malcolm.dobell

I use the mats from my previous pre facelift Alhambra in a '04 model. Identical fit!

40/42psi relates to 225/45x17's as fitted to current alhambra TDI se's

I thought I'd heard somewhere that later 115 or 130 ps cars had had the 60000 belt change restored by the use of a stonger belt in manufacture - or was this wishful thinking?

standard tyres on current '04 alhambra SE are 225/45 x 17 94W - the 94 bit means reinforced. Replacement Michelins as fitted new about

I'm still trying to get some potential faults rectified. '04 Alhambra tdi 130. When the car is started from cold, the glow plug light goes out very quickly (<2sec) and the start can be a bit spluttery. Also I was used to fans and things starting under the boonet, shortly after starting and, of course I was used to the turbine noise of the booster heater in cold weather. I'm sure (although one begins to doubt one's memory) that all this worked properly before the last service at the start of Feb. The booster heater certainly didn't work at all after the service and the the glow plug certainly stayed on longer! Are all these things linked in some way? I thought of a fuse but the fuse chart is anything but clear!!! Any advice would be gratefully received. I go back to the dealer on Thurs for an overnight visit (car, not me) so they can experience cosd start for themselves!

My auxiliary heater doesn't seem to work. Having interesting conversations with the dealer as there seem to be different words of the same thing. I've been referringf the the auxiliary heater; the service technician showed me how to control the rear heater controls. I pointed the the thing underneath the nearside passenger door! He showed me the computer print out for the Climate control and it showed no defect. From this thread it looks as though the auxiliary diesel fired heater might be on a different thread of the diagnostic tool. Does anyone know for sure? I can then go back to the dealer! It stopped working after a sevice at which they diagnosed a noisy heater- ordered a replacement and fitted it. It sounds from this thred that they also needed to reactivate it in the ECU Mine is a '04 reg Alhambra 130 TDI Thanks in advance

GSMguy - many thanks

There've been lots of posts about the aux heater Mine has just been changed. under warranty(noise and smelling of diesel). However it doesn't work at all. Going back to the dealer on Thursday; want to look intelligent. As well as aux heater not working, the engine glow plug light goes out after about a second or so. Previously it was taking 10sec or so on cold mornings. I suspect the engine management isn't recoginising it's cold and thus doesn't switch on the aux heater. Is this faintly plausible?

I don't know whether the sudden outbrake of turbine noise posts relate to the fact that the newer cars seem to be much noisier than the old ones. I had a T reg car and it made the tubine noise, but the '04 model is much louder and it pongs of burnt diesel!

Standard chains have a wire and links that fit on the inside of the tyre. There's little clearance between the inside of the 215 tyres and the suspension strut for these parts of standard chains. Look for http://www.roofbox.co.uk/ and navigate to snow chains. You'll find info about Spikes Spiders which fit from the outside of the wheel and have nothing between the tyre and the strut. I've got a set. The great thing is that you do all the preparation at home and then when you're up to your **** in snow they just click on. They're expensive and big but worth it. I've used them on 215/60/15 on my old SEAT Alhambra, and they also fit on the 225/45/17 on the current one. ALso lok at the AutoSock on the same site. It's been featured in the Sunday Times and I'm sure it's not a joke, but haven't tried it myself!

I don't claim to be an expert, but I understand that the wider tyres need higher pressure to make sure the centre part stays in contact with the road and there isn't excessive wear on the outsides of the tyre. I've had 3 cars of this type all with different tyres The 225/45x17s take the highest pressure; 196/65x15 took next highest and 215/60x15 were the lowest. I'd try the pressure for 205/16x55 - a standard tyre on these cars, I think - and add the 1.5psi. Frankly you won't be far out; certainly within the tolerance of the various pressure gauges around! What an extraordinary business! Malcolm

My Seat Alhambra has 17" alloys with 225/45 tyres fronts should be 45psi 3 passengers, and 48psi fully laden rears should be 42 and 52 respectively. Information is on the inside of the fuel filler flap on my car. The Seat 130ps TDI SE comes with these as standard Hope this helps. The high pressures were a bit of a shock!

I have a colleague whose dealer (company car) added a VW dash mounted CD to his Alhambra with Scala. It might have been the 6-disc version - all fed through the slot, but the interface would be the same.

Try "Edworthys" or "add a cd changer" - type words into Google. I've corresponded with them over a cunning plan to do something to my Alhambra and they've always replied by return and seem to be alive with adaptors of one sort or another

You've probably found out my now that it is the same usit as on the Ford - at least my '99T one is!

Hope you've solved your problems. However my hints are: don't agonise over what it's doing. If the display doesn't flash when you switch on and on hot days in AUTO plenty of cold air comes out, then it's probably OK. In general I've never had to do anything to the fan speed. It sorts itself out without changing the display. A degree or two change on the temperature usually deals with anyone complaining about being hot ot cold. Leave on auto all the time unless really worried about fuel consumption. If you read the manual several times, it eventually makes sense. My SEAT version is not as clear as the previous Ford one as it has managed to be translated from Spanish. Heaven knows what language it started as!