Introducing George

[320touring]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

First service for George yesterday and it seems Mr Toyota is wanting me to like him a lot - fixed price - wow - and they will repaint his bumper where the paint is coming off and they will also replace his headlamps as they have condensation in them - I didn't report the last item

Oh and they will let me have a car for the two days they need him for only the cost of the insurance which is £12 a day, but they will only charge me 1 day - + petrol (it will be another Aygo....) - wow

so you need to insure the "courtesy car" that they supply you due to the product THEY sell being faulty (lights especially!) I'd tell them to take a running jump.

that is cr@p customer service.

[Arragonis]

Maybe - the insurance is optional of course (my policy covers any car 3rd party but I prefer fully comp) and I may get something nicer to play with for a day or 2

Downside is that its not worth me putting the grill blocks back on until its all completed, I can definitely feel some drag...

EDIT - The lights issue is interesting. The handbook states that this is not a problem - i.e. they are all like that - which I read as meaning they wouldn't entertain someone moaning about it on warranty. They spotted it and offered to replace them. Wonder if there has been an edict from somewhere ?

[Fat Charlie]

Mr. A- the dealer isn't the factory. They're getting paid to fix your lights and they don't care much who pays them as long as the money is coming into the store. On the whole, they'd rather things get paid for under warranty because it makes them look like heroes to the customer.

Everything I've seen about moisture in headlights is that they need to get replaced.

[Arragonis]

Hi FC - True, and Toyota got stung recently with a newspaper article recently on their behaviour to warranty work.

Toyota denies Sunday Times warranty accusations | Auto Retail Network

Mrs A took her Prius a couple of days later and got a different experience - apparently they can't hear all the rattles from the interior that deafen us whenever we travel in it...

[COcyclist]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

OK - I have a diagram on how to wire it using a 5 point relay - is this correct ?



The idea will be they go on with the ignition and off with the sidelights - I've checked and the sidelights (position lights) stay on with the dipped and main beam. There is an ACC (accessory) wire in the underbonnet fusebox - Haynes manuals - thank you...

EDIT - ignore the connection between pin 30 and 87a - I copied this from a diagram...

Hello Mr. A, I have read over your into of George. I am sorry to see Helga leave but I applaud your latest experiment. Although, I am guessing you will miss the turbo-diesel kick in the pants sometimes.

I did an LED DRL mod to my Golf right after I got it. I disabled the factory LEDs that use the headlight bulbs and added LED "clearance lights" used for the cab of big trucks in the U.S. You can see them at the top of the grill in my avatar. If I may make a suggestion, I think you are getting way too involved in the wiring of your LEDs. I simply used a "fuse tap" to pull power from a fuse that comes on with the ignition switch. I ran one wire through the firewall to a harness I made behind the front grill. I powered both lights with a Y splice and added ground leads to an existing screw on the car sheetmetal. Easy. These lights draw very little power (that's the whole idea) so relays are unnecessary. Recently, I did go back and add some dielectric grease to the connections I made behind the grill. Over the years some corrosion had developed and I was not getting a good connection. Other than that they have worked flawlessly.

[COcyclist]

P.S. Yes, mine are always on even when the headlights are on but they draw so little current that I don't feel it is a problem. My wife's new Audi A3 has LED DRLs and they stay on with the headlights.

[Arragonis]

@CO

Rules here say that they should dim or go off with sidelights which is why I want to wire them as I do, and I would prefer no issues with the MOT or Police - mind you the last police car I saw the other day I had to flash because it was driving at night with no lights on

Yeah I miss Helga sometimes when some moron is occupying the passing lane and not passing anyone... and relax. But her huge torque and big engine was just too much for driving round town like I do.

[Arragonis]

Finis.

This is going to be my last posting on EM I'm afraid. I'll still maybe check out the technique and mods every now and again and I may keep my fuel log up to date but I'm done here I think.

Its a thought which has been coming for a while - I've got better things to spend my time on than the debate threads that get started here. I've started to look at other places to "hang out" which seem more, well, "fun".

So long, and thanks for all the fish and I wish all well, including those I don't agree with

A.

[NachtRitter]

Unfortunate to see you go... enjoyed your banter.

[mcrews]

gonna miss that english sense of humor.