Berlingo MOT with number plate bulb fiasco!

[@KirksAudioSanctum]

Miss Hubhut never disappoints... Laughing when you said going in from the rear! Never change, you are wonderful.

[@KirksAudioSanctum]

Are you sure it's not the heatplugs? They seem to go off very quickly. My old Terrano used to be on for 5 seconds from cold.

[@HubNut]

Yup, that's entirely how they are from factory.

[@KirksAudioSanctum]

@@HubNut OK mate cross them off the list! Not much else you have not checked... How is the fuel pump?

[@edwardalannewton8591]

Both you and miss hubnut are a brilliant team and the banter is brilliant to so thx for the videos especially when things go the hubnut way

[@alansmith1770]

Miss Hubnut is lovely

[@error079]

Bless you for keeping us amused. A light bulb is a user serviceable item and therefor should be easy to access, even though it's a french car.

[@Cayres9]

Ian struggling to repair Bella , Ms Hubnut commences Devilish Laughter in the background haha got to love her sense of humour

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Fantastic to hear Bella passed the MOT Ian, so a few jobs to do over the next year on Bella.

[@geoffsclassiccars]

Great video just to point out if you have 2 number plate lights as long as 1 works Your vehicle will still pass but with a minor defect

[@HubNut]

Yup, tester did say that when I mentioned it. Ah well. Done now.

[@mr-wx3lv]

😂😂 You two and Steph from idriveaclassic are just naturals when it comes to accidental innuendo...

[@chrisfrob]

Glad you've got Bella sorted.........one of my favourite cars on the Hubnut fleet. Look forward to seeing more Bella/Bob adventures when the weather warms up.

[@mikecleasby709]

I reckon that Bella should have another go on the rolling road after some fresh injectors….. 😉 Congratulations on the MOT pass too. Keep up the great work with the double entendres too 😉😆😆😆

[@tomoreilly9932]

Why is anything electrical on a French car like a quest for the holy grail 🚙😱

[@vivianhughes9347]

Magnificent M49s. Still lots of those in everyday use in France. Worthy successors to the 2CV. Wishing you many more miles in Bella.

[@Matthew-Fletcher]

Speaking from experience it’s much easier to get things out on a hot engine than a cold one. The spark plugs on the S80 were giving me issues a couple of months ago. Would turn slightly then go solid again. Got the engine nice and hot with a mild thrashing to Hampton court and back, they cane out perfectly.

[@gazzertrn]

Hope it was the car you "Thrashed" lol.

[@andypicken7848]

Straight MOT pass on a 52 plate is very good news Ian. Im very much looking forward to the engine fix, Im in a similar situation myself at present. Good luck

[@sirteshi3804]

My dad's Berlingo just failed it's MOT yesterday after he had it for 20 years. Brilliant car. RIP My Dads Berlingo PL53 VTT.

[@HubNut]

Aw.

[@MultiVogon]

Well that was timely. My Berlingo is being MOT'd in a couple of days, and I hadn't checked the lights.... yes... one of my numberplate bulbs has also gone. D'oh! Apparently I just have to 'remove the plastic lens with a screwdriver'. Hmm, what could possibly go wrong?

[@MultiVogon]

Well I just went out to fix it, only to find that it has mysteriously fixed itself. Why? Because French of course 🙄 I think we all know that it's going to stop working again just as the MOT tester looks at it...

[@MultiVogon]

GUESS WHICH BULB THEY HAD TO CHANGE BEFORE IT PASSED THE MOT... sigh... good job we like French cars 🙃

[@stippolyte]

One or both of you very rarely fail to brighten my day, more often than not a laugh will be the minimum achievement. 😊

[@bondbug73]

I agree with Miss HubNut's solution. I quote as I adjust my reading glasses.... "Approach it from the rear". 😄

[@anthonystevens8683]

Congratulations to Bella on passing her MOT. Top job Ian and Carly for the number plate light fix. Nothing is simple these days on cars, they are designed to be built at the factory but not it seems to be taken apart. Many thanks for sharing.

[@coldwarmotors]

Hey guys! Congrats on the MOT pass! All the very best as always from Canada...

[@HubNut]

Hello folks! Thanks.

