Jonathan Kay

Try a cooling fan from a PC. As found in all good skips. Jonathan

Is this the right link for the current RapFix? Jonathan

We all make mistakes. One of the things I work on is patient safety. Persuading people to get down to root causes is necessary, difficult and time-consuming. In my area of work it nearly always involves both human behaviour and technology... Have a great trackday Jonathan PS: Did I recommend buying a multimeter? :-)

Question 1: Do you have a starter button that is not the same assembly as the ignition switch? Jonathan

Quoting Steve Campbell: errr...I just got it started...and I am NEVER going to admit to anyone what I did / didn't do as I am a complete numpty 😬 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 😳 Thanks for help anyway ! The car is fine.....senior moment on my part. So now you can take the 7 to buy the multimeter. How about you give us twenty questions, then you have to say what it was? Jonathan

Go and buy a multimeter. Safety notice: disconnect the tiptop before you drive it off to the shop. Jonathan

What SM25T says sounds logical. And wouldn't produce a click or a voltage drop when you try to start. ** That was posted before you said there is a slight drop** Presumably you can also test for this by measuring the voltage at the solenoid terminal as you try to start, then working back up to the suspected relay? Jonathan Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 24 Apr 2012 19:36:16

:-) That's both ends of the wiring you've checked... ? I reamin sceptical about voltages with jump leads and "good connections", but leave the multimeter connected while you jump start and see if there's any drop. Can anyone advise on the solenoid terminals on this model to test what happens with a direct feed wire? Jonathan Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 24 Apr 2012 19:26:38

Probably one of: Wiring/ connections Starter solenoid Starter motor (Could be the starter switch) Have you changed anything nearby recently? Check that you're not immobilised Visual inspection of battery and starter wiring and disconnect, clean and refit relevant connections. Continuity testing isn't a good enough test of ability to pass high currents. With car in gear rock a few feet forwards and back to unlock the starter in case it's jammed. Make sure that the jump leads from the other battery are well connected. You can get enough oomph to light up low current circuits but not enough to start. If none of that has changed anything connect a live feed wire directly to the solenoid terminal and see what happens. Jonathan

*arrowup* *arrowup*Certainly caught me out. I thank you. Jonathan

I now think I understand even less than I did. How does a fault in the alternator diode pack cause 14.4V on the output and not extinguish the warning light? Does the lead to the light not come from the point that you're measuring the output voltage? Thanks Jonathan

PS: Alternator light saying on Most of us don't have that level of sophistication in our alternators! But I think the Morris Maestro Van Den Plas might have done. :-) Jonathan

I'd poke around first... check those voltages yourself at the alternator terminal and at the indicator light. What sort of alternator? In another recent thread I realised I didn't understand the sort that have an additional terminal and lead... something to do with energising the photon warp field drive coil. Luckily someone else did. Have you changed anything under the bonnet in the recent past? Jonathan

There's also another post which contains: Quoting Jonathan Kay: Quoting Garry7: I so love the good old "assembly guide" NOT. I have a massively edited version that I have compiled as I have gone along - might send it to CC? It would be a great asset to the Club to have a live hypertext version of the manual. Jonathan Quoting Garry7: OK.................I am "between jobs" at the minute so am happy to have a go. I dont have full Adobe though. If anyone has a non technical solution to this I am happy to add my very recent experiences and share the wealth of photos Sean and fellow Blat chatters have sent me. Is there someone in the club that maintains the technical side of things that may already have a preferred format? I have all the photos saved on my laptop so would need instruction on how to upload etc. As above, we need something that combines the best information in the Club FAQs and the archives, and either links to or imports the manual and excellent sites such as Alcester 7s. To get that right we need both suitable technology and editors. For the technology I'd suggest a Wiki. Jonathan Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 19 Apr 2012 20:23:00 Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 19 Apr 2012 20:23:18

... don't confuse that with elbow grease. Jonathan

1 Try and find out if this is a known problem. Honest John and VW forums should help. 2 Go and talk in person to the most senior person at the dealer that you can get to. Give them every chance to sort it out before you do anything else. 3 Keep contemporaneous written records of everything. Can someone bring me up to date with the law: if the seller is in the trade how much do claims about condition affect anything? Jonathan

Quoting johnv: thanks all .. I did trawl the archives, but can only find 1 mention of 221 That's like the Woody Allen line... "you're not doing it right". I just searched for "221" in all forums with BOTH time limit pulldowns set to maximum, and got 130 hits. Jonathan

Lots on this in the archives, including: Securing Cycle Wings Quoting Jonathan Kay: Some of the points that come up: * Preparation of surfaces before the adhesive is applied. Otherwise your weakest bond is metal to paint... * Looping the Sikaflex all the way round the stay to make a tube, rather than just making a sandwich. Jonathan

I was thinking of testing before track days. All the ones I've been on use testing while stationary. I've just asked the same question here. Jonathan

Has anyone found a reliable app for testing sound levels at home? Jonathan Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 18 Apr 2012 10:19:29

Quoting Garry7: I so love the good old "assembly guide" NOT. I have a massively edited version that I have compiled as I have gone along - might send it to CC? It would be a great asset to the Club to have a live hypertext version of the manual. Jonathan

Does it have a "Long and Winding Road" option? Jonathan

I like my Titons, and they make them pull up or down according to taste. Jonathan

It's alright: you don't have to tell us Jonathan

Great advice above, especially about stopping to think when something isn't clear or you're tired. Treating yourself to the right tool rather than the "about right" tool can make some jobs a lot easier. Check the packs in enough time to get the missing bits delivered by when you need them. Good lighting underneath. Carpet the floor (or something posher to taste) Test run bolts through threads before assembling on the car. And (without reopening any of the other sort of threads): protect your eyes, disconnect the battery when you play with the electrics, and have the right sort of fire extinguisher in the right place. Enjoy the build Jonathan PS: Whereabouts are you?