[shashi63]

Hi,

I have owned a Turbo DLS Indica for 5 years and can vouch for the fact that the Indica is pure VFM!

In 5 years other than the Tyres which had to be changed and the battery change i spent after 85000 Kms for the fuel pump.

The car was dream and took me to all places including long trips with never a compliant!

I upgraded to the Manza and touch wood as of now I can say i am having the same experience with Manza. Nary a compliant.

TATA's makes car which provide the best of class and best of value!

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

I would definitely check the alignment. If the impact of the bike has caused the steering to turn, it is more likely that the front suspension/tyres are out of alignment than the steering wheel.

I agree with your statement. But then I have carried out the simple test for checking the wheel alignment. I have driven the car on a plain, straight road, at a speed of 50-60kmph & then took the hands off the steering wheel. The car maintains a straight line without veering on any of the sides. However I would observe the car behavior for one more week & if I have any doubts, then definitely I will get the alignment done one more time as I had done the wheel alignment only a week back.

Originally Posted by shashi63

I have owned a Turbo DLS Indica for 5 years and can vouch for the fact that the Indica is pure VFM!

In 5 years other than the Tyres which had to be changed and the battery change i spent after 85000 Kms for the fuel pump.

The car was dream and took me to all places including long trips with never a compliant!

You are indeed lucky, as me. No doubt Indica is a VFM. If only TML could improve their after sales service & bring it close to the Japanese counterparts. In my ownership experience of 9 years 7 months & 140K kms, I had couple of minor issues, but then I relied on my friendly garage rather than TML service centres to fix them. Most of them were preventive measures, which has helped me in the long run.

I upgraded to the Manza and touch wood as of now I can say i am having the same experience with Manza. Nary a compliant.

TATA's makes car which provide the best of class and best of value!

You are really lucky, that your successful run with TML cars it still continuing. Very few people dare to buy a second Tata car once they have experienced the first. Wish you continue to get troublefree ownership experience with your Manza in the years to come.

[AutoIndian]

About an hour back my car crossed the 140K km milestone. It has come in 9 years & 8 months. Hope to see many such milestones on the odo.

[AutoIndian]

Yesterday while going to office in the afternoon, I experienced a very weird thing. When I had covered about 10 kms, I was following a white Sumo & saw the headlight reflection on the rear of the Sumo. Initially I thought that some other car is being driven with its headlights on (as I had never switched on my headlights). Hence I saw in my RVM, but could not find any car with its headlights on. Surprisingly it was the reflection from my car only. I tried switching on & then off the headlights several times, but this could not help.

On finding a lonely stretch of the road, I pulled over, stopped the car & got out, with the car engine still running. My headlights were indeed ON (on upper beam). Toggling the headlight switch didn't help. I switched off the engine, even then the lights were ON. This puzzled me. I then continued my drive to office with the headlights with upper beam ON. Passer by were giving me "headlight on" signal, but I couldn't do much. Even the traffic police were giving me weird looks. I was riding my luck, not to get caught by them for driving with headlights on in broad daylight. Since all my tries were in vain, I thought of disconnecting the battery after reaching my office, else the headlights would completely drain out the battery in 9 hours.

After a 32km drive, I entered my office campus & into the dark parking. Then I tried flashing the upper beam by lifting up the right side stalk & voila the lights switched off. I then tried several combinations & the lights worked perfectly fine, as if nothing has happened. Don't know how & when, but it seems the "flashing" switch might have got stuck & switching "on", "off" the headlight didn't help. I was lucky that eventually the issue got resolved.

[interc00led]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

After a 32km drive, I entered my office campus & into the dark parking. Then I tried flashing the upper beam by lifting up the right side stalk & voila the lights switched off. I then tried several combinations & the lights worked perfectly fine, as if nothing has happened. Don't know how & when, but it seems the "flashing" switch might have got stuck & switching "on", "off" the headlight didn't help. I was lucky that eventually the issue got resolved.

Have you installed a headlight "cut-out" kit ?
If yes- then the headlight relay must be replaced immediately to avoid any problem in the future.

AFAIK, the electromagnet of the relay(OE relay in the fuse box) gets power when the combi switch is operated even when the key is in OFF position but the other switching side does not get any power. So, the headlights must turn off as soon as the key is turned to OFF position even if the relay or combination switch is stuck.

To get a better idea of what I am saying- Just put the key in OFF position and turn the headlight on and off whilst keeping a hand on the relay behind the fuse box cover. You will notice them clicking when you operate the combi switch.

BTW, congratulations on crossing the 140K mark.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by interc00led

Have you installed a headlight "cut-out" kit ?
If yes- then the headlight relay must be replaced immediately to avoid any problem in the future.

