Well, it's been a while since my first appearance and in the meantime I've benn classic motoring in my backup old school Beemer - a 520i Lux Auto (E28) and thank goodness I still had it. Then to replace the 406 estate that got written off over a year back, my dear old Dad passed the torch of Mondeo ownership and I've been trundling around in his 2000 MK2 Estate and whilst it started well, it's needed an ABS pump - luckily a cheap save by taking the solenoid and electronics module off a S/H unit and putting that onto mine (no need to break into hydraulics) - a front wishbone, a clutch, rear brakes (seized on and needed changing) and rear shocks! It's fine now but the cambelt's due again...as it has 215,000 on the clock!
So with all this going on and needing a reliable estate for work, my father-in-law (bless him) called me and said if I could get to him to pick it up, I could take on his rather splendid metallic blue 53 plate 110 HDI estate with 95,000 on the clock but...with Sat Nav, half leather, A/C, cruise control, alloys etc etc.!
Couldn't believe it - what a lovely Dad-in-law! So we are back in the saddle with another 406 - hooray!Never owned a diesel and getting used to a few things - hence being back to ask advice.
1) After going over to grab the car, I noticed quite a load of smoke in headlights behind me on acceleration. When following me back that night my Dad said that he couldn't see the number plate when I booted it off the roundabouts and onto the dual carriageway! Been reading up on things and have chucked some Wynn's diesel system treatment in today in case it's injectors. Could the EGR be the culprit? Worth a can of that EGR3 cleaner by Wynn's? Advice welcomed. My Dad-in-law is a very careful and considerate driver - I fully expect that the car has been well nursed when driven. Does pootling around in diesels cause them to be smoky for a bit which goes if they are then driven with a bit more 'spirit'?
2) Cruise control doesn't work (it did when I drove it about 5 months back). Is there a fuse for the system? And could it be brake/clutch switches need a poke? Does anyone know where the switch is that tells the cruise that the car is in 4th gear at least? I'd assume that might be on the selectors on the box like a reverse switch? The controls are all on a stalk on the left of the wheel - does anyone know if something should light up when it's engaged? Any other experiences with cruise not working?
3) Sat Nav keeps spitting the disk out when trying to load it- is that typical? Thought I'd read somewhere about making a disk copy and using that in case there is damage from vibration whilst driving.
Looking forward to solving these few little probs as it's a lovely motor.
Cheers for any help and advice in adavnce.
Jonty
