Mystic Rado

You know the manual - if you don't have it - is available as a download from the Clifford web site? Erm, http://www.directeddealers.com/manuals/og/clifford/concept300uk_owners.pdf. You need to know the four letter code for the alarm if you want to re-programme the chirps to quiet or silent, but you can mute the switch on / off with the right combination of buttons, plus put the alarm in valet mode etc. If you have the original manual, on mine the valet code is printed on the back of it. Should work unless a previous owner has changed it. Sorry if you know all this already btw :? [which you do, sorry brain in shagged post mountain biking mode :-(]

HID's a bit of a can of worms. I had a hids4u.co.uk bixenon set-up that was complete pants in the 'rado but much better in my mark 2, but even then the main beam was pretty lacking. My advice would be to find someone who's found a set-up that works well in the Corrado and get the same because based on my experience at least, our headlight design seems quite finnicky about what'll work with it. And watch out for glare issues, halogen reflectors aren't really designed to work with HIDs, the projectors in In Pro type lights are much better and will give you a better cut-off to avoid dazzling other drivers. There's loads of stuff on eBay, but it's hard to know what will work with a Corrado light unless you try it. IMO anyway :? From what I've heard I'd agree with that. Chars for the link. There's so many flippin' uprated headlight loom threads going around at the moment I forget which is which :lol: Having spent the last 2 and a bit hours repairing my stereo loom (some bastid had hacked the stereo out at some stage, so needed to put a new bit of loom and plug in) I'm game to try a bit of headlight loom making. I'll be mostly using crimps though - soldering is a pain in the arse![/quote:2skflj81] No probs. The heat shrink crimps seem like a good compromise for under the bonnet work. You've probably seen them, but if not, it's a combination of a crimp housed in a heatshrink casing with adhesive, so you crimp them as per normal then use a heatgun or even a lighter to shrink the casing over it. The adhesive effectively seals the join. They're quite expensive, but then the prospect of my lights failing in the middle of nowhere's never filled me with joy. My take is that it's worth sealing as much as possible cos otherwise it'll die - my Mark 2 loom did pretty much that. I can see why people get fed up with making looms for sale, that's why I suggested to Andy that he might consider putting together a comprehensive 'how to', seeing as he's a professional electrical guy. I'm kind of tempted to do one myself, but I'm a bit wary with something safety critical like a headlight loom :?

HID's a bit of a can of worms. I had a hids4u.co.uk bixenon set-up that was complete pants in the 'rado but much better in my mark 2, but even then the main beam was pretty lacking. My advice would be to find someone who's found a set-up that works well in the Corrado and get the same because based on my experience at least, our headlight design seems quite finnicky about what'll work with it. And watch out for glare issues, halogen reflectors aren't really designed to work with HIDs, the projectors in In Pro type lights are much better and will give you a better cut-off to avoid dazzling other drivers. There's loads of stuff on eBay, but it's hard to know what will work with a Corrado light unless you try it. IMO anyway :?

As I've just bought another Corrado I need another loom and making my own is sounding like the best bet. Have you got a link to the thread you're on about with supplier info? That's be this one. I posted some details a couple of times towards the end of the thread - also on the forum somewhere are the part numbers for the VAG headlight connectors and repair wires. If I have time later, I'll try and dig them out. I'm having an end of week work panic frenzy at the moment :(

I occasionally run a set of Thule bars and bike carriers on my Mark 2 and it's a pretty good system. We did three of the 24-hour mountain bike events last year, which meant carrying three bikes, food and camping gear for the weekend, plus tools, spares etc. Bikes are good and secure - I stick a ratcheted strap over them as well for extra peace of mind - and it leaves the rear of the car clear, so no arseing around with light boards and not being able to open the boot etc. Best rear racks by reputation are the tow-ball ones which aren't strapped onto your bodywork - the thought of that just makes me cringe inwardly... Downsides are that it does hit your fuel consumption on long trips, the bikes get cold, wet and well salted in winter, and taking the actual carriers on and off is a bit of a pain. Best answer, if you have the space, is to store the bars and carriers as a bolted together unit, then just fit them as one. Putting bikes on and off is quick and easy and the cheaper Thule bike carriers are fine and stable thought the top-end ones are nicer and lockable, then again the locks are shite, so don't rely on them... I've never had any problems with stuff dropping off the bikes onto the roof, you could always use a Dirtworker first - small, car-powered jet washer - if that really bothers you. To be honest, I only use the carriers if I have to. Given that weI've got expensive, top-end bikes which are worth more than the Golf, I'd rather stick some plastic sheeting in the back with the seats down and carry them inside. Better fuel economy, better security, less fear of £5K' or so of bike being written off by some dozy twod rear-ending you :? I don't really use the 'rado for bike carrying duties but based on my Mark 2 experience, I'd be fairly happy using Thule or similar bars if I had to. ps: that's my race mascot in my avatar btw. You can just about make out that it's strapped to set of Easton Monkey Bars. The eyes have been replaced with bright red LEDs for night-time use :)

