Diagnostics - Thanks Richard!

Well, as you're all aware I have been fighting with the ABS Fault for some time.
Just after Christmas I had the lovely Paul and wife visit me to run diagnostics on it.
As a quick re-cap it found two faults:
1 - Air bags ECU was ''incorrect''
2 - Rear right abs sensor

Work so far has been done to these two culprits. Both would fail an mot.
The airbag ECU was NOT incorrect, yet it was a dodgy connection (gotta love the French eh?)
I massacred the electrics and sorted that.

The ABS sensor was changed.

Yet some-fucking-how the silly Pug-mobile still threw up an ABS fault.
It is VERY intermittent. I still don't know the route cause of it in fairness, I have a good idea though.
I asked on the 406 forum I visit (for anyone following my blog, it's 406oc.co.uk Forum) if anyone was local to me and had PP2000 (Peugeot Planet 2000, the Peugeot diagnostics).
After a wee while a kind gentleman from the forum asked if I still needed it done and said he would be in the area on business and could hook her up for me.
I accepted this young mans kind offer.

My drive has never looked better than when these two 406's were on the drive.
My estate; his saloon. Perfection, purified!

Anyway, we checked out each others under the bonnets then got to work. Plugged her in (by all means PP2000 seemed to respond a LOT faster to the car)
Still no ABS fault had beeped since I put it back together.
Anyway, in the menu for the ABS, he made Miss Pug go beep!
It was fine until we went into this menu... argh!

'Rear right ABS sensor' showed an intermittent fault.
We cleared the fault. Went for a short test drive and returned.
Hooked her back up and the fault has cleared - Woo hoo! :)

Maybe it just needed the fault clearing?





WRONG.
The day after diagnostics was done, it beeped up twice (Friday).
On Sunday it beeped up an astonishing EIGHT times - weather was wet.


A HUGE thank you to Richard who came to see us on Thursday!
Incredibly nice to meet the second person off this fantastic forum. :)

AB-Sorted

Well the last time I wrote a blog the ABS light was flashing up before the engine was even turned over.
Yesterday, I took the connector back apart to see if a spray of WD40 and pushing the connector back together again would help.

Work station set back up - Was short lived.

Car-side abs connector plug. (Sensor connector plug in background).

Car-side abs connector plug, a Citroen part!
Are there any Peugeot parts on the car I wonder?

The ABS connector plug.

The end result of today's putting her back together for diagnostics tomorrow:

What I did to get here:
Not an awful lot is the answer to that.
I took apart the connection box, sprayed some WD40 in both ends of the plug, put it back together.
ABS FAULT still flashed up, again, again and again.
I then disconnected two 15amp fuses in the engine bay fuse box (supposedly they control the ABS) however, neither affected the light on the dash lol. There has been talk of a 'second engine bay fuse box' IF there is one I can't find it.
I won't lie, yesterday I was in a foul mood, I was NOT a force to be reckoned with. I was weighing up my options and considering scrapping her. Anyone who saw my comment on yesterdays status will notice that I used to drive 405 estates.
I made this comment ''GOD damn I should of been driving that 405 estate and NOT pondering the thought at ever owning a 406 estate but instead of been thinking bet they can't make the 406 as nice as this'' 

I need to clear that ''service light'' which basically is the spanner symbol telling me a service is over-due on the car (HAS it not seen the work I've been doing????!!!!) LOL

I am keeping my fingers and toes tightly crossed that this ABS fault is sorted and has been put to bed once and for all.
I have rolled her back and for the drive for the sensor to sense the wheel moving and perhaps to flag the fault back up but - so far - so good.


Plan of action:
* Clean the car, inside and out. Remove tools from the boot.
* Run through a few more MOT checks
* MOT on Monday afternoon

Wish us luck!

[ Insert many swear words here ]

Right, as my readers are probably aware from my Facebook, I had hoped to have Miss Pug in a local MOT test station on Friday 26th of this month, April.

The bad news is that despite my best efforts and Daves' best efforts (my v-dubs friend with the mk4 golf) the hopes of the MOT being on Friday have been dashed, or should I say slashed?

As my readers will also be aware we chiseled the ABS sensor away from the retaining bolt and took the old sensor off that way.

STUCK

 I was going to get a mobile mechanic out at the cost of £30 and although that is MUCH cheaper than the local grease monkey, it is just simply money I'd rather spend on an MOT / Tax and getting her back on the road.

