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Hi guys Parked my old ('98) BMW on the drive yesterday & found out this morning that I had inadvertently left the key in the ignition all night; good job we don't live in some of the UK's inner cities ! Went to start the car, totally dead. Battery is a 3 year old Bosch 95ah (as opposed to the...

What's the matter with the newscasters? The three 'planes' depicted on today's stolen road sign are not 'planes at all, but drones .. so the sign is saying stop the attacks?

Can anyone explain, in layman's terms, the principles of balancing domestic radiators ? My understanding is that the valves either end of individual radiators are for this purpose, but when following the procedure described on various internet tutorials I've come to the conclusion that my...

Parked behind a 20 plate Vauxhall Corsa today I noticed the rear window had blacked out bands of the glass around five inches wide each side plus a narrower strip at both top & bottom. All in all I estimate that something like 25% of the total glass area was blacked out .. so what the hell is...

Spring of next year I shall be in the market for a cheap (ie max £3k) car to use as a runabout on local journeys, retaining my classic BM for longer runs. For the benefit of 'ere indoors it needs to be economical, low VED rated, automatic & PAS. The last requirement is my biggest concern as I...

A few days ago I noticed that our porch light was not emitting as many lumens as it usually does, so I removed the LED bulb & screwed both it & (then) a used low energy bulb into a household table lamp to compare the brightness. After leaving the LED on for about 20 mins. I turned off the lamp...

I see that the Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint(s) against the manufacturer of pellets that claim to improve MPG & restore 'lost' performance. It appears that the company (H..D.. Ltd.) had it's day in court, but the ASA ruled against them. Adverts for this product have...

A friend of mine needs to lay up his '62 plate diesel Ford Focus. I have suggested disconnecting the battery earth & inflating the tyres to a higher pressure. The employment of axle stands etc. are not an option in his case. Starting the car & manoeuvring back & forth, so the tyres are left in...

My home was built in 1997. Over the past month the consumer unit has occasionally tripped out after the oven (installed in 2008) has been in use for a while. My first thought was a fault with the oven itself, but then surely that would cause the breaker to trip straight away? Given the last...

Having been quoted for the coming year's insurance for my 523i I opted to query the premium increase of 40% when the current rate of inflation was running at 8.8% No explanation, just that's the price. Having already got one old car on a classic policy (with a different insurer) I decided to...

Whilst wishing everyone a Happy & healthy New Year the devil in me prompted the posting of (probably) the last daft question of 2022. If a an older hybrid car reached the point where the battery power system can no longer function, either because the batteries have finally died or National grid...

Went out a while ago to cover the 'screen (ambient temp. around freezing point) car unlocked on the central locking but the passenger door refused to latch fully when closing from the outside. Seems to be holding on the first latch, the interior lights have extinguished & the car has locked with...

Hi folks, though I would run this query here (rather than on a one-make forum) as a wider diversity of car owners would read it. I have an old 5 series BMW (E39) purchased over three years ago & renewed all the tyres, as although a mixture of premium brands they were all very old, partly due to...

Hi folks, thinking of buying a twin-axle trailer which would be stored at a friend's house, as I don't have the room at home. My thoughts have turning to the subject of security & thought I'd ask for ideas on the subject. The trailer would be within sight of the road on a housing estate; my...

Just under a year ago I purchased a brand new 3.5kva generator with a view to having an electrician wire it into the home in case of any prolonged power outages in our semi-rural location. Circumstances change however & the geni has remained unused ever since; by that I mean not even had the...

Hopefully I've picked the right sub-forum for this enquiry. I am looking to extend the exhaust of my portable generator in order to facilitate housing the machine in the garden shed. The unit is a Champion 73001i-DF with a #88 spark arrester (that the exhaust extension stub will bolt onto) but...

Hi folks, I need to cut a hole 60-70mm dia. in the wall of my concrete shed, so any recommendations for a suitable hole cutter & would a mains powered drill (12mm chuck & hammer action capability) be up to the job of driving it ? Given the my single usage of the tool would it be better/feasible...

I know this story is by word-of-mouth not from personal experience, but I thought it worth posting. Apparently a car broke down on a slip road of the A12 in Essex recently & the driver called his son for assistance. The son's arrival on scene happened to coincide with a police traffic unit; the...

Hi all, we have recently purchased a pair of electric reclining armchairs that each have a USB socket close to the control buttons. Stupid question may be, but what sort of device are they designed to power ? There are no clues in the booklet(s) that accompany the chairs. Many thanks for any...

I have done a search, but not quite found the answer I'm seeking. I have purchased a CTEK MXS 5.0 with a view to keeping my 110ah leisure battery at full capacity as it's installed in my home, in conjunction with an inverter, as an off-grid back-up for our heating boiler. I was advised by the...