Petros

Nope, it's a VR. Sounds like it'd be better to get this seen to sooner than later. I'll look up a local sparky this afternoon. Is the regulator an off-the-shelf part, or is it specific to the car/engine? Had a look on GSF and ECP to price one, but neither have them listed.

That's what I'm hoping! Certainly cheaper than a new alternator :roll:

My alternator seems to be supplying 16 volts to the battery while the engine is running. From what I've found by searching, this shouldn't be more than about 14 volts. Obviously I'll need to get my regulator & alternator checked, but does anyone know how urgent this is? I'd have thought that if the high voltage was going to cause any serious damage (i.e. cooked ECU etc.) it would have done so by now... What's likely to go wrong (aside from a boiled battery) if this is left as is for a few weeks? I tried searching for similar problems, but a search on 16v doesn't bring up many electrics related posts. Can't figure out why :lol:

Saw a Red C (side on, no idea which flavour) heading towards Glasgow on Cathcart Road around 5:30pm on Wednesday 22nd. Wasn't in my rado, so didn't try flashing/waving :-)... anyone here?

You're not alone! Sat Nav doesn't help either; when you're out for a drive and start to get hungry, you still need someone to punch 'Burger King' into the Sat Nav. That too seems to be one favour too many to ask of the passenger you're happily ferrying about. (And of course, you'll be expected to pay if and when you do finally navigate to a near-by purveyor of foodstuffs).

Was passing that way yesterday, so dropped in to speak to them. The guy said he only ever used original VW parts, filters and fluids which would explain why they might not be cheap. Seemed very knowledgeable and enthusiastic though. Booked the car in for a health-check on the Rolling Road there, and the chap offered to throw in an overall check-up on the engine condition (etc.) at the same time. Can't argue with that, can you?

Yeah, they have moved. They're now in Clydebank - on Dumbarton Road just west of the railway bridge in a small industrial estate. Same phone number though. Had a service done there - came to £110 including a new set of plugs, oil filter and oil. Doesn't seem too bad to me.

I figured it was enacted so the cops could spot people still using their phones while driving... this law was enacted around the same time as the 'no mobiles while driving' law, wasn't it? Its amazing the amount of worthless security theatre the govt. are selling us based on the so-called threat of terrorisim. At the risk of going completely OT, but isn't reacting in any way to terrorist acts exactly what the perps want?

That's a bummer. A mate of mine was pulled about a year ago for the same thing, they told him to remove them and take the vehicle to the testing centre near Springburn to have them re-checked and certified. They didn't fine or penalise him. Where were you when pulled? Were they hiding at the road side or on patrol? Just asking as I like to know all the hiding places in the area so I can keep a watchful eye out... I've won 6 points already, but don't much fancy the prize ;-)

lol. You got me to a T! :-P More seriously though, you don't see many 300s around any more, so I think that side of their image is fading... I've never really been one to follow the masses, so any car I bought would have to be reasonably uncommon. The 300 now falls into that category, IMO.

Buying new, or new-ish, in order of preference and depending on budget: 350Z Monaro Focus ST Buying another 'modern classic': Capri with V8 conversion :-) Cavalier Turbo (fun to drive in all the wrong ways!) 300ZX London Taxi - lowered, re-sprung & 4.0 (or bigger) engine swap. The ultimate boy racer street-cred anihilator ;-) I'd always fancied a road going rally car (i.e. Impreza or Evo) but the gold-rimmed chav brigade have pretty much destroyed their image, and I don't know that I'd want to be seen in one anymore :-(

Thanks for the offer, dinkus, but I've already got one ordered :-( Turned out to be around that price anyway, so not all bad :-|

Ok, opened it up and had a wee poke around... doesn't look like anything is obviously broken - nothing lying loose, and no bits hanging off the linkage. When I wiggle the wiper arms, the linkage wiggles too (and the wiper arms hardly move) so they're deffo still connected. I think its safe to conclude my motor has gone south :-( Cheers again for your help diagnosing this, dinkus.

Thanks for the speedy reply dinkus. Havan't looked yet, but it sounds like the motor is trying really hard to turn something, but getting no-where. They hardly move at all, so it doesn't sound like they've come apart. I know I should just wait until after work and have a proper look, I just wanted to order the part today so I could collect & fit it tomorrow! :-)

'ello, My front wipers packed up last night just (luckily) before joining the M74 in the pissing rain. I got the car home & then left it be, as I didn't fancy getting soaked to the skin bumbling about in the dark trying to fix them. I've done some searches here and understand that it would either be the motor failing or the linkages coming apart. When I move the wipers by hand there is still considerable resistance, and there is a fairly loud humming noise when I turn the wiper stalk to any 'on' position. From that I'm leaning more towards it being a failed motor than a broken linkage... I just want to sanity check my diagnosis before I order a replacement motor. Can anyone either confirm or refute my diagnosis?

I thought that seemed a little too easy! Ah well, I'll keep my eye on eBay until one comes up I guess!

I've seen SPECS cameras (the avg. speed cams used mostly on roadworks) appear to flash as I drive towards them, well under the posted limit. As I understand, the SPECS cams are digital video cameras and don't even have flashes, they're just positioned in such a way that your headlights, or the suns reflection from your windscreen, will reflect off the clear plastic lens cover as you approach, causing the illusion of a flash. I know this thread is about GATSOs and TRUVELOs, but I imagine the same thing could well apply.

