TrentSC

I'm tempted to add "keep the sunroof open too", but that will open a whole new can of worms!

Stupid question I know, but dab, wipe or scrub? Cheers.

Quite possibly. Bearing in mind the problem with the temperature sensor, I wonder if it was an attempted workaround which was subsequently abandoned.

Eek! I hope not - all the speakers seem to be doing their thing.

I've finally got around to taking my digital camera down to the garage and have taken a couple of pix of a mystery wire that's not attached to anything, but might be the cause of a minor problem I've been having. Then again, it might be completely unrelated... The problem first. The temperature warning light on the dash is flashing and the gauge is stuck on zero all the time. The guy I bought it from said that the sensor hadn't been reattached, but without casting nasturtiums, I'll take that with a pinch of salt. The pics of the cable are here: As you can see, it emerges from the control box behind the coolant tank and is simply tied around the pipe and I know for certain that's not right! The end of the cable is simply a bare wire and as there isn't a plug on it there there isn't an obvious clue as to what it might be and where it should go. Could someone point me in the right direction, please? Many thanks.

Apologies to the mods for starting a separate thread elsewhere. This new boy stands corrected! OK, given my sunroof is jammed open (the cable guide's snapped), how do I close it manually? An allen key in the motor appears not to work, as it does the same as the electric motor, which closes one side but not the other. I'd like to get the damn thing closed so I can at least get it out of the garage during this typical rainy English Spring, so any advice which hopefully doesn't involve removing the headliner would be much appreciated. Many thanks. TrentSC 92 2.0l 16v jobbie. Cheap 'n tatty, but I'm working on it!

As in my earlier post, my sunroof, like many others it seems, has become stuck in the tilted position: one side closes, the other doesn't. The slider in this pic http://http:www.pcave.plus.com/temp/P1020199.JPG has broken. Is there an easy way to get the damn thing closed so it won't leak? Many thanks. TrentSC

Thanks for the suggestion, Dave. By the way, your door handle repair kit arrived on Saturday - many thanks!

OK, I do know this has been covered in consummate detail before (and I've spent the last hour looking through the search results), but I wanted to ask a couple of questions before I attempt to stuff up a third sunroof on my '92 valver... My problem's pretty common - the sunroof has tilted up fine and is now stuck on the passenger side. The small sliding chrome doohicky has snapped, in a similar fashion to this pic I found elsewhere: The original sunroof had the same problem, and a friend helped me cannibalise another 'roof, install and fit it, and it worked perfectly. Once. Cue a sickening snapping sound and the same problem recurred. 1. Is there a definitive thread on the process for fitting the official repair kit? I've looked around for quite a while, and from the look of this excellent forum someone will have written a guide which even I can follow! 2. Equally importantly, what's the story on getting the roof aligned correctly? This seems to be a slightly hit-and-miss affair, and I'm be grateful for some guidance. 3. Motor alignment: After the second 'roof died, we removed the headlining again and closed it, then unplugged the switch so I wouldn't stuff it up again, but later that day when I locked the door, the bloody thing opened automatically! The electric windows close with the central locking, so I guess the 'roof does the same, but I wonder whether the motor needs to be aligned properly for it to know which is the closed position? Again, is there a definitive thread on this which explains how to do this to a real Corrado novice? 4. Lastly, I've seen a few references to the Passat moonroof. Is this a more reliable sunroof, and is it relatively straightforward to install? Again, if there's a sticky on this one, I'd be grateful. Many thanks for your patience. I'm well aware that there are a lot of threads on the subject, and if someone could point me in the right direction, that would be great. Cheers. TrentSC 92 2.0l 16v jobbie.

Having recently had a brief (and unsuccessful) fight with the sunroof, my headlining now has a bunch of oily smudges, and as it's already pretty grubby, I thought this might be a good time to look at getting it nice and clean. I'll be attacking the sunroof later, so when it's done, and before I wedge it back into place, I was wondering what's the best way of getting it squeaky clean again? I have a VAX shampoo/vacuum jobbie - would that be the best bet? Ta muchly.

I should have said "it's new to me"!

Thanks for the useful feedback, David. It's a new car, so I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens. Not sure what coolant is in there, so that might need draining at some point soon.

A colleague sent me an email from Oz last week saying that he'd read of people putting Acetone into their fuel tanks to significantly increase the fuel economy and improve performance. Since this stuff is highly volatile, and since he can't remember where he read it, I'm loathe to try it myself...

The MFA shows my oil temperature going up to 116°C on the motorway, and while nothing is falling off the Corrado and it's not trailing a plume of smoke, I wondered what is the OK range of temperatures for the oil? Cheers.