Honestly, make your own - I have the electrical engineering abilities of a drunken jelly fish, but as long as you're logical and thorough, it's really straightforward. Just solder and heatshrink all the connections, use waterproof fuse holders and the OE headlamp connectors which you can still get from VAG. And stick the relays in a waterproof box - I've just bought some neat Addis tupperware-type ones and am going to grommet and seal them to house the relays. At the moment they're in a Gore-Tex sock :) If you look at Andy's thread in the suppliers' forum I listed a load of relevant information and supplier links. It's honestly not that difficult and if you do it yourself, at least you know it's been done properly. And it's actually quite satisfying, honest. Failing that, there's a guy in the states, Eurowires or something, erm, http://www.eurowires.net who looks like he knows his arse from his elbow, but no idea if he'll export. Most of the eBay ones look pretty shonky with crimped, unsealed connections that'll corrode and die once water gets at them.

Maybe there's a case for insurance discounts for cars modded to the point that they're so heinously ugly that no-one in their right mind would steal them? It could count as a sort of passive theft deterence - Carlos Fandango wheels, a rear wing stolen from a Boeing 747, a really nasty bodykit and a custom paint job from Stevie Wonder Customs Inc. :)

If the actual headlight body's misaligned, it sounds like what Cheesewire's saying. There's a third mounting screw that's buried down behind the other two, you can see it down a hole. The tab it locates in can bend quite easily, which might put it out of kilter. Should be just a case of popping the headlight out, checking that the tab is horizontal and then putting it back again. The insert the screw locates in fell out of mine, ended up replacing it with a plastic dust cap from a bicycle air valve, a Presta one. With the grille off, I think, you can get a hand down there and support the tab with a finger as you tighten the screw up :-) If the beam's wrong, there are adjusters on the back of the headlight in the shape of knurled white plastic wheels, from memory I think the height adjuster's the one nearest the wing, but I might be talking arse there, so best check.

When you say 'feels more solid', do you mean you can feel the difference through the steering? Just wondering as I have one lying about which might fir the 'rado. I couldn't really feel any difference on the Golf - the suspension / steering ones made a massive difference there btw, though again you're replacing knackered OE, so it's not really a fair comparison - but I couldn't tell the difference on the steering one. Maybe that's just me though :)

I have one on my Mark 2 GTi and I can't honestly say that I could distinguish any difference at all.

Neuspeed one from Awesome GTi maybe?

No worries, mate. I found Vehicle Wiring Products were good for components btw - www.vehicle-wiring-products.co.uk. The only thing I never quite figured out was how to keep the relays protected. Right now they're zip-tied into a Gore-Tex sock that I had lying around, but I'm thinking of adapting a small tupperware box using a grommet and some sealant so they're easier to get to. The loom on my Golf - I think it was BRM or somebody - left the relays exposed and they used to die periodically.

Pretty much, yep, the power comes direct from the battery, the existing signal from the switch just triggers the relevant relay. There are a few diagrams littered around if you for a forum search, also some stuff at mateymatey.com, erm, here and the wiki. The other really useful site I used was this one which includes diagrams. The C is a bit more complicated than some because of the design of the headlights and the connector plugs for them. You can buy the OE headlight connectors from VW still along with suitable terminals, I just used a decent silicone sealant to seal everything up. Some people connect to the original loom using spade-type connectors, but I just soldered and heatshrunk the triggers into the original loom. If you look back through this thread, there are some links to component suppliers etc. I'd look for waterproof / splash proof fuseholders and some way of protecting the relays and solder / heat shrink all the connections rather than just crimping. Or maybe use the crimps with the adhesive-lined heatshrink outer if you prefer. It's well worth the hassle, believe me :)

Point taken :lol: I think I am just worrying about nothing. Thanks people. If you want some more reassurance, if I were in the market for a VR at the moment - which I'm not - I'd definitely have taken a look at yours. It's pretty obviously a nice car that's had most of the major stuff sorted all ready. You just need the right buyer to come along, so take it easy and be patient.

