Leaderboard

Hi, I take it that the belt is the original, the old rule of thumb is to change the pump and timing belt kit at 80k or five years whichever occurs first using any car which is racking up milage it is pure common sense to change the belt and the pump at the same time especially as your belt kit is now getting on for six years old and the other thing is when fitted it all wears as a set, my car had a new belt kit fitted under warranty by the first owner at 36k they didn't change the pump so when the thermostatic shield started giving me problems I just got the whole lot changed at 82k, which I would of done anyway, in my personal opinion if the manufacturer says change due at over 100k! forget it most will never make it. My company has a contract with another company that supplies onward transport for the owners of cars that have broken down and been recovered by the RAC and AA I did quite a few during the second lockdown and a good few of those were alleged premature cam belt failures before the manufacturers recommended milage, most people forget about the age factor as they choose to ignore it because its cheaper to do so, from experience a cam belt and water pump change a little early is a lot cheaper than an engine rebuild. Steve.

OK Ross - the story has now changed from the car starts, to the car doesn’t alway start. Different diagnosis then! Detail is king when trying to diagnose anything at a distance. So indeed it sounds as if something is wrong, and the indicated efficiency is probably not at fault. If this were mine, I would be getting the car checked for a parasitic drain i.e. checking what current the car battery is drawing when the car is fully locked up and immobilised. This should be measured after at least a minute after the car has been locked up, to ensure the system has ‘set’. Ideally, the current draw should be not much over 50mA. I would not be entrusting this to a local garage, but to a trusted local auto electrician. If the current draw is more than that, then it’s a question of isolating each circuit in turn until the offending circuit is found. More detail later if necessary. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. ‘......changed battery under warranty..’. What make battery was the ‘old’ one, and what make has now been fitted?

Thanks Ross. Now you will have to pardon my ignorance, but what actually reads 10% on your model? A battery condition/efficiency gauge? Irrespective of what this reading indicates, if a battery reliably turns the engine over at a speed adequate to start the car, then we must suspect the ‘gauge reading’ rather than the battery itself. Kind regards, Gareth.