I've been ambling online for a few parts for my new Corrado, and it won't surprise anyone that I've spoken to a lot of dodgy individuals, especially in the breakers market. So it was a pleasant surprise to come across a very friendly, helpful breaker who sourced the bits I needed. He comes across as honest, very knowledgeable and helpful, which seems to be a rare thing. And he's got 3 or 4 Corrados in various stages of decommissioning, so it might be worth getting in touch with him if you need anything. I've nothing to gain by posting this (I've already paid for my parts!), but I thought it was worth passing his details on, as he's a nice bloke. His details are Gary, Fenland Breakers, March, Cambridgeshire, 01354 651949. Cheers. Philip 1992 2.0l 16v

It looks v similar to my gf's 95 Golf 1.4...

My local mechanic had a peek at mine this morning and reckons that it's the cogs behind the control wheels that are knackered, so if I can source a replacement front panel (with the cogs) I should be OK. Hopefully!

Hi Goldie, Is the vagcom (sounds like a really revolting social disease) something that I should ideally go to a VW dealership for? My local garage certainly doesn't have anything like that. Cheers.

Well, at least I now have something to do with that spare fog light bulb! Cheers.

In that case, does anyone need a spare rear fog light? I have one here - brand new too!

Hi Goldie, The sunroof switch was physically removed and has vanished, so that's not an option I'm afraid. Lights - one front parking light, one front fog and one rear fog. Mr Halford has done the honours, but I'm not sure how to get to the front fog light just yet. Heater - I don't really have ANY functions apart from the speed! I'm getting someone to look at the heater, door handle and temp gauge tomorrow. If the handle's fixable, I'll certainly go for that over a replacement. Sorry to sound stupid, but what's a vagcom? Cheers.

OK, I’ve just picked up my Corrado and it’s definitely going to need some work to get it into better condition. I paid next-to-nothing for it, so I’m very chuffed. It’s a 1992 K-reg 2.0l 16v jobbie with a lot of miles on the clock and a complete engine rebuild last year. The body and engine seem to be in excellent condition while the interior needs a lot of attention: it’s not only very grubby and desperately in need of a few gallons of shampoo, but there are a few small scratches/mismatches to address. They’re mostly cosmetic, mind you. The engine sounds excellent, pulls sweetly and apart from a little juddering at low revs in first which is, I think, down tom y not getting the hang of the clutch, I’m delighted with it. I do have some typical new-boy questions which I’d like to bung into the mix… I’ve done a few searches on the forum, and I know some issues (e.g. the sunroof) are discussed a lot, but I’d still be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction for the definitive answers. So, here’s the run-down of what I’ve spotted so far… 1. The sunroof’s knackered (well there’s a surprise!). The previous owner took the switch off to stop anyone playing with it, saying that it used to get jammed. Is there a link to a good thread on this excellent forum which talks about the steps needed to get it back in working order? 2. Lots of lights not working, so I’ve been shopping for bulbs. Now all I have to do is work out how to get to the laps in the front bumper. 3. The heating controls are a total disaster! The left dial (director) just spins of it’s own free will, the hot/cold dial doesn’t seem to make any difference – everything just comes out warm) and the 0-4 dial works fine. I think it’s a front panel issue rather than a bigger problem with the inner workings of the heating system, and I’ve got someone looking at it tomorrow. 4. The temperature warning light is flashing, and the temperature gauge doesn’t work. The seller said he’d had a minor problem elsewhere in the engine bay and his mechanic had forgotten to reconnect it after working around it, and the MLA is showing 96-115°, so I’m not overly concerned about that one for the moment. Or should I be? 5. Someone’s messed around with the steering wheel at some point and the horn is on a real hair trigger: you just have to breathe near it and it’ll go off. I’m getting that mechanic to check that out for me tomorrow too. 6. The immobiliser is some aftermarket job, I think. It’s on the front panel to the right of the steering wheel, and it has 3 diagonal contacts, with a small black plastic widget on the key ring about 2x1cm. The panel unit flashes until I hold the hand-held bit against it and do some serious wiggling (the unit, not me). 7. The Driver’s door handle doesn’t work. It lifts away from the door skin when you try it, and just doesn’t open the door, so I’m guessing I need a new one. And the inner door locking knob is missing. I’m not sure if this is connected or not. 8. The ABS light behaves exactly as it should and it passed its test fine (foot on brake pedal, engine on, feel slight pump and light goes off). However, if you slam on the anchors, the light comes on and stays on until the engine’s restarted. Phew! I think that’s about it! That should certainly keep me busy, and I’m looking forward to some great driving. Look forward to your comments/thoughts/insults. Philip