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Hi All, My VS Calais V6 Series 1 has had consistent issues with not starting after a short drive. Scenario: I'll drive the car for 3 km then I'll park it and then if I need to start it up again, it cranks over but it refuses to start. I've had the engine light appear numerous times after a...

Hi I have an issue with my 1995 VS Ecotec V6 which will run normal for the first 10 minutes of driving. It will reach a quarter on temp gauge and then the low speed fan kicks in and the engine light turns on. The car then has this strange almost automatic slow acceleration without any throttle...

Thanks for your advice @Pollushon. Appreciate it

What is the old wafers and number position? How much did the locksmith charge as guide?

I just managed to free the steering wheel up and get the ignition to turn. It still feels a bit stuck so I assume its fragile. Anyways to prevent this from getting worse like WD-40 or other types products.

Thanks @Pullushon. Unfortunate news. Are these expensive to fix?

Hi All, My ignition key won't turn and I when I turned my steering wheel its gone into the locked position and I can't turn it. Its stuck. Has anyone had this issue as I can't start or drive the car. I've searched the forum for similar scenarios with some videos. Would disconnecting the battery...

The car does less than 1000km a year and its a yearly maintenance engine oil and filter change.

Hi, Just wondering if anyone knows if the Nulon 20w 50 semi synthetic engine oil is still available. Finding it difficult to find at the large auto stores. My alternative is to use either a premium mineral 20w 50 by Nulon or the 20w 60 by Penrite. No semi-synthetics seem to exist apart from...

Its just the stop lamp when I hit the brake pedal. The lights appear to work. I removed the rear tail light today and moved the globe around in the socket and it seems to be working again. I think its a connection issue. Might be time to replace the globe socket.

Its all been cleaned up.

The globe doesn't fail or blow out. It just doesn't flash when I brake. It could be the contact or something else related to the socket.

Is there a way to permanently make the left rear brake light stay working? I've changed the globes and they work however there is something with the way the connection or the way the globe is held into place that must be causing this to consistently stop working after a while. What are the...

I have a near new battery in my VS. The car only gets driven occasionally and I put it on a slow charge using CTEK 5.0 once a week to keep it maintained. Once its fully charged to 12.6 volts it will eventually drop to 11.8 over the week. It never stays at above 12 volts. I don't think it is the...

Hi, My console cigarette lighter doesn't appear to make any electricity when I connect a socket to it, in my case, the GPS usb cable. Is this a common problem or something easy to fix? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Thanks @vc commodore.

@vccommodore - what were some of the signs that this was happening or about to need replacement? Was it an expensive replacement item? I'd be paying someone to repair if it was an issue due to lack of skills and tools to try myself.

Hopefully the dust/grease boot is just cracked and the grease is just leaking. Seems to be oil or something more liquid than grease because it seems to be spread either side of that boot both left and right?

Thank you for this diagram @immortality

Not making any vibrations at the moment however I'll keep an eye on it. It hasn't been altered or attended to by anyone in many years so I'm not sure if its the beginning of a problem or cracked seal? My knowledge is limited on these tailshaft issues.

Is this an issue - would the seal need to be replaced and re-greased? I'm trying to find some diagrams of this to get a better understanding.

I recently had a look under my car and have noticed a leak which I think is at the tailshaft centre bearing (Correct me if I am wrong - not an expert in this area and my terminology may be incorrect)? Is this a major issue - expensive exercise or just a seal replacement? Any advice would be...

Hi, what tyres has anyone purchased for a basic 15 inch commodore alloy wheel. Original 205/65/R15 95H? Look for brand recommendations and specs.

Hi, The Ecotec V6 in my VS has always run at quite a high temperature usually reaching 3/4 on the temp gauge. What are some methods to get that to stay at half, particularly in heavy traffic, sitting idle at the lights. Its not great waiting for it to reach 3/4 and hoping the fan kicks in too...

Hi, I am looking at replacing my tyres on my VS alloys wheels. The size is the stock 205/65HR15. I'm looking for tyres that will be good in wet weather conditions. Someone recommended PirellI P6 Centuratos which are a more expensive option. Its difficult to judge what is a good tyre but if...

My stock VS V6 Ecotec engine reaches about 3 quarters say about 75% on the temperature guage usually at idle when in traffic. This has been the case for many years and eventually the fans kick in to cool it. Is this normal? The cars has new thermostat + new gasket, new coolant etc. The only...

Its a 15inch alloy so might be 21mm. I don't have any sockets. I am looking at buying 1/2 impact wrench so just looking at the options and total I might need to spend. Thanks @losh1971

Hi, I am looking to buy the correct sized Impact Socket Deep 1/2" Drive to remove the bolts from the wheels on my car. What is the correct size. I can't find an exact number in the manuals I own? These are just standard 15inch wheels. Thanks

@losh1971 thanks for that. I am located in Victoria. Both battery brands are well known so I will consider either.

@gtrboyy I noticed there is the Century Ultra Hi Performance Car Battery 67 MF with 640CCA. Can you recommend an affordable trickle charger?

Yes, I agree @losh1971 , @chrisp and @gtrboyy. I wanted to be sure it was the battery not the alternator. Both batteries I tried in the car are over 5 years old. Now time to search for a new battery. The current battery is a 550CCA RACV Sealed type.

I've been monitoring the battery/car over the past few days. Today, it was at 9.0 volts. I charged the battery again for about 15 minutes today and it quickly reached 12.2 volts. As soon as I put the key into the ignition and turned the key, the voltage dropped instantly back to 8.7 volts within...

Just did another test now. I charged the battery again to 12.6 volts it dropped to 9 volts yesterday. It was very quick to charge which is unusual for my charger. Car started fine. Radio, high beam lights, air-conditioner and hazards were all on and it dropped to 14.1 volts whilst running...

@rambunctious which photo was that in?

Thanks @Lex. Will do.

Thanks @rambunctious for the advice. I haven't got a vice unfortunately.

Thanks @Lex for spotting that. Will need to address that issue. The negative tightens up but can be removed by hand. It looks like the terminal clamp needs to be a few millimeters smaller in radius. I've tried many and they all have the same problem. I've also tried the clamp on 2 different...

Thanks @gtrboyy boyy - exactly. Agreed. A battery terminal isn't going to drain an entire battery that quickly. Nothing has been left on, no lights, accessories, or boot light. I've checked all those items. Its something else and its just a matter of finding the cause.

The recent occurrence saw the voltage drop to 9 volts in less than 15 minutes however a day earlier, the voltage went from 12.6 to 11.8 over 24 hours. One week earlier, a similar scenario occurred. There is no consistency with the voltage drop which makes me think something else like the...

I am measuring directly on the battery posts to get the voltage when the car is off and then again when it is running. I am also using a ground point for the negative reference.