Gilbertd wrote:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404025564146, he replaces the switches on the circuit board and fully checks them before sending them back. You get a shiny new case too. As you have two keys, then it isn't a problem to do one at a time.
+1 for this. I just had a spare key refurbished by him. Before I sent it off the red LED didn't work & it would unlock but not lock the car. Now it's all working correctly. If you aren't getting the LED operating then the fob is faulty.
Gilbertd wrote:
nigelbb wrote:
What is the URL? A copy of his old website should still be accessible on the Wayback Machine just like you can access all the useful guides on rr.net that were deleted by the owners https://web.archive.org
www.p38webshop.co.uk
Here is Marty's website as it was on 26th May 2023
https://web.archive.org/web/20230526043552/http://p38webshop.co.uk/
Gilbertd wrote:
Afraid I've no idea what the fault or fix is, but a logged error of one sensor short to another is the symptom.
Unfortunately Marty managed to crash his own website and hasn't got around to writing a replacement yet but his old one did detail the problem.
What is the URL? A copy of his old website should still be accessible on the Wayback Machine just like you can access all the useful guides on rr.net that were deleted by the owners https://web.archive.org
I serviced the car a couple of days ago which included new pollen filters. The deal that I got on eBay was for two pollen filters plus the foam for the scuttle. I had never put new foam in before but it's pretty straightforward to get at. I know that some people have made a permanent job with perforated aluminium sheet which I night try in the future but as I had the foam I thought that I may as well use it.
I was able to reuse all the existing screws but would have preferred to replace them all with stainless screws if anyone has a link. I have some stainless self tappers but the screw heads are too small for the holes.
The car originally had a heated windscreen but sometime before my ownership it was replaced with a screen that didn't have heating elements but all the wiring is in place. I am not sure how many there should be of those weird little clips that secure the lower windscreen trim but I found ten in varying condition. It seems that they are NLA & even command a decent price used. I'm surprised that no enterprising bod with a 3D printer hasn't run off copies.
I tackled this again yesterday. I had to remove the fog lamp to give me access then cut the cable ties securing the reservoir & was able to pull it loose enough that I could get at the sensor. The rubber grommet had either not been fully pressed home or had dislodged as I put it all back together lats time. I made sure that the rubber grommet was pressed firmly home & now I was able to fill the reservoir right to the top of the filler. I put it all back together held with new cable ties & now the jib is done at last.
On reflection I should probably just have shorted out the connection to get rid of the error message.
I took another look today & I think I found the problem. The sensor & wire passes through a rubber grommet that should provide a seal but it has been pushed right in to the reservoir so that liquid leaks out through the hole. I need to dismantle it all again so that I can reach the sensor & re-seat it so that there is no leak.
I need to revisit this. When I get a Low Screenwash message I can fill up with a few pints but previously I would fill until the neck of the filler pipe was full but now it starts overflowing from somewhere else on the reservoir before the neck is filled. If I fill up straight after the Low Screenwash message appears it's only about two pints that I can add before it starts overflowing. The neck is well sealed into the reservoir & it doesn't look like the leakage is from that joint. I assume that there is a split to hole somewhere else in the reservoir so I am going to have to remove it totally & replace it with the other reservoir.
I haven't done any more than reattach the drain hoses after making sure they are clear of debris but haven't secured them with cable clips yet. The weather has been hot but not really humid & hot so the fact that I haven't had any icy water dripping onto the passenger carpet isn't 100% confirmation that I have fixed the problem. It's definitely cooler now so I will have to wait until next summer to know whether the problem is fixed or not.
Gilbertd wrote:
I found on mine that the drain tubes weren't a nice tight fit onto the spigots so when it was really humid it was coming out faster than it could get out of the tubes so would drip. It's a fiddly job, but see if you can get a tie wrap around it and pull it tight. I used a pair of long nosed pliers to get it into place and pull the tie wrap tight. I've had no further reports of wet feet since.
I will give that a try when I get back to the UK as I know I have some fine cable ties plus several pairs of surgical forceps that will aid fitting. It will be like doing keyhole surgery😀
I still wonder if that could be the cause of my problems as even if I completely disconnected the drain tubes from the spigots the water would then drip (or pour) down underneath the carpet either side of the tunnel. What I get is water in the heater ducts. Once it's reached a certain critical level I can hear it sloshing about & it spills out when cornering. It's the same symptoms as when rainwater is getting into the heater ducts round the pollen filters. Which reminds me I need to investigate the water ingress the last time I was out in torrential rain. There has been no significant rain for several months so this is not my current issue plus the water entering the cabin is icy.
I've had a recurring problem for years where I get icy water dribbling into the passenger footwell (RHD). Condensation accumulates on the A/C evaporator & is collected by a drip tray. This drip tray has a spigot at each end to which a rubber drain is attached thence disappearing through the floor to drip out on the road. At leasts that's the theory. These drains have a tendency to get blocked with leaves & crud from the roads. Normally you wriggle under the car & poke a screwdriver or piece of stiff wire into the bottom of the drain & get rewarded with a wet sleeve as the drain is cleared. I previously cleared the drains but with the humid & very hot weather we have been having recently it's started dripping icy water again.
I removed the bits of trim on either side so I could see to disconnect the rubber drain tubes that attach to the spigots at the bottom of the drip tray. I didn't have any suitable wire so was very grateful to my wife who suggested using some of that wire that is normally used to hang net curtains. She even found some in the French DIY store that we visited. The spring wire is perfect as it's flexible but stiff enough to easily push down through the drain tube until it was visible under the car. I hardly needed to scrabble under the car to confirm the drain was patent.
