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If the roads in this country are still like my last few long journeys, you will be lucky to get from Worcestershire to Dover in 25 hours! By day they are jammed solid with stop / go traffic, by night half the system is shut down for roadworks. One night last year, every single trunk road (A & M) into the southwest was closed at some point, virtually cutting the country in two.😮 If you do get over or under the Channel, then I suspect Portugal will be just a few more hours away. 😎 Unless the challenge starts on Saturday evening: That period early on a Sunday is usually the only time the roads are clear!

Didn't know there was a new law as Zero Alcohol,got to say being i have to be 100% as a carer i packed in drinking around 13 years ago. I always think (my opinion only as some might not agree) if you know your driving or have to be ready at any time to drive like me just don't drink,i don't now and loved it going out but things change in life so i had to change with it,or just get a taxi or a friend who don't drink.

If you ever have an accident and have a dashcam don't tell the other person. They can try to make stories up but cam footage never lies. Went to the fish shop again yesterday and picked up some velvet blue shrimps. One of them is carrying babies so will be interesting to see if they might survive in the tank when the mum gives birth. The mother is on the left carrying the babies in its tail. Also put my fish and red shrimps from my small tank into the new one.

Just an update, went to a breakers yard and got the piece for £3.50. Had to pull it off the car myself but absolute bargain compared to the £30. Thanks

It's not an MOT failure . But I had major issues trying to convince a tester of this...ended up paying for a full MOT elsewhere in the end.

assuming MOT is same in NI as England (I have not checked) then this should not by a MOT failure. As long as the seat catch keeps the seat back in place and it can not go forward unintended (eg. fly forward in a crash) then you are OK. A lady at work had both the plastic levers broken off for a couple of years and no MOT problem. She eventually got annoyed with not being to tilt either seat forward so I sorted it by tieing a looped boot lace round the top end of each cable. I did think of using cable ties but I thought it would cut into hand more than boot lace. Been fine for well over a year now.

Loads of activity, just mostly in the Fiesta/Focus sub-forums. Not many check the new members section.

I suppose 99% of people can now post to say there glad the law change I've posted about; doesn't apply in there country 😂

Lol it's fine mate,thought they changed the law fast [emoji106] Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Sorry mate, I forgot to put "in Ireland" I've edit the original post to say Ireland aswell, I had intended to state that from the start of my post but forgot, Also I very rarely drink myself as I work different shifts and six days per week, don't like drinking on my one day off as it's time spent with family, used to spend spare money on the focus and now the house is my new project https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/80864-living-room-project/

In Republic Of Ireland I do like the new drink driving law brought in to effect from midnight which now gives a zero alcohol drink driving limit, No more loop holes in playing down the drivers alcohol levels to get them off charge, Its now zero alcohol, I do sympathize with those genuine half a pint consumers but too many were abusing the system, A figure which was vastly played down in statistic reports for years as I know many whom have been caught and banned, aswell as many gotten away with it. My own brother has been caught three times banned twice currently on an eight year ban. When caught the police asked how long had he been drinking? He responded in evidence to say he's been drinking since he was 16 years old 😂 although ofcourse the police ment how long on that particular date in time. It's always a genuine fear of mine; driving the 2hr 40min journey each way to see relatives the odd weekend and being hit by a drink driver with my wife and our three kids in the car,

Take a look at the various torsion bar inserts for the twist beam as an alternative. Pierce Motorsports, Ultra Racing, Summit, etc. Fitting is a 10 min job at home, and they have the same effect as a rear ARB.

Well the cold I doubt would run down the battery power seems like a charging issue which could be a faulty alternator. See if it charges and starts if so would be looking further down the line.

I had issues last winter and needed a new battery it was ten years old original 🙂

It looks great, and just goes to show how important looking after your car is. My Lotus is similar - 19 years old with 95,000 miles on the clock and it looks like it just rolled out of the showroom. They certainly do, but then again I'm biased 😉

😄

These are all classic symptoms of the well known focus MK1.5 instrument cluster problem. This is a common problem on 2002 --> 2004 instrument clusters. Back in the days a lot of these instrument clusters were replaced under warranty. The warning lights going On / Off is usually caused by humidity. Humidity affects the conductivity of the corrosion between the traces on the circuit board. The burning Traction Control warning light is a bit strange. Most focus MK1.5 cars do not even have Traction Control. Back in the days this was a pretty expensive option and because of this a focus MK1.5 with Traction Control is very rare. A burning Traction Control warning light on a car without traction control also points to an instrument cluster problem. Personally I would start with checking the circuit board of the instrument cluster and giving it a good clean.