[@chrisoncars4879]

Good news on the pass! Typical PSA number plate fittings, can be accessed from outside but they often go brittle and break. I always order a complete new unit and fit that.

[@davidthehillbilly7995]

Compression tester on its way, should show up on Saturday. Were any of the oranges a big hit? Asking for next year....

[@HubNut]

Oh wow. Thank you! The mysterious oranges were very well received. Thanks again.

[@misshubnut]

Dark chocolate is the winner for me! Thank you so much. Little Miss Hubnut was particularly pleased as she loves a chocolate orange

[@paultaylor9652]

The way the roads are going, every car will be rattling away, so everyone will be like Bella, Mr HubNut.

[@Morgenstern1914]

Had the honor to drive one of these some 15 years ago and it was always very pleasant ride. I would even like to have it back 😊

[@CortinasAndClassics]

Well done Ian and Bella. Hopefully she will be on the fleet for a long time to come. My 75 injectors need looking at too.

[@mikes747]

I gave up with mine and took the advisory on the MOT!

[@tristanpage6805]

Great content. Look forward to the next

[@TheOracle65]

I am wearing my Because French t-shirt today in honour of both the MOT pass and the easy numberplate bulb replacement process. At least it was easier than the GSA, which gave us the funniest (although not at the time!) YT 10-second clip of 2023.

[@kevinoconnor7684]

Hi Ian, Great to have Berlingo set for another year.. They are great cars, had almost 400,000 on mine still with orig turbo and clutch.. On my experience with berlingo starting issues a good starter & batt is important as engine needs certain rpm before injection activated other thing is valves receding in the head causing leakage of compression for starting.. worth doing a comp test. With all your work on Bella hopefully she'll be good for motoring for a while.. Cheers

[@hectorshouse7348]

I think she deserves to go to your Citroen specialist 😃

[@daniellee9015]

Absolutely brilliant video Ian miss hubnut ❤👍glad she passed brilliant

[@derek-press]

she passed? when did I not get noti about that ? well done miss Hubnut!

[@Sid3300]

I don't think she has yet has she? They would've announced it if so!

[@2tone209]

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY NICE THAT BELLA PASSED HER MOT I'LL HAVE A CUPPA TEA TO CELEBRATE 👍

[@HubNut]

BIRTHDAY HAPPINESS.

[@misshubnut]

PENBLWYDD HAPUS!

[@2tone209]

DIOLCH

[@torresalex]

Between the "attack it with violence!" and "approach from the rear", my significant other had to come from the other side of the house to see why I was chortling

[@andyarmstrong1493]

Always a relief! Great result.

[@micheltebraake7915]

One day you will be able to remove a lamp socket easily Ian. Patience and lots of practice. It's great that Bella passed the MOT.

[@JamesG75]

My daughter Annie is very pleased there's a HubNut video on her birthday! Glad Bella passed her MOT

[@HubNut]

Happy Birthday Annie!

[@JamesG75]

​@@HubNut A huge thanks for that Ian, that's made her day!

[@allanfoster6965]

More fun frrolics and barked knuckles. Lovely to see back in action. 😊

[@forrestrobin2712]

On my MX5 I suspected injector problems after she started running intermittently on 3 cylinders. I used a long screwdriver to listen to each injector to see if it was opening and closing as the engine was running. Sure enough, no regular « click, click, click… » on cylinder 3! Duff injector which I swapped out and now everything is fine. I depressurised the system before dismantling the common rail by removing the fuel pump relay while the engine was running. It stalls when it runs out of fuel after just a few seconds and there you go, one depressurised fuel system. If a duffer like me can do it, it should be a doddle for you and Miss Hubnut 😂 Hang in there with Bella, she deserves it !

[@richh7872]

My old berlingo is our only car at the moment as my wife's sensible 2010 polo with 45k on the clock has decided to rot like a 51 plate transit and fail its MOT for the first time. Its done it in style 🤦‍♂️

[@Zadster]

I guess the injectors could just be gummed up and so sticking when they are cold. Lidl often have a special deal on Redex for diesels, so might be worth putting a couple of those through the system, just to see if it helps un-stick anything. I'd have thought a compression problem would show up more under load? I guess heat may cause a fracture or whatever to close up. Either way, I imagine professionally cleaning the injectors is probably a good investment.

