Wibbly

Yes, that's what the manual implied. This has no Ca on the label. So safer to replace which what seems to have been fitted, or fit Ca? What happens if you use Ca when the car wasn't designed for it?

Ok.... - The existing battery is opaque (black plastic) so I can't see the state of the plates. - The manual says use CA/PB battery only - There are no indications on the battery (the original) it's a CA one. Model is Varta DE 1J0915105AC and there's a Pb marking on it. No idea if I've a CA battery at the moment or if I should replace by one :-(

Yeah maintenance free. Though looks like a garage nonetheless checked the acid levels one time when I asked the battery to be checked, as it looks like the seal on one cell has been breached. Also, just before the starter was replaced (which improved starting) they claimed the battery was fine and quite able to provide enough amps & volts for starting... Need to check the battery type, and may well then replace it. It's never been allowed to go flat. When I had the problem Sunday it appeared to be flat, but recovered all by itself. Started the engine after lunch, not having been on a charger! Maybe it was one of those internal shorts that sorted itself for the moment. My only nagging issue is if there's a bad earth/chassis connection that caused all this (and maybe even the poor starter performance before the starter was replaced). I can't see where the main chassis connection goes when it leaves the battery - disappears down the front nearside of the engine bay ahead of the battery. Can't see anything from below due to the wheel arch insert and front valence :-(

Doh! Statement of the Bleedin' Obvious. Thanks. Will go check.... :D

According to Central Tyre's list my Galaxy wasn't fitted with a Calcium battery. Any way to check for sure? Y reg 2.3 LX...

My car's Y reg and never had a new battery. Maybe I should just replace it now anyway, as it must be ~ 6 years old... :-|

Ok, so I left it for an hour or so over lunch. It just started. Just. Batteries don't recharge spontaneosly. I drove it for 5 miles or so. Tried to restart it. Turned over and started NORMALLY. So what gives??!? Bad connection somewhere?

Yeah. 2.3 LX. My point is that 2 miles also now enough time flatten battery if car started fine 2 miles ago...

Could be, but why would it not start now? Battery was good enough for it to start 2 miles ago...

Car started properly and I went on the weekly shopping trip (2 mile journey). On the way back car started fine too. Then whilst driving I get - Three(?) long beeps from the instrument panel - Seat belt and ABS lights come on - Rev counter and speedo freeze at their current readings I get home. Turn off engine. Instrument panel warnings go and speedo and rev counter fall to zero (as expected). Now engine barely turns over, as if battery is VERY flat. (Starter was replaced a few months ago) Sudden battery failure when driving? Can this happen? Something else? Battery terminals look ok... Help!

I should add the only other rather odd symptom is very occasional large unexplainable drop in oil level, without any other symptoms (like oil in the water, visible leaks, smokey exhaust, etc). Happened a couple of times in th elife of the car. Goodness knows wheer the oil went! Normally it requires one top up between some services these days...

My concern is that it's lengine load related, whatever is causing it. But once hot, the engine sounds quite sweet to my ears under all conditions...

On a cold start my 2.3 petrol makes a slight tappetty noise under the load of pulling out of the drive. Goes within a few 100 yds (not enough time for much to warm up). After that it's quiet as usual under load or even idle (hot). From comments here I'd say it was the tappet/lifters waiting to get oil, but why would it only make a noise only under a light engine load? Are these the sympotoms of piston slap? A problem with 2.3's? The car hasn't been thrashed... Done ~64K miles... Already had a timing change tensioner replaced a while back... Any ideas? W

Thanks (all) for your quick replies W

Ok, so be it 10C, 5C, or 2.5C, if the temp is below the threashold, having the aircon 'on for 20mins a month' will have no effect, right, as the compressor won't be engaged anyway? Nor will it help dehumidifying the cabin, will it - just when it's most needed (cold out, with warm people in the car), right? Re the sudden load on the engine when the compressor kicks in, my point is that the effect is it's doing it LESS now. I'm just wondering if that's a sign of something Not Good about the compressor - or maybe they're put some more lubricant in the charge this time?!? W

Just had a leak fixed on my 2.3GL at great expense (at Alpinair by Hanger Lane in London, who I'd recommend as seeming to know what they're on about). So now I'm particularly noticing how the aircon works... A. Popular wisdom seems to be to leave in on/run it at least run it once a week during the winter to ensure all the seals stay lubricated and don't dry out B. Popular wisdom is also that the aircon also serves as a dehumidifier, helping to keep the car from misting up But... I'v also read (and my experience seems to support) that the aircon compressor won't enagage at low temps - below 10C? So how does this help with A or B during the whole of the winter, even in the UK, if it never runs when it's cold?! Also, since they fixed it I'm also noticing when the compressor DOES kick in it seems to less a sudden load on the engine... W

Thanks. Will give that a try... W

I have a 2 year old Galaxy LX. I wish to remove one of the switch blanks amongst the switches (e.g for rear & front screen heaters) on either side of the radio. It's not clear to me how I remove the facia plate plastics in front of the switches. Removing this (from the front?) should give me access to the blanks (ie the positions where there is currently no switch). I've removed the radio, but not sure where to go from there... Anyone know? W