Thank you for those insights. You are right. Since I am using 90/100 W lamps, I had installed a headlight "cut-out" kit. Are you recommending to replace the headlight "cut-out" kit here?

To get a better idea of what I am saying- Just put the key in OFF position and turn the headlight on and off whilst keeping a hand on the relay behind the fuse box cover. You will notice them clicking when you operate the combi switch.

Well let me try out this exercise over the weekend

BTW, congratulations on crossing the 140K mark.

Thank you once again.

[interc00led]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Thank you for those insights. You are right. Since I am using 90/100 W lamps, I had installed a headlight "cut-out" kit. Are you recommending to replace the headlight "cut-out" kit here?

No, just replacing the cut out's relay is enough.
Continue using it for a few weeks and see if the problem re-occurs.
Also, tap the relay to check if there is anything loose inside the relay.

In-case the headlights decide to stay ON, just the pull out the fuse near the relay. I hope your kit has a separate fuse for low and high beam.

When going for a replacement- just ask for "Bosch ka headlight relay". Even PMP is a good brand. Cost ~ Rs.200/-

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by interc00led

No, just replacing the cut out's relay is enough.
Continue using it for a few weeks and see if the problem re-occurs.
Also, tap the relay to check if there is anything loose inside the relay.

Do we get such cut out's relay separately?

In-case the headlights decide to stay ON, just the pull out the fuse near the relay. I hope your kit has a separate fuse for low and high beam.

Need to check this.

When going for a replacement- just ask for "Bosch ka headlight relay". Even PMP is a good brand. Cost ~ Rs.200/-

Yes earlier I had fitted the PMP one for Rs 160, which was later replaced with Hella make in 2010 for Rs 200/-

[F150]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Do we get such cut out's relay separately?
/-

Yes we do. Relay can be bought separately and the price varies depending on the thickness of the wiring provided in the relay.
HELLA and BOSCH are the few known names

[AutoIndian]

Update on the headlamps staying on issue:

On Sunday morning when I took my car out to drop my daughter, I saw my headlamp reflection on the rear of the car in front of me. I pulled over to the side of the road. Without switching the engine off, I opened the bonnet, two light taps on the relay box & the headlamps went off. So it is indeed the relay box, which is the culprit.

At least now I have a solution in hand, though it is a temporary workaround.

[interc00led]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Without switching the engine off, I opened the bonnet, two light taps on the relay box & the headlamps went off. So it is indeed the relay box, which is the culprit.

In my previous post, I did mention you to tap the relay.

Now within few days, the headlight will switch on and off at every speed-breaker/bump.
Where did you mount the relay ? On the firewall ? Can you upload a picture ?

Originally Posted by interc00led

Also, tap the relay to check if there is anything loose inside the relay.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by interc00led

In my previous post, I did mention you to tap the relay.

Now within few days, the headlight will switch on and off at every speed-breaker/bump.

Yes, now I have started getting quite nervous at every pot hole/ speed breaker as to when the upper beam will glow on its own. I am being very careful nowadays.

Where did you mount the relay ? On the firewall ? Can you upload a picture ?

Yes it is mounted on the firewall. Will try to take a picture tomorrow & upload it here.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Yes it is mounted on the firewall. Will try to take a picture tomorrow & upload it here.

Here you go. Apologies for the poor quality of pictures as they were taken from my mobile camera.

[AutoIndian]

There was a puncture in the rear right tyre. I could see a nail embedded in the tread. Every day tyre was losing about 5-6 psi of pressure. I topped up the air & continued for one week. Today I was feeling too lazy to fix the puncture myself at home. Hence took the car to the nearby Anna. When he removed the wheel, he found two nails. Fortunately one was on the side, so had not pierced deep enough to puncture the tyre, but the other was deeply embedded into the tread & hence one puncture. Removed the nail, fixed the puncture. Paid him Rs 80/-.

From there went I to the nearby Lucas TVS shop. The left brake lamp was not working. Got it replaced for Rs 40/-. I told him about the problem of headlamp upper beam coming on after hitting a bump or pothole. He said the relay will have to be replaced or I will have to live with it. There is nothing that can be repaired. Since the problem is intermittent & now that I have the temporary workaround I decided to live with it.

[condor]

@AutoIndian, glad to see your Indica crossing the 1.4L mark. Our own Indica DLE from August 2000, though sold @ 84k, was last serviced at a TASS @2.1L mark. So we know that it ran quite a long time after we sold it. (We had moved from the Indica to a Marina).

And this was a pre-V2 version. A relative's Indigo has now crossed 8 years & 1.9L km.

Wishing you a happy ownership. Hope no niggles, though routine maintenance may be there.