Yes but I made a "should have known better mistake". Or "it is easy in hindsight". When I tried to unlock the Fugeo with the remote it didn't work so I tried the key on the right hand door didn't work. Then the left and it worked. So decided that the right hand electric lock wasn't working. Took 3 hours to get it out. But found nothing wrong mechanically. So checked the fuses, fine but no battery at the lock. That is when I thought of the inertia switch. A 7 MPH bump and the doors unlock and there is no battery supply. The inertia switch has a small slide reset switch. Reset it and all worked perfectly. Spent another 2 hours getting it all back together again. Still don't know why the right hand door didn't unlock mechanically like the left did. Should have realised that the key was both electric and mechanical so if you had a flat battery you could get to the inside for the bonnet release catch. More importantly why didn't the inertia switch unlock the doors? Rob
I should have known better. Or traps for old players.
- Thread starter Sunroof
- Start date
Oh dear! I see you trained at the same TAFE as me. 
Memories are slipping away… key is mechanical. Dash switch is electrical.
is there a white nylon link piece shaped a bit like a lollipop that mechanicly links the end of the key barrel with the opening solenoid mechanism?
seem to remember this being an optional fitment, and the broken remains could be found rattling around the bottom of the door…….or I’m dreaming and made that all up.
is there a white nylon link piece shaped a bit like a lollipop that mechanicly links the end of the key barrel with the opening solenoid mechanism?
seem to remember this being an optional fitment, and the broken remains could be found rattling around the bottom of the door…….or I’m dreaming and made that all up.
You have to be joking. I drive better than my grandson. What a terrible thought.
Your grandson probably thinks the opposite actually
Yes but I still beat him at the Go Kart Track, much to his disgust. Bet I cannot next time though he'll have a bit more driving experience by then and I'll be a bit older.
A few years ago my family were up in Cairns on holiday, My 20 yo stepson wanted to go to the kart track, mostly with the idea that he would be so much faster than me. He was around 15 Kg lighter than me then, but he also thought my skills and reaction times would be minimal given I was late 50s. First session I was easily faster, second session again easily faster in different karts, third session he was talking to the manager and said about needing to beat me. He said for him to change over to this other kart that been the quickest in most sessions that week. (He showed me the spreadsheet later)
Well, I was still quicker, so I slowed down and said to follow my lines behind me. After chasing but not passing me for a number of laps he did achieve the goal, on one lap he had indeed beaten me by a 100th of a second. The manager said later I must have been able to drive as the kart I had only ever ran mid pack at best.
I don't doubt there would be many young guys able to beat me, particularly karting kids, but most young guys believe they are just so superior just like we did when we were that age.
Well, I was still quicker, so I slowed down and said to follow my lines behind me. After chasing but not passing me for a number of laps he did achieve the goal, on one lap he had indeed beaten me by a 100th of a second. The manager said later I must have been able to drive as the kart I had only ever ran mid pack at best.
I don't doubt there would be many young guys able to beat me, particularly karting kids, but most young guys believe they are just so superior just like we did when we were that age.
muscle memory does count for a lot towards being a good driver.
It can easily beat reaction time as our brains are predictive machines.
Young drivers rarely have experience under their belt, or have first hand witnessed the forces involved in an accident.
That tends to slow those of us with an imagination down.
I love the quote from the 1966 movie GP.
Jean-Pierre Sarti : "The danger? Well, of course. But you are missing a very important point. I think if any of us imagined - really imagined - what it would be like to go into a tree at 150 miles per hour we would probably never get into the cars at all, none of us. So it has always seemed to me that to do something very dangerous requires a certain absence of imagination."
My daughter is going for her licence at the moment, and my first thought will be a defensive driving course so she can build the muscle memory for losing control of the car.
It can easily beat reaction time as our brains are predictive machines.
Young drivers rarely have experience under their belt, or have first hand witnessed the forces involved in an accident.
That tends to slow those of us with an imagination down.
I love the quote from the 1966 movie GP.
Jean-Pierre Sarti : "The danger? Well, of course. But you are missing a very important point. I think if any of us imagined - really imagined - what it would be like to go into a tree at 150 miles per hour we would probably never get into the cars at all, none of us. So it has always seemed to me that to do something very dangerous requires a certain absence of imagination."
My daughter is going for her licence at the moment, and my first thought will be a defensive driving course so she can build the muscle memory for losing control of the car.
Last edited:
Best lesson my son had in his R10 was how easily he lost control in the wet at a motorkhana. He said afterwards he couldn't believe it.
Young turks at school, were giving me grief about my 404 and how fast their cars were and how they had all fitted the required go fast bits. Let'm go for a while, telling their hero stories of speed etc. Then quitely I asked, "So tell me, what would do if your car started to slide or slip on a wet of gravel road?" Instant blank looks and silence. Now the old fossil's reflexes are not what they use to be and driving ability has waned, but I still remember my dad yelling at me, "Turn into son..."
Those of us who learned on dirt roads, or drove extensively on them years ago when even the highways were unsealed can still get around corners quickly. Yes, our reflexes are slower overall, but what to do in a slide still comes naturally. It doesn't for most younger drivers.
Your father sounds like mine.
Your father sounds like mine.
My 3 daughters all did motorkhana for a year or two in Darwin, when they were 14 years old in a Suzuki Swift GTI. You could loop it with out really trying - 100hp/tonne. They all got manual license when 16 on 'P's & did a couple of lapsprints around Hidden Valley. That driving experiences has certainly paid off for public road driving skills.
It cost me 20 Euros for my daughter to spend the afternoon on ice track at local motor sport club in Finland with studded tyres (they dont give that much traction). She was a fast learner and managed slide control nicely. Came home and neighbours son of same age had written off Mums Yaris at a round about in the wet. I thought my money was well spent.
You don't even need a wet gravel road. A slightly wet tarmac or some wet leaves will take away control of a poorly designed/set up car immediately. Add to that an off camber corner and you're set.
I think everybody should learn to drive in a manual rear engined Renault. If they pass, they can drive. If they give up, we're all better off.
In particular, a Renault 750. Wow, what a hand full if they get away. Great fun in variable cross winds. Lane changing effects !
...rear engined Renault. Rear engined cars do have peculiar handling.
Many years ago I was driving my Simca 1000 around the Port Hills In Christchurch. It was a cold morning and there was frost and ice on some of the shaded corners.
I had plenty of experience after many car club gravel sprints but a fairly tight left hand bend gave me a big surprise.
I entered on a steady throttle at a very low speed anticipating the icy surface. It had a fairly steep camber which I figured would give some resistance to the tail breaking loose. It did break away but started to swing down the camber towards the inside of the bend.
I had never had to control a skid by turning into the bend. I came close to the rocky wall but didn't loose any paint. First and only time that I have had the tail flick in instead of out.
Many years ago I was driving my Simca 1000 around the Port Hills In Christchurch. It was a cold morning and there was frost and ice on some of the shaded corners.
I had plenty of experience after many car club gravel sprints but a fairly tight left hand bend gave me a big surprise.
I entered on a steady throttle at a very low speed anticipating the icy surface. It had a fairly steep camber which I figured would give some resistance to the tail breaking loose. It did break away but started to swing down the camber towards the inside of the bend.
I had never had to control a skid by turning into the bend. I came close to the rocky wall but didn't loose any paint. First and only time that I have had the tail flick in instead of out.
In Finland you cant get a licence until you‘ve successfully done 6 hrs on the skidpan
Here if you slide they call you a hoon and take your car away
Our kids are not taught basic skills, among which is skid a) anticipation/prevention and b) correction
Andrew