Have to agree with StuartFZR400 on the subject of ABS - so long as it isn't overly intrusive its a good thing. As for the other electronic gubbins - Tempest is right; they aren't a subsitute for good design & solid engineering. They can be effective when implemented sensibly, but they can cause planty of problems of their own. PAS, for example, should 'turn off' once reasonable speeds are realised to ensure the driver retains useful steerig feedback. Many modern systems make the steering feather light and very sloppy even at motorway speeds and beyond. Traction Control - I drove a MkIV Astra before buying my C. The Astra didn't have a switch to disable its traction control system. I almost crashed the Astra a few times because of its overly intrusive TCS: When cornering, the inner wheel will normally spin a bit, unless a LSD is used. When turning left, if the the gutter is gritty/dusty the inner wheel may spin more than normal. The TCS then applies the brakes to that wheel, causing it to regain full traction which in turn causes the car to suddenly oversteer mid corner. Luckily I got away with a kerbed alloy and quickly learned how to react when the car thought it knew better. However, on other occasions I charged into tight bends a little too fast and the only thing* that kept me out of the opposite field was the same TCS. Any performance car, and hence the new 'rocco/rado/whatever-its-called, should include enough electronics to make it 'safe' in the hands of novice drivers (by that I mean the 90+% of drivers who don't appreciate the physics involved in driving quickly & safely), but must also include the option to disable them all (or as far as is practical) for experienced drivers. *I think - the car intervened and I didn't get a chance to prove whether or not I could have recovered manually ;-)

IMHO, badgeless front grilles look kind of gay. If I were going to change mine I'd try putting a honeycomb mesh with the VW badge in chrome (like the previous Polo GTI or the MkV Golf GTI), but I've not seen that done in the flesh. It looks good in my head tho :-) I know its all down to personal taste, but I think the standard front end looks excellent. Debadged grilles are just a bit dull & non-descript looking .

Thanks for all the replies. Just to clarify, its the VR6 badges, the Corrado badge is thankfully still intact. I've taken L4PRG up on his kind offer or a rear badge (thanks mate!), and I think I've found a fairly cheap source for grille badges at http://www.gpcvwaudi.com/others.htm. Trigger; I'm trying to keep the car more-or-less standard, hence wanting to know the correct colour. The C is Storm Grey, so in the absence of hard facts I think the badges will have to be red to add some contrast. Then I could paint the callipers red to match, but I guess that's kind of moving away from the 'standard' look & feel :-) I know you can get special tape for the rear badges from good parts shops (and Halfords!), but is there a special glue for the grille badge, or will superglue/epoxy resin do the trick?

My Corrado was debadged by a previous owner; there are no VR6 badges on the front or rear, but the VW badges are intact. I want to put the badges back on, as I think the car looks much better with them. Aside from the possibility of making the car a more attractive steal, I can see no reason to hide which model of C I have. First question, which colour should the badges be on an early '94 model (registered in april). As far as I can tell the red to silver switch happened around then, but I don't know when exactly. I personally think the red badges look meaner, and hence better, but I'm interested in other's opinions... Anyway, I've looked around online to source some new badges, but I only see grille badges advertised. Does one type of badge fit both the front & back, or do I need two separate parts?

I know this might sound daft, but can you describe the smell at all? 'Burning' clutches have a very distinctive smell (try pulling away in 5th gear if you need an idea of what that smells like. Actually, don't :-P ) Likewise electric motors (e.g. fans, alternators, PAS pumps) burning out give an acrid electricy smell (think dodgems). If it smells like burning plastic, it could be insulation tape from a cable coming loose and touching the block (or something else hot). Just some thoughts... though I should point out that I'm not a Corrado expert, just someone who'd had their share of strange smells from various cars over the years!

Took a while to get round to looking at this - one of the anti-roll bar connecting rods broke, so I was concentrating on fixing that first. Had a look at it yesterday, I removed the lower part of the dashboard - under the steering wheel - and tried to find the wire coming from this sensor. I didn't have enough light to see what I was doing, so I didn't touch anything and put it all back together. After putting it back together the sensor started working again. I figure the wire must have been loose, and my removal & replacement of the dash parts has knocked it back into place. Sweet! :D Anyway, it'll probably come loose again before too long, so I'll still need to go back in and make sure its firmly seated.

Thanks for the replies chaps, I'll get my multi-meter out tonight and have a hunt around... Where does the wire I'm checking terminate (I assume it begins at the sender by the oil filter housing).

Hey folks, Day 3 of Corrado ownership and the first problem has surfaced. Yay! Over the weekend, the MFA was quite happily reading the temp of my VR6's oil (sitting around 110, rising to 125ish when pushed hard). Today, the computer is only displaying "---". I went for a 30 mile run at a range of speeds up to 70mph, but not exceeding 3000rpm until the last 8 miles or so, and the temp was still reported as "---". As I understand, this reading is normal until the oil reaches 50 degrees. However, I'd have thought 30 miles over 45 minutes should have warmed the oil to at least that. Coolant temperature rises as expected and sits within the the normal range. Oil level is fine (the sump appears to be full in fact). I reckon the temperature sensor has died, or become disconnected, given that all other functions of the computer seem unaffected. Do these sensors fail often? Are they easily cooked by overworking the engine (although I didn't think an oil temp of less than 140-150 should be problematic)? Is there a fuse or relay on this circuit that I should check? Sorry if this is a FAQ; I had a quick search/browse but didn't find anyone with this exact problem.