OV9

Just keep an eye out for damage, on most cars getting the doorcard off a door you can’t open is a bit of a challenge!

Yeah, apparently with these you can pop it out at the 'rear' of the door (towards the B-pillar) and getting it off after that will break a few clips, but clips are cheap and I imagine a garage has dozens of them on hand at any given time.

They're generally pretty good, been using them for a few years now and this is the first hiccup and I'm willing to lean toward 'bad luck' rather than 'incompetence'.

So have you been climbing in & out of the window - that rather fortunately does work now ?

DeskJockey wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2026 8:22 am Last time I was there he was working on a 2022-23 Peugeot that needed some wiring replaced (known fault apparently), and a kit with five wires, two plugs, and an overall length not exceeding 10 inches, was £70+

It does seem crazy, but if it turns the repair into a plug & play job instead of a hour of cutting & soldering new wires, it's about the same for the customer.

Sundayjumper wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 9:46 am

DeskJockey wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2026 8:22 am Last time I was there he was working on a 2022-23 Peugeot that needed some wiring replaced (known fault apparently), and a kit with five wires, two plugs, and an overall length not exceeding 10 inches, was £70+

It does seem crazy, but if it turns the repair into a plug & play job instead of a hour of cutting & soldering new wires, it's about the same for the customer.

True. Less money for him though.

Off topic but I read you shouldn’t solder car wiring harnesses and it isn’t allowed as an OEM repair as it makes the wire stiff and susceptible to breaking. You should crimp one off instead.

M5. Having removed the fuse for that coolant pump last Sunday, the car has been fine. No battery drain. It even drives normally with no overheating or other warnings.

A new pump from BMW is £727.50. Add some labour and that's close to a £1k bill from a main agent.

I have purchased a s/h one from ebay for £38.45 and because my time is priceless*, that's the extent of the cost But seeing as the car doesn't seem too bothered about it I CBA at this precise moment and will have another coffee and sit on the sofa a while longer.



*worthless

DeskJockey wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 9:54 am

Sundayjumper wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 9:46 am

DeskJockey wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2026 8:22 am Last time I was there he was working on a 2022-23 Peugeot that needed some wiring replaced (known fault apparently), and a kit with five wires, two plugs, and an overall length not exceeding 10 inches, was £70+

It does seem crazy, but if it turns the repair into a plug & play job instead of a hour of cutting & soldering new wires, it's about the same for the customer.

True. Less money for him though.

That is also true.

Mito Man wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 9:59 am Off topic but I read you shouldn’t solder car wiring harnesses and it isn’t allowed as an OEM repair as it makes the wire stiff and susceptible to breaking.

Huh. I have soldered *loads* of wires over the years and never had a problem.

Mito Man wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 9:59 am You should crimp one off instead.

I've done that loads of times too. More problematic than the soldering now I think about it.

Mito Man wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 9:59 am Off topic but I read you shouldn’t solder car wiring harnesses and it isn’t allowed as an OEM repair as it makes the wire stiff and susceptible to breaking. You should crimp one off instead.

I have read this many times too, but I’m not sure how much of an issue it is. The only broken wires I’ve ever had on a car have been where it’s flexed in the middle of a run or where an aftermarket crimp has pulled out.

I don’t know if it’s an issue either. I’ve only done speaker wires and mainly crimp because I don’t want to use a soldering iron in the car, then drop it and born a hole through the upholstery

We don't have a single soldered wire on any engine because of them breaking.

Properly crimped terminals all the way.

Dave!

I’d assume you’re also not using the 500 terminals for £10 and a £15 crimping tool off Amazon though…

This is very true

From HV to LV all proper terminals are crimped.

With car stuff it's more about what access you have also, when you have 10mm of wire left it would take a brave person to go grab a crimping tool and connector.

Dave!

I’m just out bleeding the coolant system on the Elise, i followed a step by step method i found and used a ezibleed to pressurise the system.

i’m sat in it running at the moment, it’s obviously a hot day and i’m stationary so i’m expecting slightly higher temps. It’s been a good 15-20 mins and it crept up slowly to around 94° on the dashboard, but 100° on my Davies Craig EWP & Fan controller, at which point the fan kicked in and lowers it back to 90 on the dashboard and 97 on the reader.

This seems a little too high to me, it’s dead easy to adjust too - it basically kicks in when the heat is 3° higher than desired. i reckon i’ll set it around 94, which is about 88 on the dashboard.

Im doing it as im typing and it seems to be working perfectly. So fingers crossed….!


I also found the source of a rattle - turns out my front bumper had a can of tyre weld in it! i wonder how long that’s been there!

Factory option

mik wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 1:56 pmFactory option

i think it actually is - there’s a pair of clips under the bonnet which fits!



wish mine looked like that under the front bonnet!

Elises are always a gold mine of things lost things - usually under the seats, though. Tyre weld in the arch is a new one, but as pictures, must has slipped down.

It's about as useful in that arch as it is in actually 'fixing' a tyre to be honest

yeah, i tried it once on a puncture on the van - i might as well have just shouted supportive words into the valve for all the good it did.

Rich B wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 3:03 pm yeah, i tried it once on a puncture on the van - i might as well have just shouted supportive words into the valve for all the good it did.

You could have tried inflating it's sense of self with flattery?