Mitsubishi Spacestar Driver's Window Switch

[Burnerman]

I’d be interested to hear if you go for the ‘superbright’ or whatever bulb upgrade.....Ive tried them but still found them useless
Ive no experience with LED upgrades though, maybe someone will come back with their experiences.
John

 

[securespark]

It's been over 7 years since I last drove, but I had a good experience with Osram Nightbreaker. I think today they have been overtaken by Philips.

 

[securespark]

Re Osram nightbreaker: they are good, as are the Bosch flatblade wipers.

Fitted these in order to pass the MOT.

It didn't pass.

Failures:

O/S CV boot split - OK, they're pennies.

Exhaust hydrocarbons, CO and lambda too high - Garage suggests Cat may be FUBARRED. But could a cat cleaner help? And which is the best?

Advisory, slight corrosion to N/S and O/S rear inner sill.

 

[Burnerman]

https://www.wynns.uk.com/product/catalytic-converter-lambda-cleaner/
Many products are on the market, some may have some effect, others won't but there's no harm in trying!
The big thing about petrol cats is to get them stinking - and I mean, stinking - hot.
There's also Terraclean or something, I don't know anyone who has it done so can't comment on that one.
The CV boot shouldn't be a problem as the CV joint itself should detach from the driveshaft, but the job will be as messy as hell.....also the bottom swivel joint on the wishbone has to come adrift to release the hub, and hence the driveshaft.
Be lucky
John

 

[securespark]

Thanks, John, nice one.

Think my CV joint days are over...I'll get someone else to get their hands greasy.
We bought a bottle of Cataclean Diesel, as Mr Hal Fords had no petrol bottles. It is the same stuff, but they started putting it in different bottles as the buying public did not know you could use the petrol version in a Diesel.

We went up and down the A555 a few times and will drive it again to warm it up well before it goes back to the garage.

Garage hopes changing the lambda sensor will fix this. I'm hoping a shot of Cataclean and a swift drive or two down the nearest dual carriageway will fix it!

I'll let you know how we get on on Friday.

 

[securespark]

OK, just picked up the car.

The garage said they ran some more cleaner through and now the emissions are aOK. They found the CV boot just needed a new clip.

So the car didn't need a new cat or even a lambda sensor. Phew!

The bill was £87 instead of an expected £300.

 

[Burnerman]

Sounds like a good day! Another year on the tarmac
John

 

[securespark]

A good day indeed!

 

[securespark]

Just a bit of an update.

Can't remember whether I told you about the tyres, but I had 5 Bridgestone Weather Control A005 fitted and they have been great.

Sadly, the alternator failed the other day. We took it to the garage ASAP, but on the way, the battery started running down, causing all sorts of dash lights to come on randomly. Acceleration was really sluggish and it threatened to stall a couple of times.

The garage replaced the alternator, belt and battery. We have just got the car back and No 1. son says it was losing power and stalling.
I have not been out in it, but started it on the drive and idle speed drops frequently from around 800 to 400-500.

Having done a quick search, Google suggests that if the battery runs right down, the ECU needs to reboot and until this happens, the engine may still be lumpy.

Does this sound right?

 

[Burnerman]

Quite possibly, it could be a good idea to have the battery fully charged up before you use the car once more......on occasion the car goes back to its 'factory settings' and needs to learn its way - sounds crazy but there is some truth in it.
Have you checked the voltage across the battery with the engine running?
John

 

[securespark]

Left it till this morning.

The first was after a night on the drive, car not used since 1700 yesterday.
The second was 2 mins after starting the car.

 

[securespark]

Just thought I'd post a pic of the reassembled and installed rubbing strip.

Nice to see the paintwork is so glossy after 17.5 years that it reflects the pile of garbage on the drive.....

 

[Burnerman]

Those voltage readings are spot on, and it shouldn't fall much below 11v when cranking.
That sure is a well built vehicle, and worth hanging on to - you've sorted it well!
John

 

[securespark]

Thank you!

We hope it will last!

Mrs Secure took it back to the garage for them to check it over. It didn't stall, but came close.

The garage think it's because it is not oft-used. Having said that, it is used much more at the moment as No. 1 son is home. It just seems a great coincidence that it was running fine before the alternator issue and now the alternator and battery have been replaced, it is stumbling.

I'll see what they say next week.

There are a few other things I'd like to attend to: there are two small areas of corrosion on the n/s and o/s rear sills, the wiper linkages are worn, so the driver's blade is constantly whacking the pillar, the gear linkages are stiff and the clutch release bearing is noisy.

The first is straight-forward to deal with, the second I haven't plucked up enough courage to pull it apart to see what the issue is, the third hopefully involves a bit of grease and I guess the last is only cured with a new clutch.

 

[securespark]

OK.
The garage found a leak from the rocker cover gasket spilling oil onto the HT leads, which were not in the best condition anyway. They also made adjustments to the throttle cable linkage.

It has cost a fair few quid recently, but the car is running sweetly now. It was a free car and was starved of TLC before we got it, so I suppose it's not bad.