Conference terri::cars_uk

    Well I have now bought it, I must say that on the whole I am very
    pleased baring a couple of things.
    
    1. The clutch is ferociuos, just pulling away in first the wheels spin
    when the bite is taken.
    
    2. Coming down from third to first the car slows down fast and judders.
    This may be the fact that after having my last car with a dodgy clutch
    I am not you used to something with a bit of bite to it. However I fear
    something sinister underneath it all, could a car have to much bite to
    it ?
    
    Regards,
    
    Mike.

    > Coming down from third to first the car slows down fast and judders.
    
    What! I'm not suprised, first gear (as far as i'm concerned) is for
    starting off only.  
    
    > The clutch is ferociuos, just pulling away in first the wheels spin
    > when the bite is taken.
    
    Try using less gas.
    
    ..Craig  
    

    Sorry I meant coming down from 3rd to 2nd gear
    
    I only use the lightest of touches on the gas when starting in first
    and already find the wheel's spinning. Potentailly my race boy days are
    past me, which makes it embarassing when your at the trafffic lights
    and you spin the wheels. " What a lout"

    The best thing to do is let someone in the know have a drive, it may be
    like you say, down to you not being used to a car with some 'bite'.
    
    Or you've got a 1.1 gearbox in your 1.4! 
    
    ..Craig
    
    PS - Have you got service history? 

    Yeh I have got the works, two owners and full service history.
    
    One of the reasons I bought it was because of this.
    
    
    Regards
    
    Mike.

    47,000 miles - If its still the original clutch it may need replacing.
    Although it depends how its been driven.
    
    ..Craig

    I've driven two Fiesta's in my time,a 1976 Mark 1 and a 1984 mark 2.
    Both had VERY tight clutches that needed very little foot movement
    to go from disengaged to fully engaged.
    I had the 1984 one checked out at a garage and was told that all
    Fiesta's are like that.
    Also I was in no way impressed with the brakes.
    I have since parted company with Ford and bought a Nissan Sunny instead
    and am satisfied with it.
    BTW cars are VERY expensive in Ireland,insurance also is very dear so
    a 1.3 Nissan Sunny is a good average for Ireland.
    

    Re: .1
    
>    2. Coming down from third to first the car slows down fast and judders.
>    This may be the fact that after having my last car with a dodgy clutch
    
    I always used my gears to slow down as well (it's how I was taught to
    drive) however since going on the DEC Defensive Driving course a couple
    of years ago I now use my brakes to slow down and only then change into
    the correct gear for the speed I'm now travelling. Brakes are easier to
    replace than clutches, also it means you've got one less thing to do
    and can concentrate better on the road.
    
    Of course using engine braking on hills is a different thing altogether
    :-)
    
    Stevie.

Anyone any ideas on what's wrong with my rear demister? 

About a couple of months back I was tootling down the M1 in the
Rissing Pain, when the wee light on the demister switch went out. This
is normally the time-out which does this.

However, it woudn't come back on again. I've checked;

	- The fuse - OK
	- The voltage (coo!) across the terminals on the rear window
element. There is nowt there. There is zero potential between the live
end of the element and earth.
	- The cleanliness of the fuse contacts. The terminals on the
switch.

The only thing left to do as far as I can see is take a tin opener to
the top of the car to get the the wire.

Dougie

    RE .9
    
    It's unlikely to be the read window or the wiring between the switch
    and the read window. If either of those failed then the light would
    still come on, even though nothing was working. It is more likely to be
    the switch itself, or the electronics doing the timing. Check whether
    there is voltage at the switch. (If not then look at all the fuses. It
    is not unknown for the fuse list to be incorrect !)
    
    Andrew

I'll check the voltage at the switches. I'm not too sure where to
start on the timing circuit. Where is it?

The fuses are all ok. I don't know which one does the demist, but
all fuses are ok so it doesn't matter.

Dougie

    re .11
    
    I've no idea where the timing circuit is on a Fiesta. It may be built
    into the switch, but it is more likely to be built into a thing that
    looks like a relay and is controlled by the switch (to avoid having all
    the current going to the switch). If it was working you might be able
    to hear it clicking when you operate the switch (not much help if it is
    broken). You may find that there are a bunch of relays near the fuses -
    one of them may be the hrw relay.
    
    Andrew

re fuses

In addition to the main fuse box, some circuits may have additional in-line
fuses in the wiring.  This could be the case for the demister.  The fuse could
be anywhere in the wiring... manuals aren't very helpful at telling you where!

