[arvi86]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

All in all the car is feeling great to drive with the clutch repair and after a long time i have started to enjoy driving.I was even looking forward to drive it to office today.

Sumeet buddy, after all the problems that you've faced with it, I am glad that you have got that 'great' feeling back while driving the car. This just reinforces the decision that you took to retain the car, isn't it? Keep munching miles with rewarding smiles!

P.S - If you were looking forward for a drive to work on a Monday morning, imagine how would you be on a Friday evening. Your Civic rocks.

[sumeethaldankar]

ODO has now touched approx 57,700 kms. Touch wood nothing much to report except that there is a distinct sound which seems to be coming from the auto tensioner area.I had shown it to the Hass adviser last time and he said as of now nothing is to be done about same. I do have noticed the sound is pretty loud at idle and feel that the auto tensioner thingy might be on it's way out.

Due to the noise issue i am avoiding revving the car beyong 2.5K rpm for now. I will be going for regular maintenance at HASS and then ask them to look at it again. Yes i will be going to HASS for service , after years of advocating people to go to FNG for maintenence i myslef will be going to Hass from now on for servicing. Let's see how it goes. Next service is scheduled at 59K kms as i had done the oil change at 49K with Shell Helix Ultra. Most probably this will happen by next month.


I have replaced the air filter with a Sakura make for 450 bucks. Pai auto had charged 495 bucks for same when i had got a Sakura from them. Got this one from another shop. Below are pics of the old air filter and the new one. I had done around 12K kms on the old air filter and thought it was high time that i changed the filter.

[sumeethaldankar]

I had gone to Suraj Auto for a general tune up and checking. On the return trip home i found the temp gauge going beyond the normal mark. I switched off the a/c and cng and found the temp gauge moving down to it's normal position. When i came home i popped open the bonnet and switched on the a/c. Just as i had suspected i found the a/c condenser fan was not switching on.

I called up Honda and asked how much a a/c condenser fan would cost. They quoted a astronomical mind numbing 12K for same. I then decided to show it to a local a/c garage guy who first checked the relay for issues and diagnosed a fan failure. He quoted 3.2K for a original denso and around 1800 for a non original make. I decided to go with the original denso for 3.2k + 100 buck labour. So that's another 3.3 k drain on my wallet.

Below are some pics.





The old fan motor. I forgot to take pics of the new one.

[sumeethaldankar]

Had given the car to Hass for service yesterday. Changed the engine mount as the last one had become weak within a month of fitting. This one has a 6 month gurantee in the Hass advisors words and is expected to last for a longer duration. In fact Hass guy said the issue has been more or less resolved with this mount as it was internally redesigned by Honda several times. Frankly only time will tell.

Changed the oil to Honda Synthetic 0W 30. Not much difference between the old shelix and this one. The car has become a bit silent in petrol mode. When i was driving back home i started to hear weird noises from the engine bay. To describe it exactly it sounded almost like a dog barking from under the hood . It turned out the radiator fan was making those noise and it was rattling especially when it came to a stop. Showed it to the guy from whom i had changed the condenser fan motor. He said the fan motor is on it's way out and needs to be replaced. Original Denso 2500 + 200 labor. And i just got it serviced yesterday just imagine with a fat bill.

Below are some pics of the new mount, the old and new fan motor and the old engine mount. Also the bill pic which shows the mount part no in case anybody is interested in getting the mount.

The new mount.


The new and old fan motor for the radiator. Incidentally the smaller condenser motor costs more than the larger radiator one.



The old mount.









Part no and cost for the mount.







I have now more or less ironed out many issues with the car. I keep wondering what more issue will come, what next ? As per the Hass advisor i need not should have got a complete overhaul of the front suspension and should have replaced only what was needed. The shocks as per him should have last longer. But what's done is done. All i can do now is not to expect a complete overhaul of the rear suspension any time soon and hope i can push the existing rear setup for atleast 10-15K more kms.

