Early one has a pigtail with 2 connectors coming out of it whereas the later one has a socket on the latch itself. They are actually interchangeable if you extend the loom so it will reach the connector. The later early ones (from about late 97) also had the three microswitches encapsulated in epoxy so they are a solid block rather than 3 individual switches. It's one of these solid blocks that I've got so it should be the same as on yours.

Usually means the ultrasonic sensor (the thing in the headlining above the LH B post) has failed. Pulling it out, unplugging it and plugging it back in to clean up the contacts is often all that is needed to cure it.

Orangebean wrote:

Way things are at the moment, it's probably vultures too lazy to circle overhead.

I must admit, I thought my SE was cursed with the number of faults I found with it but you seem to have bought the lemon of all lemons there. At least my SE would manage a couple of hundred miles before something else failed rather than finding everything all at once.

You'll probably find that if you look very carefully you'll be able to see where the gap in the gasket is. I found a pretty big clue to the problem when I took the inlet manifold off when I was doing mine. That definitely shouldn't be there.......

That explains it then, central locking is activated by a combination of the mechanical linkage and the CDL switch. So, he's got a dodgy key switch. If you remember you sent me a couple of the encapsulated microswitch sets to replace mine to stop the dancing locks in hot weather. I've still got the one I didn't use so could fit it for Rutland Rover if the latch on a very late car is the same. It's a 51 plate, one of the very last.

I suspect that the switch could have been faulty for some time but as the fob was synced it worked prior to the BeCM going into meltdown. Once that happened and it was removed, the fob would need to be synced again but can't be as the switch isn't doing anything. For the same reason the EKA can't be entered with the key either.

Noise will be the ABS pump as you suspect. It will try to pressurise the system and stop eventually (about 30-40 seconds) but the rear brakes are on the power circit so as soon as you touch the brake pedal, it'll blast all the fluid out of the hose (or more likely pipe) that has just burst. There's two short metal pipes that lurk at the back that rot through. Easy enough to make up a new one in Kunifer tubing but you will need a crows foot spanner to get to the top union. To bleed it, just turn the ignition on and get a glamorous assistant (or a bit of broom handle wedged between the pedal and the seat if you don't have one) to press the pedal.

As the pump has run out of fluid, there's a bleed nipple on the pump itself that may need cracking open very briefly. Do NOT allow anyone to drive it as it is, it'll empty the reservoir in a matter of seconds as soon as anyone puts their foot on the brake,

I was going to PM Marty with this but may as well put the info on here. Looking at the Nano it showed that the Right Key Switch didn't change state when the key was turned in the lock. But there are a couple of things that didn't seem quite right. The Nano also gives a reading for the Left Key Switch which it doesn't have. May be universal firmware for LHD and RHD but it just seemed odd that it was showing a state for something that wasn't there. Tried to sync the fob using the key in the hole, turn and press method but no joy which, if the key switch isn't working would explain that as it wouldn't know I'd turned the key. The other thing is that the central locking still works on the key and I would have thought that if the key switch wasn't working that wouldn't work either?

Then checked the fob for output on the spectrum analyser.against mine. It is transmitting on the correct frequency but was maybe 4-5 dB down on the level mine was showing and, as David mentions, his receive antenna etched in the rear window appears to have been damaged when window tint film was fitted. I doubt either of these are the problem as even without an antenna at all the system will still work (as demonstrated by numerous people who have disconnected the antenna). Mine will lock and unlock the car from inside the house so getting closer, like putting the fob right next to the receiver, and it should still work. I'm thinking a failed key switch means it can't be synced (yes, Immobilisation is disabled in the BeCM) and as it isn't synced the receiver won't respond to it but why does central locking work on the key? Or is that done with a combination of the mechanical linkage and the CDL switch? In which case, why is the key switch even there?

You'll have fun finding V8 Dev as a satnav just takes you to a road that appears to have no buildings. They're tucked away behind some trees but look for a sign that says Cobwebs Farm (you'll probably miss that too but you'll see it as you drive past so you can turn around and go back to it).

Thought you said it was running smooth? On that video you can hear the offended cylinder popping only sometimes. So much for Bosch misfire detection......

Mine was running on 7 and blowing into the Vee when I bought it (as well as having a burst rear air spring) so I pulled the head off. I was curious as it was pretty obvious the heat shields had never been off the manifold and I found out why. Someone had removed the heads not long before but they had taken them off and put them on with the manifolds and heat shields still in place. As you can't get a socket on the bolt head unless it is right by the head, they'd held the head away from the block with a screwdriver and nicked the head right where the fire ring went on one of the middle cylinders. 8 thou off the head removed the nick and I put it all back together. 80 miles later it dropped to 7 and made the same noise but a compression test showed a lack of compression on one of the middle cylinders on the other head. Took that one off to find an identical nick in the head in exactly the same place......

The pipes don't have to come out of the bottom like on both of mine, it's just that is the easiest way of doing it. If you used a hollow toroidal tank as on my white one then the pipes, cabling and vent does need to come out of the centre but with a filled toroidal the connections are on the outside of the tank so there is nothing to stop the pipes coming out of the side of the wheel well higher up. They could then run along the inside of the chassis rails (or even along the top as the petrol pipes do). The biggest advantage would be that your 52 mile a day commute to work would cost you around £7 a day (especially as you have the cheapest LPG supplier for miles less than half a mile from work).

