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121

General Discussion Area / Re: What has P*ssed you off today?

« on: 29 June 2023, 14:15:55 »

In other news, something that has pissed me off because it shows how we now live in a woke dictatorship....
Nigel Farage (love him or hate him, thats not the point here) has banked with the same bank - both personal and business) for 35 years.
He has been contacted by them to say they are going to close all of his accounts. He has tried hard, even contacting the Chairman, to find out why, but they will give no explanation.
He has so far contacted six other banks to try and open new accounts but all of them refuse to let him open an account with them.
This really is scary stuff.

I've seen this as well and he's going to give more details on his GBNews show tonight at 7pm.

It's not just him. Lawrence Fox and his Reclaim Party had their banks accounts shut down, but I'm not sure what the outcome of that was.

Then there's Canada where hundreds of people participating or even donating to the 'Truckers Protest' in Ottawa had their bank accounts frozen. 

It's bloody sinister.  You vill own nothing and you vill be happy! 

I wouldn't be surprised if it's not to do with US Tax rules. Many UK banks now refuse to allow you to open a bank account if you are subject to IRS tax becasue they then have to comply with complex US regulations. There was a spate of letters a few years ago sent out by UK banks asking customers if they had any US 'interests'. If you said yes, they closed your account. If you didn't answer, they closed your account. If it turns out that you - err  - misrepresented the truth - then chances are they'll close your account.

They won't give you a reason because that would be against US law, and they don't want their own US activities to be under threat.

122

General Discussion Area / Re: Russia

« on: 24 June 2023, 22:47:43 »

Dead man walking.

Wagner shot down 5 Russian helicopters today, including a KA52 'Alligator'. That's a few million dollars worth of kit and expensively trained pilots gone. 

The bigger military loss will be the "An26", coz it wasn't an An26 - it was an IL-20 which is an electronic surveillance plane similar to the USAF/RAF's RC-135's.

123

General Car Chat / Re: Pink doors on red Astra

« on: 23 June 2023, 21:42:00 »

Just do one panel per day Uncle Stemo 
N/S rear door
N/S rear 1/4
rear hatch
rear bumper
O/S rear 1/4
O/S rear door
O/S front door
O/S front wing
bonnet
front bumper
N/S front wing
the roof
all the glass
N/S front door again

2 week cycle
a bit like  'painting the Forth Bridge'   

That reminds me. Need to start (thinking about) cleaning the car for Billing. That's only 4 weeks away.

4 weeks? You could build a car in four weeks.

Major problem is the Polish/Bulgarian/Albanian hand car wash in Ilchester have fvuked off home for whatever reason, so muggins 'ere will probably have to do everything himself. It takes weeks of planning before I end up deciding I CBA. 

124

General Car Chat / Re: Pink doors on red Astra

« on: 23 June 2023, 21:22:44 »

Just do one panel per day Uncle Stemo 
N/S rear door
N/S rear 1/4
rear hatch
rear bumper
O/S rear 1/4
O/S rear door
O/S front door
O/S front wing
bonnet
front bumper
N/S front wing
the roof
all the glass
N/S front door again

2 week cycle
a bit like  'painting the Forth Bridge'   

That reminds me. Need to start (thinking about) cleaning the car for Billing. That's only 4 weeks away.

125

General Car Chat / Re: Never been so embarrassed

« on: 22 June 2023, 10:13:34 »

My story is about rental cars in the USA. Pitched up at a petrol (well gas) station somewhere in Hicksvill Texas running on fumes. Spent 10 minutes trying to find the petrol filler cap. Eventually had to ask the petrol station attendant - it was behind the number plate.

126

General Car Chat / Re: Can 'lane assist' be permanently disabled?

« on: 12 June 2023, 17:17:43 »

Presumably it's using an optical sensor to see the white lines. Find the sensor, and stick some tape over it?