I'm kind of hoping I'd have dipped my main beam by then, but I'm not sure even plod will be able to distinguish between 60-watt halogens full in the face and 100-watt ones :) Fwiw, I've always run 100-watt H3 spots plus 100/90 H4 Rally bulbs with an uprated loom in my Mk 2 and never been pulled over for it. MOT testers don't seem to notice either. As long as they're adjusted properly, it doesn't seem to be an issue and I don't get flashed by oncoming traffic either. I wonder if the numbers of humungous two-storey 4x4s with blinding HIDs mean that no-one cares any more. Logically, if you have a decent cut-off on dip it doesn't matter how much light there is below the cut-off and on high beam, you shouldn't be using it with on-coming traffic anyway, so what of it :? I know it's not quite that simple when you take rises and bumps into account, but on balance, round here - Peak - I'd rather be able to see where I'm going. I've relayed and up-rated the St

Osram do a bulb called the Nightbreaker which came out late last year and is claimed to be 90 per-cent brighter than stock, I've got a set of the H4s waiting to go in some time, but they also do a replacement bulb for the spot which is an H3, I think. There's a few people selling them on eBay. Alternatively relay the spots separately with their own heavier gauge wire and relays and stick 100-watt Philips Rally bulbs in, that's what I've done and it's excellent, instant daylight when you switch onto main beam 8)

Just dismantled my Clifford Concept 300 alarm siren, took out the old rechargeable battery pack and soldered in a new one, then put it all back together again. After two or three years the back-up batteries die and the alarm stops chirping on arm and disarm, though the siren'll still work fine as long as it's connected to the car battery. Way cheaper than buying a new siren... Culmination of six weeks of mechanical carnage during which I've changed the coilpack, radiator, spark plugs, oil and filter three times, cam position sensor, temperature senders on the stat housing and the auxiliary water pump and its useless, perished mount. I think I'll have a lie down now before the Samco hoses finally arrive and I get to mess with the cooling system again :?

I'm kind of hoping mine survives until the Gruvenparts Thermostat housing is available, got the crackpipe ready to go on and some Samco houses on the way and it'd be nice to do it all in one. Just had a new radiator and replaced the auxiliary water pump last week - until I found it hanging down after slipping through the rubber mount I didn't really 'get' why Gruven do a replacement billet mount, makes more sense now. Love the way Cs go through all the documented fave failures one after the other, you can almost buy the bits in advance and wait for the next bit to go :)

No problema :-)

Take a look at www.vagcat.com - should give you the part number at least.

Neat petrol smell or a rich burning kind of smell mixed in with the oil? The latter is common and expected. My girlfriend's 2006 Polo 1.8T is exactly the same. Black oil that stinks of fuel! I would leave it, drive it for 1000 miles then check the plugs again. Sounds like it was the cam sensor if your power and economy have been restored. They're not very reliable, which is why I keep a spare and a 5mm allen key in the glove box ;-) I dunno, my fuel-sniffing palate isn't what it used to be :) I'll have another tasting later... There's definitely some aroma mixed in with the oil that has a tint of neat petrol to it, but maybe I'm getting paranoid or there's a bit of residual left over from before that's not burned off, thought that seems unlikely. I'll see how it goes, put some more miles on it and go from there. I'm starting to think Corrados run on neat paranoia, 100-octane notional fault juice. Driving really nicely now though :) I'm thinking I ought to have the chains/tensioner done in the next year or so, so if there is a top-end / bore issue, I can sort it all at the same time. I suppose the upside is that I'm slowly sorting through the quirky horrors left by the previous owner(s), stuff like the auxiliary pump and breather. One other thing, I found a loose wire with a very small two-pin connector down below the thermostat housing while I was changing the senders there. Looks like it hasn't been connected to anything for a while and I can't see where it would go, front of the block maybe. I'll have a look again later, but it's nothing obvious, any thoughts anyone?

