NikNak

Gurugal hi.... I agree, this is a very complex issue, and clearly some wish to 'express' more strongly than others. Thanks all who have taken the trouble to read, and reply, to this particular tpoic. So.... as the originator of this topic, can i please ask mumof4 to now close it..? Then read my next topic........ explosive..?? probably..!! Nick

Hi seacam, mmmmhh, i think you may be right, maybe i still dont 'fully' understand what my young friend was trying to tell me....... but i'd like to think that i understand what he was trying to say given that we were both only 13 or 14 at the time..... bear in mind that decimalization had just come in, and the micro-chip had not been invented then (dont know what thats got to do with it....... but it sort of sounds nostalgic..!). Please dont get me wrong...... there's no way i'm what you could call a racist, in fact one of my best friends is a Hindu. But even she will admit to using her religion and colour to her advantage, she told me about the time she started to cry and sob in the local council offices because she said that she was being racially disscriminated. They caved in within minutes and gave her a 4 bedroom council house......... she got back in her car and drove of smilling. I'm sure that if i was to try and pull the same stunt..... they'd have called security, and i'd have gone to the bottom of the waiting list. Anyway, that's all i want to say except to say i'm not racist...... but, i does annoy me when i see others blatantly using their religion/cult to bypass the system or 'jump the queue' or to 'point-the-finger' and say.......... etc, etc, etc, Nick p.s. at the moment i'm trying to get my mother to remember who and where my relatives come from on her side (she's got early stages of alzheimer's), and at the moment i know i'm 25% Dutch South African, 25% Spanish, 25% Sweedish and 25% English......... or so she tells me :(

Oh my gawd................ did i open a can of worms or what...? :) My initial posting was only meant to be in humour.......... you know, both looking through a crack And it went on to include hangings, the death penalty, religions and faiths....... you name it i think it was covered. Mind you it did bring something back to me that a schoolboy friend once said when we were both in our early teens, around the early to mid 70's dont remember exactly......... anyway, he said "Enoch (Powell) was right......" I didn't know what he meant at the time....... i understand now. Anyway........... if you enjoyed that topic, just wait till you read my next thread. Now THAT is/will be one to have a good rant about......!! :angry2: Nick

A topic to discuss over diner........ if muslims want to wear the veil, would it be ok for Jack Straw to conduct his parliamentary surgeries through his letter box..? :D just a thought........ :D

ashypd51.................... you are absolutely spot on 1 this is the Galaxy forum 2 this is not a political forum as for the correlation between the 3......... mmmhh, not to sure that i actually intended there to be one, but has made for very interesting debates around our diner table. With that in mind i will repost the possibly offending item in the Debating forum........ Nick

Definately sounds like a spyware / malware issue to me too................

Tell you what Firefly........... you buy one, try it out for a couple of months and then report back here. And if it's any good...... you never know you might even be able to sell some to others here. On the other hand, if it is a pile of pooh, your friends & relatives might be getting toy fishing rods with magnets on the end of the lines to catch the toy fish with washers glued on for Xmas..... :o Nick A topic to discuss over diner........ if muslims want to wear the veil, would it be ok for Jack Straw to conduct his parliamentary surgeries through his letter box..? :wub:

Hi Faz........ The reason for asking the age of the vehicle is because i had the same problem a couple of years ago. Ok, so mine is a slightly newer model with airbags coming out of every crevice (or so it seems...). I'd only had the car for about 6 months and for whaterver reason the airbag warning light decided to make itself known to the world. Took it back to my local fraud dealer who had several attempts to 'fix it'....! That's when i found this site. Did a bit of digging and found the answer to my (and frauds) problems..... the mystical Clock Spring....! (in fact, at this point, if you do a bit of searching you'll find my story here somewhere). Anyway....... an argument with the workshop manager and a Maveric as a courtesy car was given for the duration of getting mine sorted...! I cant remember now, but i think it was almost 3 weeks in the end. Clock Spring..? Nope........ it turned out to be an earthing point on one of the pillars apparently. Seems there were too many items being earthed at the same point, so another had to be identified and used. I didn't care what it was, just so long as i got my car back. I asked my brother-in-law (an electrician) if this was at all feasible or just a load of hog wash. He said "no, it can sometimes happen.....". So there you are. Or not, as the case may be. i.e. it may, or may not be the clock spring. It wasn't in my case. Good luck with finding the fault, and hope you get it fixed easily..... Nick Oh.... p.s. for my troubles i got a full valet from the dealer and a voucher for a full service from Fords H O too.

