there is a fault which makes the vehicle no longer comply with its emission standard. So not necessarily the exhaust system as such. The only way to get more detailed information is to have the stored fault code(s) read. One thing that can trigger it on the 1.2 TSi is a misfire due to deterioration and break down of the plug lead insulation. The HT voltage will sometimes spark to the nearest metal instead of firing the plug. I believe Number 3 in particular is routed near the exhaust and doesn't take kindly to being cooked. Modified ones are now supplied as replacements. I suggest you check all the leads visually. The plugs are supposed to be changed every 40000 miles, and wide gaps from worn plugs will increase the firing voltage and aggravate this problem.

If you get interaction between different sets of lights, it is very often a sign that a common earth connection is bad or missing. The current from one bulb or set of bulbs cannot flow directly to earth, but finds a path "backwards" through another bulb or bulbs that share the same common earth. This is very commonplace with trailers, where one pin of the trailer plug performs the earthing function for all the trailer lights. If the pin corrodes or the wire drops off you get the effect above. Since the bulbs are in series, they don't get full voltage and therefore don't glow as brightly as they should. On the Yeti, it may also play havoc with the bulb failure monitoring system.

Having researched this MOT and 13 pin Trailer socket tester subject, it would appear that this farcical situation has been going on for over 5 years ! Apparently there ARE socket testers on the approved list which use incandescent bulbs and therefore work properly. I guess your MOT garage has somehow never woken up to the situation. Some folks plug in a cheap 13 pin to 7 pin adaptor prior to the test, the socket then counts as 7 pin and doesn't need testing. Logic and MOT's don't necessarily coincide !

Hi The self levelling will affect both headlights equally. It's driven from a sensor with alittle arm linked to the rear suspension. I believe the individual headlight units still have mechanical up/down and left/right adjustments by hex key, in addition to the "software" setting for levelling. Unfortunately I have no info on which screw is which, so it's a case of trial and error. I vaguely remember seeing a story that the official MOT approved trailer socket tester gives the wrong result. A case of common sense having to over-rule what the "computer says" !

Hi The Yeti doesn't have a choke as such, but the engine management may temporarily set a faster idling speed when cold, I assume that's what you are referring to. The alternator should charge the battery even at normal idling speed, and you should measure about 14.0 to 14.5 volts with the engine running. It could be that your battery was already on its way out, and the extra current drain of the dashcam (there will be some even when the car isn't running) is taking its voltage too low. You shouldn't see much less than 12.5 Volts on a good battery when it has been sat for a while with the engine off. The problem with tired batteries is that the voltages once charged may seem OK, but their energy capacity in Ampere Hours drops to a much lower figure and they have no stamina. If you imagine a tiny motorbike battery fitted inside a large case you will get the idea. If your car is a good starter and it's summer, you can get away with abattery in this condition for a while, but you are on borrowed time.

"I'd have thought it would cause a continuous noise" When I had a stone in a front brake, the noise would come and go with cornering, braking and reversing. The stone that came out had been "tumbled" to the size and shape of a small pea, with a metallic appearance. Presumably, as it rolls around it can get sidelined for a while and then drop back down later into a position that causes mischief. I guess it all depends on the original size and shape of the stone.

Hi I'd be inclined to eliminate the obvious by carefully checking for a small trapped stone somewhere in a caliper or between disc and dust cover. You may need to take the wheels off to get a good enough look.

Hi You are getting a power failure that affects multiple items. This implies that a break or short circuit is happening fairly close to the power source (battery/alternator). The power comes back on again, so it's not a blown fuse. It's affected by vibration/rough roads. So, the things to check are any heavy duty electrical connections, starting (as Weasley suggests) with both the battery terminals. If no problem there, look further afield for any loose connections or (less likely) places where insulation has worn through resulting in a short circuit. Electric power steering is quite a "big hitter" for current demand, and will have thick cabling. I don't have access to the Yeti manual at the moment, but suspect that it is either unfused or fed via a maxi fuse. These are often situated on a plate right next to the positive terminal of the battery. Check that all the nuts are tight here.

Hi To correct my earlier post, from studying the parts diagram it would seem that item 17 has an electrical feed and three hose ports. It is variously described as "Pressure Converter", "Turbo Solenoid Valve" or "Boost Control Valve". This will convey an electrically variable blend of vacuum or filtered air at atmospheric pressure to the turbo wastegate. So I think the pipe in question simply feeds air at atmospheric pressure to this Solenoid valve, and this air is picked off downstream of the main air filter to make sure it's clean. As the pipe isn't under pressure, a reliable repair should be easier.

Hi I am ready for others more familiar with diesels to correct me, but it looks like the small (holed) pipe leads from the inlet trunking via the cylindrical pressure damper to the inlet manifold pressure sensor (MAP sensor). If so, a leak will mean that air will be noisily blown out when under turbo boost pressure, and that the MAP sensor won't give the correct electrical reading for the ECU. Might be possible to repair the hole with some rubber tube and hose clips. How did the pipe get damaged ? Something rubbing ? Mice ? Do let us know.

My 2012 1.4 TSi had a distinct buzzing noise when idling, clearly audible both inside the cabin and from under the car. The slightest increase in revs stopped it. I had visions of failing timing chain or AC compressor, both £££ jobs. After much investigation the cause was found - a loose fuel line. There are two fuel lines, black and white, which run from the filter next to the tank forward to the engine bay on the driver's side (RHD). After removing the plastic underbody cover (8 captive nuts, 10 mm AF) and the resident spiders, it was clear that the pipes are well cleated at the back half. However, the front half of their run is within a box section, and probing with a finger through an oval slot on its underside it was clear that they are not cleated inside but free to move about. This was the cause of them buzzing against the floor, at a point just in front of the driver's seat. I am not sure whether this is vibration being conducted from the engine or the pulses of fuel in the pipes making them move. The cure was to add some plastic foam against the pipes, with a stout plastic tywrap on top to hold it all firmly into a corner of the box section. Fortunately there was already a small hole in the side of the box section level with the oval slot, so the tywrap could loop into the slot and out through the hole. Total cost to me - nil.

Hi The amount of heat a modern efficient engine produces varies over a surprisingly wide range, depending on how hard it's working. At idle its not very much, at motorway speeds or hill climbing many kilowatts. The thermostat takes care of this by regulating the flow to the radiator, if it's working properly. So the immediate suspects are a thermostat jammed shut or nearly shut, and/or a failed water pump. I once had a water pump fail on an Audi. It had a plastic impeller (accountants idea to save 10p maybe ?) which split allowing it to lose its grip on the shaft. You should be OK driving gently for short distances, keeping the heater on maximum with the blower going and keeping an eye on the water temperature.