Gilbertd wrote:
nigelbb wrote:
AFAIK no P38 seat has an inflatable lumbar support.
Yes they do, all of them with memory seats and possibly those with electric non-memory too.....
From the owners handbook
I knew that my Vogue has memory seats with adjustable lumbar support but didn't realise that it was a pneumatic inflatable thing. I thought that it was just moving a solid pad. I got my seat adjusted just how I like it years & years ago, stored it as Memory 1 & haven't adjusted the seat for many years.
It's unusually cold for Brittany at present (down to -5C) so I will wait until it warms up a bit before investigating seat wiring.
As a follow up re E85 I am running my P38 on 100% E85 when in France & on E10 when in the UK. Price of E85 is currently 75c while E10 is €1.75. I get 15mpg on E85 & 18mpg on E10 so at present using E85 I am getting the equivalent of 35mpg at E10 prices.
I have noticed that when it is cold that it's a bit reluctant to start & needs cranking longer while pumping the accelerator. However I just discovered that in what I think is a new initiative that from 16th November to 15 March that there is a winter grade of E85. Instead of a maximum of 85% bioethanol during these months the E85 pumps will provide fuel with a maximum of 60% bioethanol i.e. 40% regular petrol. I have filled up with winter grade E85 & it does indeed improve cold start performance (unusually for Brittany we are currently having frosts down to -5C).
Bioethanol like LPG has a lower calorific value than regular petrol so I normally see fuel consumption of about 15mpg versus the 18mpg I get with E10. It will be interesting to see whether I see significant improvement in fuel consumption with this winter grade.
Kbs wrote:
nigelbb wrote:
....found the correct fuse I confirmed that it had blown & replaced it. The seat can now be adjusted again...
If the seat fuse is blowing WITHOUT you pressing buttons, you might want to look at the inflatable lumber support. (I beleive) this is the only seat function that has a switched negative (it has a live unswitched wire in the seat back). You can access this wire without removing the seat but I didn't find this out in time.
I got the FUSE 10 FAILED message again yesterday so it looks like I need to investigate what's actually causing the fuse to blow. We had -5C in Brittany yesterday & the fuse blew when I pressed the PROG button on the HEVAC to clear the ice from the windows. I definitely didn't press any buttons to move the seat.
AFAIK no P38 seat has an inflatable lumbar support. I thought perhaps some short in the heating elements was causing the problem. It's -5C here again this morning & the same is forecast for tomorrow so I'm not going to do any work on the car for a few days. We have lived in this cottage for five years & this is the first time we have had such low temperatures which are very unusual for Brittany.
Kbs wrote:
Today I've decided the p38 (and a spares car) need to go. Insurance is now so ridiculous I can't justify keeping them. Tax & insurance >£2k even with very limited miles. I can get traders insurance but I don't have a big car collection, just the old p38s.
Sad times, I've only had them about 5 years/18months.
Will be back to pick brains about types of wheels and seats before I finally send these great old machines on their way.
Give NFU Mutual a call. They have local offices all over the country. I was very pleasantly surprised when at last renewal LV bumped the premium by 50%. I am paying about £340 for my P38 which is not bad considering my wife's Smart FourTwo costs £275. We are loaded as my wife only passed her test 18 months ago.
I got the warning 'Beep!' & the message FUSE 10 FAILED. I checked the manual & Fuse 10 is the driver's seat (RHD) & indeed I discovered that I could not adjust my seat. Fuse 10 is conveniently located in the little fuse box under the right hand seat. I then spent about ten minutes scratching my head as the fuse appeared to be OK. Eventually I realised that I was looking at the wrong 30A fuse. Once I found the correct fuse I confirmed that it had blown & replaced it. The seat can now be adjusted again. The heated seats have never worked & I have never bothered to fix them as I am not a fan of heated seats. As a former co-worker commented to me regarding his new car with heated seats "It feels just like I pissed myself!😀
Gilbertd wrote:
Not asking for the code suggests someone has been into the BeCM and disabled the EKA setting. People seem to think that when they see a setting for EKA with the options of Enabled or Disabled, if they disable it then they will never need to enter it which is incorrect. What it does is not ask for it whether it is needed or not and should only be disabled on a car that has never had an EKA programmed from new (only for certain markets, notably the US).
