Vengeance

Glad you managed to fix the issue. So that explains it, your throttle body was dirty and the ECU/PCM has adapted to the dirt which has accumulated over time. Once you removed the battery and re-fixed it, the ECU was reset and this caused the idling issue. You can go ahead and clean your MAF sensor as well to get better gas mileage if it hasn't been cleaned for a while, be warned that this is a very delicate sensor so handle it with care and use MAF cleaner. There are plenty of guides on the web if you're interested. A throttle body service isn't part of the regular maintenace schedule, so it doesn't have a period to be serviced (i.e. every 20k kms). I remember Toyota recommending a service interval for the throttle body for the Prius, but haven't seen this on regular cars. Its personal preference and most people don't clean them until an issue arises, sometimes they may even have to replace the MAF sensor due to this. Cleaning the throttle body and MAF sensor everytime you replace the airfilter with a new one or roughly every 20k - 40k kms would be ideal.

01. Better than 2-stroke, much easier on steep inclines. 02. Possible, you have to speak with finance companies / banks yourself, you will need bank statements, provable income, guarantors etc. 03. Yes. the roof is done. 04. You will need to take another class for "threewheelers". You wouldn't have to re-write the written exam if you already sat for it once, but since you got your license back in 2001 I'm not sure. Call 1919 (government information centre) to get more details. 05. No extra license required, but if you partner with companies like "PickMe", you will have to use their own metering system. Plus, no one would take a newcomer to their "threewheel park" as I heard, so you have to start small. 06. Stickers available at many deco shops. 07. Considering the number of threewheels available in Sri Lanka, there are plenty and the repairs will be easy to tackle. 08. Its a threewheeler, no other option unless you change the body itself and mount shutter glasses on either side. 09. Should be on the cheaper side. 10. None that I know of, as I heard a threewheel can be easily started without the key as the wires going to the ignition are visible.

Agree with Dushyantha. Both these cars have been discussed extensively on this forum, why don't you do a search? Heck, the leaf even has a complete review from a forum member on one of the threads. Economy - Leaf, provided that your monthly consumption stays within the ranges 91-120kWh or 121-180kWh after charging the car. Since you run about 1500km you're more likely to exceed 180kWh, so its hard to say, you might have to do the calculations yourself. Aftersale value - Both hybrids and electric cars will depreciate faster than the average petrol/diesel cars due to the involvement of the HV battery. Comfort - No idea Driving Pleasure - Honestly, both of these are not a driver's car. This varies from person to person, you're better off doing a test drive yourself and deciding as you'll be person who's gonna drive the car after all. The leaf is very quiet, but you get some serious initial acceleration due to the electric motor, maximum torque is literally available from zero rpm. This is available up to a few thousand rpm, so you feel being pushed forward in an instant whereas in an internal combustion engine, you might have to exceed 1000rpm (slightly above idling rpm) to get at least 30% of the maximum torque. The gearbox comes in to play to reduce this effect in an engine, but is still somewhat behind compared to an electric motor. Having a leaf alone will come with its own problems, such as forgetting to charge the car overnight and having to use the bus and so on, but has a comparatively lower maintenance.

Check the alternator belt, output voltage (with load / without load), the ground connections (check the resistance) and current output (with load / without load) since its the alternator you have replaced. As Rumesh has mentioned above, the TPS doesn't have to be reset. The ELD unit is located inside the fuse/relay box under your hood, I have attached a photo below for reference, the one in your car may vary in size and the exact location inside the fuse box. The ELD measures the combined load (current draw of the electrical components) and sends an input voltage to the ECU. The ECU will then vary the field strength of the alternator which in turn increases the output as required. So basically, the ELD checks whether there's an additonal draw of current from the battery and if not, it'll keep the output of the alternator at minimum (12.3V) which is sufficient to charge the battery and run the basic componenets of your car. Therefore in turn the ELD reduces your fuel consumption and increases the lifetime of your alternator. As far as I know, if the ELD goes bad it should throw up an error code and give you a check engine light. I'm not sure of a way to test the ELD, but there is a way to bypass the ELD temporarily so you can check whether your rpm returns to normal: http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/139844-how-to-eld-bypass-for-honda-civicaccordfit/ Only attempt this if you know what you're doing and use help from an auto technician or honda expert if you want to proceed. I wouldn't advice bypassing the ELD permanently as that can leave your alternator running 24/7 at max output and would heavily affect the lifetime of your alternator.

