CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[CitroJim]

And a little bit of work with a junior hacksaw, a small file and a soldering iron has revived an otherwise scrap pump

A bit of temporary pluggery and sockertry and it'll live to wash a screen another day

I do have a new pump on order and have sourced a replacement connector - they will be fitted when needed and for now can go into stock...

[Stickyfinger]

THUGGERY !

[CitroJim]

THUGGERY !

[CitroJim]

My granddaughter today in Salcey Forest...

She was having a rare old time and loving every second - even when she fell face-first into that very muddy puddle

[Hell Razor5543]

My granddaughter today in Salcey Forest...



She was having a rare old time and loving every second - even when she fell face-first into that very muddy puddle

And Autumn falling in a puddle (and playing in the mud) means that her immune system will be getting a decent workout. Children that are 'wrapped in cotton wool' do not have their immune system exposed to 'nasties' at a point where it is primed are ready to go.

[CitroJim]

And Autumn falling in a puddle (and playing in the mud) means that her immune system will be getting a decent workout. Children that are 'wrapped in cotton wool' do not have their immune system exposed to 'nasties' at a point where it is primed are ready to go.

That's very true James and both her mum, dad and all grand parents encourage it... She's a strong, fit and very healthy child

In the café today she dropped her sandwich on the floor, got down, picked it up, brushed it off and continued eating it!

[CitroJim]

Today I diagnosed a C4 Picasso with an EGS gearbox problem. Symptoms were no drive as if the clutch had failed...

The clutch started slipping a while back and gradually got worse until no drive at all...

Which was exactly what the fault codes said. Clutch slip and speed coherence errors between engine and gearbox... Like maximum revs at the engine and zero at the gearbox!

I did all the actuator tests in Diagbox to prove the clutch and gear actuators were working normally.

The Picasso has done 170K and on its original clutch so it must be due one... The vehicle is otherwise in good health and will be fixed, but not by me!

An interesting morning...

This afternoon, something very different and one to test my fine motor skills and eyesight... Many wars ago, dad bought a little Olympus digital camera and at the time, quite a good one. I used it for several years before smartphone cameras made it more or less redundant...

With my recently renewed interest in photography, I dug it out a couple of weeks ago and found the Imaging CCD had failed with random lines and breakup across it.

Today I plucked up the courage to strip it after a gentle exploratory investigation yesterday. I was keen to see if there might have been a bad connection to the CCD.

With the back removed...

Display screen moved out of the way...

Screening plate removed after disconnecting the diaplay screen...

CCD Sensor prepared for removal...

And removed...

I cleaned up the CCD and its connector with a bit of IPA and reassembled the camera...

It still works! The original fault remains however

This was something of a practice-piece as I have another digital camera on the bench with a more fundamental set of issues. I'll be seeing if I can fix it when we have another wet day...

Quite proud I was able to do this without recourse to any magnifying devices. The screws holing it all together are very tiny indeed. At a guess M0.5!

[CitroJim]

After a superb Club run this morning and after very successfully installing Windows 11 on one of my 'unsupported' laptops, I got back to work on Bluebell and her rear screen washer...

Late last week I'd 'repaired' the old washer pump and on Sunday I waterproofed the repair by using a bit of bike inner tube as a sleeve and filled it to the brim with silicone grease to keep the moisture out...

As the pump connector is broken and the old bits are corroded it proved necessary to remove the front bumper to do the job properly...

The bumper struts look very crusty...

They look a lot, lot worse than they are and the bolt came undone easily despite looking horrible. The chassis rail under is solid and is just dirty...

With the bumper off, the front panel is in very clean and good condition... What looks like rust is just muddy dirt

I gave some attention to the bumper struts... Both were full of old spiders webs! Both looked very crusty but after a session on the rotarty wire brush, they look much better... Both are absolutely solid...

Before...

After...

The big rubber band secures the base of the washer reservoir...

I tested the washer pump and found I have a high resistance somewhere. Likely the ends of the wires are too corroded to pass enough current. A small bulb lights...

I also cleaned up the back of the bumper...

Work will continue tomorrow... One job I'll be doing is liberally spreading rust protection juice around very liberally. Bilt Hambers' finest

[CitroJim]

I'm currently Picasso'less... The last I saw of her was as she was driven away by a rather attractive young lady. I'm unlikely to have my Picasso back until early next year now...

Nothing sinister - Sian, my younger daughter, is home for Christmas and she's already fallen in love with Polly and found absolutely no problem in driving her even though it's been months since she's driven anything... That's my girl

So, I'm now reliant on just one AX to get me around. Bluebell is all in bits whilst she has some winter work carried out on her but if push comes to shove I can soon get her back in action. Not that I expect I'll need to as I have total trust in Strawberry...

Several have asked why I didn't just let Sian have Strawberry whilst she's home... Two main reasons: teaching the art of using a manual choke and potential grief from her mum; she considers an AX totally and dangerously unsafe and will not go near one. Also, my eldest step-daughter had our old AX11TGE as her first car and had quite an accident in it... She ran into the back of a lorry and the AX folded up like a paper bag... Happily she was totally unscathed apart from being a bit shook up...

Strawberry is just a month off her MoT so just after the festivities I'll get her booked in... I have no worries about her passing

[Huskyxantia]

Now , if this thread was mine , the post before mine would begin with my c3 ... driven away ..... only to return being recovered by the AA ....

[Huskyxantia]

Some nice tinkering there Jim ,it keeps the old cars alive, keep up the good work.

[CitroJim]

Now , if this thread was mine , the post before mine would begin with my c3 ... driven away ..... only to return being recovered by the AA ....

Fingers crossed it returns with Sian driving it Husky! - I trust her, she's a good driver Taught by her mum and I. Her mum was a driving instructor before swapping sides and working as a driving examiner for many years; she has some great tales to tell!

[Huskyxantia]

That would make for a good read the confessions of a driving instructor lol, I was sitting on a hill during a lesson one Saturday morning, the lights were changing from red to amber the instructor telling me to let the clutch out , I opened the driver door & said go on clutch get out, I did drive off doing a pretty good hill start , we then pulled in to a garage just around the corner , the instructor laughing about the clutch being told to get out the car, He told me to put 20 quid in the tank which I did, I filled up & paid , he then booked me in for the next 2 weeks saying they were already paid because I'd put petrol I his car, brilliant that was , he said he only let the better drivers fuel the car, he was self employed, did things differently , knew all the little tricks , when her retired & after losing his wife , he then turned his whole front garden into a mini scrap yard, only found out he did this because he didn't want to be reminded of the wife he love by keep looking at all the roses in there garden.

[CitroJim]

I was sitting on a hill during a lesson one Saturday morning, the lights were changing from red to amber the instructor telling me to let the clutch out , I opened the driver door & said go on clutch get out,

Love it And what a great instructor you had

[myglaren]

Have just read this and thought that you and your daughter should know, in case you weren't already aware.
Doctors warn over water bead gifts for children

Emergency doctors in the UK have issued a safety warning over water beads, which could be given to children as gifts over Christmas.

The brightly coloured soft plastic beads, also known as jelly balls, sensory beads, or water crystals, are marketed as crafting tools and homeware items - but also toys.

They are typically only a few millimetres but some can expand up to 400 times their original size in about 36 hours when exposed to liquid, creating a hidden danger. If a child swallows one, they can cause bowel obstruction and the consequences can be fatal.

Beeb.