pulsating

Pretty well what the topic says: I now have no interior lights at all, but when I apply the brake, they all come back on, and the low tire pressure warning light comes on simultaneously. Has anyone run into this before? I'm guessing it's a grounding issue, but where to begin the search? I replaced the battery, and that's not it. I also have one reverse light burned out that I'll fix, but I doubt that has anything to do with anything.If nothing else, it is nice and serene inside when I'm driving at night!Ross

Wendy - I'm interested in the windshield. I'll be travelling through the Okanagan at the end of this month on my way back from Vancouver, so I could pick it up. Is it in pretty good condition?Thanks;Ross

Hey everyone - thanks for the pictures! I was eyeballing mine last weekend, thinking of how it is going to go in... Then I just had another glass of wine and went back inside. But now I have some more motivation!

Francesco - mine arrived today. Thanks! I'll put it in this weekend, and if no one else has yet, I'll take some pictures as well.Ross

I just found Redline Diesel Catalyst here in Lethbridge at a place called Silver Automotive. I had given up hope in ever getting to see what all the fuss is about, but now I'll try some!Has anyone here tried LubeCorp's Cetane Booster? On an archived website it says it boosts cetane 7-10points (according to their website they no longer sell it, but I found a whole shelf of the stuff at the UFA). The Redline bottle says 3-7 points.

Scratch my double order - I need just one, for myself. Thanks!

I just put mine on today for the first time this summer. It's a pretty cool design, but you have to be really careful with the rear glass on your car - it is a really tight fit, and I can see how it would be easy to break the rear window! Also - once you have it on, you pretty well have to give up the use of the rear hatch, because the rear window won't open anymore.

Black is fine. I also have the electronic EGR bypass - will I still just keep that attached?

Put me down for two! One for me and one for a friend of mine.Ross

Yep. I had a replacement on hand and ready, so I knew it was only a matter of time... Have you changed yours, Bil? It's messy, but not overly difficult.

Yesterday my alternator belt snapped on my way to work. I knew what it was right away - it was pretty loud, and I lost all heat in the car. I still managed to drive about 8 kilometres to work, but it was a little nervous! I turned off everything electrical in the car (heated seats, fan, headlights) and drove really slowly. Luckily it was quite cold outside, so I didn't overheat the engine - it did get up to 4 blobs, though. Amazing, huh? Doesn't overheat even though the water pump is not pumping coolant. The battery light came on, but I wasn't worried about that - I knew that was simply because the alternator was no longer functional. Anyhow... I got to my work where fortunately we have a shop, so I parked inside and went on my merry way. I came back the next day with my spare belt and some tools, and set down to change the belt.This is not really a roadside repair, unless you are really in the middle of nowhere. The car is still driveable for a short distance with the belt shredded, but you probably don't want to go too far. Enough to find a safe place to pull over.Here is the procedure:1) Jack up the car and take off off the passenger-side rear wheel. Prop the car up as high as possible, because you are going to be on your back most of the time.2) Take out the inner fender cover. There are 3 plastic nuts that hold it in - be careful not to strip them. I believe a 9mm socket will do the trick. It is a bit of a bear to get out - you have to wiggle it around a fair bit, but it will eventually come out.3) You have to now take off the alternator cover. This is a square-ish piece of plastic that is attached to the frame in two locations. There is a plastic cap that you pry off with a flathead screwdriver, it just pops out, and then you can pull the cover right out of the frame.4) Now you are looking at the crankshaft pulley right in front of you, and the alternator. The way to get the belt off (or put a new one on - mine was already off) is to slacken off the alternator. There is a nut at the bottom, and one at the top. Use a 15mm wrench to loosen or take off the bottom nut, and then use a 16mm wrench to loosen the top bolt. There are only 2 nuts altogether, so you really can't go wrong here. Don't take out the top bolt - just loosen it so that the alternator will move. With both of these loosened, you can now move the alternator a little bit towards the back of the car. not much, but just enough to get the new belt on.5) Fit your new belt over the tensioner at the top first - it is a real bear to get at - you can't really see it, you can only go by feel. Fit it over the tensioner, then around the alternator, and then get it started on the crankshaft pulley. You can use a 14mm wrench to turn the crankshaft, thereby pulling the belt onto the pulley. I tried for the longest time to get the belt on without turning this pulley, but it is all but impossible, even with the alternator moved over as far as it can go. It is so much easier just to turn the crankshaft pulley and pull on the belt, just as if you are putting a new chain on a bicycle sprocket.6) With the belt on and around the 3 pulleys (crankshaft, tensioner, and alternator) make sure that it is sitting in its groove properly. The tensioner doesn't have the same grooves as the other 2, but it you'll see where the belt fits once you run your finger over it.7) With a screwdriver or something long and flat-ish, move the alternator back to the same position on the bracket where it was before you moved it over. Again, you'll be able to see where this is because the nut has made a good indentation on the bracket. If you fit it exactly in the same spot, then tighten the nut up with the 15mm wrench, you'll see that the belt is really just right. Not too tight, not too loose. Then reach up with your 16mm wrench and tighten up the top bolt on the alternator. Make sure they are good and tight, as tight as you can manage. You don't want anything coming loose down the road!8) You should probably start the car up and let it run for a bit at this point. Just to make sure that everything is working fine. I let mine run for a couple of minutes, and then checked the tension in the belt again. Everything was fine.9) Snap the alternator cover back into place on the frame, and then put the inner fender cover back in. Put your wheel back on.10) Wash your filthy hands and give yourself a good pat on the back.By the way - mine gave out at about 135,000 kilometres.Hope this helps!Ross

"But luxury can be made available to anyone, and auto loans and new lease programs are ensuring that it becomes more easily accessible."Isn't this how so many people got into a big mess in the first place?

Dan - totally off topic here, but I'd love to talk to you about your Nissan Cube sometime. My wife loves them, and her 12-year-old Saturn is due for a replacement. You can PM me, or we can even meet up sometime. Thanks.Ross

Glenn et al; Figaros are not difficult to find (relatively speaking, of course). I bought both of these cars from an importer here in Canada, but of course you can just import them yourself as well. There are several really good exporters in Japan that can find virtually anything you want (providing it is 15 years old). I would LOVE to import the kei version of the Smart Fortwo - it is even smaller than ours, believe it or not! I think that would be a blast... I have a real love affair with Japanese cars, especially from the 90s. It was a golden age for design in that country (not so much anymore - recessions always seem to kill off-the-wall creativity, unfortunately), and I just love quirky design. The wife says no more for me, though. Although I could probably convince her that eventually I'll need a small pickup truck (so that I can do more work around the house, of course ) The one I have my eye on is this: A Daihatsu Midget II. An added bonus about these vehicles is that they are cheap. You can buy three great funky vehicles for the price of one new North American one. It's a win-win situation all 'round!

Yep - it's a true kei car. 660cc of pure goodness.Mike, if you are passing through Lethbridge, be sure to give me a call. My number is four oh three three two seven zero three six eight. We can meet up for coffee!