Alan Surrey
Member
- Messages
- 1,036
I would welcome any first hand advice on this. 2008 4.2 ZF QPV.
Just to be clear, I fully expected this would happen one day, but have been driving around lately with that special smugness that comes only to drivers of a Maserati that has been fully functioning for months and months.
So it was a nasty shock.
Having driven 40 miles round the M25 yesterday in daylight at pretty much 70mph, spent half a day with my 94 year old mother in law (she's amazing. Uses social media. While I was there I fixed up WhatsApp to run on her iPad so she can get bigger photos than on her phone....) Then drove 40 miles back, this time in darkness, again at around 70 mph. Raining slightly, but nothing like the deluges we have had lately. Car completely faultless.
Unprecedented levels of smugness.
Neither of us fancied cooking, so stopped off as we entered the village to pick up a take away.
Everything good. Not a care in the world.
Came back to the car after 15 minutes with the take away.
AARRGHHHH.......
Dashboard showed "checking." That's odd. It always checks when I turn the ignition key, but it has never shown the word "checking." Then (drum roll please.)
All warning lights on. (queue the high-anxiety music) Even a little orange light up in the headlining that I had never noticed before. With my specs on, a secret-until-lit notice by it read "passenger air bag disabled." The dashboard showed the right and left indicators both flashing. The real indicators were not. "Go to main dealer" it showed. Certainly not.
Calm down man. Try the Microsoft approach.
Turn it off. Count to ten (good for my heart rate.) Breath deeply twice (and this.)
Turn the ignition key again.
AARRGHHH..
The same "Christmas" lights as before.
Count to twenty. Do it again.
A more resigned sort of AARRGHHH.
"I wonder if it will start" It did. Sounded sweet too (though smugness all gone now.) All dashboard lights on, except for the ones I wanted, of course. Every warning light lit, but speedometer, tacho and gear selector position indicator unlit, so no idea what the car is actually doing except by looking through the windscreen. And its a dark night.
Headlights? Yes. But nothing about lights showing on the dashboard. Same for main beam.
Indicators? Yes, But nothing showing on the dash.
Can I get it in gear? (hope so. Long way to push it home otherwise. (Downhill slightly though.)) Have to look down at the ZF selector lever to see. Yes. The little P light is now extinguished and D lit.
Will the car move. It did.
Power steering? Working.
Will it change gear? Yes it did. Let it do it itself Alan. Don't risk the paddles.
Corner coming up. What about the skyhooks? Well they seemed to work alright. Mind you, I was in no mood to exceed 30 mph.
Got home safely.
Today, took a risk. 5 miles to the pub for lunch with a friend. 5 miles back. Nothing wrong at all. Just as if nothing had happened. It would have been full smugness on my part, but for last night's alarming experience.
What is this car trying to do to me?
For the record, in the three years I have owned the car, it has been free from electrical gremlins except for:
The time when the battery it came with gave out, and
The time when the battery earth connector worked loose.
Both easily and successfully fixed.
Also for the record, it was Chinese lemon chicken with special rice. Good example of its kind too.
Can anyone offer advice or guidance with the aim of restoring my smugness?
Just to be clear, I fully expected this would happen one day, but have been driving around lately with that special smugness that comes only to drivers of a Maserati that has been fully functioning for months and months.
So it was a nasty shock.
Having driven 40 miles round the M25 yesterday in daylight at pretty much 70mph, spent half a day with my 94 year old mother in law (she's amazing. Uses social media. While I was there I fixed up WhatsApp to run on her iPad so she can get bigger photos than on her phone....) Then drove 40 miles back, this time in darkness, again at around 70 mph. Raining slightly, but nothing like the deluges we have had lately. Car completely faultless.
Unprecedented levels of smugness.
Neither of us fancied cooking, so stopped off as we entered the village to pick up a take away.
Everything good. Not a care in the world.
Came back to the car after 15 minutes with the take away.
AARRGHHHH.......
Dashboard showed "checking." That's odd. It always checks when I turn the ignition key, but it has never shown the word "checking." Then (drum roll please.)
All warning lights on. (queue the high-anxiety music) Even a little orange light up in the headlining that I had never noticed before. With my specs on, a secret-until-lit notice by it read "passenger air bag disabled." The dashboard showed the right and left indicators both flashing. The real indicators were not. "Go to main dealer" it showed. Certainly not.
Calm down man. Try the Microsoft approach.
Turn it off. Count to ten (good for my heart rate.) Breath deeply twice (and this.)
Turn the ignition key again.
AARRGHHH..
The same "Christmas" lights as before.
Count to twenty. Do it again.
A more resigned sort of AARRGHHH.
"I wonder if it will start" It did. Sounded sweet too (though smugness all gone now.) All dashboard lights on, except for the ones I wanted, of course. Every warning light lit, but speedometer, tacho and gear selector position indicator unlit, so no idea what the car is actually doing except by looking through the windscreen. And its a dark night.
Headlights? Yes. But nothing about lights showing on the dashboard. Same for main beam.
Indicators? Yes, But nothing showing on the dash.
Can I get it in gear? (hope so. Long way to push it home otherwise. (Downhill slightly though.)) Have to look down at the ZF selector lever to see. Yes. The little P light is now extinguished and D lit.
Will the car move. It did.
Power steering? Working.
Will it change gear? Yes it did. Let it do it itself Alan. Don't risk the paddles.
Corner coming up. What about the skyhooks? Well they seemed to work alright. Mind you, I was in no mood to exceed 30 mph.
Got home safely.
Today, took a risk. 5 miles to the pub for lunch with a friend. 5 miles back. Nothing wrong at all. Just as if nothing had happened. It would have been full smugness on my part, but for last night's alarming experience.
What is this car trying to do to me?
For the record, in the three years I have owned the car, it has been free from electrical gremlins except for:
The time when the battery it came with gave out, and
The time when the battery earth connector worked loose.
Both easily and successfully fixed.
Also for the record, it was Chinese lemon chicken with special rice. Good example of its kind too.
Can anyone offer advice or guidance with the aim of restoring my smugness?