They don't make a lot of sense?? Both banks are showing rich, although Bank A is the richer of the two, yet the Bank A trim is going above 1 suggesting it is trying to richen further while Bank B is going below 1. I'm assuming a figure above 1 is richening the mixture and below 1 is leaning it off (the readings on a GEMS are shown as a positive or negative percentage). It would be expected that a manifold leak would introduce extra air so the lambda sensor would see this as excess oxygen in the exhaust which would make it appear to be running lean and not rich.

Exhaust manifold blow, either at the manifold to head joint or a crack in the manifold itself. When it gets hot it expands and closes up the gap. From the roughness graphs, on bank 1. What are the fuel trims and lambda sensor outputs like on that bank? Any difference between banks? An exhaust blow would affect the lambda reading so the trims would differ between banks.

It does sound suspiciously similar to mine when it had a blow into the Vee from one cylinder but that meant one cylinder wasn't firing so it was immediately noticeable (and running not smooth at all). Simple test for that is to take the oil filler cap off, if it gets much noisier, then you'll know. However, I can't see it being anything more serious than a manifold blow or it wouldn't be running smoothly which suggests it has to be after combustion has finished.

Early ones have two wheel traction control (rear wheels only), later ones have 4 wheel traction control but I wasn't aware of any that didn't have it at all. Ones with 2 wheel TC can be upgraded to 4 wheel by swapping the ABS modulator and ECU.

If you drop the panel below the steering column, you can see the fan on the drivers side. 3 bolts and out it comes (with a bit of wiggling and cutting one tie wrap holding the wiring loom in place). In fact, that panel is out at the moment on my SE so you can have a look when you call in tomorrow.

When they get as bad as that it's almost impossible to pull the filters out without some of it falling down inside. Mine did it for a little while after I changed the filters. A few blasts of full speed fan and it stopped. I think whatever it was must have been chopped up into little bits

I'd say something to do with the heating system, either, as Gordon suggests, the recirculate flap or a twig or leaf has got itself down into the fan. When (if) it does it again, try turning the fan speed knob on the HEVAC and see if it gets faster as the fan speeds up.

If you need shims for the valve gear, I bought a set from Rimmers and it came with 3 different thicknesses. I used the thickest (50 thou I think) but both of the other sizes are floating around somewhere.

Thanks for the recommendation Shep, although in this case you could be wrong as Teri's car is a diesel and I know naff all about them (and have absolutely no desire to learn either). But, if it is anything other than the engine, I'll happily get stuck in. Yes, I will be over in May. I'm going to a anniversary/reunion at the Matra factory in Romorantin-Lanthenay the weekend of 13/14th May. We'll be leaving there on the Sunday and the plan is to head up to Versailles to drop in at RRHSG's bar for the evening. That will involve finding somewhere to stay that night but don't need to be in Calais for the ferry back until the Monday evening, so could easily call in on the way through.

I used to be Chairman of the Matra Enthusiasts Club UK and am acting as the official support vehicle. So far only one cheeky bugger has asked what is going to be used as the support vehicle for me.......

I run a single point on mine but it is a bit low tech and not recommended for a GEMS and far too low tech for a Thor like yours. Multipoint uses, as the name suggests, an LPG injector per cylinder and can be batch fired, or sequential. They piggy back onto the petrol system so instead of firing the petrol injectors, the engine ECU fires the LPG injectors (via the LPG ECU). Some earlier systems only picked up the pulses from one cylinder per bank so effectively batch fired the LPG injectors so not true sequential (much like some earlier petrol systems, such as the Lucas 14CUX system on a Range Rover Classic, which has all petrol injectors per bank firing simultaneously). Modern systems are truly sequential so fire the individual injectors just as the petrol system does.

The problem with buying secondhand kit is that you have no idea if it was working properly when removed. The wiring loom will have been chopped about, the injectors may be worn, the reducer diaphragm may be on it's last legs and you won't get everything so you can just whack it in. You'll almost certainly find bits missing or that you can't reuse. Tanks have a certified life of 10 years as already mentioned but the main gas feed from tank to the engine bay will also need new pipe and fittings. Then there will be the little things like the nozzles for the inlet manifold and hose clips that you won't want to reuse even if they come in the box of assorted bits. So really, not worth going for unloess you like to spend a lot of time fiddling.

It is perfectly feasible to install it yourself. Plan out where you are going to fit the bits, pipe runs and the like. The only real mechanical work is drilling and tapping the inlet manifold to fit the nozzles. If you think you are going to have the time, get the kit of bits from Simon (other suppliers are available), if you think you are likely to be up to your neck in nappies in the very near future and won't have the time to do it yourself, drop it off with him and let him do it for you. Agreed, payback time will be a bit longer but you get a really nice, warm, almost conceited, feeling inside whenever you hand over a mere £35 for a tank full of fuel that is going to last you appreciably over 200 miles.

No Tony, it's a C180k Coupe, 2004 model. The spring had lost about 40mm off the end and from the look of it, it had been broken for a long time. The A Class has a really bad reputation, at least in the UK as teh build quality doesn't seem to be up to the expected Merc standard. A friend bought one brand new for his daughter and in the 2 years she had it, for 17 months of that she had a loan car from the dealer as it was back in having just about everything replaced.