Dipped beam has failed on swimbo's Renault Mergane Cabrio Skip. Just be a fuse or relay thinks I - sort that in 2 minutes - nope

Cabin fuse box has some of the fuses but not the one required - it is in a box in the bonnet, trouble is half the engine has to come out to access the fuses (well the battery and another couple of brackets) whats that all about grrrrrr..

Edited 22 January, 201115 yr by slider

Its not the fuse thats the problem......................you bought a french car thats the problem

Just joking that seems a little extreme! Still its one way to make extra money I guess

That is taking the p@ss! An arm, a leg and half your torso in cost just to change a fuse...

It's when you have to take the bumper and stuff off to change a bulb that gets me, can't remember what french car it was but was well confusing lol

That is French design for you.

Here are a few examples I spotted with Renault, many years ago.

With some 1980's versions of the R5, if you needed to do anything with the battery, you had to drain the coolant system and remove the radiator, as it sat right across the battery terminals.

With some later versions of the R25, changing the spark plugs or leads meant taking the fuel injection system, exhaust system, and air intakes apart as they were wrapped around the top of the engine, obscuring all but one spark plug.

The R18GTL 1.6L Estate had 7 different floorpans (and hence 7 different exhaust layouts), and 135 different carburettor set ups.

The manufacture of some parts of the throttle linkage for the R18 was discontinued only a few years after the car stopped production, so a broken throttle cable often meant scrapping the car!!

(Guess who owned a R18 1.6L GTL Estate??)

That is French design for you.

I never had to take any bits off my Schitroen.

They fell off of their own accord

It's when you have to take the bumper and stuff off to change a bulb that gets me, can't remember what french car it was but was well confusing lol

You might be remembering this video where you have to remove a wheel to change a bulb.

That is taking the p@ss! An arm, a leg and half your torso in cost just to change a fuse...

Indie garage reckoned on an hour of labour to do this. Now where did I put my spanners.......

It's when you have to take the bumper and stuff off to change a bulb that gets me, can't remember what french car it was but was well confusing lol

That sounds like a Fiat Stilo, mate had his done at a garage even after finding a how to guide on the tinternet.

Have you seen some of the super designs VAG have too?

All cars have to get a lot more kit, into a lot less space, while still providing enough space for the person that walked out without looking to hit their head on the bonnet and not get hurt.

That aside, fuses and bulbs should be changeable without any tools at the road side IMHO as the French police will shoot you for no lights.

Even 'proper' Skodas aren't immune to this sort of thing - my only option to replace the 2 blown bulbs in my A/C and recirculation switches is a new switch unit, a snip at £80 for what is essentially just the regular Felicia fan switch with a couple of pushbuttons added. Plus, to get it out of the dashboard involved dismantling parts of the front suspension - figure that one out!

Even 'proper' Skodas aren't immune to this sort of thing - my only option to replace the 2 blown bulbs in my A/C and recirculation switches is a new switch unit, a snip at £80 for what is essentially just the regular Felicia fan switch with a couple of pushbuttons added. Plus, to get it out of the dashboard involved dismantling parts of the front suspension - figure that one out!

Is a '99 Felicia worth £80

Is a '99 Felicia worth £80

Well, 4 nearly-new EcoContact 3's + a ton of scrap should be worth at least £300

A friend of mine has a Clio 182, which broke it's alternator drive belt. After trying everything he could think of, he had to take the car to a dealer, as they have the special tools needed to get to the bolts. After getting it back and paying through the nose (2 hours labour), his alternator failed 2 weeks later. Cue another trip to the dealer, and another 2 hours labour. How long before Renault (and other manufacturers) make their cars a "sealed unit"?

Phil

Volvo v70, front bumper has to come off to change drivers side bulbs. Volvo charge 1.5 hours labour for this.

Or what about £625 for a new seatbelt on a V70? Have a minor bump with 4 on board, get stung for 4 new seatbelts, plus a couple of air bags. Total cost £3,500 from a stealer.

My cars either a front bumper off, or remove the indicator unit, battery/ air intake (depending on side) and get someone else to help you just to change the bulbs on either side.

No ones mentioned checking the PAS fluid level on a Fabia vRS yet.. surprises me...

Or the back to front Fuse diagram... very helpful.

Still, Headlight "consumables" should be accessible by Joe Bloggs, being such a fundamental safety part.

Edited 25 January, 201115 yr by Rob.

Dipped beam has failed on swimbo's Renault Mergane Cabrio Skip. Just be a fuse or relay thinks I - sort that in 2 minutes - nope

Cabin fuse box has some of the fuses but not the one required - it is in a box in the bonnet, trouble is half the engine has to come out to access the fuses (well the battery and another couple of brackets) whats that all about grrrrrr..

Aren't the second set of Megane fuses under the battery? Think 'half the engine out' is pushing it a bit!

As said, it's just the nature of modern car design. More kit, more safety regs - less space in the engine bay.

Aren't the second set of Megane fuses under the battery? Think 'half the engine out' is pushing it a bit!

As said, it's just the nature of modern car design. More kit, more safety regs - less space in the engine bay.

The fuse are in a box alongside the battery. Conviently the cover of the fuse box is simply removed via to studs. Unfortunatly this only lets you see that the fuses are actually in there - the battery and varios other bits and bobs need to be removed to remove and replace the fuses.

I never had to take any bits off my Schitroen.

They fell off of their own accord

LOL - Seriously seems a bit over the top to change a fuse