Yes, the amperage of the new alternator should be equal or higher and never lower. For example, if the ECU needs about 8-9 amps to operate, it will not draw anymore current than that irrespective of the amperage of the alternator. This is the same for all other electrical components, so its fine to use an alternator with higher amperage if you can't find an exact match, plus it'll last a lot longer as there is less stress on it. The increase in fuel consumption will be minor, alternators don't run at full output all the time, they are demand driven units. Even if they run at full load, assuming both alternators work at 100% efficiency, using P=VI and taking V=14: 90 amps alternator is around 1300watts and 130amps alternator is around 1800watts. Therefore the difference between these two alternators would be about 500watts which is about 0.67 mechanical horsepower (745.7watts = 1 hp) which would be negligible.

This is perfectly normal as the battery's -ve cable must have been removed while installing the alternator. Your ECU has got reset during the process and is still in its learning phase. The idle RPM will vary as the ECU tries to adjust it towards a stoichiometric fuel / air mixture. This should become normal after a few drive cycles (probably after a day or two), try to keep the RPMs low and drive smoothly during the period.

No offense mate, but I don't think there's anything wrong with suggesting No one here is getting paid for doing this, all of these are suggestions as to what could be wrong. No one is insisting him to do this and that, the OP should have some common sense to confirm the details from a valid source before proceeding.

Any alternator is capable of producing a high voltage, this is actually controlled (regulated) by the voltage regulator of the alternator, so I think you should get that checked out first. Irrespective of whether the voltage was too high or too low, it'll usually be the battery that takes a hit. Since in this ocassion the alternator was on for less than a minute, it really shouldn't have an effect on the battery. 1 minute is too long to leave the car running with a faulty alternator or voltage regulator, even a few seconds are sufficient to fry the circuits. Almost all critical components of a car are protected by fuses to prevent any damage from amperage so I think you're safe, but its hard to say anything without knowing what actually happened. Probably your headlight fuse is fried, check the fuse box for any other fried fuses as well. Be careful next time as repairing an electrical system that got burnt ain't gonna be cheap

Yap, some of them being on the highway as well. The news doesn't say much, any idea what could have caused these? Overheated engine, electrical sparks?

Perodua Viva Elite would be a good option if you're using it as a daily runner. Sampath was jobless enough (no offense mate ) to create a detailed fuel economy report for the car if you're interested: http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/12820-elite-viva-fuel-consumption/?p=219386 You'll need to consider more requirements to narrow down the options such as the body type (sedan, hatch etc) and country of origin as there are so many cars available at your price range. Agreed, but you'll still have to shift down to 2nd and 1st while flooring the pedal on those steep slopes at Kadugannawa if you've got 2-3 passengers inside the car. However its still easily doable. Overtaking will take a slightly extra effort compared to a 1500/1600cc car of similar class.

High pressure water under an engine bay is a big no irrespective of whether the car is a hybrid or not. I only wash my engine bay when I feel its dirty (maybe every 20,000km or so). A bit of dust under it is perfectly all right, it will not have an effect on the heat as cars are made to run that way.

I don't think you can drift in a FWD, but sliding is possible. To make a FWD slide, you have to do a "Scandinavian Flick" (this was explained by Jeremy on a YT video back in 2007 or so). Here when approaching a bend, you turn your wheel in the opposite direction and quickly flick it back to where you want to go forcing the car to lose traction. You regain control by putting on an opposite-lock to gain traction again.

Why? Stop advicing if you don't have evidence to back it up. I have been using Indian vehicles for a while and have had no major issues so far. True, they are less reliable, less safe and bla bla compared to Japanese models, but you get what you pay for.

