Stevey Y

Hi Andrew I have today managed to try Vagcom on my car and there does not seem to be any readaptation for the switch also have done a fair amount of reading on American sites which only really mention the stop/start control module which I realise is not much help but looking at what you have done I will try to see if I can get any voltage specs Tuesday when my car goes in for the same. my new clutch is slipping and on the inspection Friday he also noticed I have an almighty oily grunge leak which I think is a turbo hose and the gearbox mount is past its best all JOY. And work has gone mad so I see where you are coming from. Steve.

Hi Halfords do an AGM battery for £200 and will code and fit it for another £25.00, in this weather its a no brainer and gets my vote with a five year guarantee, cheap fix if you cant code it yourself. Steve.

Hi you said the noise occurs when turning my educated guess would be a wheel bearing as lower arm bushes won't make that type of noise and when they fail completely they bang and leave you in no doubt about whats failed, with regard to doing any suspension work you have to have a good tool kit and not be afraid of going where Angels fear to tread. Steve.

Hi I hate to say this but most of your faults would lead back to the battery as when they go down hill it causes all sorts of weird and wonderful faults, if its the original battery it should have the year of the battery on the unit somewhere, if in doubt change the battery clear all faults and start again, see which faults reappear that will give you a good indication of what is realtime and what is caused by voltage draw being low, depending on your milage my pure guess is that the oxygen sensor is failing and your throttle body has excessive carbon this throws up ABS and traction control lights as both units are switched out when the engine is struggling to produce enough power as both these elements are a massive drain on engine power, I would stick with VCDS as it is a manufacturer specific software. Steve.

Hi the black oil is normal and its only the combustion particles in it that make it black which starts as soon as the engine starts after servicing, a gearbox filters/oil change may well improve its operation as wouldn't mind betting its never been changed, gear oil and alternator belts are always the last thing to be looked at. Steve.

Hi, not if you are prepared to get the car on ramps to ease access to the underside and get dirty removing all visible rust and coating it with Waxoyl underseal I would employ a reasonable bodyshop to repair the sills as they may need to cut out the rusted area and replace with new steel fillets which cuts down the use of excessive body filler as the filler if to thick absorbs moisture and rots out more of the sill, I wish you luck and please let us know how you get on. Steve.

Hi hate to contradict but thats the throttle body the EGR is at the other end of the silver ribbed tube, the cr@p falls out of the tube down onto the throttle butterfly. Steve.

Hi, precisely, there is a large market over here for ex Japanese grey imports because they are better specced than their European brothers and the average Japanese owner gets more money selling his car to the exporters as is won't incur any tax, scrapping it does. Steve.

Hi get an old spray bottle half fill with water and a little washing up liquid, shake until it foams and then spray around the air bags with the motor running you will see any leaks bubbling out in the foam, if its not that I would get the level sensors checked and reset. Steve.

Hi I do think you are more than methodical in your approach, it could well be that a smart charge wire is corroded but I would be inclined to check the Battery Energy Monitor on the earth terminal as these won't allow the alternator to charge properly if it is going down as it will tell the ECU the battery only needs twelve volts when it needs fourteen, I have read a lot on line about these and apparently they are prone to failure. Steve.

Hi you might want to check all the earths wile inside the doors and check the loom from the door to the body they are inside the rubber boot which insulates the wires, have a look at youtube for your problem there are plenty of videos on how to take the door cards off and what to look for, I don't think its the regulators its definitely corrosion somewhere, I wish you luck. Steve.

Hi well done and thanks for posting the resolution. Steve.

Hi I cite the case of the Cooper S on Bangers and Cash, it was on a pallet with barely any un rusted panels but it still made telephone number bids at auction, with regards to common as muck which could produce suitable donor parts from recycling outlets take a look at the humble Fords, MK3 Cortinas, MK2 Escorts, there was loads of them produced and then they suddenly disappeared, you would pay five grand for a well used car now and a whole lot more for a pristine model, its all about forward thinking what is common now could well be not so common and very desirable in ten years when the world is full of electric and hybrid cars that no one can fix or wants, so if you have the time and willpower not to mention space, why not.

Hi has it got a key, if so a door lock would be a good place to start, cant imagine they would have abandoned the door lock barrel just yet. Steve.

Hi did you recode each item as you replaced it? as it sounds like the BCM has shut down the Can Gateway module. Steve.

Hi thats because they are busy building Milk Floats, and if I hear the chip excuse one more time I will scream as most of this drivel is caused by our departure from Europe, sheer spite ring any bells?. Think about it how are they building the all electric with a shortage of microprocessors when Japan and China are swimming in them. Steve.

Hi the only chance you have is getting the vehicle scanned, all the modules you have replaced would have needed coding unfortunately they are not plug in and play. Steve.

Hi the only way you will help yourself is to invest in a half decent diagnostic platform, my personal device would be OBD Eleven as it is cheap to buy and very effective and depending on the level of unit you buy you can test and adapt many features on the vehicle, loads of guys on here have it and will recommend it, once you have codes its a whole lot easier to fix. Steve.

Hi never come across one like that but half a brain would suggest it won't twist out, looking at the pictures my plan of attack would be loosen the top torx screw above the bulb holder and remove the bottom torx screw and it looks like the whole unit pulls out with the bulb attached I think on the bulb side its just push fit, no drama, you will need a good quality 1/4 socket set with torx bits, just be gentle with it. Steve.

Hi try TPS they have quite a stock of parts even the dealers can't match. Steve.

Always the optimist Clifford, in my life time I have seen many cars in worse condition turned into practically concours with time and patience just because they can. Steve.

Hi a little detail would be good, milage and any history, and perhaps some panoramic views of the interior does it run etc, its a kind offer but you will only attract interest with the most info given so at least the prospective owner will have an idea of what they are taking on regardless of it being free. Steve.

Hi under current legislation you can take a car in for MOT any time you like, example being I took my cab in today for its first of two MOTs this year nobody at VOSA bats an eyelid, I must admit most of the debris would be milage/age related and the sump shield has had a grounding recently as for the rust that would suggest the previous owner lived near the seaside, that was one of the first jobs I did when I got my car, cleaned off the road dirt on any exposed areas of paint and gave them a couple of coats of Waxoyl underseal, I can't see how you missed the sill corrosion as that would have given me the diving submarine klaxon mentally and I would have to go underneath to see what lay beyond, the rust is classed as heavy surface and if it won't push through with light pressure its classed as sound, on the other side the corroded sills would never have passed the MOT at the garage I use as they are structural in so much as the chassis is Monocoque, one piece, last but not least its always worth considering an AA inspection if you are not sure when buying a car they don't miss a trick. Steve

Hi I got a Sealey oil extraction pump off eBay about £26.00 had it about three years and its great as is ally do is push the drain side pipe down the dipstick hole until it bottoms out connect to the jump start posts in the engine bay put the bigger hose into a old oil can and fire it up, then carefully picking your tea up observe as the container fills you can see from the markers on the old can how much has come out, 4.7 litres normally, two major rules, get the engine nice and hot, then allow 10 mins for drain back before pumping out. Steve.

Hi I use the appropriate size socket on a 1/2 drive long extension which gives you loads of swing above the engine, the socket size is stamped on the top of the filter housing. Steve.