intermittent starting

[harpersimon]

well done simon. told you it was a doddle! nice glove btw, shamone!!!!!!

you say back right of the engine, usually in automotive speak left and right mean when facing in direction of travel. this can cause confusion, hence the usual use of nearside/offside or driver's side/passenger side.

did you have the right socket then??

have had to drill out seized sensors before, can you imagine the fun i have.

Thanks for your advice mate - wouldn't say it was a doddle - brake pads are a doddle, replacing a bulb is a doddle - but none the less its doable if you have patience. I expect you have developed a way of doing them!! Certainly don't envy you doing them alot, I had forgotten what spanner rash was like - not much need for cuts on F1 cars!
Have changed the left/right description, you are quite right that may confuse so have gone with the more traditional.
Didn't have the exact socket, used a 4BA that worked well. Tooks some time to work out what was fitting when you can't see it, but once removed turned out to be a perfect fit!

 

[Alex Crow]

so lets hope you have no more breakdowns

just that clicking lever on the flap now then?

 

[harpersimon]

yes - as that sounds like a dash out (!) I might wait - would whatever it is show up on a diag machine? be good to get the car read at some point to see what else there is
Tomorrow is parkbrake adjust if I can work that out, and have a look underneath as I think I have loose parkbrake cables - I get a weird noise from under the gearstick sometimes like a feathery, something catching, low volume loose guard sort of noise. Its been suggested that it could be loose cables.
Might even get a wash and polish in tomrrow before heading down south for the week again - are you at this Warrington meeting next week - be good to say hello

 

[Alex Crow]

it would probably only be a dash out job if it was the recirculating flap servo lever - does the recirculate work ok? yes, a star machine would definately pinpoint the problem.

with the possible cable noise, try applying the brake slightly at car park speeds to see if it changes the noise - this is usually diagnostic. the display will tell you off but we know better

sadly warrington is a little far away from me. might make a suffolk meet though..

 

[harpersimon]

its a very rythmic ticking - no idea what it might be so sooner i get on a star the better. more annoying than worrying though
applying my park brake at car park speeds will be ok probably as mines useless.. maybe do that before i adjust it.
I'll have to pop over at somepoint - as I mentioned, I spend most of the time South (although recently been out of the Country alot)

 

[Alex Crow]

if the 'ticking' is in about 1 or 2 second intervals for around 30 or 40 seconds when you start, then stops untill the next startup, you can be fairly sure of the cause. especially if this ticking sounds like someone flicking a tupperware box, or perhaps tapping the inside of the dash with a spoon .

i have some great conversations with people about noises, usually good fun getting them to imitate it - some are shy so i start of with 'does it sound like this?..........................'

 

[harpersimon]

exactly like that, just a little closer together than 1-2 seconds, more like half a second.
tat tat..tat....tat tat..tat....tat tat...tat.. for about 30 - 40 secs as u say, then stops until I next fire the car up. I don't think there is as much air from the centre vents as I would expect.. so maybe related. Definately a flap motor or connection. sounds like tapping the dash or a hard plastic surface with the back of your nail

 

[Alex Crow]

that's it. most people live with it when they are quoted a price for the job, even my speedy fix costs £120 to £150 including the vat. i could do it on the drive but, as yet, do not have my own star and the boss takes a dim view of borrowing his tools. he on the other hand is more than happy to pinch mine!

i suppose, simon, you could book it in with my work for the das tests circa 15-20 mins absolute max and tell them that you will book it in when time/funds allow. then get it fixed by someone else for a lower rate. the fix should have the fault codes reset but will relearn itself fairly quickly.

 

[harpersimon]

As I said its not a massive massive scene, just turn the stereo up louder when I start off!
one day i'll get a roundtuit