Come off it Tony if you'd remembered you'd have tried it!
All I intended to do at the visit was diagnose the faults and determine what solutions might be possible. All the prior symptoms pointed to a failed EXV.
On finding a blocked communication pipe I asked what success others have had.
Chris always seems to have more success that I and some others do ( or perhaps he does not tell us about his failures? )
For all I know it may be blocked at the EXV end!
Tony