[@TheCardiganR]

I thought you were going to get an advisory for the rear number plate, but happy days.😊

[@richardsutton7791]

If only there was an online video platform where people post videos on how to do pretty much everything 😂 I had to change a rear plate bulb on my Berlingo, to find the other bulb holder was broken and hanging out. How quickly jobs escalate!

[@mrjsv4935]

I remember one fight with number plate lights when I had my 1990 Mazda 323 sedan. It's got the plate down in rear bumper where all salty dirt likes to corrode those screws that hold the lights, so that made it quite difficult to get them open. They had crosshead screws and the head just wanted to break before the screw would open, and heat was out of the guestion because of plastic rear bumper. Somehow I managed to fight them open with flat head screwdriver, brute force and lots of curse words :D

[@richardsedding8444]

Well done @HubNut! Another successful MOT achieved. Bella lives on for another year. You both make a fine team.

[@whitemoor66]

That number plate light looks very much like the ones we had on our Picasso years ago. Had a habit of breaking the plastic clips off. I recently had to change a number plate bulb on our Civic. Push the lamp lens to one side , pull off replace bulb and slide cover back into place!

[@stco2426]

Fab and great hunour and a great result. Fixing cars between lunch and cake is obviously the right thing to do.

[@julianowens4071]

Definitely passed because it was clean,I’ve sworn by that method for years 😂

[@shieldaigbencher]

I have got quite good results with putting in a full tank of V-Power every now and then on older diesels I have owned. They seem to like it.

[@HubNut]

Have tried that but no notable difference.

[@gazzertrn]

@@HubNut Red X ?

[@waynekerrgoodstyle]

@@gazzertrn I swear by it 👍

[@shieldaigbencher]

@HubNut You may need to do this more than once in a Blue Moon.

[@Thisistrulyoddtv_Mark]

Loving the reg plate on the wall B82 PEA that’s cool

[@HubNut]

My first 2CV.

[@camperlustig68]

Hello to you both, great news on the MOT. Good to see that ball joints have priority. Carly appreciates it I’m sure 😊 Cheers from Hamburg

[@alansmith1770]

Well Done Bella passing her MOT. My KA+ is due in the near future fingers crossed.

[@wacholder5690]

As Einstein put it: "Time is relative." Many 5-minutes-jobs take *hours*. But if you are amused the fun is over quite quickly. Thanks for sharing !

[@frothe42]

In time you will get everything sorted!

[@DehnusNorder]

I have these small metal hooks for these kinds of jobs. As Hyundai and older Japanese cars also have these click systems, that look like you can use a a flat head screwdriver, but it just so much harder with one. But with these hooks these kinds of jobs are just really easy. They are quite cheap under 10 bucks for mine, and I've used them for so many things already. I can really recommend them for DIU car owners :) .

[@eddiejones.redvees]

You can definitely here the rattling of the units panels because of the wind

[@HubNut]

It was lively yesterday.

[@dorsetoctaviaman]

Allez Bella! As you enter somewhere around late middle-age, nice to see that you can still pass your test first time. I wonder if, 14 years ago now, the woes I had with the 2.2HDi '136' in my C5 Exclusive Estate I owned for 8 years, where it kept telling me every so often in its last 18 months with me that its DPF was malfunctioning (apart from its turbo leaking oil as well) might have been stuck injectors?

[@richardshaw1919]

That's good news 😀 Mr and Mrs Hubnut.

[@CauliflowerMcPugg]

Didn't take Miss HubNut long to giggle. I could almost hear Miss HubNut giggle while you were talking ball joints, too, Lol. Great re MOT 👍

[@will89687]

Congratulations Ian on the MOT pass; there's nothing worse than a fail over minor things you could have caught beforehand and DIY'd! Maybe the pass helps with the challenging bangernomics of chasing down that elusive hard starting and rough running from cold issue.

[@johnnorth9355]

Good to see that like me you have your winter hair on 🙂.

[@HubNut]

My neck is so warm.

[@Richard-Bullock]

"I like my ball-joints nice and solid!" Erm, not exactly sure how to respond to that really.