The rubber tube that connects to the spigot is corrugated & I it looks like both tubes have a hole in them but on the upper surface so probably not responsible for the icy water in the footwell. It only happens on the hottest most humid days when the A/C is working hard & presumably lots of condensation is collecting on the evaporator. It's possible that the rubber tubes had been kinked so impeding water flow which in turn means the water backs up in the drip tray & then spills over into the heater box. I have reattached them & as far as I can see they are not kinked so any water from the drip tray should run freely out down through the drains.
I will see how I get on now that I know for sure that the drains are clear & that the rubber tubes reattached to the spigots so there should be clear flow. The problem is that as it's only on the hottest most humid days when the A/C is working hard that the problem occurs the rest of the time I have no idea whether I have fixed the problem or whether it's just not hot &/or humid enough that sufficient condensation collects on the evaporator to start dripping into the cabin.
I would be grateful for any suggestions.
I confess that I bought a job lot of three new height sensors off eBay for about £20. They weren't OEM but I thought that for the price it was handy to have them as spares.
nigelbb wrote:
Another year passes & it's time to renew the insurance. I have the P38 plus a Smart FourTwo. Last year the cost was about £350 for each car with LV. The price on the Smart is higher than normal as my wife only passed her test just over a year ago & LV wouldn't even insure her on the P38. The renewal price was £380 for the Smart & £535 for the Ranger Rover so I started to look at comparison sites & ring around. I was happy to stick with LV for the Smart. I got a remarkably wide variety of quotes for the P38 including my wife driving. On one comparison site it was about £400 with Aviva & on another £350 with RAC Online (minimal customer service via web chat). Footman James was £866 Lancaster £755
Finally I entered my details for a quote from NFU Mutual & got a call back the following day. I had a forty minute call with a nice Scottish gentleman called Graham. The upshot is that the P38 is now insured fully comprehensive for £338.34 & the Smart for £272.55. I thoroughly recommend NFU Mutual who are not on any comparison site so you do need to speak to them on the phone to get a quote. It's nice that like LV they are a mutual so aren't going to rip off customers to pay out shareholder dividends.
Another year on & it's renewal time. I was very pleased to have the P38 at £312 & £278 for the Smart. A nice touch is that I can pay by monthly direct debit at no extra cost. I will still take a look at the comparison sites but I doubt that they can beat the NFU Mutual price.
Fifty years ago I was in hospital after an accident. The young chap in the opposite bed had been riding his motorbike when a pheasant crossed his path & hit him full in the face. His whole face was swollen beyond belief. He was lucky not to have died.
The sidewalls of my tyres weren't cracking. I was attempting to describe very fine fissures on the tread.
Aragorn wrote:
Not sure i'd have been replacing them with the same given how knackered they were...? Perishing and bulging inside 5 years isnt great!
I swapped to ZX7s five years ago but replaced the front tyres a year ago at the last MOT as there was a cut in one inner sidewall. I prefer to have the same tyre brand all round. The Avon ZX7s are great especially for wet weather grip. All tyre brands are prone to the occasional bulge due to the method of manufacture. Five years & 40K miles seems a reasonable life for tyres to me. What experience do others have?
Yesterday I got two new tyres for the rear wheels. I noticed that the rear driver's side (RHD) had an egg sized bulge in the sidewall. Closer inspection revealed that while there was plenty of tread left the rubber on both rear tyres was looking tired, cracked & perished. There had also been an advisory on the recent MOT regarding condition of the rear tyres & checking I noticed an advisory on the previous MOT too so it was definitely time for new tyres. I replaced the Avon ZX7s with a pair of the same as this is what I have been running on the car for a few years now. Looking back through my receipts I think that the tyres being replaced are five years old which must mean they have done about 40K miles which isn't too bad.
Checking www.blackcircles.com & ringing our local tyre place the best price that I got was £125 per wheel. I then checked Halfords who do an 'at home' service. I have used them before on other cars for convenience but their prices are very keen too. Total price was £221.40 or £110.70 per wheel.
My P38 had a ticking noise both when cold & warm for about ten years & 80K miles. It never got any worse nor seemed related to any performance problem. I always put it down to sticky lifters. It was only cured when I had V8 Developments completely refurbish the engine 18 months ago.
As well as replacing the screenwash reservoir level sensor as I documented in the other thread I also over the last couple of days have fully serviced the car with oil filter, oil change, air filter, pollen filters etc It's now done about 190,400 miles.
The most important thing is that it is now all back together & everything works including the headlamp wash wipe. When I first switched on after re-assembling everything I still had the low screenwash error message. Happily this turned out to be correct & when I filled up with screenwash the message disappeared.
Chrisp38 wrote:
Lots of bolts on these things are overly long.
Is it an option to mole grip the other end and unscrew the broke bits that way?
I tried that without success. I was able to drill a hole adjacent to the sheared off bolt & the reservoir is now securely held in various places with substantial cable ties. I had spotted that there was a small leak from the pump that washes the main screen. I swapped it for the identical one that I had with the used reservoir. When I got the rubber tubing off the pump I discovered that the outlet pipe was fractured & would in time snapped off completely.
When I removed the headlamp I had to snap off one of the lugs because it was impossible to undo the bolt. It seems to be held securely with the other three nuts so I don't think that I need look for a replacement.
