[Paul B]

I couldn't believe that despite it literally billowing white smoke in front of the dealership (I declined to park it as it was that bad I just stopped it as soon as I was on their property) he still tried to continue the sale!

[Fultonius]

Re 1.6 S. If it’s the supercharged one then it’s a blast but renowned for being tricky to run. Drinks oil (a litre per 1000miles isn’t unusual and ‘within manufacturers tolerances) hence the likely smells on your test drive Paul. Of course if something breaks expect a large bill given all the supercharged gubbins.

I think they changed to a turbo around 08/09 so might be a turbo one - which I’m afraid I know nothing about! Except it’s probably a good laugh to drive!

I'm pretty sure it's the turbo version (173BHP) but I'll check. Not planning on keeping it long, so the most important thing is it's a good price with nothing major looming. Test drove one with 90k miles for £3400 and it was very clean and tidy. Might be my last bit of petrol fun before going electric.

[tommytwotone]

Not much to add but I bought a Shed money (£1400) sub-60k mile Mini One back in Nov and kind of wish I'd held out for a Cooper S, as while this one's fun to chuck about, it's pretty gutless...I think 74bhp from the specs!

Have been stalking Cooper S-es on eBay for a while but really hard to find one that's reasonable mileage / not been Barried. If you've found a good one then go for it, you'll be able to flip it in 6 months for what you paid with the car market as it is.

[Paul B]

Not much to add but I bought a Shed money (£1400) sub-60k mile Mini One back in Nov and kind of wish I'd held out for a Cooper S, as while this one's fun to chuck about, it's pretty gutless...I think 74bhp from the specs!

This was my main complaint about the Cooper D which I think was 112bhp.

£3400 seems like a good deal to me. I traded in our Cooper D for similar money recently (to an indy dealer) and it's no longer on his website.

[James Malloch]

Our Electronic Stability Control (ESC) light is coming on a lot when we’re going up switch backs in Margalef. It’s an L4 Peugeot Boxer so we’re having to do 3 point turns on some of them.

I think the steep turn is meaning that the wheels are at odd positions relative to each other and is triggering the light.

Anything I should worry about? Didn’t have it on the first trip to this parking, but happened a lot today.

[remus]

Our Electronic Stability Control (ESC) light is coming on a lot when we’re going up switch backs in Margalef. It’s an L4 Peugeot Boxer so we’re having to do 3 point turns on some of them.

I think the steep turn is meaning that the wheels are at odd positions relative to each other and is triggering the light.

Anything I should worry about? Didn’t have it on the first trip to this parking, but happened a lot today.

Sounds a lot like it's a false positive, those turns are pretty tight from memory.

[spidermonkey09]

If that's the only corner it's happening on, and its an extreme corner, then I'd ignore it

[James Malloch]

Cheers. It’s only happening whilst trying to start on a steep corner with full lock on. And only on the worst ones.

Just a few really tight corners on the way to Espedelles - think I’ve got the line sorted for all but 1 now so we will see how it goes next time we go there.

[Paul B]

My folks are going to be selling their cars shortly. I doubt they'll be of interest to anyone here but you never know; one is my Dad's 05 3.2 V6 Quattro TT in red (66k miles). It's never floated my boat but it is immaculate and it displaced my car out of the garage when they moved in last winter. We thought it had an issue with the subframe but it went to a garage recently with the intention of it being replaced and after cleaning it up everything was actually OK (I think he got before/after photos). If anyone is interested I can get some photos together.

[cheque]

My other half has a 63-plate Suzuki  she barely drove it over the winter and in February it wouldn’t start. I couldn’t jump start it either so we assumed the battery was dead.

An AA bloke was called out and he replaced the battery. That fixed it.

Unfortunately she only got a chance to drive it once before breaking her leg. After the dust had settled from that I got myself insured on it so I could keep the car running while she’s got her Ilizarov frame on.

It wouldn’t start again and I again had no success jump starting it. Got a gadget to charge the battery off the mains and charged it up that way. It still won’t bloody start.

Anyone have any idea why? It surely isn’t a complicated reason.