One my long-distance mobile mechanics advice I invited my mate Dave back over to DRILL the new metal sleeve from inside the sensor. I don't have a drill so I needed a man with more tools than I have. :)

Metal sleeve - the old sensor sleeve remains on the car (and as stuck as the bolt may I add).

This needs drilling out so it can slide over the old bolt.

All drilled out ~ Thanks Dave!

Now it can slide over the old bolt and sleeve.

ABS Rear right (off side) sensor in place.
When clipping it into the connector we noticed the were wires exposed that had come out of the casing, nothing a bit of electrical insulation tape couldn't fix.

With this work done we set about putting the caliper back on, putting the bolts under the correct torque and even put the wheel back on - Whoop whoop!
We then let Miss Pug's rear offside wheel meet the floor once again. It has been on A 'stilt' for a while now so setting her back down, removing the axle stand - she looks so low. I feel like I've slashed the springs to get her ''that low''
However, it's just the normal, I am used to it being MUCH higher on the axle stand obviously but I still can't get used to just how low she looks. (Photobucket is being gay, I shall re-post a picture when it stops being soooo gay).



The Bad News:
Despite the sensor being on properly, the caliper back in position and fixed and the wheel on I am **STILL** having Miss Pug throw up an ''ABS FAULT'' on the central console.
At the first start up after it was put back together (lol, makes it sound like an interesting puzzle doesn't it?) I put her into reverse and moved only about a foot backwards and it beeped up. Not too disheartened, knew it may take a bit of time to settle down.
Second time it came on was after about 10 minutes of tick over on the drive.
Third time it came on was after more tick over.
Fourth time it came on was a few hours later, before I even turned the engine over.
Now today, each time the key is put in and before I even try to turn the engine over it's going off.
Now, a few possibilities is that the connector isn't properly connected, or needs some WD40 (this is the best out come).
Another possibility is where the wires were ''sort of'' exposed, there needs to be some rewiring done under there, another is that the sensor wasn't up to the job (not a genuine part), another could be the abs teeth.

Incredibly pissed off that this work has been for NOTHING. I wanted her to go before the MOT inspector this Friday (26th). I now have ONE MONTHS notice on the house.
What do I do now?
Do I keep going in the hope with more expense I can get her through an MOT, or do I cut my loses, surcombe to hiring a trailer to move it and hire a van and basically slit my throat to spite my face?
It seems no matter how much money I am throwing into it, it isn't going to play ball. At the moment I've spent £200 on PARTS and TOOLS, £210 on insurance deposit, by the time she is on the road and working I will of spent in excess of £550 just to get her back on the road.

I am so fucking pissed off I am contemplating selling her as spares and repairs on flea-bay, I am THAT pissed off with the fucking thing.
I have tried my best, enrolled the help of complete strangers and a friend to help me but still it isn't enough.

This car is giving me more grief than BOTH of my 205s put together ever did.

Yes, I am a Woman, I am hormonal, it's my blog and I will rant my fucking head off if I want to.


On other news:
I drove Dave's mk4 ''V-dubs'' Golf yesterday, it's a 1.8 turbo GTi (red I makes all the difference apparently).
I had much fun driving that beast around, good brakes, good tyres = Sonia could throw this thing around the place and she did. It held up well, power steering is dead heavy and the seats not as comfortable as Miss Pug, the pedals seem too compact for my liking but I drove for the first time ever in my steelies (explains my heavy right foot eh?) I think I possibly gave Dave a heart attack at one point with one particular round a bout in mind....

It has made me realize this though.
The girl who was happy enough with her diesels has become a proper petrol head.
I will update this as and when I get more news about this stubborn ass bitch of mine.

I will just end this blog on the sad note that today is the 2nd Angel-versary of my Grampy Fred's passing. I took flowers over to his grave yesterday, I don't envision life ever being the same without him and I miss him like mad.

Game Over

Well, sadly I've had enough with this 5mm hex screw.
I have given it my all, I have had a hack saw, mole grips and other bits and pieces sent to me - in a bid for my victory.
I have stayed out under the car when I have been so cold I felt like I would freeze to the spot.
I have tried molegrips, I have tried plenty of WD40 and I have tried plenty of elbow grease but the darn thing is NOT moving.
I would love to introduce heat to the equation, but being just below the petrol tank; it's not something I wish to tempt fate with.
This screw has been on the car since it was made, nearly thirteen years ago. It has huffed and puffed and it has corroded the place down in there.

