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76

General Discussion Area / Re: Can anyone recommend a Bluetooth hands-free kit

« on: 10 June 2019, 20:46:51 »

how about something like this
Nextbase In-Car DAB DAB350 £28.75 save £101.24 (77% OFF)

Looks like a huge bargain. I was hoping to avoid too much wiring but perhaps that's unavoidable.

77

General Discussion Area / Re: Can anyone recommend a Bluetooth hands-free kit

« on: 10 June 2019, 20:45:30 »

This is the one I have and it works very well, with even an FM link for playing iTunes music through the car speakers.
https://www.halfords.com/technology/bluetooth-car-kits/bluetooth-car-kits/jabra-freeway-bluetooth-visor-speaker

It even pairs without any problems (!!!  )

You just have to ensure your phone's sound volume is fully adjusted for the Bluetooth link 

Looks very nice but it's only really for the odd phone call that comes in when I'm driving so I don't think I really want to spend quite that much.

78

General Discussion Area / Can anyone recommend a Bluetooth hands-free kit

« on: 10 June 2019, 20:15:32 »

We have a Bluetooth cradle thing wired into our Mondeo. It's useful for holding the phone when charging and using a phone as a Sat Nav but the Bluetooth calling is epically bad. You have to press and hold a difficult to reach button for about 2s to answer a call and the microphone is rubbish.

It won't even pair properly with my new phone. It sort of pairs but doesn't work - brilliant. (Lizzie I feel your pain!)

What I want for this car is something that plugs in the lighter socket that will pair nicely with a couple of phones and provides decent call quality. Ideally it'll have a USB charge socket on it, not be too big and not be expensive.

There are lots of this sort of thing on the web but does anyone personally have one they recommend that costs less than say £50.

Thanks

79

General Car Chat / Re: Autel al319 scanner

« on: 07 June 2019, 08:27:32 »

BMW's tend to need a special OBD reader. I have to use a completely different system for my BMW than any other car. Even if a generic reader does work (and some do) you only get the absolute basic diagnostic information back, usually not enough to diagnose a fault.

Either you need a BMW compatible USB to OBD2 lead and some software on a laptop (ideally ISTA) or a small scanner like a C110 or C310 (have a look on ebay). Alternatively these days a lot of people use a Bluetooth OBD2 plug and an app on their phone. Carly used to be the most popular but they've really started charging for it now.

80

General Car Chat / Re: Bmw x3

« on: 12 May 2019, 09:34:50 »

In my experience checking the suspension bushes for play for a subtle intermittent vibration is pretty difficult. Prying the joint doesn't really give a clear enough indication.

I find if you get an assistant to start the car (wheels on the ground) and wiggle the steering whilst you have eyes on a joint you can see if there is a difference between the left and right sides of the car.

81

General Car Chat / Re: Bmw x3

« on: 12 May 2019, 09:29:02 »

Is it only light braking? Does it do when cornering? Is it OK when going perfectly straight?

If the answer to all three questions is yes then in my case the problem turned out to be a wheel bearing. The bearing spun OK by hand but with a little side pressure it was notchy.

I had a similar problem and when through the entire front suspension, steering rack, track rods, pads, discs replacing anything that was slightly bad and the problem persisted. The upside is the front end of the car is perfect now!

82

General Car Chat / Re: Vacuum and Fuel pressure testers...

« on: 17 March 2019, 09:53:14 »

I have the exact same kit as the first link.

For BMW, with lots of vacuum plumbing it is invaluable. Even been useful on Fords. Saves a lot of guesswork when there are vacuum controlled actuators.

83

General Car Chat / Re: Jump Starting Modern Cars

« on: 10 March 2019, 16:21:15 »

I'd trickle charge it. Jump starting can definitely damage BMW's. The problem is the alternator is pretty meaty, like 170A, and electronically controlled.

For the car being started the problem occurs when you disconnect the jump leads. The load on the alternator suddenly increases massively. The voltage can spike to perhaps 18V or more, just for a moment. It depends what other consumers are on to absorb the spike. There are loads of electronic modules on these cars and some just aren't as robust as they should be. On BMW's the MULF (Bluetooth module) and glow plug controller module tend to instantly die....

You face the exact same problem if you are the car doing the jump starting - possibly worse. Here when the leads are disconnected the load on the the supplying car is suddenly a lot less than it was and the voltage spikes.

84

General Car Chat / Re: 06 Corsa 1.2 value and disposal

« on: 08 January 2019, 18:46:06 »

Having just hunted around for a first car for a friend's son I'd say it's worth £1000 easily, possibly up to £1500. Although it does depend on condition a lot and if it's a car with a cambelt whether that needs doing.

These small cars, in good condition and under £2000 are in quite high demand. UK insurance for new drivers is really expensive so they have to get something with a 1.2 engine or less. Lots of people also need cheap run arounds. All the good cars sold really quickly, often before we could view.

In this price bracket Gumtree seems to the place to sell/buy. And I think you can do all the communication through text and maybe email.

85

General Car Chat / Re: Asda oil 5-30 fully synthetic in a Beemer ?

« on: 05 January 2019, 16:29:32 »

I've been using the Dexos 2 oil in my BMW for years and years. No problems at all. Engine and turbo still in perfect condition.

86

General Car Chat / Re: Precautions against debris when pushing back Astra brake pistons

« on: 09 December 2018, 11:48:58 »

I think Astras in particular have a nasty habit of inverting their master cylinder seals if you don't open the nipple. I'm fairly sure I've heard it happen a few times, but only on Astras for some reason.

87

General Car Chat / Re: Roadside repairs

« on: 09 December 2018, 11:46:19 »

Nothing's changed.....we drove past an Austin 7 the other day, the owner had broken down just as he entered a major  motorway junction style roundabout. He had managed to pull over in a sort of chevron area in the middle of the road and appeared to be rebuilding his engine! As we went past he had a distributor in his hand.

That was August 2018!

88

General Car Chat / Re: volvo v40 squeaking noises

« on: 19 October 2018, 13:12:04 »

Sounds a lot like the wheel bearing to me. Any hint of noise or roughness when turned by hand is a lot worse at speed with the car's weight on it. Probably best to lift the caliper off temporarily to eliminate any drag from the pads then see how both sides feel when you spin them.

89

General Car Chat / Re: battery labelled DO NOT JUMP START

« on: 18 November 2017, 13:22:42 »

Just had a look at my bmw hand book out of curiosity. With reference to jump starting there is nothing unusual mentioned, with the exception of allowing a diesel to run for ten minutes prior to using it as a donor car.
As mentioned, they do have a +live post clearly marked with a big red cover under the bonnet but the starting procedure is pretty standard. It does say not to have the donor car running until the jump lead connections are complete but apart from that nothing any different.

I think that the by the time the F series came out all the modules are robust enough to survive a jump start. The service bulletin was issued for E series cars.

90

General Car Chat / Re: battery labelled DO NOT JUMP START

« on: 18 November 2017, 12:05:42 »

I know exactly why the BMW's can't be jump started, particularly diesels, the reason is voltage spikes. The alternators are typically capable of putting out 170A and are electronically controlled. When the jump start battery is disconnected the change in load can cause a very short voltage spike in excess of 18V. There are two modules, the Bluetooth MULF and the Glow plug Controller (all electronic, no relays here) that basically go pop the moment their supply exceeds something like 18V....

An "expert" would, if doing it properly, pull the fuses for at least the Glow Plug Controller before jump starting.