Cruise Control Mk6 Polo

A lot of Volkswagen cars have cruise control retro fitted very easily as the wiring is already there and it is a case of just changing the stalk control switch. We had a customer with a Volkswagen Polo Mk6 who had requested for us to retro fit cruise control but before we could start we had to check to make sure the engine control unit and the electronic control module were both sufficient enough software levels to allow the cruise to be installed. Once we had done this with our Autologic diagnostic equipment we sourced the new stalk and cable connectors to allow us to make a loom that was compatible with the Mk6 Polo. Installing the new stalk with the cruise control was not the easiest of jobs as the airbag, steering wheel and coil spring had to be removed before the new stalk was installed and then refitted afterwards. I then spent several hours crawled up behind the dashboard on my back connecting some of the wires to the electronic control module and suffering from loss of blood in my arms and cramp in my neck. Some of the wiring had to go to the engine electronic control unit in the engine bay which entails removing the battery and air box to gain access to the security bolts which need as specific tool to undo them. After the wiring was completed then the car had to be programmed via the Autologic diagnostic programmer to activate cruise control within the cars electrical system modules and then it was off for a test drive on a quiet road to check all functions of the cruise control worked as they were supposed to. All worked fine and the customer was very happy with what we had done for him as he travelled long distances on the motorways and this was going to make his driving life more comfortable now.

Another job with a twist that makes every day different.

Eric the engineer

Becker BM54

Becker Bm54 is the radio module that is found in BMW X5 E53 which after a few years old often starts to develop an audio fault in the car. These can be when speakers cut out, on and off or crackle. This is when the fault with the radio module has started and can lead onto having no sound at all.
What I can offer to do for the customer with this problem is a 24 hour repair service of the radio module which replaces the broken parts with components that will not fail again. The Becker BM54 module can be sent to us or the customer can make an appointment to visit our showroom/workshop where we will remove the radio module, repair it and then reinstall it all in one visit.
This Becker BM54 radio module can also be found in many other BMW's, E46 and E39 where they suffer from the same speaker problems.
Eric the engineer.

Mercedes Command Lockup

What a strange morning I have had today !!!

A female customer phoned us this morning with a problem on her command navigation in her Mercedes ML, which had locked up whilst showing the map view. She was very hysterical on the phone and concerned about the cost of replacing this unit as Mercedes Dealer had quoted her £2000.The lady also said that not having the navigation was a disaster and how soon could we have a look for her.

Luckily she lived locally in Weybridge , so I said to bring her vehicle to us and I would plug our Autologic diagnostic machine in and see what faults there was in the car's electrical memory. She was with us within 10 minutes and so I started to investigate way the command navigation wasn't working correctly ,I offered her a cup of coffee to help calm her down as she still seemed to be very hysterical about the navigation not working and how she was unable to cope without it !

With the use of the Autologic diagnostic machine and removing the navigation command unit from the car I was able to reconfigure the unit ,this then brought the navigation unit back to life and after refitting it back into the Mercedes ML everything worked as it should.The lady from Weybridge was extremely happy and not only paid her bill but she came back later with 12 Crispy Crèmes doughnuts for us all to share.

Another job with a twist that makes every day different.



Eric The Engineer

Peugeot 407 Electric Boot Release

Today I had a customer who was in the Surrey area and had found Cartronics web site and came down with a Peugeot 407 that had problems with the boot lid not opening. This car had no mechanical lock so there was no way of opening the boot, just a push button as the "0" in the 407 badge on the boot lid.

I had to get into the boot via the back seats and empty the boot of all the customers' belongings before I could get to the lock in the inside of the lid. After I had opened the lid I then located the fault to be a wiring issue and once I had fixed this the electronic lock release started to work again.

Once the electronic lock was fixed the remote control for the central locking started to control the boot lid as it should from the third button on the Peugeot 406 remote control.

The car was then connected to our Autologic to perform a complete diagnostic check of the car and printed out any faults that were logged on the cars electrical system. The Autologic diagnostic machine works just like the original manufactures diagnostic equipment but can be used on a number of different car manufactures, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Landrover, Peugeot, Renault, Citroën etc.

The customer was very happy that they could now open their boot lid of their Peugeot 407 and they also learnt that the back seats fold down to gain access to the boot or if they wanted to carry large objects they could now do this.

Another job with a twist that makes every day different.

Eric the Engineer


 

Mazda 6 Navigation

Today I did a job for a Mazda dealership that had a problem with installing a Pioneer Navigation System that is sold as an accessory from Mazda. The problem was that they had sold the Pioneer Navigation system to the customer but when they came to fit the system, the Mazda instructions said you could not fit this to a car that had Bose fitted from manufacture. The dealership then contacted me with the problem and I said that with a little wiring modification and sound level adjusters I could install the Pioneer Navigation into the Mazda 6.I proceeded to fit the navigation and then realised that the adapter that Mazda supply with the Navigation upgrade package for the steering wheel control would not allow the use of the phone buttons on the steering wheel to work with the Pioneer navigation Bluetooth facility. I then used an steering wheel adapter that I hold in stock that I can programme what buttons do what when connected to the Pioneer Navigation System. The Mazda dealership was very happy that we had fitted the system and managed to still use the Bose amplifier as well as the buttons on the steering wheel that control the phone functions.

Another job with a twist that makes every day different.

Eric the Engineer