Make sure you have checked all the complicated suspension bits: springs, anti-roll bar, control arms, hub carriers, sub-frames, brake backplates, etc. It is those bits that have been worst affected by rust on my car, the floor pan and main bodyshell have mostly been ok. Ford Instrument Clusters have often been a bit prone to problems, the 2006 Focus is really notorious, as I found out rather suddenly and inconveniently, a couple of years ago. Since the garage you have been using seems to be somewhere between mis-guided and telling deliberate lies, it is probably worth a bit more work, or a second opinion, before accepting their not very generous sounding offer. Having you own diagnostic system would be very useful. You may be able to verify if a garage is being honest. As I said a few posts back, Forscan is only about £17 on a Windows laptop, a little more for Forscan Apps on IoS or Android smartphones / pads. Lots of people on this site can help with how to interpret the codes, and use other diagnostic facilities. Error codes due to faulty clusters would be very different to ones from a failed ABS pump or wheel sensor. And I know people have used it on a Mk1 Focus. All you need is an adapter like: https://tunnelrat-electronics.fwscart.com/ I know I have just said that codes are not 100% reliable, they are only aids, but without them working on modern cars can be like searching a haystack for a pin, in complete darkness, with thick gloves on!

Yep... 💣💥

i did suggest i get keys off other participants cars under the rouse of checking there cars were getting a safety check prior to departure , and setting speed limiter on each of there cars to 56mph. lol

unfortunatly i have to park mine everyday in a monkey enclosure ( otherwise known as work carpark) ha ha ha .

Having a quick look at Google maps, especially with 4 drivers, Italy and Bulgaria should be achievable.

Typical assuming the world's against you because your Scottish 😉

Just renewed at £448 with Aviva. That includes legal cover & NCD protection. Admiral initially comes out cheaper on comparison sites, but they don't include factory fit options, so by the time you add all those, it's more expensive. Couldn't beat Aviva renewal quote, once I factor in factory options and the ability to choose my own repairer.

£95ish with £30 cashback! Age 52 plus wife as named driver, fully comp. 2005 1.6 Focus

I reckon he just recreates the McDonalds advert with two full grown kids sat in them to get his moneys worth 😀. **Edit** I hate that I have recalled such trivial tripe from TV 😞

quick update of a few new parts fitted over the last week. got a picture with the rear lights on. have got a k&n air box that has been dipped too but not fitted yet. got a rs rear spoiler extension and front splitter from Maxton design wating to got on. will hopefully have a look at them in November when I have a week off work. ignore the standard engine pics as I made a mistake of posting them up lol

I think I’d rather have it than not just in case it actually helps me out one day. I find it a little annoying at times, like when you come up behind a car that turns left and you time your acceleration perfectly as the car peels off, yet collision assist goes off, or when going down a hill, which sweeps right when there are cars parked on the left, it occasionally goes off. I now expect it in certain circumstances, so don’t get surprised when it goes off. For that one occasion where I might not be paying full attention to a changing circumstance, I’ll put up with numerous false alarms.

Your right, Sync 3 doesn't use SD cards, that's the old Sync 2 platform, but AFAIK Sync 3 doesn't use Wifi for Nav/Map update. If you search this forum you should find info on downloading the latest F7 maps from Ford servers, and details of how to install on a USB stick to update your maps. To get the latest F7 nav(voice)/map data, you also need to be on at least Sync 3 v3. Sync 3 system updates are a user installable update available on the Ford UK website (see link below). Just enter your VIN in the appropriate area, and it should allow you to download the latest Sync 3 system files (not nav/maps) for you car. The F7 Map download is from Ford servers, but it's not "officially" available from Ford UK yet, so use at your own risk. I've had it installed for several months without issues. https://www.ford.co.uk/owner/resources-and-support/sync-bluetooth/update#/

@iantt if you are thinking of travelling through Kent, there are plenty of ongoing works on the M20 with 50mph average speed cameras and lane closures on both coastbound and London bound lanes. Also the M26 is going to be closing overnight for similar works. All to do with the wonderful EU leaving faff.