Hi Faz........ how old is your Gal..? Nick

Ok, i'm hoping that the title will have caught someones attention...! We've just had a towbar fitted so that we can go off camping with the newly aquired trailer tent. Got ourselves all the required gear, pots, pans, torch, fly swat, insect repelant, you know where i'm coming from. But, having spoken to some seasoned campers, they suggested if we've got room (got room? got room?....... have you seen the size of what i'm driving..?), that we get ourselves a 'proper' little fridge, as the plastic things you get from Towsure or the likes, do tend to get a lot of condensation in them. So, we went off and bought one of those Stella beer chillers. Tried it out in my shed on a red hot day, and yep, checked it with a digital thermometer and it chills down lovely. "Right", me thinks, how about getting an inverter so that the fridge can be chilling down as we drive. So that when we get to site, it's already to go at whatever temp you've set it too. I borrowed a 200 watt inverter to try my super little fridge out. Plugged it into the cigar lighter in the back, tried a 60w 240v lamp...... bingo..! "light goes on, light goes off, light goes on, light goes off" as Homer Simpson once said.... disconnect the lamp and plug in the 70w fridge....... nothing. What was the green led light, is now a red led light. Basically telling me that it's not working. Check the instruction, check the wattage on the label on the fridge..... yep, i was right...... well within limits. So why doesn't it want to work..? It's a 200w (nominal), with a peak load of 350w (i think, without checking). Could it be that the compressor on the fridge needs a bit more than 200/350w to kick it into life, before it settles down to 70w..? And before you ask..... thats with the engine running too. Your comments and advice would be much appreciated and welcom..... Thanks in advance. Nick.

Hi all, Just to add my sixpeneth....... I've been looking around for a while now for new front tyres on the Gal. Read all the threads on here as to what was recommended and prices paid etc. Checked out 'mytyres.com' and aslo this site http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_sommerreifen/index.html which i found very interesting. I finally changed my old (well they wouldn't be new, would they?) Dunlop 2020's a couple of weeks ago, and good ridance to them. They managed about 18,000 very noisy miles...! I was told by the tyre peeps that i did well making them last that long. Anyway, saw an ad in the local rag for "Tyreland" (i think they're national but not sure), rang 'em up and said what have you got. When i came too in A&E they said...... "you just been quoted for tyres mate.."? (ok, that bit was a joke...... :D ) I said "HOW MUCH...." just goes to show the last time i bought tyres. He goes on to say "how about an economy tyre instead..."? mmmmmmhh, thinks i, dont normally like to do cheap when black round things are concerned.... however, what are you offering? i enquire. "No dont laugh" he says, "but a make called 'Linlong'... and they're W rated too". Asked if his pc on the desk was linked to the internet, said could i do a quick search using the above named web site. Help yourself says he, and found this..... http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_sommerreifen/l...l688/index.html (the lower the score the better..........) He went on to say that at the moment they were on special offer, and he would fit the 2 on the front for

Hi all, Can this 'elusive' plug still be found on a '03 Gal..? We also looking to get a trailer tent, but am quivering in my boots by not only the cost of buying the tent, but also the cost of the towbar/electrics/fitting.......! Any offers of advice and help will be much appreciated. Nick.

I'm not 100% but i think you'll find that wherever an airbag is sited you will be informed. i.e. in the centre of the steering wheel (plus wherever else they may be), you will see the wording "Airbag", this is because it's an explosive device and must be treated with extreme caution. Nick

Hi all, was just doing a search on 'Towbars' when i stumbled across this thread/posting. Just to give my sixpenteth, i use this website whenever i have pc problems...... http://castlecops.com/forums.html I also had the dreaded blue screen of death a copuple of weeks ago, with the same code i.e. IRQ-NOT-LESS-OR-EQUAL. Turned out i had deleted an Adobe file no longer wanted/required, and it managed to take something else along with it, enabling (or not as in my case) the pc to start. Give 'em a go...... cracking peeps...!! Nick.

hmmmm......... seems somebody's bought a calendar from 'Pound Stretcher' ;) what's happened to August then? :( Nick.