Its 1800c and is a 121, so if multiply them you get: 1800x121=217,800 and the last number is a zero which I consider is somewhat unlucky, you should find a car that ends with a number 7 or so. Jokes aside, do you have a friend or a trustable mechanic who can inspect the vehicle for you? If so take them with you and have the vehicle inspected properly and I highly insist that you don't go after the badges on the car, please have a proper look at the CR of the vehicle. If you don't have such a person, have the vehicle taken to the agents (obviously with permission from the owner) and have a thorough inspection done to know whether the car is "good" or "bad". If you can't understand the report, post it here with the registration number removed so we can help you out No one here hates newbies, but if you don't follow the guidelines properly and start asking stupid questions, you will end up getting slapped from left to right.

Do you know that vehicles that met with accidents in Japan are brought down, repaired and are put up for sale as "unregistered" and that people like you who hunt down after the "unregistered" word will get caught? These vehicles are more likely to lose all the 4 wheels at once instead of just one

You have the right to stay on your opinion, as its your car and your money after all. No offense, but I don't think 90% of the members here will agree with this. There is a process to buying a used car, there is a thread here on A/L on that and plenty of videos on youtube as well. You knowing nothing about mechanics of a vehicle is not an excuse for choosing a car that has met with an accident. You're supposed to do your research and take a proper person who knows his way around cars to properly inspect a vehicle if you care about the safety of yourself and your family. By a proper person, I don't mean a "maka bass" who you can find at some random garage down the road. If you still can't be sure, take the vehicle to the agents and have a proper inspection done and voila, you will have a complete list of the parts that need to replaced and the true condition of the vehicle. Its pathetic how you're whining about a 2004 Swift which was only 7 years old by 2011, when people actually end up buying cars which are 20-30 years old, used by several owners and still manage to run them properly because they do the "basic" maintenance.

Its unlikely that coolant is leaking in to the engine through a gasket as you didn't have a drop in the coolant level earlier and also because the technicians only messed with the hoses. If it somehow does, you should see white smoke from the exhaust when you start and "rev" the engine. Its normal for the coolant to reduce to a certain amount after re-filling it completely, but that doesn't mean it should reduce drastically. Re-fill the overfill tank to the "MAX" labeled mark and then check whether the coolant still reduces after a day or two, if so you have a problem. Start with the basics, there could be small leaks from the hoses that may not be visible under the car. After running the car for a while, open the bonnet and check the ends of the radiator hoses and on parts under the hoses (such as on top of the transmission). If you have traces, the hoses probably haven't been fixed properly. You will have to drain the system completely and re-fix the hoses and tighten the hose clamps properly. Also if your so called technicians removed the hoses without draining the system first, its about time you find a new garage

Ah Dushiya, so you sold the mini? Congrats on the purchase! The protocol could be MUTII/MUTIII and yes, the scanners are somewhat expensive. I'm not sure whether there's a cheaper solution. Japan implemented their OBD2 standard in 2003 as far as I can remember. What's the YOM?

The kid's got some talent, hitting a single pole on such a large open space is not easy. Looks like he should practice reversing before learning how to drift.

Thanks for providing the formula Rumesh, it still looks basic to me provided the values and formula are given. These are the latest prices according to A*W: LXI M/T - 20.15 lakhs VXI M/T - 21.10 lakhs K10 VXI M/T - 24.95 lakhs K10 VXI A/T - 26.20 lakhs

It was mentioned that Rs.1500 will be charged per cc of the engine as manufacturing tax for cars not exceeding 1,000cc (new and old both). I can't understand why people at A*W can't do a basic calculation.

http://www.hirunews.lk/134130/vehicle-prices-further-rise

Bumping an old thread, sorry about that, didn't want to open a new one for a similar question! This is a question that I've been wondering about for a while, couldn't find any valuble info by searching either. Are there any specific differences betwen the following vehicle number plate series 300, 301, 302 (petrol) and also between 54, 56, 64, 65 etc (diesel) other than their age? I heard that you get a specific series when an engine swap is done, is there anyway to identify such a vehicle?

Floods should have been settled by then, drop me a PM if you need any information about the route before you leave, I live @ Avissawella at the moment

You don't have to avoid Avissawella, the area is completely fine. The issues are actually between Talduwa (2km beyond Avissawella) and Ginigathhena (floods and landslides). The detour to N'Eliya would be via Avissawella - Rathnapura - Balangoda - Haputale which would be roughly 80km longer. If you can wait another day or two for the water to settle, you can go through Avissawella - Ruwanwella - Kegalle - Mawanella.