[@martinhudson2552]

Those 2.0 hdi engines are a brilliant engine. My mate who owns a car repair garage now retired always said the 2.0 hdi is one of the most reliable engines ever produced. I have owned a Xsara Picasso for Seven years with that same engine. Brilliant car. It’s only weakness has been drop links failing and had to have sills replaced. Engine and gearbox just keep going.

[@ghobby6143]

Well done. Having attempted to replace a bulb on my old Citroen C3 Picasso, you did a sterling job. When I tried, the plastic covering all crumpled meaning I had to buy an entire light kit. Those little holes on the side light covering were built by the devil 😂

[@TurboTimsWorld]

You would have got a PASS with 1 number plate light out anyway! LOL (minor defect); Use 2 rods in the 2 holes or risk a screw driver to lever the light cover SLOWLY off then use a person with small fingers to remove the bulb OR fold a strip of paper up make that into a P shape to fit over the bulb, grip the leg of the P and remove the bulb , fit the new one using your new P tool and 99 time out of 100 glue the cover back on! Tip 2 don't jet wash the car just before the MOT on the first dry day since November, Us MOT testers have been wet enough and don't want to stand under wet cars LOL Great Video and Miss Hubnut kept her cool so well XXX

[@NickHudson2]

That’s a great result with the MOT!, Some mild tinkering will soon take care of those advisories

[@DerbyshireTriker]

Have dealt with this just today on my partner. You can,in theory pop the lens caps off the outside and leave thr internals in place but putting covers back on can be a pain. I removed the entire trim panel to fit a rear camera and the lights stay in the slots on the boot but can be popped out. I changed the blown one and the other one decided to blow straight after!

[@GrahamGroovyUK]

My Picasso took her first (Minor) weld in 17 years a few days back. She lives on for another year!

[@gazzertrn]

For a 52 plate you could just run it till it stops , she will probably still go for another year or two like she is . But she is a nice little car , i always liked them, very practical .So maybe worth a little fettling .

[@chrisdowns1987]

Have you done common rail injectors before? With patience and care, they aren't usually too bad as long as they're no caked in carbon blow-by! Main things I've learned: - Pressure will waste away quickly once the 1st fuel pipe is cracked off, leave it 5 min to be safe. - Keep everything clean, use a screwdriver with a rag to clean the seat in the head but careful not to mark the seat itself, dont use brake cleaner! - New injector bolts, correctly torqued are a must along with new injector washers. - Before torquing injectors, fit the high pressure fuel lines so the unions are loose enough to allow movement but keep everything aligned, then torque injectors, then fuel pipes. - Injector return lines can be a bugger (old French plastic) be prepared to need to replace them but see how they go. - The new injectors will need coding in, she'd probably run without but not well. If potentially going to reuse any injectors, note which came from where! If this is all obvious, I apologise, ignore me, I just wish someone had told me this lot before I did my first set! 😋

[@jean-lucpicard5510]

How many does it take to change a light bulb. 😅

[@Fradde1]

Congrats for the Mot👍

[@fv7765]

The early HDI doesn't have data on injectors, when something wrong it won't appear a warning light on the dashboard. The bloke who used to work with me had his Xsara HDI 90 engine running rough due to the cold start. It was a faulty one of those injectors. I am looking forward to seeing what is wrong with your engine in the next video.

[@plym1969]

Always nice to get a pass first time. 🙂

[@delukxy]

Excellent. Well done Bella. Does mean that it also passed Diesel emissions so the injectors can't be too bad. Perhaps some super premium diesel and a good dosing of something like STP high mileage diesel injector cleaner my help her? The STP currently on special at Amazon £5.99 free postage.

[@HubNut]

Yup, fine once warm so maybe not injectors.

[@delukxy]

How is the injector timing set on this engine. Bad starting and feeling rather flat might mean a degree or two out. Maybe? I pulled this off the Berlingo Forum re poor starting "The fuel filter seal and priming buttons are noted for causing trouble by letting air in. It is not expensive to change the combined filter housing and priming button"

[@alisonhowes8498]

I have had success with BG245 diesel fuel system cleaner in the past

[@HubNut]

I'm trying Dipetane at the moment. Just haven't managed to do many miles yet!