[sumeethaldankar]

ODO has crossed the 60k mark. The car is still having the idle noise issue which makes it's sound like a diesel car. As per Hass guy, there is no immediate need to change the auto-tensioner and serpentine belt so living with the diesel clatter in a CNG converted petrol sedan for now.

The symptom is same as described here.

http://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-20...ngine-2669557/

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

The car is still having the idle noise issue which makes it's sound like a diesel car. As per Hass guy, there is no immediate need to change the auto-tensioner and serpentine belt so living with the diesel clatter in a CNG converted petrol sedan for now.

Is there a reason why you aren't going the FNG route for fixing the auto-tensioner? It's better we sort out these noises at the earliest as, most of the times, they compound into multiple problems. I'm fighting noises in my Civic too, albeit ones that come from the front wheel bearings.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by arvi86

Is there a reason why you aren't going the FNG route for fixing the auto-tensioner? It's better we sort out these noises at the earliest as, most of the times, they compound into multiple problems. I'm fighting noises in my Civic too, albeit ones that come from the front wheel bearings.

I believe the auto tensioner price would be same outside as it's in HASS. So no FNG for me for that. Anyways as per HASS advisor it's not needed soon. He checked the sound of the car by revving the engine upto 3K rpm and said it's fine even if it sound's odd.

Meanwhile i will be taking the car every 3 months to Hass for service as i am pushing the 5k mark every 3 months.

[sumeethaldankar]

The head unit had conked off last week. Had called up HASS and they said that it would cost 6k to fix. Did not bother to go them. I know outside i could have got the same done for just max 1-2k. But the non availability of USB playback was bugging me for long. Most cars and even commercial vehicles flaunt a USB stick jutting out of their audio systems and i was just tired of burning CD's and having to maintain them (keep them from getting scratched).

Once the audio unit conked off (there was no sound coming from the speakers) i had more or less decided to go for a USB player. I took it to a shop where i had bought a couple of JVC systems for my 800 previously. They checked and said something wrong with the IC and can be repaired. I chose to get a new one with proper USB player. One of the reasons i was hesitating before to go for a USB player because i did not wanted to sacrifice the OEM look of the dashboard. But i guess functionality had to take precedence over aesthetics and looks. I did had the FM modulator but it had it's own set of issues eg; track would start from 1 again if switched off the ignition.

I did not go in for a touch screen but decided to go in for a fairly basic Pioneer head unit (FH-X369UB). It cost 6k + 1k for harness and radio antenna and 3.5k for the dashboard trim (Taiwan make). I was pleased that the dashboard trim matched with the interior of the car. Audio quality is good though a speaker to the left is not working. I decided not to replace same as i have already spent enough money on the car. Below are some pics. The look is not bad as i thought it would be and i had asked for a blue display unit which would match the blue display of the dashboard.

The original head unit weighed atleast 2-3 kg. Plus my entire 6 cd collection fitted in the USB drive with 2 gb to spare. I no longer have to carry CD cases. The unit comes with a mix trax collection feature which randomly selects a song from any folder and plays back.

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

I did not go in for a touch screen but decided to go in for a fairly basic Pioneer head unit (FH-X369UB). It cost 6k + 1k for harness and radio antenna and 3.5k for the dashboard trim (Taiwan make).

That's a good upgrade Sumeet. Not having to burn CDs and carry a CD case on every trip is a big relief indeed. I went looking for this specific head unit and ended up spending more than thrice as much in the touchscreen system installed in my car.Talk about overspending!

By the way, isn't the illumination a tad brighter than necessary? Is it possible to reduce the intensity?

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by arvi86

By the way, isn't the illumination a tad brighter than necessary? Is it possible to reduce the intensity?

It has a dimmer option but that still too bright but i guess i can adjust the Civic's dimmer too but i am not too bothered by it. The system reminds me of the Tron movie not that i am a fan of same.

Meanwhile i got myself a Transcend DP 100 dash cam. It cost 8.8 k on Amazon.

