Weekend In Review

[kingandy]

Yesterday was great - ajon and richc's wedding went off without a hitch (in a good way), save for a smattering of rain and a slightly perculiar organist.  Oh, and some small confusion regarding exactly who was invited to the meal part of the reception, but bacony and spodula allegedly had a cracking time anyway, wherever it was they went.

Today - not so good.  Drove down to Coventry to catch up with some old friends, which in and of itself was good good fun.  However, on the way down I managed to get myself flashed by speed cameras again (despite being scornful of anne_l_davies's advice to be careful through the roadworks, because I very rarely speed through roadworks - but when it came to it I was still slowing down from entering them, and the man behind was very close, and oh bugger.)  That makes 9 points on the license in the last 3 years, which I gather is the point at which bad things happen.  At least, the letter on the last one said something about "If you've collected 9 or more..." but stsquad seemed adamant that it meant that it was only bad if you already had 9 and this took you over...

(ETA: The DVLA site has it that "A person whose penalty points reach 12 or more in a period of 3 years is liable to be disqualified". Phew. I guess I'll just have to be a good boy from now on...)

Then on the way back, driving through Didsbury (which was a little out of my way, I decided to take the scenic route after coming the wrong way off the M56 - you'd expect the left lane to turn you left, wouldn't you?  But no) my brakes stopped working.  It may have been somewhat irresponsible of me to continue the drive home but I was going slowly and used my gears and handbrake to stop and I didn't crash at all.  (Plus the brakes still worked a little if I pushed it all the way down.  Does that suggest the brake pads fell off or something?)

Car is under warranty (which was a little odd and involved filling out a form for some insurance - I'm not sure if that means I have to contact the insurers or the salesman).  So I guess I'll spend tomorrow ringing people and/or visiting garages, or something.  So, overall, I am not best pleased with today.  Feeling down and a little bit edgy.

Comments

[marcushill.livejournal.com]

The brake warning light will come on if the fluid level is low. There are not, to my knowledge, any sensors which detect problems with your pads or discs. You can purchase brake fluid at most petrol stations - check the manual to see what sort you need and where to fill it. You may also need to bleed the system through to remove any airlocks if it's been completely drained. I'd check all the bits of the brake hydraulic system you can get at to see if there are any obvious leaks before starting, there's no point putting fluid in if there's a split pipe or the like.

[kingandy]

Apparently there is a broken pipe. But thanks for playing!

[stsquad.livejournal.com]

Some brake pads have wires embedded into them that short out when the brakes get suitably low. I believe even my old Metro had such a detection system.

[(Anonymous)]

I've never had a car that had that system (that I'm aware of). But then, I've never felt pads need a warning because of the aforementioned horrible scraping noises you get if you brake when the pads have got too worn.