Update on this- I didn’t do anything else with it apart from unsuccessfully trying to start it a few more times.

Today she got the AA out again. Turns out the problem was with the immobiliser not recognising the key- the plastic housing of her key that opens the doors remotely fell apart last winter so she’d been using the spare key that doesn’t have buttons. A few days before she broke her leg I’d fixed it with a new housing from eBay. I didn’t replace anything electronic so didn’t think about immobiliser issues but apparently if the key’s without the battery for a while the immobiliser forgets it.

With the accident we’d both forgotten the timeline of these events so didn’t realise that the fixed key was untested… so I could have been driving the car around this whole time using the other key .

[James Malloch]

Knew I should have sorted something but I ran out of time.

Haven’t actually tried yet but is there anything I should be careful of for a car that’s been sat for 3 months? Been on flat ground. Will check tyre pressures but anything in particular to be aware of? Breaks sticking, oil etc?

It’s an 09 Diesel Berlingo.

[tommytwotone]

First port of call on any of my sheds would be a jump-start / battery pack etc!

Brakes will probably be a bit rusty / bind-y but a good run will take off the top layer. Don't think 3 months is long enough to worry about bad fuel or anything.

I'd probably start up and get up to temperature before going anywhere first.

[James Malloch]

First port of call on any of my sheds would be a jump-start / battery pack etc!

Brakes will probably be a bit rusty / bind-y but a good run will take off the top layer. Don't think 3 months is long enough to worry about bad fuel or anything.

I'd probably start up and get up to temperature before going anywhere first.

Thanks! I’ll give that a go today 🙂

[tommytwotone]

Obviously check your fluids etc, both of mine have minor "non-excessive" oil leaks so a top-up might be in order if it's been sat.

Only other thing I can think of might be a quick visual check of your pipework, just make sure none of your hoses have perished / come away or whatever, but again I think 3 months isn't really long enough on a modern-ish car to worry about that kind of thing.

[James Malloch]

Started first time and all the checks seemed okay too. Thanks for the help!

I felt like a racing driver after 3 months of driving a van!

[James Malloch]

Does anyone know what this cable is going to the front wheel? (2017 Peugeot Boxer Van)

Just noticed that the passenger side one has detached at some point…

Drivers side:


Passenger side:

[remus]

Anti lock brake sensor perhaps? I think some cars (newer than mine!) Have brake pad wear sensors, could be that?

[remus]

Ah yeah looks like a brake pad wear sensor. Fiat ducato is a very similar van, pics here https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Ducato-front-brake-pad-warning-light/49065/

[James Malloch]

Thanks Remus! That sounds like it - will get it sorted soon but good to know it shouldn’t cause any danger driving this weekend…

[Fiend]

Okay got a bit of a CCFC mystery for you chaps to get stuck into (and PB to gloat over because he hates me for not getting a 25mpg boy racer car).

I have an intermittent and seemingly random coolant leak. Quite often after a long-ish journey, the coolant will drain out overnight whilst the car is parked. There is occasionally a small amount of draining during a journey, but this is less noticeable. One time when I stopped the car and left it running, there was a bit of spluttering and coolant escape from the coolant reservoir, but again this seems to rarely happen.

There is no steam or anything appearing. There's no increase in engine temp at all. No difference with the heatwave. No other issues with the car running at all.

One garage saw some residue around the water pump. They gave me some radiator sealer cement to see if that work, but it didn't., so I got the water pump and the timing belt replaced.

The local independent specialist also checked it and did a pressure test and couldn't find anything wrong. They replaced the coolant reservoir, just in case.

The problem is still occurring. There is some evidence of coolant leakage around the (new) reservoir, and below it into the engine area. I have tried several times to place a rag beneath the reservoir overnight to see if it leaks, this has invariably coincided with the system deciding not to leak that time.

The local specialist did suggest it might be some block in the heater matrix causing over-pressurisation of the system, although I'm not sure how this would cause a parked-up leak. They were quite keen to moan about me using Radweld at the previous garages suggestion, but I have been quite clear to point out the leak was happening for a few WEEKS before I was anywhere near the radweld.

Help??

