Roger Chatfield

Little update. I've had a busy day... started like this.. Then this... And finally this... And, we have a culprit.. the crack pipe has gone brittle and.... yep... cracked...lol I managed to break it even more when I removed it so it's deffo due a change. So, where is the best place to get one, I've seen a few on the bay of e but for about £15 but are they any good?? Also, thought while I was about it I'll sort out a few things while the front is in bits, there is a bit of surface rust on the sub frame ect so that'll get a rub down and hammerite, as will the cooling fan brackets. And I thought I'd get the rad pressure tested since it was out, my local friendly radiator man will do it however when he picked the rad up he commented on how heavy it was, he reckons it's full of silt ect, says it's quite common on this style of rad as the inlet and out let are on the same side, so he is going to take the tanks off and have a look, should just need a clean through but it does make you wonder. Rog. P.S. who does those lovely stainless rad brackets on here? my OE ones are looking a bit tired.

That suggests the ign switch and X relay are working ok Does the fuel gauge work? Rog.

Also, does the radio work??

Does the fan blower work with the ing switch on??

Ok, out of interest, do the head lights work? With the ign switch in position two (normal running) are the lights on full?

Are you 100% certain all the fuses are ok? Like pulled each one and tested with a meter. Rog.

So you are getting no lights at all now then? Rog.

Unusual for the immobiliser to cut the ign power, the immobiliser circuits are normally wired so they cut the starter signal and fuel pump but I guess it depends on who fitted it. What year and model is yours, I'll have a look through the Bentley manual wiring diagrams and see if I can see anything obvious. Rog.

So I was driving along today in town traffic, water temp was 100, oil 110 when the temp warning light starts flashing, so I'm not far from home and seeing that the temps are normal I nursed it home. Got the bonnet up and yep, there is water dripping out the bottom of the engine, bugger, got to be the rad so i let it cool down and refilled the system, then ran the engine for a bit... nope its not the rad, its a leak where a pipe joins the solid coolant pipe that run across the front of the engine. A few pics, the arrow is where the leak is. I hope you can see where it is. So, I'm guessing a hole in either the hose or the solid pipe, maybe just a bad joint but I'm not holding my breath. Look like its a inlet manifold off job, any advice would be appreciated, also it it common for a leak there?? Rog.

Morning all, quick question for you, What centre did the solitude alloys originally come with? I've seen cars with BBS and VW centres and was wondering what is OE. Thanks Rog.

Just watched it on catch up, as above really enjoyed it, May is good, I've enjoyed most of his programs, man lad and the toy one were particularly good but then he is an educated man and that shows in his programs. TBH Clarkson is also a good watch at times, the VC program he did was awesome as was the program about Brunel, Hammond on the other hand is just there for comic effect, which by the way he does very badly. Rog.

I'm after a silver / chrome front badge, do you have one of those? How much posted to Plymouth please. Rog.

I'm after a silver / chrome front badge, do you have one of those? How much posted to Plymouth please. Rog.

Evening chums, I was having a browse on the forum this evening when I noticed how expensive OE floor mats are, so I got to thinking. Now, when I was into my Honda CRX's we had the same problem, OE floor mats were as rare as an opening sunroof and demanded a premium price..... Then some bright spark on the forum decided to get a company to make some some up. There were priced at £40 for a set of four and were quite good quality. So I was wondering, would there be any interest in getting something similar done on here. If there is I'll make some enquires and see if it's possible, also get an idea of costings. Rog.

Easy job on a late (coil pack) car but its 70-90 quid new, not sure on a dizzy car, I think it's in the distributor. Rog.

Battery flat????? Rog.

I believe the later VR's had a factory immobiliser (I know mine has), it reads a code from the key, your toad is in addition to the factory fit, very rare for toads to go wrong. My problem is not the 'CRANK' sensor, its the 'CAM' sensor, sometimes called the hall sensor, takes about 15 mins to change. Personally I think you would benefit from a VAGCOM scan, there is a thread somewhere on here of people who are happy to do scans and their locality, have a look on there or put a post up asking if anyone near you can help. Rog. EDIT, just seen your last post, you must have wrote it while I was typing this.....lol

Immobiliser possibly.... I had a similar non starting fault with 'Stormy' awhile back, I had to leave it in the garage and take wifey's car to work, had a look after work and the bloody thing started.... I vagcom'ed a few weeks later and it had an old immobiliser fault on it. Also recently I've had a few 'slow starters' (started after about 5-10 secs of cranking), vagcom is slowing an intermittent cam sensor fault, maybe that could be your problem as well. BTW, where in the country are you? if you are in Devon / Cornwall I'll be more than happy to do you a scan. Rog.

Put some new fuel in it, the old would have gone stale by now. Rog.

What was the problem with your gf's car mate?? did you get to the bottom of it?? Rog.

Yes mate it did, something about 'short or open to plus' and then 'intermittent', when its disconnected I get the same fault but not the intermittent bit. Rog.

Starting ok today but keep getting the cam sensor come up on vagcom (not always though), think a new sensor is the best plan. Where the best place to get, go to the stealers or aftermarket?? Rog.

Not sure whats going on here but it starts no problem with the cam sensor disconnected!!! Strange Rog.

Nice one Darren, I love it, awesome cars and a good choice of colour. Out of interest, how much are you charging for a wrap of coke....lol Rog.

Just VAGCOM'ed it and the cam sensor (hal sensor) has come up, I've cleared it and it hasn't come back but I guess it could be on the way out. Could this also be the cause of my poor starting. Rog.