dipsomaniac

you used to be helpful seatkid

it never rains but........... just bypassed the matrix went to start the car - turns over but will not start. Ever since I have had the car it has always started on the first turn over. I occassionally also get five beeps and the hazard lights come on. put some fuel in, as meter was reading '0' and wanted to discount fuel. i have taken the battery off at the moment to charge it as five beeps has been linked to a low battery although it was turning the engine quick enough to start. Doh.....the problem is that it took me a couple of days to find a ubend. during this time the scuttle drain was removed and the heavens opened - i just didn't think, the bonnet was down i thought it would be ok. It looks like quite a lot of water ran down the back of the engine. the maf was also disconnect and water entered there.....Doh The engine on occassions tries to fire but will not start. I am hoping that while the battery is charging anything that has got damp will dry out. Does anybody know of any reason why bypassing the matrix will stop the car from starting? Do the pipes to the matrix (that have been bypassed) now need to be blocked?

for the record should anyone want to temporarily bypass the matrix. you will need a 3/4" 180 deg ubend. This is almost impossible to find, i tried car accessory shops, sheds, plumbers merchants, specialist hose companies and pipe manufacturers - all with no luck. I could only find copper pipe in 15 or 22mm, I thought 15mm was too small. I eventually bought 2 x 3/4" 90 deg plastic bends from the fish shop (not the one that sells chips with them) and joined them together with a short piece of hose. you can't use a straight connector as the hoses kink, restricting the flow. I thought about a longer piece of hose but didn't have the space. Autodata is quoting 6.10 hours to fit a new matrix. Spoke to someone yesterday who has taken a few of these dashes out, he said that it is at least a 12 hour job. will let you know who is right when i can find the time to do it.

i would take it back to where you bought it and ask them to investigate. wear and tear items are tyres, brake pads and wipers. the warranty should insure you against major component failure eg. the gearbox.

if car is not under any warranty i would take it to a autobox specialist to have the fault(s) diagnosed. It may be a simple repair. if not, and they recommend a recon i would seriously consider trying to source a box from a low mileage write off instead.

you need to check the transmission fluid level first. it is supposed to be a sealed box but can leak over time. a low level has caused my autobox to 'bang' between shifts. You can check the fluid levels yourself, it is well documented on here. but i would take it to a specialist to have the box serviced - oil & filter change, fault codes read and test driven. should cost around

thanks 3.5bullet i appreciate your help.

until i can access elsawin can somebody please confirm that i can join these two hoses to bypass the matrix

had mine reconditioned last year - cost

i was just going to join the two (heater?) hoses which dissappear into the centre of the bulkhead just below the wiper linkage. Does anyone know the size of the hoses?"

trawled through previous posts - replacing the matrix seems to take between 2 - 5 days? I have just been quoted 6 hours labour at a local garage. I think they are quoting Autodata. Is this too good to be true?

matrix has gone and i am thinking about bypassing it for a few weeks until i can decide whether to attempt removing the dash. how will this affect my climate control? I realise i won't have any hot air but can it do any damage?

if it is a vw part how can they quote 160 + VAT when ford are quoting 80?

Finally found the problem and had a nice heated foot wash at the same time. Unfortunately, I was 15 miles from home, my insurance only covered 10 miles (gave me a bottle of water and said "on your way, son" - that is another thread? Can anyone give me any advice on removing the dash? A little window in the dash when manufactured would cost nothing and save so much grief when replacing the matrix. Just bee quoted

global opening and closing is activated by the length of time you hold the key in the lock/open mode. turn the key to the open mode for a length of time and all the windows will open - vice versa. you may want to check for water or water damage to the module in the passenger footwell as this could be the reason for the windows opening in the middle of the night

Sepulchrave, 3.5bullet - when your thermostat housing leaked did the coolant loss just get worse or did the coolant loss fluctuate either way? can anyone offer any logic as to why i don't appear to have lost any coolant in the last 3 days, 120 miles with the climate control unit switched off. Last week I lost 2L in 4 days, 58 miles with the cc on? Is there no connection?

thanks for all of your advice. it does look like thermostat housing is the favourite. i just didn't want to remove half of the engine without having some evidence of that being the problem.

i am really looking forward to the day i can solve this mystery. have had climate control switched off most of this week and it appears that i am not losing as much/if any coolant. i have been monitoring the loss: 25 june, 0.5 Litres, 230 miles & 3 days since last top-up (cc on) 4 july, 2.5 litres, 165 miles, 9 days (cc on) 8 july, 2 litres, 58 miles, 4 days (cc on) 11 july, 0.3 litre, 59 miles, 3 days (cc switched off at times) 12 july, no loss, 38 miles, 1 day (cc off) has the cc system got anything to do with the loss or is it just co-incidence? could it still be the thermostat housing?

i have thought about the thermostat housing but can't see any evidence of a leak. i didn't want to strip it all down without some indication of it being the problem. i must admit that i am stumped. i have just run the engine with out the cc switched on and no liquid is dripping. i am keeping a record of amount of loss/time & mileage and will also see what happens if i don't switch on the cc. i also need to test the coolant to see if any exhaust gasses present. it must be going somewhere??

thanks 3.5bullet i appreciate your advice. if it is a drain/overflow pipe wouldn't you expect some liquid to come out of it? i have just done 25 miles. it is dripping at the moment but i can't confirm whether it definately is coolant. the heater and air con are working ok - no sweet smells when the heater is on. do you think it is the matrix leaking?

loss of coolant is rapidly increasing (2 litres, 5 days & 54 miles). no sign of any loss over the last 3 years until today when i noticed this pipe dripping. it looks like it might be the overflow for the cc. can anyone confirm this? i am sure that this is not the problem and I will find out soon what is causing the coolant loss as the part must be about to fail completely.

bearing had gone in mine - it was making a grating/grinding noise. was told that it could be replaced but wouldn't last very long. company was called ac automotive

i was impressed by this company when i replaced mine recently. they are based in gloucester but will send to anywhere to be fitted - tel 01452 726000. they are air con specialist - a new unit cost

thanks for the replies. i was thinking that they were a lot more expensive as the sensor does seem to be built in. FYI

as you are all aware you don't find many of these cars down your local 'scrappy'. does anyone know what other cars (apart from sharan/alhambra) are fitted with the same expansion/header tank?