Alhambra

I discovered this evening that my Alhambra's a/c pipe is leaking at the same point as yours: http://www.serviceengineer.utvinternet.com/images/leaking-pipe.jpg Did you ever get it successfully repaired? I was wondering could it be braised? or can i remove it from the a/c pump/dryer & get just the metal part replaced? The thoughts of ripping out that long pipe & replacing it, is too much hassle imo.

Ok, that all makes sense. One more question where is the drier cartridge, that you suggested to replace, located ?

Stupid questions: 1. Could i get this pipe braised/soldered? 2. why does it need to be vaccuumed out? 3. could i not use a "halfords" re-gassing kit? 4. how do i remove the pipe .... do i need to remove the engine?

Its a case of good news/bad news. This evening after pressurising the CC system, thanks to a comination of a Halford re-gassing gauge & hose cleverly connected to bicycle hand pump I wa sable to pressuise the sytem to 45psi. http://www.serviceengineer.utvinternet.com/images/pressurise.jpg Then I found the leak: http://www.serviceengineer.utvinternet.com/images/leaking-pipe.jpg Now the problem is repairing/buying or removing the pipe as its the looong one from the compressor that seems to snake the entires length of the car into the dash :) HELP!!!! http://www.serviceengineer.utvinternet.com/images/pipe-bottom.jpg http://www.serviceengineer.utvinternet.com/images/pipe-top.jpg BTW the undertray was covered in oil underneath where the pipe was leaking.

I would have thought that after pumping at least 2/3 of 500g grams of refridgerant, which has oil & a sealant in it, into the a/c sytem it would have produce a visble oily leak..... not the case. What can i use to pressureise it, cheaply, 7 then detect the leak?

Went to local Halfords todays & spent

Deciding that today was the day to sort out the CC issue I decided to open the bonnet, remove the 2 black dust covers & press in the "valves" of the two pipe. When i did that there was a faint Hisss from the 1st valve but when i pressed in the 2nd valve I heard nothing. I rang Halfords for a re-gassing kit, approx

My wife 02 Alhambra's SINGLE zone CC does not blow much cold air. The past week has been hot her ein Ireland & much to our disappointment the CC is not much use. Even when set to 18 deg C, in AUTo mode, the air is bearly chilled. Coudl it need to be re-gassed or are ther eother issues that may need addressing. as an aside, the control unit's display, when the key is initally switched on, FLASHES all its characters for approx 10 seconds but seems works OK after the 10 seconds. We can adjust the heat, fan speed, air vent directions, etc...

I've driven over a 100 miles since "repairing" the brake switch, all is ok with the car now..... apart from a "low Washer Bottle fluid" alarm.... easily fixed. Maybe its my imagination BUT: 1. the MPV seems more lively than before 2. increased MPG, its now easy to get 45 mpg on a decent trip where as before it was a struggle to get above 42 mpg. is there a connection between the brake switch & engine performace/economy?

Many thanks to all the people on this site for helping me with this issue. You were able to tell me that the flashing "glow plug" was actually an indication that: * the brake switch was defective * the fuse was blown * a blown brake bulb * the Cruise Control would not work... cannot "Set" or "Resume" ____________________________________________ I took the brake switch off my wife's Alhambra this evening & tested it. There are 2 sets of contacts in one unit. One NC, One NO, ... both were showing open circuit. I also check the fuse, F15, & it was ok..... I have to say the seating of fuses & relays in this MPV is very dubivous..... & people complain about AR electrics [LOL] .... my own car is a 2.0L TS 156. I sprayed Contact Cleaner into the unit, after spending 5 mins taking the bastard off...... it has to twist 90 degs before it can be "popped" off. Now the brakes lights are working & the Cruise control too & that pesky "glow plug" lamp doesn't flash at me anymore. Many thanks folks :lol:

reasons: 1. a fuse is easier to check than a switch. 2. I can't find out which fuse is the brake lights fuse..... i hate not knowing things. 3. the fuse is feeds the switch & the bulbs.... start at the start & work forward.

Nope, we from Ireland. Tonight i confirmed that indeed the brake lights are not working. I cannot find the fuse for the brake lights..... indeed its not listed in the Alhambra book in the fuse section.... every other circuit has a fuse listed barring the brake circuit. Any ideas what fuse it is? BTW: I also confirmed that the cruise control does not work either.

Many thanks for your replies. The *winding down* sound is always to the front of the cat, even if you just turn the key to the ON position & then off after a few seconds, ther whurring sound will last for approx 2 min's. I will take a look at the bulbs & switch at the weekend. Yes we have Cruise control & it seems to be ok.... what is the interconnection between the brake & cruise control apart from once you press the pedal it "cancels". Maybe next time the light flashes we should try to use the crusie control.... it may not work ???

Huh, brake light switch...... jaysus thats gas...... I assume its a basic normally open switch .... any tips with regards to testing it or what to lok out for.

Hi there, I realsie this is a Ford Galaxy website, but i cannot find a Alhambra website. We own an August 02 registered Seat Alhambra, 1.9 *Red* TD-i , "i" is silver. 6-speed, 41k miles. Only 2 weeks ago we had a very cold spell here in Ireland, below zero. As my wife was driving the car the "ENGINE WORKSHOP" light & "glow-plug" light, Amber in colour, shape of a coil, flashed ON/OFF/ON/OFF/etc.... while she was driving. Since then, March 16th, the "glow-plug" light flashes ON for 1/2 a second & OFF for 1/2 a second. It may come on after a mile or 2 or else it could be 5 or 6 miles into a trip. Occasionaly it never comes on whilst driving. This morning I found a topic on this site about Glow plugs & it inspired me to find the "sandwich" that is the fuses & relay box..... what a stupid design !!!! I found that the 2 tall relays, 361 & 149, seemed very *floppy* so I tie wrapped them to the base. I also removed, one at a time, all the relays & fuses & checked all continuites of fuses & relay coils that I could........ apart from the afore mentioned "mod" I could not find anything wrong. http://www.serviceengineer.utvinternet.com/images/relays-1.jpg http://www.serviceengineer.utvinternet.com/images/relays-2.jpg I also removed the glow plug wiring loom & checked the resitance of the 4 glow plugs ... each measured 1 ohmn +/- 0.1 ohmn. The relay 109 seems to be the Glow plug relay. The green fuse, center of 2nd picture, is 30Amps. I drove 60 miles today to visit my mother, for the day that was in it. After 10 miles or so, when the engine temp reached 75 to 80 deg the amber light flashed for 3 or 4 more miles & then stopped...... whne i got home i discovered I had forgotten to re-connect the "glow-plug" wiring loom to the glow plugs. I re-connected the wiring loom & went for a spin, after 1 mile the ENGINE WORKSHOP light came on with the flashing amber light..... then 1/2 mile they both disappeared. An aside issue: The climate control panel, LCD, flashes all its characters for approx 5 seconds when power is applied, which I'm sure it shouldn't do. After the 5 sec's it then seems to work ok, the dispaly is ok, the fan can be adjusted, so can the heat ..... is there a connection between both issues? Questions: * Should the glow plugs be replaced? * Is there a connection between the engine temp of 75 to 80 deg C & the amebr light coming on.... maybe this is a red-herring as the glow plug wiring was not connected. * what is the noise that *hum's for approx 2 minutes after switching off the engine? Any suggestions or feedback appreciated. Thanks, Pat. PS. since tiewrapping the relays down the car can now go approx 10 miles before the glow plug warning light comes on ..... is there any well know wiring issues with this circuit?