[Lopez]

Hose down the whole engine area around the reservoir, pump, radiator, coolant hoses, etc. basically anywhere around where coolant lives. Get coolant UV dye and put it in the reservoir.Every night have a good look with a UV light all around these areas. The origin of the leak will present itself in pretty lights. To find the cause of the leak you reverse engineer from there

[nic mullin]

Is the radiator fan working? You should hear it e.g. when you’re stopped in traffic on a hot day. If not it could cause the coolant to boil and leak out from the header tank after you stop the engine from hot. If the fan isn’t coming on, check the fuse, relay, connector and wiring for the fan. As it sounds like it’s intermittent, it’s probably not the fuse, but worth checking anyway.

A clogged radiator or heater matrix can also cause this, even if the fan runs. Cooling systems tend to be designed with a lot of safety margin, so your rad can be pretty far gone and still not overheat when running. When the car is up to temp on the gauge, feel the radiator and the fat hoses at either end. The rad should be warm all the way across, and both hoses should be too. If it’s hot on one side but cold on the other, it’s blocked. If the rad and the hoses don’t heat up, the thermostat has failed, this is quick and cheap to replace, but I think it’d be overheating regularly if it had gone.

The dye suggestion above is a good call. Alternatively a cardboard box under the engine bay when you park up might help show you where the leak is, depending on undertrays etc.

Also check thoroughly for wet carpets in the front footwells, which would suggest a leak around the heater matrix. The heater matrix tends to be a pig to get to, and if it’s clogged rather than leaking doesn’t have any unambiguous symptoms. Eliminate the other stuff first.

If you need to keep driving it while you work out what’s up, carry water and a towel. Most things that this could be will get worse and cause an overheat or major failure somewhere else in the cooling system sooner or later. If you need to add water, let it cool down for a bit before you open the header tank, and do it gingerly using the towel over the cap. If you open it hot it’ll piss boiling coolant all over your hands, which is best avoided.

Hope that helps.

[Fiend]

Thanks Nic and Lopez.

I will keep an ear out for the fan, although I do think there is enough whirring noises when I've stopped the car to indicate it's working.

When I stop, turn off the engine and check the coolant, it's usually hot but doesn't seem to be boiling excessively. I'll keep an eye on that too.

I'll check the radiator, once I work out which bits to check from what you said.

The dye test is a bit hampered by no hosepipe to clean the compartment and nowhere to attach a hosepipe where I live.

There's no dampness inside the footwells that I can notice and I do check them occasionally to remove the massive amount of rice-cake crumbs that build up.

I do take a few litres of water around with me to top up the coolant. Since it usually disappears after the car has been parked a while, it's not too much of an issue to refill.

I also have a rag that I often leave wedged under the coolant reservoir to see if it's leaking noticeably from there, on the garage's suggestion. This so far has inevitably corresponded with the coolant miraculously deciding to not drain on that occasion 

[tommytwotone]

Must be the CCFC season.

After over 4 years and 30k+ miles of pretty decent Shed service, I took the Saab to Tescos to check the air and fill up, ironically before it was due to be taken off down to Windsor by my other half on a break.

My car admin was somewhat interrupted by the large amount of liquid under the engine and the sickening realisation it wasn't just a puddle.

Got back in, gingerly started up - temp fine, running fine, stopped and started fine. Went to manoeuvre the car and felt like I needed Hulk muscles to turn the wheel. Seems it had dumped all the power steering fluid all over the car park.

Looking at a pricey repair - and we don't really need 2 cars any more, let alone a sub 30mpg high-tax-band liability.

Glad I've owned it, I'll miss the turbo fun but the scrapper is coming Thursday to pick it up.

[nic mullin]

I also have a rag that I often leave wedged under the coolant reservoir to see if it's leaking noticeably from there, on the garage's suggestion. This so far has inevitably corresponded with the coolant miraculously deciding to not drain on that occasion 

Sounds like you’ve found a fix

Another thing that occurs - did the garage pressure test it warm or cold? I’ve never done it but would have thought you’d normally want to do it warm. In your case cold might be better, as that’s when you see the coolant loss.