Yep, that's what I'm thinking. I'll get the top end looked at professionally if it doesn't clear up. Have already done the battery disconnection / driving procedure thing btw. Options for petrol getting into oil? Over-fueling I guess, worn bores / rings allowing blow-by, valve seals / stems, leaking injector(s). Anything else? The back to normal fuel consumption kind of suggests to me that it's not running that rich overall, unless it's just at a certain point in the rev range. I'm assuming that at normal running temperatures, any combustion by-products that find their way into the sump are going to boil off and evaporate via the crankcase breather, so if it continues as is, contaminants are finding their way into the sump faster than they're boiling off, mind you, a little petrol goes a long way when it comes to smell. Ah well, I guess if nothing else, I now know that the various senders, plugs etc I've replaced are all good and I have an auxiliary water pump that's working. tbc :?

Yes. The only drawback with this is that if you change laptops/reinstall the OS you'll have to re-register it. (But they don't charge for that, it's just hassle.) The genuine Ross-Tech cables have a built-in dongle that enables the full features of the software, so you can use the cable on any computer anytime.[/quote:1e40p8ya] OK, thanks for that, fella - did some more background reading on the Ross Tech site and I think it makes sense to stick with the cheapo cable and register the software, so that's what I'll do.

Thought I'd update this seeing as it's kind of irritating when you search the forums and find loads of unresolved threads and problems lying about. Anyway, to cut a longish story short, I seem to have half fixed my issues - just back from a variable paced spin round the Peak and mpg is back at around 29mpg compared to the awful 20-ish I got before, and the engine's pulling like a proverbial train. Didn't have access to VAG-COM but borrowed a standalone VAG fault reader which only gave the cam speed sensor fault that they all, apparently give, when stationary. Then like a muppet I cleared the codes, so presumably all codes including the ones the scanner couldn't read, doh. I'd managed to lose a load of coolant while replacing the blue sender on the stat anyway and needed some more G12+ so couldn't get out for a test drive. Anyway, then managed to set up my Macbook to run VAG-COM using an old beta of Boot Camp and the work Windows XP licence, so ended up with access to it unexpectedly. Anyway, changed the blue temp sensor, also the yellow ones as the terminals looked a bit sad. Also replaced the disc-type crankcase breather thing which someone had superglued and taped in the past with oily mist apparent and the plugs. While I was at it, I thought I might as well stick a new cam speed sender in as well. When I had the plastics off, I noticed a loose connector - turned out the auxiliary water pump had slid down through its rubber ring mount and pulled out of the connector and was just hanging there, nice. Also the locking wire bit of the connector was missing so the connector wouldn't stay put. Zip-tied the connector in place, refilled the cooling system, ran it up to temp etc, all good. Turned the ignition off and the aux pump was making a noise like a cement mixer, not good. So... bought a new auxiliary pump, Bosch from GSF for an eye-watering 70 squid plus VAT and fitted that along with new mounts and a strategic zip tie. Lovely and quiet, well pleased. Runs for ten minutes after you switch the ignition off but you can barely hear it. Finally stuck a new air filter in and gave the MAFF a careful spray with some electrical contact cleaner. Changed the plugs for NGK, the ones in there were Bosch Super (?), 1, 6 and A.N.Other had some minor white deposits from burning oil I think, the other three looked mint So, just back from a test run, pulls like a train and mpg is back up to normal levels despite some erm, spirited acceleration :) So all good on that front. On the down side, there's still a faint smell of fuel in the oil despite two oil changes after an hour of driving with oil temps around 90, but given the fuel consumption, I'm wondering what's going on - valve seals, bore wear or something else. Alternatively, does the ECU need resetting? Could there still be values from before which are upsetting the fuelling? If so, do I need the full version of VAG-COM to do that? No fault codes on the engine at all btw and as I said, it feels really strong. Thoughts appreciated. Otherwise I'll throw it at Awesome or maybe Stealth and see what they suggest. Sorry I can't tell you what specifically sorted the fuel consumption, I'm thinking probably the blue sender, but I'm quite happy to have changed the other stuff and he's driving really nicely bar the petrol smell in the oil :?

So I can register the software I've got with the 'dumb' cable off eBay and activate the adaptation settings using my existing cable? Have I got that right? Sorry if that's a daft question :thumb right: Chances of me ever owning a modern VW are pretty slim to be honest, after the Mark 2 I think of the 'rado as being a state of the art motor and, to be honest, every time I drive a 21st Century car I'm woefully underwhelmed, so compatability with later VAG cars isn't really a significant issue for me.