Some puzzles for me and my 307

[PaulC5]

That multi meter is a bog standard cheap one but the price conversion to about 12 UK pounds is about right. I have one and it has lasted many years.

[myglaren]

That multi meter is a bog standard cheap one but the price conversion to about 12 UK pounds is about right. I have one and it has lasted many years.

A quick look on eBay makes it look expensive. I had a similar one, probably from Aldi, for about £4. Lasted quite a while but packed up last year. I do have a far better one that I paid about £12 for, but that was about fifteen years ago, Probably around the same price now as they seem to be reducing in price, bar the Fluke ones.

[Rhothgar]

Mine is attached Mick so all good.

Vanishing photos has been one of my bugbears in the past. There are lots of posts which are missing great information about rebuilds and the like - all lost in the mists of time.

[ozfrog]

Although that works I think it's better to encourage attaching pictures directly to ensure valid posts in the future.

Follow this guide:

viewtopic.php?p=516529#p516529

You're right. I should have done it that way. I know how to do it. But I'm going to use the excuse that I was tired and it was late. And I probably wasn't thinking as clearly as I should have been. I think I tried to do it once or twice, but my tired brain didn't let me function properly. The final result was that it didn't work.

My apologies.

[ozfrog]

A quick look on eBay makes it look expensive. I had a similar one, probably from Aldi, for about £4. Lasted quite a while but packed up last year. I do have a far better one that I paid about £12 for, but that was about fifteen years ago, Probably around the same price now as they seem to be reducing in price, bar the Fluke ones.

I did notice the Fluke brand online. I'm not sure if I would be willing to trust anything that's meant to be serious with a name like that!

When I was buying my multimeter, I had people who were much more expert in these things, telling me what to buy. It's fine that you want to diagnose and fix the aircraft carrier for the Royal Australian Navy, but I don't want or need to do anything like that. That was not a joke, by the way. It was easier and safer (cheaper!) for me to go to the auto accessories shop and get the people there to recommend one for me.

And finally, for this post, I'm thinking about making my old Windows laptop try and run a bit faster than a tortoise. It has a “not genuine” copy of Windows 7 something on it (That's how it was when I purchased the whole Diagbox (7.02) deal from an Aussiefrogs person a number of years back.) I'm not a Windows person. Can I simply buy an SSD and copy everything from the old rusty, creaking, hard drive onto the new SSD? I realise that the SSD will probably need to be formatted, but other than that, do I just copy everything from one to the other?

[Paul-R]

An SSD is definitely the thing to fit to make your laptop pick up its skirts and fly. I fitted an SSD to my laptop a few years ago (gosh, 2020, I just looked it up) and the transformation was amazing.

You can't just copy everything, you need a specialised piece of software to clone the old HD onto the SSD. I used AcronisTrueImageMicron_21500.exe but I'm sure that will have been updated several times by now. There are other cloning softwares I'm sure.

[ozfrog]

You can't just copy everything, you need a specialised piece of software to clone the old HD onto the SSD. I used AcronisTrueImageMicron_21500.exe but I'm sure that will have been updated several times by now. There are other cloning softwares I'm sure.

Thanks, Paul. I was fairly sure that Windows would make it unnecessarily complicated!

[ozfrog]

Basically, the first thing to check is the nut to the earth wire which should be a thick white wire connected to the back of the block. See if you can undo it with your fingers. If not, undo it, clean up mating faces and replace nut. A bit of threadlock wouldn't go amiss and don't go Neanderthal on tightening the nut as the stud is a small shank.

While still searching for this elusive thick white wire, this afternoon, two small (3mm?) vacuum hoses were found to be not connected to anything at one end. It was obvious why they had fallen off where they should have been. There were long splits in both hoses near the end where they were supposed to be connecting to the other piece, whatever that piece was. I didn't have any replacement hose, so I took the car to the mechanic for him to fit the two pieces of hose. [Things like that are not available in this small town unless you preorder and wait two weeks for delivery. Or you drive 100 kilometres round trip and get it yourself.] And another split hose was found when we did a quick look over and under the engine.

Tomorrow, he's going to use the new ‘toy’ he told me that he purchased during the week. A car smoke machine kit, EVAP fuel leak detector and vacuum/smoke leak tester. I don't know if the one in the video is the same as his, but from his description this afternoon, it seems like his will do a similar job. Pretty neat!



I almost forgot to tell you that the car went a lot better after the three hose splits were repaired and the hoses reattached. Not perfect, but a lot better.

[MattBLancs]

I did notice the Fluke brand online. I'm not sure if I would be willing to trust anything that's meant to be serious with a name like that!

Ah, a good example of "don't judge a book by it's cover" as the saying goes

My understanding is Fluke make rather excellent meters, very professional (and very expensive)

[mickthemaverick]

Quite right Matt back in the 80s when I ran BT Mobile's product approvals lab we used Anritsu Measurement Receivers, HP Oscilloscopes and Fluke multimeters which displaced the old AVO's. All top end equipment, as it needed to be, to test mobile kit!