127

Omega Electrical and Audio Help / Re: #Fuse 29 - Fan

« on: 03 June 2023, 13:00:46 »

Unfortunatly F29 powers a load of things. The circuits suggest it powers CSR[1329], MK[2206], MK[2305], SH[3708], MCO[3047], IRL[1404] and AB[2649].

CSR[1329] goes to K153 which is the "Relay - Consumer switch-off, time delay"
MK[2206] goes to K26,K52,K67,K60 and P109. These are the coils of the relays to some of the Fans - I think on cars WITHOUT climate control. F29 does not power the fans themselves. It does power the compressor clutch (via K60).
MK[2305] goes to K60, K52, K28, K67 and K22. These are the relays of the coils controlling the Fans - I think on cars WITH climate control. again  F29 does not power the fans themselves. It does power the compressor clutch (via K60).
SH[3708] is the front seat heating dash controls as already explained.
MCO[3047] goes to K149, which is "Control Unit - Minimum Capacity, Engine oil"
IRL[1404] goes to E41 which is "Lamp - Passenger compartment, disconnect delay"
AB[2649] goes to P85 which is "Sensor pad (for Seat Occupied Detection)"

K60 is the relay which controls the AC compressor, so either MK[2206] or MK[2305] are relevant (depending which version of the wiring your car has). K60 does switch F29 power onto the compressor clutch (Y1), so a fault in the compressor clutch can blow F29. I have had a compressor clutch go short circuit before on the LC, and it's basically the same design as the OmegaB. To check if that is the fault, either unplug the compressor connector, or pull out relay K60. 

If the compressor clutch is faulty then you'll either need a complete replacement compressor, or read up on youtube how to replace the compressor clutch on a Harrison V5 compressor. This can be done without removing the compressor from the car, so you don't have to have it de-gassed and re-gassed. New Replacement clutches are about £50 IIRC (from eBay).

128

Omega Electrical and Audio Help / Re: #Fuse 29 - Fan

« on: 03 June 2023, 01:38:26 »

My bet would be SH[3705]. This is the front seat heating. It seems F29 provides power to the dashboard seat heating switches S30 and S55. From there there are connections to K183 and K184 which are the front left and front right seat heating controllers.

I had a load of problems with fuse F15 blowing. After much grief it turned out that when some lardy arsed driver moved slightly (over a speed bump for instance) it would somehow short out the seat heating, causing the fuse to blow. In my case it was F15, but both F15 and F29 feed the seat heating controllers so its possible what you are getting is similar.

The simple test is to pull out both dashboard seat heating controls (the knobs). That will disconnect F29 from the seat heating controllers. If F29 then stops blowing then it's fairly conclusive that the heated seats are your issue too.

129

Omega Electrical and Audio Help / Re: #Fuse 29 - Fan

« on: 03 June 2023, 01:21:41 »

I think the fans are a red herring. F29 does not power any of the fans directly. F29 provides the power to the coils of the relays which then turn the fans on and off. So if F29 blows then the fans won't work, because the relays won't turn on. But it won't be the fans that are blowing the fuse - because other fuses (F52) are used in the switch terminals to the fans. Power to the fans themselves does not pass through F29.

Unfortunatly F29 powers a load of things. The circuits suggest it powers CSR[1329], MK[2206], MK[2305], SH[3708], MCO[3047], IRL[1404] and AB[2649].

130

General Discussion Area / Re: Dracula's been causing trouble at the footie

« on: 21 May 2023, 19:14:52 »

Looks more like Davros than Dracula to me. It's obviously a still from a CCTV camera - wonder if there are any signs of a wheelchair covered in Dalekanium panels.

131

General Car Chat / How 'kin complicated can it be....

« on: 18 May 2023, 17:55:02 »

to get a new key cut. Aaaaarrrrggggghhhh. So Saturday afternoon I decided to swap out the ignition switch on the LC, hoping it would solve a high-ish resistance in the battery feed. Having done so, the ignition key wouldn't turn. No idea why - it was working before I swapped the switch, but now nada. The key still opens the door, boot and glovebox, but no chance it'll turn the ignition.

