do you carry a spare DME relay

[Alpine]

I've read that it is advisable to carry a spare DME in the car, but I have never bothered on the basis that if I were to carry every part that might go wrong, I would have a boot full of spares.

Just wondered how many of you did carry one?

 

[SteveSJS]

Ever since the first one failed in an interestingly smoky demise (924 and inside the passenger foot-well!!) I've kept one.
Had 5 of the breed in the meantime and changed another one in that time.
If you've had one fail along way from no-where in particular and I have, for the sake of £15 - £20 it's a useful item to have.
Very few garages or recovery folks will actually have one on board.

 

[Diver944]

Yep both of mine have a spare in the glovebox. Even new ones tend to last only 5 years or so in my experience, they are a consumable that can stop the whole car starting

 

[Riverside]

I keep one in mine, along with a spanner for bleeding the coolant, a penknife, electrical tape, spare oil & water & my breakdown cover card for anything more serious.

On a trip to the continent I was waiting in a queue for the eurotunnel with the engine switched off, traffic started moving & my car wouldn't start. It's the only time it's ever done it & it was the least conveinient possible time for it to happen. The car was on a slope & I was running low on petrol (planned to fill up in France) so once the traffic behind me had moved on I rolled it back down the hill & tried again with no joy. Used my one spare part (DME relay) & it started fine, I even managed to catch the train I was booked on because it only took a couple of minutes to fix & just rejoined the end of the queue.

It's a cheap part that's could fail & leave you stranded at any time with no warning. Most parts that could maroon you either have a predictable service life or couldn't be fixed by the roadside anyway.

 

[TTM]

I carry a spare as well, but this an item can be fixed momentarily in order to start the car.
(I also carry various tool sets behind the front seats and some friends carry almost all their garage in the back ... [8|])

 

[Wigeon Incognito]

Yes, I have one tucked away in my glovebox.

Although, as I'm temporarily parted from my car (and missing it a lot) I doubt I'll need it anytime soon.

 

[Lemon]

Yep one in my glovebox too []

 

[edh]

yes - it's good insurance against it not failing [] - which is the same reason I take plenty of tools to trackdays - so I don't have to use them []

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I had one, until a Member who'd failed to heed the sage advice needed it at an event. I now don't have one...[]

To me it's a cheap, small thing that WILL fail at some point, whether in your ownership or not. As such, it's easier than needing the AA when you're late, it's raining, SWMBO is in a bad mood, as is always the case. It's not practical to carry every part in case it fails, but a tiny part that's very prone to fail makes as much sense as a spare wheel to me. [8|]

 

[xkman]

One in the glove box when I bought it. Now I know why!!!

 

[RSGulp]

They're very cheap and very small (it's not like you're lugging a spare starter motor around).
And they do tend to go just when you need it least.

 

[sarbirus]

Always used to have one in the tool roll for my old S2 cabrio, and needed one twice in the years I owned it.

Got one in the tool roll of the Turbo, and have not needed it yet, but its only been a few months.

Count yourself lucky, the spare part I keep for the Boxster and GT3 is an empty credit card with a £10k limit, which the Boxster WILL need one day and with the GT3 it might just get the car repairs started if I ever needed it!

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: sarbirus

Count yourself lucky, the spare part I keep for the Boxster and GT3 is an empty credit card with a £10k limit,

That get's my vote for best post of the day!

 

[pauljmcnulty]

That get's my vote for best post of the day!

Seconded!

 

[xenon]

I just keep a pre-made wire link with spade connectors. Much less fragile rattling around in the glove box.