....
It all started when I dared to venture out in the snow and ice recently. Being England, the local authority hadn't either salted the roads or got out the snow-plough until several hours after the snowfall.
The result was that my engine-oil sensor (they sit low) got ripped out and the connector thrown into the countryside. Not disabilitating but I later discovered that none of the heater/aircon controls would work. I rarely use the heater and the aircon even less - Demisting the windscreen is my main use, but such a feature is useful to have.
So I went to see my VW dealer friend and their mechanic fitted a new connection and tucked it more out of harms way - Plastic cable ties are definitely one of man's cleverest inventions.
In trying to discover why the heater unit had stopped working, specific fuses were checked according to the 'official VW handbook' [take note] and unfortunately I was going to be faced with about a £300 bill - I'd rather spend that on an engine mount! The heater unit was then ordered and my car was booked in for a couple of days later. By coincidence my PogoAlert had also decided to stop working and so I afterwards popped round to see Chris, my car audio man who had fitted it plus a few other things on my cars for a few years. I don't fit anything myself because I don't know what I'm doing.
Chris traced the Pogo fault to a 5 amp fuse. Guess what! The heater unit started working. So I phoned to inform my VW dealer and asked for a full report. Their report showed that their 'official VW handbook' instructed that 40 amp fuses were the ones to be checked for the heater unit and not the 5 amp fuses! So all was well.
Later that evening driving home in the dark, I did an overtake as part of traffic hopping which meant dropping into a gap between cars but with enough space not to bully anyone. The car I overtook kindly bothered to extend the gap and so I naturally gave him/her a quick flash with the hazard lights truck/van-style....Except that at that moment I discovered my hazards had stopped working!!
At my dealer workshop session a couple of days later, they sorted my hazards but then my Alpine wouldn't flip out with ignition! Another quick job for Chris who traced it to a broken Canbus lead. He's rebuilt it in a stronger way and my VW mechanic also did some extra protective measures on the oil sensor.
So all is well that ends well but modern cars are very complex and it's amazing what just one 5 amp fuse can throw out!
Good team work!