I don't know if it's different for diesels but there is a long-term user with a diesel P38 on Landyzone who routinely recommends that people disable EKA & immobiliser. I have tried pointed out that disabling EKA is not a good idea for a V8.
The fact that it has no keys isn't a big problem provided the BECM etc hasn't been changed. You can buy a genuine key fob from a JLR main dealer for £250-300 if you take along the V5C. You can also get a replacement non-genuine key from Classic Rides North Wales They have a nice new website & now also sell genuine keys for £350 although they also do a two key one genuine & one non-genuine bundle for £350.
There are several Autogas LPG bulk tanks for sale on eBay but £7.5K for this 1,410 litre one is a bit too pricey.
On page six of this PDF brochure from Flo-gas there is a diagram of an LPG bulk tank which shows a gas fill valve & a separate liquid offtake valve next to it so these might be easy to adapt.
https://assets.flogas.co.uk/uploads/Your-Technical-Guide-Bulk-Consumer.pdf
I was prompted to ask the question as in a previous house with no mains gas I had LPG central heating installed. They buried the tank so it wasn't an eye sore & the bit above ground was minimal. I assume that if the tank were buried it could still have a bottom take-off but presumably would need a pump to move the liquid LPG into the car's fuel tank. It would only be the (hopefully sensible) safety regulations that dictate where the tank could be buried.
As you know at our UK house we have no garden at all so there is nowhere to put an LPG tank & in our French cottage there is room we have no need when LPG is widely available although E85 (85% bioethanol) is much cheaper & just as widely available. If we were to move & the new property had an existing LPG tank I wonder if we would be able to utilise it?
BTW I assume that using 47KG bottles or an LPG bulk tank we should really be paying 28.88p per kilogram fuel duty.
Is it possible to have a bulk LPG tank installed (like for LPG central heating) & fill up from that? What would be the cost per litre if LPG is bought in bulk?
A photo of His & His P38s when Richard & Dina called in to visit us in Brittany while on their honeymoon journey through France
Congratulations to you both!
Gilbertd wrote:
Wait for Nigelbb to reply. He got some and we fitted them into his. The sub amp was bolted to the back of the speaker and the new ones didn't have anywhere to bolt it to so I drilled a couple of holes in the side of the housing and used long M6 bolts with some nuts to act as spacers and bolted it there. So I know how to do it but not what speakers you need.....
I'm afraid I can't remember where I got the recommendation for these particular speakers from but they work well. You will need two. They were only £25.12 each when I bought them last April not the current £35.99.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000FMPENQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Gilbertd wrote:
I'd go for number 3, the starter is failing. It needs more current to turn the engine over, hence the dimming lights, so the increased current demand coupled with a battery that isn't at its best, is most likely to cause the problem. A few months ago I went to rescue one owner from a car park where his starter had failed completely. Fitted a new starter and he reckoned it spun the engine over far faster than the old one had done suggesting the old one had been getting slower over a long period.
That was me😀. I had always found it a bit reluctant to start when I filled up with E85 in France but it always started after cranking for a few seconds. I have a relatively new Hankook MF31-1000 so the battery is good. I had the engine completely rebuilt by V8 Developments & when I got it back it then seemed a bit reluctant to start when I filled up with E10 in the UK. I thought that it might free up a bit after I had run it in but eventually it just died. The new starter definitely spins the engine over much quicker. On reflection the starter had been on the way out for some months before it finally failed. As far as I am aware it was the original starter so hopefully the new Bosch one will last another twenty years or so.
