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Chatterbox 2

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Chatterbox 2

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:04 am

Damn.
I wish I hadn't started my windscreen wipers when they still had a bit of snow on them.
Double wish. I hope it's just the fuse. Experience tells me, it is an expensive repair otherwise. :?

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Pepper Pig » Tue Jan 26, 2021 11:01 am

Snap. Well, one of mine snapped yesterday. It had too much snow on it and the top bit pinged off and flew away. Am hoping Halford's are open today as they fit them as well.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Earthmaiden » Tue Jan 26, 2021 12:17 pm

Oh dear - :newhuggy to both of you! There is still a little frozen snow on my wipers, hopefully the rain will have washed it away by the time I expect to use the car again on Friday.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby ShotleyGirl62 » Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:22 pm

Ladies, surely it is common sense to clear the snow before using your wipers :? I've never used the wipers to clear snow from the windscreen or back screen, preferring to use either a soft brush or ice scraper :thumbsup

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:38 pm

Bad luck to you too, PP.

Indeedy, Shotley.
Duly scraped nice and carefully around the wipers. So as not to pull or damage them.
After a trip to Tesco - my fridge was so empty - I got in and flicked the wipers to clean the marks.
It buzzed, but didn't move.
Only a tiny bit of fluffy scraped stuff remained tucked under there. Which is why I'm just hoping it's a £2 fuse. I can easy change it when I work out which one in the box is for the wipers. Number 12 i think.

With a little more luck, it might be something Green Flag comes out for.

I also saw a tip to pull your wipers out and leave them overnight.
They might start again after that. I know my brother had repeated probs with his Astra starting, and the AA chap opened his passenger door, left it for 5mins and it never played up again. :idea:

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby ShotleyGirl62 » Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:41 pm

we tend to keep our wipes pointing to the top of the screen after using them, just a quick flick of the switch after the engine has turned off and they flip up - we have a problem with seeds from trees where we live, so do this every time so they don't get stuck under the blades.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Pepper Pig » Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:52 pm

ShotleyGirl62 wrote:Ladies, surely it is common sense to clear the snow before using your wipers :?


The road was so treacherously icy I couldn't safely stand in it and lean over the bonnet to reach the snow (I am very bad on my feet). But, in my defence, I have de-icer buttons for both back and front windows so I shouldn't have to. The problem was, I think, that the windscreen wasn't quite as defrosted as I thought. :oops: :oops:

Halford's were great and tested all my light bulbs, indicators etc. as well.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Jan 26, 2021 2:35 pm

Did you get sorted, PP?
Our local Halfords is a high street one, so I don't think they do maintenance. I'm fine with popping the bonnet for things, if it's in the manual sort of stuff.
Haven't changed a wheel since I was a learner driver (thanks dad).
I'd hate to have to do one for real, I should have a practice.

Pesky seeds.
We used to have to park under a tree/ weed! sycamore, and my job was to put the car cover on at night. I don't miss that now we are in our new home.
I guess new wipers aren't expensive when they go hard or smeary, but they're awkward to put on.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Earthmaiden » Tue Jan 26, 2021 2:55 pm

To be fair, SG, I have been caught out several times when the windscreen has been cleared but the mechanism which makes the wipers move has been frozen, thus straining the motor. A bit of de icer can sometimes help but leaving them to try and run for a short while and a prayer is probably more common :lol:.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby jeral » Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:43 pm

Pepper Pig wrote:...[clip]...
The road was so treacherously icy I couldn't safely stand in it and lean over the bonnet to reach the snow (I am very bad on my feet).

I'm amazed you intended to drive at all if the road was that icy. A desire to go for a toboggan ride? ;)

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Pepper Pig » Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:53 pm

I’ve got an SUV. We’re on a side road. All the mains are gritted. I feel much safer in the car than outside it!

