the drain explained and the End

I collect Christine on Friday morning, and am half delighted, half furious to discover that the battery drain was down to (drum roll....)

THE WINDOW MECHANISM

(see post 1)

I am so cross but decide to be stoical and just be pleased I have a conclusion to the issue, a car that runs, a fixed belt and sleek dent free panels. My sister and I cruise home and have a fun night out together. The next day I continue my journey to London to visit my daughter and the car is running fine..... apart from a sudden thirst for oil.

Now this is not unusual, I am accustomed to regularly checking the oil level as is the way with Alfas. However, this was sort of extreme. Things came to a head when the high pitched wailing of an error message punctuated a slow crawl to Whitechapel along the A13. Oil Pressure Warning. Oh dear. I had never had this one before..........

It took a while but I managed to find a parking spot and topped up the very empty oil. I phoned my Alfa guy and told him to expect me later on, delivered my daughter to her destination and set off up the M11 northwards. I had 36 hours before I was due back at my desk and things were not looking good.

Birchanger services M11 where I needed a loo stop: returned to the car to find she was refusing to start. There was power, but no fuel seemed to be getting in. I called Alfa Genius and we tried the fuel cut off possibility - no avail. I called the RAC, who helpfully informed me this was my final free call out of the year..........

RAC guy came. He pondered. He turned the ignition. The BITCH STARTED!!!!

We drove to the nearest dealer where he did the diagnostics and located a sensor failure. It was rectified and I drove north again to get my Genius to fix it (starting to trust few other people....)

By the time I reached the East Midlands smoke was issuing forth from the oil burn and I was frankly in a state of extreme distress. It was time to call it a day.

Christine and I parted company in not very sad terms. I needed to get home- I knew she couldn't take me. The belt breaking had clearly damaged much more than we had first thought and she was in need of a new engine.

I have another Alfa courtesy of my Genius. Will I never learn?????

Watch this space!