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  1. oldcodger

    oldcodger

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    QuantumFireball

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Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/27/2018 in all areas

  1. Car air conditioning never ceases to amuse. Refrigeration technicians are highly,trained, skilled, knowledgeable and qualified. Qualifications are gained over a period of approximately 3 years minimum. Knowledge takes a while longer to accumulate. Garages in the most part, cant afford to employ air conditioning technicians. So to put it simply, why don't you ask the bloke next door if he wouldnt mind asking his youngest to wipe a cloth over the vents and give the ac a once over? Change the pollen filter, clean out the vents, run the unit on recirc only for the shortest possible periods and once or twice a year scald the entire system with air which is hotter than 60 degrees for about 15 minutes. EASY to do on a hot summers day with the ac turned onto maximum heat medium fan speed on a long run during which the engine is at its full working temperature. (Motorways are good for this.)Dont forget to wind the windows down so that the heat escapes and the system carries on trying to throw heat through the ductwork and coils. You then ensure that you kill the bacteria which makes everything stink. Keep the drain clean and clear, blow out the coil and kill bacteria by temperature and not disinfectant. Adding, topping up or routinely replacing refrigerant isnt necessary. Changing refrigerant is only necessary when there has been a leak. All refrigerant leaks have to be degassed, repaired and proven prior to reintroducing refrigerant. Most refrigerant leaks are very hard to detect. They do sell dyes which glow under an ultraviolet lamp however, what they don't tell you is that these dyes will only work if the leak is big enough to let the ultraviolet sensitive element of the dye to escape ; in many cases the molecular size of the escaping gas component is smaller than the dye molecule size and so the gas escapes whilst the dye doesn't. It makes everyone think that the problem went away until the ac stops cooling again. And guess what! you didn't just pay a semiskilled, barely trained, charlatan £165 to be fed a line or two. Recent developments show the motor industry trying to protect its own by introducing "special" refrigerants so that you have to entrust your vehicle to someone who just got back from a fortnights course. Sorry to say, this doesn't make them right ; a properly trained refrigeration technician knows how to handle and is qualified to manage any type of refrigerant from propane to carbon dioxide to ammonia ( I kid you not) and many , many more. A lot of people refer to air conditioning as "air con" some of them think they are being a bit savvy, Nicholas Cage fans and err ...cool. However I think that they are unwittingly being extremely accurate; a lot of the air conditioning trade is "air CON"
    2 points
  2. I used the seat heater fuse which only becomes live when the ignition is on. At first I tried to use the fuse for the cigarette lighter but for some reason that was live all the time. Like Bob said, you can’t clip the white cover back on but it’s no problem at all.
    1 point
  3. Hi, From using a mobile recharge guy who allowed me to watch and question the whole process, this is my understanding. Their equipment can first do a pressure test and any really bad leak will show up, similarly they can fill and use a uv dye, but again unless a bad leak it can often be difficult to spot a small leak as it may be on a hidden part of the condenser plus it can take a hour or so for anything to show. Given the main pressure test seems ok, he cleaned out the old and refilled with new and then used a Sniffer meter, which did reveal a very slight leak on the condenser, though nothing visually obvious. He said a small leak like this is not uncommon , so use it and it might be a case of just needing a yearly top up, but in my case it lost too much within 6 months, hence a new condenser. Speaking to others seems a minor leak is common and some do get away with just a yearly top up. Suppose some places will push for a new condenser whatever, though I bought mine for just £75 new, ironically when fitting found a hidden leak on the water radiation as well !
    1 point
  4. Hi Pat. If you remove the white cover then check where you wish to piggy back. Pull out the fuse and insert your piggy back. What I did find was because the piggy back sticks out a bit the white fuse box cover would not clip back on. No big deal really. Cheers Bob.
    1 point
  5. I use the normal jacking points, visible in the pic where the two notches are in the seam. On my Corolla there's a little triangle on the sill to point you at them. To get round the op problem, I made a wooden pad with a notch deeper than the seam, so the support is either side of the seam. Used it successfully for ages. Once lifted, I always use axle stands for safety.
    1 point
  6. It doesn't sound normal to me. It's like it's tripping/resetting or stuck in some weird feedback loop. I don't think the recirc changes on mine unless I have it set to Auto. Though mine's post-facelift so might behave differently. Don't know about Doctor Hybrid (wasn't aware of that app until you mentioned it, I must check it out), but with Hybrid Assistant it will show you all the various temperature measurements, including the cabin temperature. It might be good to check these in case it's maybe getting faulty readings.
    1 point
  7. Covered previously - the X-touch in the 2018 facelift is an updated unit and Apple Carplay cannot be added to the previous unit. As regards third party updates, suppose it depends what changes are made as to whether the warranty is affected.
    1 point
  8. Dealer phoned me this morning finally. Arranging to take it to a body shop approved by Toyota just to maintain the rustproofing. Anyway he offered 1 free service but I was happy that he agreed for two so that's £460 saved over 2 years. I can now move on from this.
    1 point
  9. Hi, On my 1.6 the low is where Mooly states and the high pressure is just above the offside engine mount; seems your 1.4, according to the Haynes manual, is located just below the horn, the high side port / assembly also has the pressure switch. Simple tests, start the air con, can you hear the compressor clutch click in and the cooling fan/s also start up ? If those ok, probably low on refrigerant, could just be natural wastage or like me a leaking condenser. Would suggest you take it to a recharge center or use a local mobile who can remove the old stuff, test for leaks and refill with the right amount of new refrigerant and oil; tyipcally £50+ ; well worth it imho. If doing it yourself this months Car Mechanics magazine has a good 10 page section on air con which might help.
    1 point
  10. I fitted my stereo, and made a little video about it for you all.
    1 point
  11. Speed on motorways long distance? Legally? I drove from here to Bedford and back last Friday. 504miles total and my Yaris Hybrid returned 64.8mpg overall using cruise control for much of the drive set at 65mph. 65mph is fast enough, but I had to take control and get to 70+ for overtaking etc and a few times on the A roads I had to floor the throttle to get past lorries etc. I never checked the miles per gallon part way or in any of the sections, but A30/M5/M4 sections must have returned higher than 64.8mph I'm sure. Good enough I reckon. Mick.
    1 point
  12. Hi Paul, I didn't take any of the repair to the wheel, but there are some of the new wheels and with them fitted
    1 point
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