Jamie Brookes

Second update - the passenger side was resolved in exactly the same manner, with a spray of DWF to the ‘defective’ motor. The cogs and worm gears were in excellent shape, and well greased, on both mirrors so I really don’t understand what stopped the U/D motors from working, nor do I understand why they came back to life with a squirt of DWF. Anyway, hopefully this approach might be of use to others who assume that their mirrors cannot be salvaged without buying a costly replacement.

Thanks for extra info Kev. Yes, my wing mirrors fold in but I have not tested the other functions. As an update, I stripped the driver’s side mirror and swapped the motors over between L/R and U/D to check whether it was a motor or switch/wiring issue. Turns out one of the motors was unresponsive, but I sprayed it internally as best I could with DWF and it came back to life. So all-told a fairly simple job, although I spent quite a long time trying to work out how to remove the mirror housing without breaking any of the securing tabs. Hopefully the passenger side can be resolved in the same way.

Thanks for the extra info. I will take both the switch and/or the mirrors apart and see where the problem lies. I don’t like it when things don’t work, even if not required too often. Also, I fear I may have to let SWMBO drive the car, and she is a good deal shorter than me so will need the mirror U/D adjustment. Still, this could be a good excuse to stop her driving it🤔

Thanks

Hi all, Apologies for asking a very basic question, but I need to take the mirror switch off my SC to clean the contacts. Both mirrors only operate L/R but not U/D. I’m hoping it’s just the switch. The question is simply, is the switch a push-fit which I can just prise out with a couple of flat blades on either side? many thanks, Jamie

Thanks everyone for your replies. Think I’ll just charge the battery directly via my AA battery charger, for now. My solar panels are probably not powerful enough in any event.

Hello all, I'm due to pick up my SC 430 tomorrow and would be grateful for some advice on whether my solar battery charger would work via the cigarette lighter socket. The charger has the relevant plug for this socket, but not an OBD plug. I did see a previous thread that suggested this socket might be isolated when the ignition is off but couldn't see a definitive answer. If anyone knows if this approach would work, and if there are any downsides, please could you let me know. Many thanks, Jamie

Thanks for the info/advice Nigel. I will test drive another one and then see if I need to lower my expectations. I drove an XJS convertible some years ago and I was hoping for similar levels of refinement, although perhaps my memory is failing me.

Thanks again. Think you may be looking at a different advert. This car's ad only says cambelt changed, and the owner doesn't know if the WP has been changed too. Sadly no invoices in the paperwork. I really want one of these cars but must try and not to let heart-rule-head until I know what other owners think of these 'issues' and whether they can be improved. I will try and get a test drive on another car this week to do a comparison.

Thanks for your quick response Bob. Very helpful. The tyres are Falken Azenis FK510, and the car is on standard 18" wheels.

Hi all, I have wanted an SC 430 for years, and finally have the readies to buy one. I looked at a black '06 plate car for sale recently and was slightly underwhelmed in a couple of areas during my ever first drive in one, which has rather put me off. I'm hoping those more knowledgeable than me on this forum can enlighten me. The car is a face-lift model but still with the lower tax. 1) The ride comfort was ok, but there was more tyre-noise than I was expecting from a luxury car. The tyres are fairly new and are Falcon Azenis I think. Would anyone know if these are especially noisy tyres for this vehicle and whether there are other brands that could appreciably reduce the tyre noise? 2) With the roof down (and the windows up or down) there seemed to be a lot of buffeting. More in fact than a Z3 I owned previously. I have seen a wind-deflector for sale for about £300. Does anyone have any experience of these devices and if so, do they work? Also, with this particular car, the service history is patchy, with a gap in the service record between 10k miles and 55k miles, over 4 years. After that there seem to be some sketchy stamps in the book (independents) but no associated paperwork. There is a cambelt change sticker on the engine but the owner doesn't know if the water pump has been changed. Should I worry about the lack of servicing in its early years? Car and engine look solid and tidy and there are no untoward noises, no leaks, and the oil and coolant both look fine. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks, Jamie