I have already spent around 5 hours labour on this one, tiny piece of metal and now is the time to give up and hand over to a local mechanic, I say 'local', the 'local' mechanic wanted to charge £65 which included a call out fee. The mechanic I have chosen comes from Swindon way and by all accounts seems a fairly decent lad - I can't wait for him to get stuck in.
I have told him exactly what's happened, he did ask how I got the sensor off without taking the bolt off... To which I told him, chiseled it off lol.
He recons it should take no more than an hour and cost no more than £28.

To me, £28 doesn't seem too bad at all. But when you think of the size of the screw holding this up it is a lot.
I know that £28 will get it sorted and it is perhaps a small price to pay to get the job finished but it's more than that to me.
I have failed.
One tiny bolt has beaten me.

I guess, on the flip side when people are getting their cars ready for an MOT and know it will fail on something, usually it's not as cheap as under £30 pounds.

You bleepety bleep bleep bleeper!

There's a local lad who always brings home a flat bed truck, a mechanic-type person.. anyway, I have never made contact before, I do however notice how his old flatbed was a Citroen and now he's driving a Peugeot one... (he instantly wins points for that!)
Anyway, I thought - what the hell, I have nothing to lose. So I went and asked if he was a mechanic.
He said 'kinda' and then I fluttered my eye lashes and asked if he wouldn't mind to come and have a look at a bolt for me... He then confirmed 'the peugeot?' I said yes.. He's clearly seen me out there all the time faffing about.... hard not to notice me eh?
He came (oh behave readers!), he saw, he didn't conquer lol. No one will. He asked for the mole grips and couldn't do it.. Bless him he had a go and I thanked him very much for trying.
So, that's 2 men that have now tried and can't, including my woman-hours on such a job, I resign!
I'll hand over to my tame, but brutal mechanic with his Cobalt ... Wink wink.

Local neighbour who tried to help.......

Now, bolt aside.

I decided to clean this sexy bitch.

Insured *insert HUGE smile face here*

It has caused one big stressed headache since yesterday but I can safely say Miss Pug is insured, as of an hour ago.

Long story short, the pillocks who I was last with fed me with lies, telling me my no claims couldn't be transfered and 'recovered' if I went elsewhere.
Problem is, even without no claims and fully comp, it was £300 cheaper than they could do me for.
I got through to customer service today, asked if they had proof of my no claims, they do - and have sent them. So I went on with my way getting quotes from the likes of Money Supermarket and Compare The Market websites.
(For those who are interested, Money Supermarket returned much cheaper options).

The first cheapest company on fully comp, with my no claims was ''Sheilas wheels, model driver'' who wanted to play Big Brother with Miss Pug and me.
There's a tele-wotsit me-jig box they ''screw'' into the dash, which monitors your driving standards, you're braking distance and even the time of day you drive.
Should you speed, you apparently get fines from them (even if the police are not aware), should you be out past 9pm it can affect the policy prices.

I'm sorry, I don't do DRILLING HOLES IN MY DASH, nor this big brother bollocks, so made my way through the list.
Second cheapest (Motor quote direct) were incredibly helpful.

It turned out my previous insurance (last year) only had the car down as a 5 seater estate so I asked MQD if it came up as a 7 seater on their database, yes was the answer. We then got into a bit of conversation, he said 'I am sure Peugeot were the first to bring in a 7 seater estate weren't they?' I said I didn't know but Volvo came close I think.

Anyway, with that out the way I asked the question.
I couldn't remember the proper name: ''telematic box'' so I said 'Oh, do you install those telephone-wotsit, mejigs' his reply was 'Well I've never heard of those before, oh yes those - no we don't' I was like 'Ok, good I will go with you, no way is someone drilling holes in my dash'


So, in long and short, the car is finally insured. Costing an arm and leg but that's what you get for such a big engined car, a posh one at that lol.

Next thing is to conquer the abs screw, fit new sensor and to get her through her MOT (in Swindon, if you see us on our way, blown your horn, raise your hand) and then to go to Oxford DVLA to tax her. (Or I could ring DVLA and see how much a replacement V5 costs, and how long it would take to come).



Either way, one very happy girlie right here

Miss Pug is being a difficult customer with her ABS sensor

Well further to ''you tart ass karma sutra queen'' blog I write with some good and bad news.