[ozfrog]

Tomorrow, he's going to use the new ‘toy’ he told me that he purchased during the week. A car smoke machine kit, EVAP fuel leak detector and vacuum/smoke leak tester.

I almost forgot to tell you that the car went a lot better after the three hose splits were repaired and the hoses reattached. Not perfect, but a lot better.

Well, the leak detector didn't find any more leaks of any kind when the mechanic had the vehicle on Friday. But the car wasn't running right, as I noted on Thursday. He plugged in his scan tool before I went to collect the car. I'm sure he did that just to greet me with the news that the EGR valve is being reported as 'jammed' open. Permanently open? I suppose that accounts for the poor performance, right?

It isn't a great job to replace that valve, from what I can see, looking online. If you have any thoughts, especially any encouragements to offer me, they'll be gratefully received!

Ah, a good example of "don't judge a book by its cover" as the saying goes

My understanding is Fluke makes rather excellent meters, very professional (and very expensive)

I feel suitably chastised.

[Rhothgar]

Tomorrow, he's going to use the new ‘toy’ he told me that he purchased during the week. A car smoke machine kit, EVAP fuel leak detector and vacuum/smoke leak tester.

I almost forgot to tell you that the car went a lot better after the three hose splits were repaired and the hoses reattached. Not perfect, but a lot better.

Well, the leak detector didn't find any more leaks of any kind when the mechanic had the vehicle on Friday. But the car wasn't running right, as I noted on Thursday. He plugged in his scan tool before I went to collect the car. I'm sure he did that just to greet me with the news that the EGR valve is being reported as 'jammed' open. Permanently open? I suppose that accounts for the poor performance, right?

It isn't a great job to replace that valve, from what I can see, looking online. If you have any thoughts, especially any encouragements to offer me, they'll be gratefully received!

Ah, a good example of "don't judge a book by its cover" as the saying goes

My understanding is Fluke makes rather excellent meters, very professional (and very expensive)

I feel suitably chastised.

Encouragement?

How about "DON'T DO IT?"

It's a job I've been putting off on mine for years.

First thing: Order some replacement manifold studs as I pretty much guarantee your existing ones will probably be like mine (ie corroded so badly that they risk snapping and at least one of mine is about half the diameter it should be at one point).

Get some PlusGas and go through a period of pre-soaking the nuts to break down the bond between the nuts and the studs and NO you cannot use WD40 or anything else. PlusGas is your best friend. DITCH your current best friend!

Stock up on patience and practice undoing seized nuts. Slight tighten, slight loosen, retighten, loosen, retighten, loosen, ad infinitum until ANY rust ahead of the nut clears and does not cause the nut to bind and snap the studs. It's the single most useful tip ever if you don't already know it.

This is PlusGas (don't buy make the mistake of buying the liquid PlusGas cylinders I see they sell in Aus).

[ozfrog]

… the car went a lot better after the three hose splits were repaired and the hoses reattached. Not perfect, but a lot better.

the EGR valve is being reported as 'jammed' open. Permanently open? I suppose that accounts for the poor performance, right?

It isn't a great job to replace that valve, from what I can see, looking online. If you have any thoughts, especially any encouragements to offer me, they'll be gratefully received!

Encouragement?

How about "DON'T DO IT?"

It's a job I've been putting off on mine for years.

First thing: Order some replacement manifold studs as I pretty much guarantee your existing ones will probably be like mine (ie corroded so badly that they risk snapping and at least one of mine is about half the diameter it should be at one point).

Get some PlusGas and go through a period of pre-soaking the nuts to break down the bond between the nuts and the studs and NO you cannot use WD40 or anything else. PlusGas is your best friend. DITCH your current best friend!

Stock up on patience and practice undoing seized nuts. Slight tighten, slight loosen, retighten, loosen, retighten, loosen, ad infinitum until ANY rust ahead of the nut clears and does not cause the nut to bind and snap the studs. It's the single most useful tip ever if you don't already know it.

This is PlusGas (don't buy make the mistake of buying the liquid PlusGas cylinders I see they sell in Aus).

How can you just put off doing the job? (Unless you pay (or bribe) someone else to do it for you!)

I haven't seen or heard of PlusGas (either variety).

If this Wurth product is an equivalent, I have a small quantity of it.

But maybe this Wolfchester product is an equivalent. And Wolfchester claims to be better than Wurth. (Don't they all?) But they seem to be cheaper. I have a small quantity of this one, also.

And no, I would never consider using WD40.

[Rhothgar]

PASS! You would have to check their comparative qualities. They sound similar for sure but only experience in all products would trump actual data sheets.

You can get PlusGas in Aus as I've seen it on Ebay specifically. I did a check before posting.

