dr_mat

Does yours still count as a "VR"? Almost all the components have been replaced with new/third party ones. Try and think back to when you had a standard car and you whinged about it being clattery for no good reason .. ;)

They're all a bitty clattery, it's just how they are. You will notice that quality oil helps, and keeping it topped up close to the max mark helps too (it's noticeably noisier when the oil level is low). If yours is *particularly* loud then maybe you have a problem, but most people think their VR is a "bit tappy" and it doesn't really mean there's anything wrong with it.

Control unit should be wired to the RPM pin on the ECU. Don't ask me which one it is..!

In my experience it's more of a slight hold-off at changeover. Sounds like the OP's flap is stuck. Ahem.

Wow, the Corrado mentioned alongside the mighty Vauxhall Omega .... ahem.

FWIW in 7 years of driving in all weathers and even stuck in stationary traffic idling for three hours, I have NEVER had the high speed fans come on on my VR. I don't even know if it works! If your normal fan speed isn't coming on, it's faulty, and you need to get it fixed asap. Plus, my water temp has NEVER gone over 100 degrees, not even slightly.

I LOVE the "turbo button"... Next they will implement "large banana skins" and "turtles' shells" with which the drivers can bombard each other ...

Drive on smoother roads .... :)

The requirements for services are actually listed in the owner's manual too...

Sounds like a central locking fault maybe? Do you hear the locking pump running still?

Yes, that's the best way. The thing to avoid, really, is little top-up charges that are just enough to get the car started. Unless you use the car enough (and that means a couple of hours driving), the battery stays flat, or nearly flat, for a very long time and that's a very effective way to kill it.

Give it chance - let it charge your own battery for 15 minutes first. You got a voltmeter? Just check the main battery's output. If it's significantly below 12v most of the booster's current is dumped into your dead battery, not starting the car.

The thing that kills batteries is being discharged and then LEFT discharged. You should be fine if you can really be bothered to top it up every couple of weeks. It's letting it go flat and leaving it that way for months on end that causes sulphation.

Yowser, 0.6A is a lot. Most Corrados seem to pull about 0.05 - 0.09 A constantly, killing the battery in about three weeks. Love to know what causes that. Can't just be the clock ...

Typing faster than brain.

You need a fairly large (and expensive) solar trickle charger to deal with the drain Corrados seem to produce. I've got one and frankly it's only really capable of delaying the inevitable, and that's only in the summer. In the winter it's completely useless. They need bright, direct sunlight to produce ANY current at all. I've been looking for a good solution to this myself, having had to hoik the battery out of the car and charge it from completely flat no less than four times so far this winter (fortunately my alarm doesn't give a crap about this..). I was thinking about using a "charging battery" type thing as a top-up charger.. Charge the portable battery in the house, take it out and leave it in the car for a day or so (charge through the ciggie socket) to keep the battery from going completely flat. The results of my search so far have been disappointing. Problem is that the battery winds up staying low .. If you want to avoid killing lead-acid batteries you have to make sure they are FULLY charged most of their lifetime. If they do discharge that's no big deal, just make sure you charge them up as soon as you can, and right the way up. Not just 20% - i.e. "start the car and drive it for 20 minutes". Either charge it overnight or run the engine (with some revs on the alternator) for an hour or more. I'm pretty sure the only real answer (particularly as you have a garage) is a permanently connected mains powered intelligent maintenance charger. Is there no way you can run power to it?

Get the thermometer replaced. If it's running under temp it's going to be running in cold start enrichment all day long, plus your oil never reaches temp and resistance is increased, meaning you use more fuel ..

Schrick ones fit fine. Well, in as much as they don't foul the rocker cover. They foul the underside of the bonnet instead..

You would know if the engine stalled - the dash would light up like a christmas tree (you do look at the dash, don't you?? ;) ) and you'd have to restart it or when you lifted the clutch there would be an almighty judder as the momentum of the car is dumped into restarting the engine..

And the MAF, and the array of engine temp sensors, and almost every other component! Take your time working through the hits on the forum search and narrow things down. There's no single or simple answer to this.

Eh? All three coils in the coilpack failed at the SAME time? Weird.

You'll probably find that if it's the cylinders going it gets worse when things heat up. Mine has been notchy every summer, while sat in traffic, for the last four years or so, but first thing in the morning it's just fine. It gets a little better if you have the clutch slave bled too, but ultimately I'm sure you'll wind up replacing both cylinders.

I see about one Corrado every few weeks around Reading. They're relatively common here.

.. if it won't turn at all .. busted diff.

Definitely sounds like a locked diff to me.