Let's start with the good news.
Jobs were delegated yesterday to a friend who did the work yesterday, all I did was hold a torch.
He tried the 5mm allen key then the 6mm, and true to form it felt ''somewhere in between the two''
He also tried his torx bits, he tried T30 and T40 and said it was between them, I jumped up saying I had a Torx 35 (remember front seat rails) and again - it wouldn't work.
We then jumped to the conclusion it was rounded. Perhaps I had tried so bloody hard a few days ago that no amount of strength could move this very clearly stuck screw. If the screw is as stuck as it is, then surely the head was going to get mashed up anyway...
We are talking about a 13 year old screw, I doubt this job has been done before.
Anyway, my mechanic friend said to chisel through the side of the sensor, chisel off the screw.
Much elbow grease later and a piece of plastic went flying. He'd done it. He's broken the sensor away from the retaining screw.
I did say a couple of days ago this bolt isn't going to make it out in one piece and it became clear yesterday that the original sensor wasn't going to either, lol.
Anyway, with the sensor now free from the retaining screw we thought it would be easy enough to prize out the hole... WRONG. She put up a fight again. We tried everything to try and prize it out.
Was then advised to take the disk off and adopt the 'punch it through' idea...
It didn't take long and it was punched through (yippee!)

The bad news.
Although the sensor is out of it's place, the fact remains that bastard screw is locked into position with a knackered head. This is going to be an absolute pig of a job to do. My friend is a very strong man and if he couldn't do it - I stand absolutely no chance.
With work ground to a halt again I have no choice but to delay the MOT. Was hoping to have it done by the weekend (and drive over to Grampy's next weekend to lay flowers on his 2 year anniversary of passing) but I am sure he will understand my dilemma.
At the end of the day, he knows better than anyone what it's like to work on a stubborn machine..... :)

Ready for pics?

Plastic piece that went flying....... :)

One retaining screw-less abs speed sensor.

On a side note: I burnt 2 disks for my friend who helped me with this yesterday. I tested both in Miss Pug, both worked perfectly.
However, in his German crapola car - neither would play.
Nawww, see - Pugs are the best... just a teeny tiny bit too stubborn at times. :)

The Safety of Miss Pug

Ok - so this is something that's pissed me off for a while.

Just because the rear seats are in the boot it's automatically seen as ''unsafe'' or ''but I wouldnt do it as I love my kids''

What a stupid, pathetic comment. As if to imply that us 7 seater estate owners don't love our kids.

Need I remind you that ALL 7 / 8 seater estate cars or MPV's have child seats IN the boot?
Need I also remind you that what would you prefer?

Let's put it into theory: Both cars, rear shunt.

7 seater Zafira type car where, if there are children in the rear seats although they wouldn't see the accident, they have ''leg room'' which places them NEARER the ass of the car and more likely to suffer neck and back injury and possibly even get hit, depending on the speed involved.

7 seater estate such as my car, where as the children may perhaps see the impending accident their leg room is the boot space, which places them sitting nearer the inside of the car, they are physically already in a safer place. Depending on speed, the risk of foot, ankle injuries are the main thing here.

I know what I would prefer should I ever be in a rear shunt accident, foot and ankle, leg injuries than back and neck.

What kind of buffoon type person believes that because I much rather have a nippy estate car than a big fat huge MPV that I don't love my kids?
What kind of buffoon type person also believes that crumple zones endanger the children?
What kind of idiot type person also believes that they are unsafe because they are FURTHEST AWAY from the impact zone, should an accident arise?

I am sick of dealing with these kind of comments, although I still can't be certain of the exact amount of crumple zone within the rear end of the car, I CAN BE CERTAIN of the 3 STAR Euro NCAP rating, which if anyone wants to know is one star more than the D8 (pre-2001 model).

Now, I am going to take one deep breath and continue with my day.

By the way: I love my kids very much, which is why I took the time of day to research MY FACTS instead of spouting from an uninformed, uneducated gob.


P.s = LOOK for yourself.

I know which I'd prefer, and neck, HEAD and back injuries are NOT it.

Vauxhall Zafira getting ''arse raped'' <--- CLICK link to view video. Contains distressing images.

You tart ass karma sutra queen

Well with the airbags sorted the ONLY remaining job left is the rear O/S ABS sensor, which PP2000 picked upon some months back when I had a friend do the diagnostics on it.

I write this blog after spending 2 hours on ONE pissing screw on the car. The ABS sensor retaining bolt, it's a 5mm hex screw. I have tried both sets of Allen keys that I have, I have also tried a 5mm screw driver bit with both my rachet driver and the slim line screw driver: bugger all working.