[AK83]

.....

I almost forgot to tell you that the car went a lot better after the three hose splits were repaired and the hoses reattached. Not perfect, but a lot better.

Geezus do I ever know this feeling!
Quick info on a comment i made re the MAF(air flow meter). As I mentioned earlier you can easily run a diesel with the electrical connector disconnected off the MAF. It will give a check engine light, but in some situations it may help the engine to run better. (if so, MAF need replacing).
Well I'd been running my 307(1.6HDi) for about 2 years with MAF disconnected.
So I finally remembered to search for a quality MAF again ... about 2 years ago I tried a cheapo ... knew it wouldn't work, but had to try.
Anyhow, found a Delphi version, installed a few days back and presto!(after clearing the codes) ... car runs "Not perfect, but a lot better".

Over the last few months of the past two years, the 307 developed a situation where if I tried to sit at 100k/h for any length of time(eg. 10 mins) ... it would splutter, and eventually die, unless I backed off. I found that 95k/h was it's strangely defined speed limitation .. where this splutter/die scenario wouldn't surface at all .. irrespective of hours driven. But any more than 95k/h and would cause me grief.
New MAF has 'fixed' this issue, and I had it at up to 120k/h for a good 15 mins, where old MAF would have it splutter and die in about 2 mins ... so kind of a win there, but at 125k/h after a couple of mins would splutter. Didn't hold it there for long, and to be honest I never sit so far past our limits anyhow ... but for testing had to see where it's limit was. Could be a fuel issue, or whatever, too, but now it sits at 100 no worries and good to have the check engine light off.
The other 'Not perfect, but a lot better" has reintroduced the ever so slight hesitation on initial acceleration. And to confirm this I disconnected a perfectly working MAF, and hesitation gone. Just had to reconnect the scan tool to erase the engine light again.

Smoke machines are awesome .. got myself a cheapie ebay version .. other than typical chinese build quality issues .. the gauge sprung a leak .. still did the job. Had to cobble up a gauge I had, connect many adpaters to fit the seriously tiny push connector in some way ... and with the machine in pieces all over a bench ... still worked. Looked Frankenstein, but still did the job of pumping smoke into cavities. Just for the life of me cannot find where the leak is on my compressor. Great compressor ... just annoyingly leaky.

Anyhow ... better than multimeter ... is a power probe. Will do 99% of the things you want from a multmeter and so much more. Power probe, once again an AliExpress special, has the ability to inject power to a device as well as measure multimeter stuff(and more). My 3008 had a non compliant AC system. Clutch not switching on. Being unable to decipher Peugeot wiring diagrams(not used to their system) was easier for me to just probe the AC clutch. Confirmed it was dead. Pulled it, and double confirmed it wouldn't engage on the bench. Having the power probe made the job of removing the clutch(not an easy one) a higher chance of being sure not to waste time. Easy to check on the bench, but took about 2 hours(of mainly faffing about, into inaccessible areas) with circlips and immovable nuts and bolts. Would have been infuriating to have pulled it out to test it only to find it did work. In the end, installed a new AC clutch, and found that one of the issues was the (engine bay)fusebox control circuit. I think I mentioned that too. I did buy one off AliExpress(going off the part numbers I had located ... once it came I have to say ... zero difference in feel/quality/sturdiness about it, compared to the one fitted in the 3008. Installed in a few mins ... scanned 3008, found no more fault code related to fuse box AC control circuit .. ie problem gone ... and yet still no AC! ... who mentioned something about "Not perfect, but a lot better".
Apologies for getting off topic, but it just highlights, it's very common to have more than one issue at hand with more modern cars like these. I think AC is now just a bit low on gas due to a very common leaky and dead AC compressor on this era of Sanden AC compressors. Same compressor on my brothers 508 dead. I still have that in my shed too(spares). Dont' be afraid of all Chinese/AliExpress/Temu bits and pieces too. Yes there can be a lot of junk, but careful searching, screening of 'stuff' can yield decent results too. Brother got his compressor off Ali, fitted by AC specialist .. he didn't trust me at that stage. The AliEx AC clutches I bought work, but with caveats. Their plugs(yellow connectors) don't fit the Peugeot connector. When I installed the clutch, it still wouldn't work, even tho I confirmed it did work on the bench. The plug looks the same, but is in fact different, and doesn't connect to the pug loom. I traced, probed, double checked, and when I pulled a bit on the loom, the plug fell off. Felt like it clicked it, but it was faux. anyhow, cut the misfit Ali connector on, soldred the old pug connector, and finally I could send probe power to the clutch. Was satisfying to hear that click. I gassed it, but still not working via the HVAC console. I hotwired the clutch from the fusebox just to get readings on the pressures, added some gas ... not overly freezing(like the 307 can get), but finally got cold air. Next step is to change out a suspected leaky half working compressor.