Member Jonathan Kay Posted September 11, 2016 Member Share Posted September 11, 2016 Overcooling - this stopped as the air temp fell back to low/mid 20's. Do stats open varying degrees? Could it be that the stat is only sticking when it opens fully to cool the engine when the ambient air temp is too hot to cool the engine, but when air temp is lower it only needs to open a little and does not stick?Ordinary thermostat? Not officially. It's supposed to be fully open or fully closed, and it doesn't see air temperature or need... only the adjacent coolant.Get it out, have a play in the kitchen, and try a different one regardless?Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Sounds like they may have pressed the new diff drive shaft seals too far into the casing ? The drive shafts do pull outwards a little in use ... maybe they are clearing the seal in extreme cases ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim 123 Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Re your diff, have you seen Geoff Brown's recent thread on BMW E46 diff leaks. It might be an overfill issue and nothing to get stressed over whilst you are in Spain? If you've been blatting in the Picos there are some pretty long and challenging gradients that would encourage an overfilled diff to let some oil grace the roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clousta Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 If you have tightened the alternator belt and the charging circuit light still flickers at high revs and the cooling fan is cutting in and out correctly but your temperature gauge is still erratic then the two faults may be connected. It may be an earthing issue. I would recommend running a lead from a convenient earthing point on the scuttle (e.g. windscreen wiper mounting point) to the engine earth point or even the negative terminal on the battery. It can do no harm and you might be pleasantly surprised. If no change then the two faults are not connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmaster Flatcap Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Car back with the garage today... Alternator - they believe the problem was caused by the foremost exhaust primary being mm's from the cable exiting the Alt' and that over time the cable has cooked and become brittle. The symptoms as reported are caused by a gap in the cooked cable opening under engine vibration at high RPMs. Plausible?(their proposed solution is to tw4t the primary with a hammer to dent it away from the the replacement cable...) Any better ideas? Diff oil leak - No idea as the Diff "facing", seal and half-shaft are pristine. They are putting in a new seal on a hope and prey basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted September 22, 2016 Member Share Posted September 22, 2016 Alternator - they believe the problem was caused by the foremost exhaust primary being mm's from the cable exiting the Alt' and that over time the cable has cooked and become brittle. The symptoms as reported are caused by a gap in the cooked cable opening under engine vibration at high RPMs. Plausible?(their proposed solution is to tw4t the primary with a hammer to dent it away from the the replacement cable...) Any better ideas?Please let that be a joke...IIRC it never had any problems with charging. Was that comment specifically about the thin wire from the alternator to the warning lamp, or do the thick ones also look as if they are or might be cooked?Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmaster Flatcap Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 JK, no joke.From the very dodgy photo they've texted it is the thick cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted September 22, 2016 Member Share Posted September 22, 2016 The symptoms suggest a problem with the lamp circuit or the alternator rather than the main charging cables. Is there anything unusual about your set-up? I'd be looking at rerouting the cables, treating them as consumables, fitting some suitable for higher temperatures and/or heat shields before applying the Manchester screwdriver.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmaster Flatcap Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Manchester screwdriver"if it can't be fixed with a hammer and a screwdriver, then it can't be fixed" - ex Britsh Gas fitter of my acquaintance (from Wigan, not Manchester) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted September 23, 2016 Member Share Posted September 23, 2016 Having seen the photo I'm still not sure about what's causing the lamp to come on, but the fixing sequence could now become something like: Move the alternator connections to allow rerouting of the cables. Replace the cooked fat cables. Test to see if the fault has disappeared If it hasn't then back to investigating the circuit for the warning lamp.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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