I must stress that the screw is in a bit of a ''cosy'' place shall we say. Access meant my thick set ratchet screw driver couldn't get in there, the slimline could just about reach the screw, sitting on the axle itself. I have snapped off the end of my long nose pliers in such desperation.

Directly in front of said 5mm hex screw is a C shape piece of metal which holds the cable in place. I removed the cable from it's holder and still, access is greatly restricted.
I followed said 'holder' back and it goes into something looks like a rubber spring, pump thing - I think it is something I best stay away from by any means but if desperate I will have to look at removing it to improve access to the 5mm screw I need to remove.

Cosy.........

You can see here that although the caliper has been moved out the way, the bolt I need is along the same level as the axle itself, and if that doesn't make matters worse, the handbrake cable is nearby and also the bracket holding the abs cable.

The Culprit, including close up of the cable holder.

2 sets of Allen keys: both as useless as each other.

All that I have managed to today, is slightly move it, so that the angle of the screw is now at such an angle that things outside protrude and get in the way of turning the darn thing, removed the cable from 3 clips leading up towards the plug.
I have just ordered some hex sockets (3/8 drive) so that I can hopefully get in there and have a better go, gives me more traction one would hope. Will be at least Tuesday before they get here, so work - again is temporarily suspended.

Miss Pug, you tart ass karma sutra queen.

Other things to do:
* Insure her next week hopefully
* Do a simple test on the exhaust to see if she's blowing (had a quick look at the exhaust back box today while under the car, it pains me to say this but even I will be surprised if it's not blowing, that said although it has definitely ''seen better days'' it appears in one piece, but there maybe a UHITR (unidentified hole in the rust)
* Finish ABS sensor
* BOOK AN MOT (very excited at this, she will be on the road to make her journey over towards the test station in Swindon, Wiltshire - if you happen to see us, WAVE!)

Have been thinking, to make a custom sticker with the blog link on it. Some kind of sexy woman sticker with tools in her hand and the address maybe?
I know I have a few followers who read the blog and most find it an interesting read... I am turning into a sticker junkie for sure. I think they are sexy, would love a HUGE lion on the bonnet, similar to THIS............. (PREPARE YOUR EYES FOR BEAUTY)

Perhaps I wouldn't have a lion sticker as BIG as this, but certainly it would dominate my bonnet.

On another side note: NONE of this work on my car is easy. I am extremely limited to what time I can spend out on the car before I can no longer feel my fingers and if that happens when I am under the chassis then I can really struggle to get back out. Exposed to cold I seize up, I may not even be 30 yet but I have the body of an old woman. My joints are painful and even today I woke up in so much pain that I contemplated for a mini second NOT even attempting any work today but then I remembered what a fighter I am, what family I come from, we don't give up and let an illness beat us. I put on my over alls, I put my cap on and I set about it. It is 5.30pm and I have been inside the house now longer than I spent outside, (2 hours outside, 2.5 inside) and I am only just regaining my feeling, sensation and warming up. I have had the heating on FULL, the french doors closed to warm up the lounge to excessive levels and I have had 2 coffees too.

I must thank you John, for the phone calls while outside on the car, Pity about the bastard lawn mowers, wheelie bins and all sorts we had to contend with.. John is my partner in crime, he is a mobile mechanic in the North who also knows which side his bread is buttered, owning a few Peugeot's himself. Constantly explaining things in laymen terms for myself to understand. I hope that this blog is somewhere in the middle of that, so that my followers don't get too confused with the technical jargon I am having to come to terms with.
On the plus side, if you asked me 2 years ago what was a 3/8 drive compared to a 1/2 drive I wouldn't of been able to tell you. I am slowly but surely making progress and although I have a long way to go  in the way of understanding what the crank shaft pulleys are, I am slowly learning what's what with the car and while I hold my hands up and admit ''what the hell were Peugeot thinking when they laid out this design for the ABS sensor'' I love my Pug and I am dedicated to Peugeot. Wouldn't even buy something other than Peugeot. Some think I am sad, some think I am deluded. I don't honestly give a flying fuck because I have my own reasons for being passionate about Peugeot. I think I am as passionate for Peugeot as my Grampy was about his Fergusson TE20 tractor.

Anyway, until my hex sockets arrive, over and out, work has been suspended until further notice. I say this, but I could be doing something more constructive, like getting the right attachments for the hose and pressure washer, he he.


Enjoy this mornings picture of me.

Air Bags **BOOOOOM** ((Job Complete))

Air bags electrics: Job Complete.


Remember these?