Scott

Thanks for all the advice - but we decided to sell it instead!

We've traded it in for a G-Reg Fiesta 1.6 Sport Special Edition sort of thing.

Anyone got any feedback on this car. Please, please please say its dead
good 'cos we've bought the thing now and take delivery on Thursday. 

We woke up on Monday and decided to buy a car. It could be an expensive
impulse buy.

Dougie

    I bought a Fiesta 1.3SX J reg about 3 months ago,and have had a problem
    in acceleration termed a "dead" or "dull" spot.The garage which I
    bought it from,which is a good garage,have had the car in for repair
    twice.They put a mod in the carb the first time they had it which
    didn't cure the fault.So this week they had it in again.First they put
    modified carb pipes in which didn't cure the fault,so they say they
    have now put in a whole new carb.
     The problem is,if there is still one,is that this morning when I
    started the engine with full choke the rev counter shot up near the red
    line which it doesn't normally!It then sttled down at around just over
    1000 RPM (previously before it went into the garage with full choke it
    would settle at 2000RPM).Then on the way to work this mornig I gave it
    a run and noticed at 70mph in 5th gear the engine was running at 4000
    RPM.Does this sound right or familiar as a problem anyone might of had.
     Also how do I stand with a car which I bought second hand coming up to
    3 months old which if there is a problem will be going into the garage
    for the 3rd time?
    
    Tyrone
    

    Changing the carb wont affect the engine rpm at 70mph in 5th gear
    (well, it might have some effect on an automatic). If it runs @4000 rpm
    now, then it probably always did.
    
    The engine going up to the red line might indicate a sticking throttle
    mechanism (do you use the accelerator when starting with choke ?).
    Possibly there is something loose or binding in the choke mechanism
    which is causing the throttle to misbehave. (alternatively they might
    have moved something which is causing the tacho to misread).
    
    Andrew

    No Andrew,I do not use the accelerator when starting with the choke
    unless it fails to start.I will obviously keep an eye on it,I just
    wanted to know from someone who knows about these things if all the
    problems I have had indicated something specific.
    
    Tyrone
    

    Is this a manual choke or an automatic one?
    
    Laurie.

    A manual choke which I wish was automatic.I'm taking it back to the
    garage tomorrow as it did the same thing on friday and over the
    weekend.
    
    Tyrone
    

    Manual, ok then, it sounds as if they've reconnected it improperly.
    There are two main parts to the choke. The part that impedes the
    air-flow, and the part that opens the throttle slightly to make the
    engine run faster. Not only do they each have to be adjusted correctly
    to perform their specific function, but they must also be balanced...
    
    Take it back.
    
    Laurie.

    Well I took it back to the garage last night,they didn't think there
    was anything wrong with it,but they adjusted it and told me I didn't
    need full choke,but I only use full to start it and then I adjust it.
     Anyway,come this mornig I gave it full choke to start with and it
    wouldn't start,so I put the choke half in and it took another 3
    attempts to get it started!
     I'm fed up....
    
    Tyrone
    

    Heres a strange thing.I phoned the garage and they said to depress the
    accelerator (like in an automatic choke) before trying to start the
    engine as there is some throttle linkage to the choke that opens a
    valve.Well I tried it at lunchtime and it worked!We'll see if it
    continues to work,but does this sound familiar to anyone?Because the
    book doesn't say anything.
    
    Tyrone
    

    
    Is there a liquid cure for a noisy tappit ?? Thats what I assume it is.
    And also ... is there a secret switch for the dashboard illuminations ?
    Mine is very dull. 
    
    Thanks Gary.                             
    

    
    Some cars do have dash board dimming switches, mine does (Rover 827),
    as for the noisey tappets try a Banana !!!!!
    
    
    Ps anyone want to buy a Pug 205, 100,000 miles and NO noisey engine 
    
    Thought not ;-)

    Gary, I don't believe the XR2 or any other Fiestas (except maybe the
    Ghia) has a dimmer switch for the dash.
    
    Royston

    Gary.
    I have an '87 XR2. I haven't been able to find a dashboard dimmer
    either (though the dashboard lights are pretty dim anyway!).
    
    I had to have new valve stem oil seals at 60K miles, which cured any
    tappet noise at the same time. This was an excellent bit of work - I
    was getting some blue smoke on starting from cold, due to the hardening
    of the old seals. Ford have a tool that will allow these seals to be
    changed without taking the head off. Cost around �100 incl. labour.
    Goes like the proverbial since then...
    cheers
    DaveT