Just to add my sixpeneth....... I've worked with MANY peeps who have come out of uni with a great degree....... but common sense, dont be daft, that wasn't being taught :lol: I've also worked with MANY peeps that have NO QUALIFICATIONS at all, and i can tell you that i have found these type of people to be good 'all rounders', with common sense by the bucket load.... :lol: My advice (should you care to listen to one of those with no professional qualifications), is to go out there and get an apprenticeship such as a joiner, electrician, plumber etc. take 4 or 5 years to get the qualification (whilst being paid...). Then if you find you still want to get yourself a degree.... THEN go to uni with a bit of money behind you. That way you may end up with a degree and no overdraft..... My missus works as an office administrator for Southampton Solent Univercity, and i've lost count of the number of times she comes homes with stories of 'bods' with qualifications coming out of their ears....... but seriously lacking in any form of common sense. Anyway, that's my bit done, hope it was of some help. Nick.

Hey, mo4, found your artical re a certain garage that gave you some trouble a while ago, and found it great reading. But have been unable to find the thread that gives any further details, can you help out? :lol: Nick

Ticking noise....... yep, got the same on mine too. Took it back to main dealer when i first got it, and they said 'they weren't aware of any problems, none had been reported before'....... i.e. salesman / mechanic speak for 'dont admit to there being a know fault'. That's when i first found this forum, and remember finding somthing about a certain type of solenoid fitted to certain types of model that gave no problems at all........ however, that was ages ago, and be blowed if i can remember where i managed to find it.. :lol: Ok, i'm gonna go and crawl back into my pit now...... :lol: Nick.

Only just seen your posting, but for what it's worth here's my sixpeneth...... These are the people i have started to use:- Hilton Motors Bond Rd, Bitterne Park, Southampton, Hampshire SO18 1LH Tel: 023 8055 5600 My fathers been using them for years now, and has bought several cars from them. My missus uses them for the servicing & MOT's on her SEAT Ibiza. We have converted her sister to take her Clio there. Her niece has asked where we go for servicing as they have a Volvo and cant afford their costs. And as it turns out her niece's hubby's mum and dad (still with me?) have been best friends with the owners for over 40 years...!! I didn't get any discount :) but he did recognise the name, and ask me how my father was. Full (major) service & MOT

Try having a look at the wiper that works fine, and see how that is fitted...... then examine the wonky wiper, it's my bet that it's just not 'clipped' in place correctly. :) Nick

Thanks for the replies guys (and any gals), looks like i have nothing to worry about....... apart from the 'low life sc*m bag cant be bothered to get a job'car breakers. Nick

Hi all....... i've done a search but cant seem to find an exact answer to my question. I'm considering buying a sat nav system, probably a Tom Tom, as every one but every one i ask pushes them (so much so, you'd think it was the only make on the market..!). Can anyone tell me if they also have one of these 'mobile' systems and experience any problems with the heated screen interfering with the working/reception of the gadget..? Cheers all. Nick.

Ditto....... i've managed to kerd one of my 5 spokers on my Ghia. same question, anyone know how much i can expect to shell out to replace. OR.... has anyone used the services of 'wheel doctors'.... i.e. taking out (repairing) the damage, repolish and re-lacquer? And whilst on the subject of lacquer........ does anyone else, like me, consider the lacquer to be of particularly poor quality on the alloy's. On my previous motor (Reanault Laguna Sport Elise Estate) which also had alloy's, i never once found myself moaning about the quality of the wheels. But the Ford 5 spoke on my Ghia....... ALL four corners of the vehicle now show signs of dodgy lacquer. Any comments? Nick.

Blimey........ cheers Pugwash, and there was me thinking of 'giving them a go' next time. :( Bristol Street (in Shirley) AKA Hendy Ford, did the first service on my motor using the collect and deliver option. The service was carried out OK, but unfortunatley when the car was returned there were lovely size 10 oily boot prints in the rear of the car......... and being a beige interior, they sort of stuck out like a pregnant womans tummy, :lol: ........... So, me being me, gets on the phone, complains like hell to the service manager........ got the car collected (again), had a full valet and wash, car delivered back to me..... all for free! Course, had they got it right first time........... however, in this instance i got a free wash and blow dry for nowt. Nick

I've got the TDi Auto, had it just over a year now. Nope most deffinatly no clunks, bangs, whistles, noises of any description what-so-ever. In fact it's the smoothest (?) auto i've ever driven........ other than the Maverick i was lent for 2 weeks by the dealer, while mine was in for airbag warranty work. The only time you new that car was changing gear was seeing the rev counter go up or down, fantastic. Nick