I would have filed them in the recycling bin long ago, or just asked for a refund, had it not been for the guy in my local branch saying that 8 quid in my pocket wouldn't go far so I should stick it out and insist they provided me with what I'd ordered.

Nice one Rob, very interesting definitely worth knowing. You're still stuffed if one of the microswitches fails though.....

No, they've asked me when I will be at home to collect the two boxes of Lexus filters. They are welcome to them and obviously need them as their site says they are a non-stock item even though they've got hundreds of the buggers, all with the wrong number on the box......

Finally, a result. After being told they would be sending me 4 Bosch filters a box from ECP was delivered yesterday morning containing, you guessed it, 4 more Crosland filters for a Lexus. I emailed the guy I have been exchanging rants with to tell him. He replied that it seems there was an error in their admin department (so that's admin getting blamed now as well as the warehouse) and he would personally ensure that I would be sent the correct Bosch filters. Email from DHL told me a parcel would be delivered on Wednesday but when I got in from work today, there's a familiar looking box waiting for me. I opened it up to find 4 Bosch boxes so I opened one to see what I had been sent this time. At last, a P38 pollen filter but it gets better than that. The box says it contains 1 Set and sure enough, each box contains a pair of pollen filters. So for my £8.55 I've now got 8 pollen filters.

Am I going to tell them? Am I hell................

If all he has done is turned off the EKA and Immobilisation and then locked it with the key, it will work fine (until a microswitch dies). Pre V36 BeCM won't allow you to connect if it is in an alarmed state whereas V36 and later will (otherwise you wouldn't be able to connect to use a Nanocom to enter the EKA). However, that is how it works with a petrol and he admits he has a diesel which is different in the way it syncs to the engine ECU. He also doesn't understand what passive immobilisation does either so basically he's the 'expert on the internet' that has done something on his car but hasn't had a problem. Yet.....

East way to check is to force it to need the EKA. Open the drivers window, close the door and lock it, wait for the alarm light flashing to slow down (to show it is set), put your hand in through the open window, pull up the sill locking button and open the door. You will have then simulated a door latch with a failed keyswitch and it will need the EKA code. What happens if you have turned off the EKA in the BeCM I've no idea as I'm not brave enough to try it to find out.

romanrob wrote:

removes the need for a fob press to de-activate the alarm - so the mechanical key in the door (assuming micro-switches work) will de-activate the alarm

But it will anyway. The fob press is only needed if passive immobilisation is enabled and you wait more than 30 seconds between unlocking the car and trying to start the engine. On later (from around mid-97), this is done for you automatically by the coil around the ignition switch causing the fob to transmit when you put the key in ignition. If the car has been locked with the key the alarm and immobiliser are set and will be unset when you unlock with the key (or fob). Assuming both the keyswitch and CDL switch are working of course. It is only a problem when it has been locked with the fob and you then unlock with the key (usual scenario when the battery has gone flat). In this case it only opens the drivers door and doesn't unset the alarm and immobiliser so it then needs the EKA entering to take them off. With the EKA disabled what happens in this case is the important thing?

Had a run over to Boston on Saturday and picked one up from tanis8472 so all sorted now, thanks. I told the owner of the car (mymysteri) that I suspected the alternator so would be bringing a spare one with me and she reckons her local garage have checked it. I suspect all they did was check that it was charging when the engine was running which it will do even with a short circuit diode. They then suspected the fusebox so reckon they put a spare one on it and the battery still went flat overnight. Knowing how appallingly bad French garages are I don't believe anything they've told her so it will be a start from scratch diagnosis anyway.

In case anyone thinks this is my sole reason for going there, it isn't (not this time anyway). I'm picking Dina up from Charles de Gaulle airport (a very long story as to why she isn't flying into the UK) on Sunday evening so am going over on Saturday to, hopefully, get this job done while I'm in the area.

But what will it do when a microswitch in the door latch fails so it sets the alarm off? Normally, once the alarm has been set off you would be asked for the EKA but if EKA is disabled does it not ask you for it or does it not accept it if you enter it?

Immobilisation being turned off just stops passive immobilisation (and most people have turned it off), there is also an option to turn off the EKA, it is this that we don't know what it does.

Thing is, it's only being left for a week so it shouldn't really be necessary to do anything other than park it.

The biggest problem is that the driver pack is encapsulated but not with the usual solid epoxy that is usually used for this sort of thing, but with a sort of semi flexible stuff. The solid epoxy is simple enough to remove with freezer spray which makes it go very brittle and crack so bits can be dug out, but this doesn't seem to work with the flexible stuff. With the valve block out it's very simple to check if all channels in the driver pack are working or if you have a different problem.

Marty did experiment with a driver pack of his own design but had problems when it started to get hot.

Yes that's right. Until I hear it from someone that knows for definite (and not just a man on the internet) I'm leaving it enabled.

I'd disagree and leave on high. Stops the airsprings from being folded and doesn't crush the bumpstops. I always leave the Ascot on high and it hasn't dropped in a month.

It's a bit of a lottery. Some of it, such as the Dunlop air springs, are genuine items and Britpart can get them far cheaper by buying in quantity, others are from the OEM manufacturers while the cheap stuff is Chinese knock offs. It all depends on what you get and if you are lucky or not.

Bloody trucks in convoy at 40mph on the A16.......

No there isn't, not on the petrol anyway (just got home.....).

Just sent you a PM

Normal recommendation is to put the stands under the axles to take the weight off the tyres and prevent them developing flat spots but if you are only leaving it for a week or so, it probably doesn't matter.

If you run the wires to the left side of the car, there is an unused hole with a plain grommet in it that comes out below the rear lights. It's there in case you fit a twin towing socket arrangement and also behind the LH rear light there's a 4 way connector doing nothing that has ground, ignition switched power, permanent power and reversing light feed in it. Ideal place to run the cables to and connect it up. I fitted a reversing camera to mine just above the towbar (so I can hitch a trailer up on my own), cut a slit in the blanking grommet to run the wire through and connected using that connector.

If a diode has gone open circuit it should be dead easy. In fact, you can normally see the interior lights pulsing when the engine is idling, because you've only got 2 of the 3 phases doing anything so rather than seeing a smooth DC voltage you'll see a lumpy one. If it has gone short circuit it won't be as obvious because it will still be outputting all 3 phases but a clamp on ammeter will show current being drawn when the engine is off. A check on the main battery feed will show lots of Amps flowing and if you then check on the cable from the alternator and see the same amount of current being drawn that's where it's going.

On a P38 it's fairly easy as each circuit goes via a maxi fuse except for the feed to the alternator and starter. So if you've got a lot of current draw and it isn't going to the starter or alternator, then you just pull a maxi fuse one at a time to isolate where it is going.

Yes, Stilton (where the cheese originated from), just off the A1(M). That would be great if I can borrow it, I could come and pick it up if you aren't going to be heading in this direction.