[@newkidd9129]

It might be worth trying blanking off the EGR valve before tackling the injectors. If you blank the valve off as a diagnostic test, it will indicate whether any of your issues are caused by a faulty or clogged valve. My VW had cold weather cold starting issues which resulting in lots of investigations over several years, but it turned out the EGR was not fully closed in cold weather after sitting overnight. I discovered this by blanking the valve off with a simple low cost plate.

[@chriswalford9228]

New entry for the bodgers tinkering bible A maf faff. Congrats on the MOT pass both.

[@tonysargent7787]

another great video has always Ian and miss hubnut and hublets and hubmutts 👍

[@twocvbloke]

Looking at the rear plate, I'm surprised they didn't plop an advisory for delamination of the thing on the test results, it's looking a bit iffy, but at least it's fully lit up now, once the frnchness had been dealt with... :P

[@gti505]

Well yesterday the Talbot Tagora managed also to pass an mot here in the Netherlands.

[@jasonscott2187]

3 minutes into the video I was thinking "because French".

[@jdtseventyfour]

Those numberplate lights have been the basin of my life for many years. The clear cover either comes off or snaps the lug of that holds it on meaning you need a new one. An utterly crap design 'because French's. Well done for your perseverance and congratulations on a successful MOT. There's no finer feeling!

[@garethparkin9498]

Yeah these are the same as the Picasso you have to squeeze the sides then it unclips. However, over time they become brittle and crack and then they won't stay in

[@rhspek]

Bella's reluctance to start shows the same symptoms as our Hymer Fiat 2.5 TD engine. So if you can fix it with new injectors, maybe that's my way forward too. I yesterday had to move my Romahome Berlingo HDI for the first time in about 15 months and to my surprise and delight it started first turn of the key. Hadn't expected that. I plan to have that MOT'd in a few months time and start using that again. It's done some 280000km, so a bit less than your Berlingo.

[@ololiver92]

Wonderful video

[@grahamcockerill2406]

Nothing worse than a floppy ball joint Ian, Aussie Graham.

[@davidjohnson586]

Mind you there, still bloody, good car's. 👍

[@-sargntclashroyaleandmore-491]

For taking injectors out you'd ideally need an injector puller/slide hammer. Also don't forget to replace the injector seals afterwards.

[@donsswitchlite8178]

5 mins, 2 hours later been there done that lol 😂😂 love your videos

[@martinhudson2552]

They look the same as my Picasso. Indeed a sharp screwdriver or nail into one of the holes at either side. Push the cover toward the centre of the light unit and the lenses should unclip. No need to remove the light unit. They are a pain because they go brittle. I bought new units off eBay.

[@Shane_Marsh]

Hurray for Bella 👍👍👍

[@deanstyles2567]

Are the injectors expensive or are they just a right pain to remove? Could it be worth getting a couple of decent looking used ones from Tanygroes and swapping them around? Good news about Bella 🙂

[@owensteele1645]

The entertaining late-'80s advertising campaign may have boosted the post-Austin but still pre-facelift Montego's showroom appeal (to a degree). But its short-lived fore-runner, the Morris Ital, was, in my eyes, more memorable because it was advertised, but still not proven, to be faster than a Mercedes-Benz 200.

[@herman.8533]

St Padarn's Church, Pennant I believe for the final shots? I always go to the coast that way.

[@richardhowlett7398]

I thought it might have turned into a 3 hour epic, changing a number plate bulb on a Citroën Berlingo !

[@mtttony]

Well done!! Might be worth putting some penetrating oil around the injectors and let it sink in as you drive around. Ps don't tell miss HN i said the p word!! All good!

[@allanmollison6971]

Nice work 😊👍

[@duck1946]

Lucky Bella! Have you considered putting a bottle of Redex in the tank every now and then? Good for fuel lines and keeping nozzles clean. U

[@hondamarsh6504]

My partner(Peugeot) also likes me to have a good solid ball joint!!😂

[@Rockythefishman]

Other year on the road, congratulations

[@waynetetley584]

Well done 👍

[@tonysargent1699]

Well done Bella!