Tonight's topic has to be car troubles. We've had a week of them. Yesterday, when the better part of our journey down here was complete, we heard a very loud bang from the back of the car. This is a car that got us to France and back, but knowing my cars, another long and trouble free journey was probably too much too expect.
After we pulled over and changed our knickers, we discovered that the bang had come from the back box. It had exploded.
 |
| Not good |
What a mess. That's gonna cost me. Fortunately it still drives ok, it just sounds like I have a nice big bore fitted. I have full breakdown recovery now too, so if it gets worse on the way home I can just get them to take us the rest of the way (Unless anyone from the AA is reading this). I hope we get a smoking driver so we can have a few tabs in the cab.
The car trouble didn't start there though, it started last week with Mrs Buckos poxy Clio.
Her battery is knackered and keeps going flat. We took it off last weekend and charged it up. I went back to the car with the battery to fit it but found I couldn't get in. She has one of those key fobs where you press a button and the key flips out of the side. The central locking does not work without the battery so I needed to use the key to get in.
When we took the battery out the key must have flipped out and flipped off, because when I went to use it, it wasn't there.
We searched all up and down the street but could not find the key, although for some kind of cruel irony, I did find the button that pops the key out. No key, no battery, no entry.
After a while I managed to fettle the bonnet and get it open. I figured that once the battery was back in, the remote central locking would work. No joy.
Google tells me that if the battery has been out for a while and the central locking stops working you have to reset it using a button inside the car.
We spoke to our pal at the garage and he said you can get a code which you can use to have a replacement key cut. He contacted all the local Renault dealers and even contacted Renault in France. Could he get the code? Could he F%$&!
We decided on new locks and a new ignition from the scrapyard and I decided I would have a go at getting into the car with a bit more brute force and ignorance.
When Mrs Bucko had her last car she kept locking here keys in it (Not good with keys, this one). We used to prise back the door frame with a screwdriver, put a wedge down it, then put a stick in to press the lock button. I decided to try this with the poxy Clio.
I had the screwdriver in and started prising the door back when the window shattered. Glass everywhere, it was even in my shoes. It took me totally by surprise because it really shouldn't have happened. I'd only prised the door back a couple of inches and there should have been plenty more play in the glass. It must have been defective.
I went in the house and said to Mrs B, "I'm in". Her face lit up. "Can you ring Mel and ask him if he can get a new window?". Her face dropped.
It took a while to convince her that it was an accident and I hadn't just lost my temper and stuck a brick through it.
We found a replacement lock and ignition from a scrapyard and our mate from the garage said he would fit it. I agreed to remove the old ignition and strip the door for the new lock to keep the costs down.
The ignition barel is held in place by two locking pins that only release when you insert the key. The key that we had lost. Instead I had to go down the 'lump hammer and chisel' route.
A lot of frustration, sweat and money later, her car is back on the road.
She would dearly like to forget this ever happened, yet because she will be picking bits of glass out of that car for months, I don't think the memory will fade any time soon.
Have a good Saturday night.
2 Comments:
Post a Comment