Panscrank

Nah, he's a prick and is unbelievably arrogant. Long overdue him being called out

Probably just needed to adjust your gear linkages but seems you were sent down the 'get a new clutch' rabbit hole for no reason whatsoever by the know it all Coggins.

Many thanks for the info and quick response Spartacus. I'm not overly bothered by disabling the headlight washer.

I have an 8p 2004 3.2. I have retrofitted new Halogen headlights to the car and am getting the 'Headlight range control defective' error on startup. I have cleared the codes on VCDS but of course they come straight back. I asked for advice to 'code this out' on the Ross Tech forum and the advice was that once removed from the installation list, I need to manually remove the range control module. Before I start, is this module on the driver or passenger side? Many thanks. Link to my post on Ross tech: https://forums.ross-tech.com/index.php?threads/53543/

Check grounds as per YouTube instructional videos... All fine.

From post 1 in this thread: The dashboard clocks. That is what they said, not repairable. When I initially sent them to them a couple of weeks ago, they contacted me AFTER they 'repaired' them and said 'yes, there was a fault and we have fixed it, here is your invoice' and then sent them back to me. Car was still displaying the same symptoms, so they asked to send them back for a re-test. What struck me as odd was that there was no engineer report as to exactly what was wrong with them. And I wonder how they can 'fix' them and then when I had them back and said it was still the same, they are now saying 'not repairable'. Very odd.

Just had a phone call from ECU. They said the unit was beyond repair. Even though when they had it first of all, they said it was faulty and they had fixed it! Seems as though I am back to square one. Going to test for bad earths when I receive the clocks back from ECU.

ATS said the alternator was fine.

Just had this message from ECU Testing, so waiting for a call.

Thanks again Magnet. I'll take a walk over to ATS later and check, it's literally a five minute walk and I know the chaps there as I have used them before for tyres and MOTs. There is a reputable local garage I intend to contact once it's confirmed for definitive that it is the alternator at fault. (DJ Autos)

I believe they check the both, so no harm no foul. I think my keenness to get the car back on the road has affected my patience muscle! Appreciate the sound advice received in this forum.

Thanks for your input Magnet. Appears the clock 'issue' was a red herring. I've asked ECS for the engineer report as they didn't say what was wrong and what they fixed. Doesn't mean that they aren't faulty as well as the alternator of course. I've watched some guides online (mainly for the TT) and it looks a pig of a job so will probably book it into the local auto electrician for a supplied and fitted replacement.

Yes.

I kept the multimeter on the car whilst engine and all electrics on and it was on 12:45 and dropping. Car on but no electrics slowly rose to 13.8.

I did a bit more testing just now and I think perhaps the alternator is faulty. Car has been standing now for about 6 hours since I let it run when I reinstalled the clocks. 'Car ignition off' battery test read 12.71 'Car ignition on' battery test with no electrics switched on was 13.62. 'Car ignition on with all electrics on' battery test was a lowly 12.33.