Open Circuit Squib Driver Side! Red Triangle...

hello monsieur

just got back after another action-packed day.

1 - Okay - so the replacement battery has arrived and this one also has acid within the plastic when I open it. Granted, it didn't have as much as the last one, but nevertheless, it still had some. I don't wanna make a fuss out of this and cost the seller more money in collections/returns - but is this really a viable option? I mean, is it safe in the longrun to start using a battery which has bled acid? This Bosch battery does state a 4 year warranty, but I don't want problems down the line. I think the couriers have damaged this. I've seen how they treat boxes in overnight shipments. Should I just go to a shop myself and pick one up. I think there's one not too far from me.

2 - RE: the key - I've mesaaged Ovni - so let's see. Ideally I should have a spare set of keys.

3 - this question came to me earlier - is there any way to convert my cigarette lighter plug, to use a standard wall plug, for my tyre pump? It's pretty taxing on the car battery whilst it's in ignition during the pumps.

4 - on the connector - sure thing, feel free to take your time - no major rush. I appreciate your help here. I gave this one a good scrub, and although I ripped it apart, it found a way to clip back together and tighten back into place, into the airbag's connectors - so it's okay for now.

5 - I just want to sort the 12 volt battery out once and for all and I think that will get rid of all of the errors.

6 - a few of the brake pads looks like they have rust on them - what would you recommend to help cure this, and also other rust on the car.

7 - also, out of interest, is there any way to straighten out the chassis? It's still bent on the driver side. The guy didn't do a good job of repairing it and so it doesn't look very safe. I would have thought that the chassis should atleast be straight, but it's curved. This saddens me - along with the fact that he's just had the damaged part of the crunch zone straightened out, and had filler put all over it, followed by some paint! Makes you wanna cry when you look at how poor the workmanship is on the repair of this car.


anyway - I can't wait when you're back in town, and then we can have a proper catch up

thanks again John

 

Good Afternoon

I got the battery out and gave it a good scrub down this morning with baking soda/water solution - seemed okay. It did leak alittle from the couriers but I don't want to cost the seller even more money in the collection and return, so I'm happy to keep it. My only question however is that it doesn't seem to have an air vent on it - so how can I attach that air vent to this battery? Is there a way? Surely the fumes from the battery should have somewhere to go, other than straight into the car's breathing space?

There were 2 holes on the sides of the battery but these had little round plastic locks in them which I removed (black and red).

I need to also figure out what's wrong with the front water washer pump thing because it doesn't seem to squirt water out but does make a sound of pumping. One of the front lamps needs replacing aswell - it doesn't work - but then again it could be a fuse issue.

 

i'm deep breathing right now, trying not to pop...

I just fitted this stupid 12v replacement battery and now the car won't go into drive! I did a check on its voltage and it showed 12v - which I thought was pretty low....but maybe it just needs a long drive.

I'm pretty annoyed right now

gonna research the web for some answers

 

thanks John - I'll go have a play with it now...

Also, the airbag light stays on for that bit longer when I turn the car on, before disappearing - this feels strange.

 

I turned it on - then off - then on again, then off again - and on the 3rd time, it still wouldnt go into Drive, Neutral or Reverse. I had my foot on the brake too. I turned the driver side window down half way and back up aswell - still no joy on the car starting....

maybe i'm doing something wrong

 

yes - but unsure if i let it sit for 10 seconds both times....or actually, maybe i did, because the engine came on

let me count to 10 on both switching on cycle...

 

he holds his head down in embarrassment ...

my head was still in driving a manual car and totally forgot that you need to hold the brake down before putting it into gear (d'oh!)

okay all sorted - perfect!

it's rush hour out there right now, so in order to give the battery a decent charge, I'll go for a nice long-ish drive tomorrow morning and that should do it.


I need to then turn my attention to cleaning the car, and fixing the small bits that aren't currently right....The glove box also comes crashing down when you press the button - causes quite a shock - would be nice to have it open smoothly. Will have a look at its mechanism at some point


thanks again John

 

hahahahaa

yeh - that's the sort of thing that happens with me alot.....

heheh


thanks John - enjoy your meal...

no rush on that list - take your time....there's a few more bits to add to that list aswell.....but will let you know as they come to me

cheers

 

here is what i could see down the side of the glove box....the first image is of the side of it when opened - the second image is of a cylindrical type instrument, down the inside - which I tried to pull downwards and it seemed attached to a metal rod - but it did feel as though it would have come down had I pulled harder but I didn't want to risk breaking anything.

 

i think it needs a new dampener...

i managed to attach its hook to that side latch but it didn't really contribute towards softening the dropping of the lower glove door

I couldn't figure out how to pop the side dash compartment off so i left it....i could do with taking that off actually, because the fan panels are broken.

 

okay excellent - will get working on these points.

RE: the airbag light - it seems to stay on for approximately 5 seconds and then goes away.

I'll leave the car running for abit of time tomorrow...and in that time i'll pump the tyres up (40 PSI front, 38 PSI back)

another thought I just had was that the car gave a P3000 error code whilst I was at the local mechanic. He was using a generic console, but then I remember at the time, we discovered that the battery fan's fuse needed replacing, so we did this. The reason behind why the battery fan fuse had blown has always got me thinking. Was it because there were too many hair and crap stuck in there and so it over-worked itself into popping the fuse? Could be...in which case, I may open the back up and have a wee inspection of the fan's condition.

I think 1 nut is holding the damper in place, hence why it's swinging all over the place...so I'll try to pull the glove box out and see if I can screw/fix the 2nd joint on the damper. I hope that works.

 

Hahahaa - its funny you mention a To Do list - I was just putting one together for this car.

The tyres are a strange one because the front ones seemed to be way over 40 PSI (I think around 45 psi), the last time I connected the pump to them. The back ones were around 32-ish. They are the 195 model tyres. I think they're 195/55 or 65. I thought these were listed as needing to be 35 front and 33 back, but given the current pump levels and based on your recommendations, this seems pretty low.

I'll have to strip it all out from the back in order to get to the fan and I currently don't have a neat tool which will allow me to pluck those clips out and so I'll do this at some point soon. I would want that peace of mind on such an important part.

I'll carry on building my list and start working on those things 1 by 1. I'm so behind on other things that I need to get done in my life. This car's taken up most of my time - but its been a fun and learning experience