Well, yesterday - they became this:

Check out the colour co-ordinated cable tie? :)

And here is how I got there:

You can see all 4 wires exposed and stripped ready.

Each connection with the insulated spade connector crimped on. Once crimped on, I gave a little tug to make sure the exposed wire was secure within the connector. :)

First off, the crimp on insulated connectors were cheap and off flea-bay, as a result, Mr Spade Connector was too big for Mrs Spade connector, thus - I had to chop his willy off to a certain extent, lol.

In an ideal world I would of bought some ''heat shrink tubing'' which does exactly what it means. It is tubing you shrink onto the connectors. However that would of meant not only buying the heat shrink tubing, but also a heat gun as I think my hair dryer would of been very much insufficient (closest thing I have to a heat gun).

All crimped up and joined, even covered with colour co-ordinated electrical insulation tape. :)

Held in place with a cable tie - colour co-ordinated. :)

This is a job I have feared ever since I mascaraed the electrics.
Not only is it a job that could leave an air bag deploying in ones face (probably mine) but it was a job that if the air bag had deployed would of lead to MAJOR work in taking everything out the console to replace it and that would of taken hours, if not days. On some cars you can just pop out the panel but my fascia is one solid piece, so when the air bag is deployed it breaks through the plastic surround, leading to one expensive and long job.

As you can see from the first picture, I had 2 oranges (same side) to connect to 1 pink and 1 blue cable. Now the writing on the orange cables were just too small to recognize if there was any difference what so ever on them.

I then consulted Mr Haynes; who wasn't that clear either.
I made the decision then that it didn't matter exactly which orange connected to the pink and it didn't matter which one joined to the blue.
The fact of the matter is I based my decision on this A4 page of scribbling I did after consulting Mr Haynes.

I did try tracing the orange wires back for 'codes' to differentiate them but as I said, it was impossible to read.

The fact of the matter is (hey I said that already didn't I?) the fact Mr Haynes refers to them as ''2or'' (2 orange to me and you) is just it, 2 orange cables. IF there was a different between the two it would be something like ''or1 and or2''.

After speaking to my ''Robbie Williams Voice Substitute'' he put ideas in my head.... Turn the passenger side air bag on (when job complete obviously), put the key in the ignition and then re-connect the battery from the engine bay: that way IF the air bag deployed I would be no where near it.

After I had crimped them up, taped and secured all connections back in place I made a life-line call.
My mechanic friend up North (not the voice sub), I told him exactly what I had done and made sure that everything was A-ok and that a fibro fog hadn't made me do something stupid like connect it to the wrong one or something silly - Fellow fibro people will know what that's about. Anyhow, he re-assured me I had done everything as he perhaps would of and that it should be ok.
I thanked him for his kind words then set about putting the air bag switch in the central console back in the ''ON'' position and put the key in the ignition. I then started to shake with the most stomach churning fear ever. Was I about to write my car off? I laid a rug over the seat and floor pan just in case the air bag deployed as the powder / gas would go everywhere. I even left the door open for good measure, if the air bag deployed it would be important for that gas to escape into the atmosphere as it is highly irritant.
Anyway, battery time. Shaking with fear and my stomach churning, I picked up the negative terminal and attached it to the battery. I instantly heard the ignition tick tick tick and thought, ''6 second air bag test, will it or won't it? It hasn't gone yet, it hasn't gone yet, 6 seconds must be up by now? It hasn't exploded'' I then let out a very typical woman high pitched scream from excitement. I tightened up the terminal and then went into turn the key. The lights were all static. I couldn't remember if this was a good or bad sign. I turned the key off and then put the ignition back on, all lights remained static.
I then fired the ''old girl'' up and the air bag light went OUT.
The ABS sensor still sounded and flashed up with the typical ''car skidding on road'' symbol but so much for the 'now the passenger side is ''off'' and the air bag light remains the fault MUST be on the drivers side'' I am so pleased that with help, support and guidance I have done this job with my own fair hands. No asking someone to come and do it (I won't lie, there was a few times where I thought, I am well out of my depth, let's pay a professional to come and take over now) but I am glad I persisted because it HAS paid off. I may be FAR from a professional but everyone learns somewhere and I am on my journey of learning.

Thank you John, Lou and everyone else who has offered welcome support and advice.

I also Thank You Miss Pug.
I love this car and it pains me to see her off road, she belongs ON the road. She belongs to be driven and deserves that much at least.

Airbag job: Complete. Now to sort the ABS sensor :)