Below are some pics of same.

The Box.


Inside the Box was another one.



The contents of the box.

The DP camera, mount & the power cord & the 16 GB SD card.







I managed to hide the wire through the roof liner and the rubber beading around the door.

This comes from under the bottom of the passenger side door.


Here it has been hidden below the glove box.


The camera has been placed behind the rear view mirror.


From outside the camera is pretty much visible.


So i put a tape on the transcend logo and on the chrome part around the lens to camouflage it a bit.



Screen grabs from the video. It's possible to take pics too from the DP.

[skdking]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

...

Meanwhile i got myself a Transcend DP 100 dash cam. It cost 8.8 k on Amazon.

.....

Good pictures, sumeet.

Am also getting tempted.

What is the size of the hard disk? Other specs? The video output goes to the screen of your music player. Right?

Thanks.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by skdking

Good pictures, sumeet.

Am also getting tempted.

What is the size of the hard disk? Other specs? The video output goes to the screen of your music player. Right?

Thanks.

There is no hard disk , the camera comes with a 16Gb SD card which stores the videos. The Dash Cam has a screen where you can watch the videos. I do not have a screen on my music system. You can insert the SD card in your mobile and watch the videos from there or copy to a laptop/PC. The camera would need a separate compatible cable to directly connect to a laptop/PC. You can get the specs from Amazon or Transcend's own site.

[sumeethaldankar]

Had given the car to HASS for a scheduled service which incidentally only included a general checkup. I drive the car 1400 to 1600 kms a month which makes the ODO to clock a additional 5k kms in just around 3.5 months time. Since my almost 5k kms was up i gave the car for service.

I drove the car to my regular Hass at Linkway Honda who were delighted to have me since i am one of those who adhere to their 3 months schedule service visit . I had reported a metallic thunk coming from the mount side of the car while driving over potholes. Hass came back saying that nothing to be concerned about for now and they will take it up if the noise increases. I did not bother to too much about it and let it be.The rear bumper had come a bit loose courtesy the wonderful children in the neighborhood who love my car and like to lean and at times sit on the rear bumper. HASS managed to fit it back but i do not long it will stay that way.

The total bill came around 2225 Rs the lowest i ever paid at HASS. The service technician with whom i had taken a test drive noticed that the car jerked a bit and could need the ignition coil looked into. But since i am not having much trouble with the jerks which come once a while, the HASS advisor suggested we need not bother for now and if the time comes we could change only the bad ignition coil rather than all 4 at a time. Each coil cost a ridiculous 4-5k Rs. I will have the same inspected in the next service which according to my HASS advisor would be a major one

[sumeethaldankar]

The car has now crossed 64K kms. While i am delighted to have cross the 64k mark the speedo issue has cropped up again to spoil my fun. Only now it's a different issue altogether. Earlier what would happen was that the speedo would not come on at all. Now what is happening is that it would switch off even after locking the car and arming the security system.

I tried the old approach by disconnecting and re-connecting the battery but the issue remains. I hope and pray it does not drain the battery. The over zealous rainy season got to be a factor for same. I am not really sure what the issue is ? Is it the speedo or something else ? The speedo display blanks out for a moment when the door is closed, specifically the passenger side front door (since my driver side is always blocked as i park with the driver side door next to the building wall). Below are a couple of pics of the speedo in action when the car security has been armed (standard alarm system not autocop etc).

After switching off the car it remains like below



and now is staying at below status after engaging the security alarm.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Earlier what would happen was that the speedo would not come on at all. Now what is happening is that it would switch off even after locking the car and arming the security system.

What i meant was that the speedo would not switch off even after arming the car. Anyways a update on the issue. Drove to office today in the morning. The speedo last i checked in the office parking lot seems to have come back to normal. At home in the parking the display would on, stay on for some time and go away after the rains would stop. When it starts to rain it would come back on. Keeping fingers crossed that the speedo acts normally otherwise it's a very expensive item (15K at Honda).