That silly little plastic clip on the petrol filler flap broke. TBH I hadn't noticed that there was a silly little plastic clip there in the first place which shows how observant I am considering how many times I must have filled her up in the last 13 years & 100K miles. 95% of the clip was still present but the whole was loose & would not engage with the little retractable pin that secures it.
If only all P38 parts were so widely available. Googling on part number BPX700010 finds it available from all the usual part suppliers plus many others that I had never heard of before. On Amazon alone there must have been thirty different suppliers with prices varying from under £5 to over £30! Mostly priced at around a fiver it's a very pricey little bit of plastic but as the original lasted at least 13 years & probably the 23 years since it left the factory I hopefully won't need another any time soon.
It took longer to remove the gaffer tape that had been temporarily securing the flap than it did to fit the clip.
This is a problem that has been bugging me intermittently for a couple of years. Condensation from evaporator doesn't flow properly down the A/C drain so water can drip or pour into the cabin. I have been under the car I cleared the drain from below & also removed the panel under glove compartment & left side panel to clear the drain from above.
I think that the rubber drain itself is perished & has a small split that allows water out when it's very humid & there is lots of condensation from the evaporator. I haven't been able to find the correct part number or even a good diagram or photo showing the drain itself. There is a drip tray under the evaporator that has a spigot either side that the drain plugs into. Unfortunately it looks to me as though it's a dash out job to replace the drain & I suspect that these are NLA new.
I think that the alternative solution might be to replace the drain with a piece of plastic tube. It might even be possible to run the tube within the drain without removing it. I welcome any other suggestions
Gilbertd wrote:
Quite how anyone can drive a P38 without working AC I have no idea. There's so much glass they are like a greenhouse in the sun and, having done a 160 mile round trip on Monday when the HEVAC told me it was 29 degrees outside, was not pleasant.
I 100% agree re A/C as when I have had problems with the left hand A/C drain causing condensation from the evaporator to flood into the passenger compartment I had to switch off the A/C & rely on opening the sunroof & windows to keep the temperature down. I will start another thread to discuss this problem as it's still giving me trouble. I might have to pop over while you have the dash out to take a look at how the drains run because I'm still having difficulties visualising the 3D layout of the evaporator & the drains.
Gilbertd wrote:
If the DSP amp has been removed, then the wiring should have been linked where the DSP amp originally lived (see https://rangerovers.pub/topic/8-info-p38-alpine-dsp-amp-connections-and-wiring?page=1#pid30814) unless someone has run new cabling in from the head unit to the speakers. What you have now will dictate what you need to do and what is the least work. Most, if not all, modern head units have built in DSP anyway so an external DSP amp (if you can even find one) isn't worth it.
Your original speakers are now 24 years old and speaker technology has improved a lot since then, they are also likely on their last legs anyway. I've replaced all of mine with JBL units (JBL Stage 600CE), far better and a straight swap. If you want to add a sub, then up to you, I've got a small underseat one sitting just behind the BeCM under the drivers seat and that works well too.
Are these the speakers?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/stage-600CE-170mm-Component-Speakers/dp/B06XHL5R74/
I guess that I need two pairs so I can do the rear doors as well ,
I've just come back after my first trip towing our new caravan. It was a 300 mile round trip. The P38 is a great tow car. As per recommendations I locked the suspension at motorway height & engaged sport mode. Being able to drop the suspension to access mode really helps when hitching & unhitching. The only downside was fuel consumption of just under 12mpg rather than the usual 16mpg.
We should currently be on a caravan site in Wales for the next two weeks but curtailed our trip & returned home as after our first four night trip away in the caravan my wife has decided that she hates caravanning. It wasn't such a negative experience for me although I appreciate her concerns re communal showers & walking to a toilet block in the rain etc. There is also more physical effort & hassle involved in hitching/unhitching, loading/unloading & moving the van than I expected.
We have been talking about getting a caravan for years so I'm pleased that we have tried it then decided that it's not for us. We deliberately bought a relatively cheap twenty year old van with the full knowledge that if it didn't work out that we could probably recoup all or most of our money by selling on the van.