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby jeral » Tue Jan 26, 2021 6:59 pm

Ah, well SUVs are usually tanks so the council grits the road and the SUVs clear it of any hatchbacks in the way eh? :twisted:

Actually, my little hatchback went straight on once instead of turning left as I was indicating and parked itself in front of a white van man waiting to turn out onto the main road. Thank goodness he waited that extra second or three, phew. PS: That was years ago, but in my defence we don't often get snow/ice here but it serves as a reminder when we do.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby aero280 » Tue Jan 26, 2021 7:31 pm

Winter tyres are fine all year round!! :)

Winter tyres work in winter and summer. If space is limited, one set of wheels will be fine.

Summer tyres only work in summer

There are some new styles of "all season tyres" like Nokian Weatherproof and Michelin Cross Climate, which are better.

M+S tyres are not winter tyres.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby jeral » Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:49 pm

Gillthepainter wrote:Did you get sorted, PP?
Our local Halfords is a high street one, so I don't think they do maintenance. I'm fine with popping the bonnet for things, if it's in the manual sort of stuff.
Haven't changed a wheel since I was a learner driver (thanks dad).
I'd hate to have to do one for real, I should have a practice.

Pesky seeds.
We used to have to park under a tree/ weed! sycamore, and my job was to put the car cover on at night. I don't miss that now we are in our new home.
I guess new wipers aren't expensive when they go hard or smeary, but they're awkward to put on.

I asked a mechanic once about changing a tyre (when I was young enough to think I could) and he basically said forget it as the nuts are tightened by machine so would be impossible for almost anyone to loosen, or tighten safely for that matter. Arguably, one would have winter tyres put on by a garage anyway though.

A buddleia tree (big bush) was awful for dropping seeds. I mentioned it just in passing to the folks the other side of the fence whose it was and lo and behold they did away with it! Bye bye butterflies :(

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Suffs » Wed Jan 27, 2021 12:40 am

I’ve always changed my own wheels when I get a flat ... I’ve always quite enjoyed doing it provided I’ve been parked in a safe place ... thankfully that’s not happened for ages tho :crossed ... nowadays I think I’d call the AA if I was on my own.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby aero280 » Wed Jan 27, 2021 1:11 am

You should never fully tighten wheel nuts with a power tool. They go up too tight and can over stress the stud or bolt.

If you do get a puncture and have to change a wheel, you will never undo the nut or bolt with the built-in tool kit. In addition, if you have locking nuts with a security pattern in the head of the bolt, you will almost certainly break the special key . Then you won't get any wheel off in an emergency.

If a garage has changed your wheels, you should get home and loosen and retighten the bolts using the tools in the boot. You don't have to jack the car up to do that. just do one bolt at a a time. You can get a wheel bolt wrench with an extending handle in Halfords, etc which will make things easier to undo.

One like this https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-too ... 35236.html

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby icelesley » Wed Jan 27, 2021 10:36 am

Good Morning campers. He ice has gone :limbobanana but it is raining, but who cares the ice is no more. :D
I was up early, bedding is stripped, shower had, breakfast eaten and it's still only 8.35 the washer will be on the go an minute :thumbsup

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Earthmaiden » Wed Jan 27, 2021 10:47 am

In the days when wheels were changed by hand at a local garage or at home they were quite easy to change. Once places (of the Kwikfit sort) started to spring up with gadgets to do the job the wheel nuts were definitely harder to do.

I've had flats on the motorway twice in the past 20 years or so on my commute. The first time I limped into a service station and accosted an AA man. The second I had tyres which stay inflated so you can get home. I would struggle to fit the jack nowadays, let alone undo the wheel nuts and certainly wouldn't even try at the side of a motorway. :oops:.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Pepper Pig » Wed Jan 27, 2021 1:52 pm

jeral wrote:Ah, well SUVs are usually tanks so the council grits the road and the SUVs clear it of any hatchbacks in the way eh? :twisted:


Mine is a Skoda Yeti. Definitely not a tank.

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Re: Chatterbox 2

Postby Gillthepainter » Wed Jan 27, 2021 2:34 pm

Oooo, a Yeti, we wanted one.
We looked at it when we sold our 21years 2 seater Mazda mx5.

Neither of us could get over how long it was, we were so used to our little car. It intimidated us and we were rather pathetic talking to the salesman, who didn't get our holding back.
Of course it's not nearly so long.
We would have learned to handle driving it forward and back within a couple of days. :roll:

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