So read up on t'interweb on how to remove the ignition barrel, and (long story short) after much wiggling and jiggling it pops out. Strip the barrel down to remove the tumblers and no-idea how it ever worked. Probably 6 of the 10 tumblers sticking proud of the barrel. So off home to collect my spare 'master' key which has never been used (well less than 10 times probably). Back to the man cave, and still some of the tumblers are proud.

So next step is to get a new key cut. Can I find anywhere local to cut to the key number? Can I heck. So I take my master key and off down the local key cutters (plural!)

Shop #1: A local hardware shop. Sorry can't cut those, we can only do the ones with 'dimples' or yale type.

Shop #2: A major UK wide chain. Sorry, can't cut those because company policy is not to cut keys without imbedded immobilsers for security reasons. What about if I drive the car here, complete with log book, photo ID, utility bill, passport, driving licence and tape measure (so you can measure my inside leg). No sir sorry - company policy.

Shop #3: A small local engravers. After half an hour of faffing about - sorry our machine won't cut those.

Shop #4: Different branch of same UK wide chain. Yes we can cut them, but we don't have the blanks in stock. AhhhhHaaa - I just happen to have 3 blanks in my pocket that I bought just in case many years ago. Sorry sir, we can't cut blanks we don't supply for insurance purposes. W@nkers.

Shop #5: The third local branch of same UK wide chain. Yes we can cut them, and yes we have the blanks in stock. We're not really supposed to do it, but. Anyway £30 for the first key, and £15 for the second. Still won't cut my own blanks.

Then off down the VX dealer - sorry sir can't help. All Carlton/Senator stuff has been removed from EPC. If you can get me a part number I can look it up to see if it's available.....

Anyway, tomorrow will be spent selecting the best set of tumblers to fit the new keys.

132

General Car Chat / Re: Windscreen Repair

« on: 15 May 2023, 12:38:36 »

My Insurance excess is £15 for repairs, and £100 for replacements.

But I'd rather pay a local fitter than go through insurance. Last time I had the Omega done I paid £150, whereas on insurance they were going to charge the insurance co £260 ish, and I would have to pay £75. It may not affect your NCB, but it does go on your insurance record. And if you think that doesn't affect future premiums you're in dreamland.

133

General Discussion Area / Re: Eurovision

« on: 13 May 2023, 19:37:20 »

Were hoping to find somewhere lively in San Diego to watch it, but apparently they haven't heard of it here

Get down the dockside - either near USS Midway, or over the Coronado bridge and find a bar south of the main gate to the US Naval base. All those Sailors 

134

General Discussion Area / Re: Eurovision

« on: 13 May 2023, 19:33:29 »

Will you be watching tonight?

As a straight male, I didn't think I was allowed to.

Not that I want to.

Since Dana won it in 1743 it's become a festival for gay/queer/trans celebration.

You know ,   I watched the BBC report on it earlier today and immediately came to that conclusion.
They featured three " acts " ,as I couldn't call them singers , and thought how fortunate I was to have grown up in the 70's and listened to some superb music .
That tiny , tiny minority have ruined mainstream TV.
I'll be giving it a pass .....again .

Err - the '70s were the decade of glam rock - T-Rex/Marc Bolan, Sparks, Elton John, David Bowie, Slade, Gary Glitter, Queen, The Rocky Horror Show, etc, etc. I'd argue these are the very Genesis of "gay/queer/trans celebration", even if some of the artists aren't bent as a 3-bob note.

135

General Discussion Area / Re: Eurovision

« on: 13 May 2023, 16:23:39 »

So you don't want to win any money then?

I reckon there is value in Poland and Switzerland, and Ukraine will probably be top 3 too. Sweden and Finland seem to be the bookies favorites, but I'm not sure about either. UK should be on the left half of the scoreboard, but I haven't been impressed when she's sung the song live so she'll need to up her game to get into the top 5.