Re: Sloppy - a return to a trifle.



Pat Durkin wrote:
"Skitt" <skitt99@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:gmahe8$gto$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Robin Bignall wrote:
"Skitt" wrote:
Robin Bignall wrote:
"Skitt" wrote:

I learned about cars by attending courses that were required
(in Germany) before one could obtain a driver license. They
were comprehensive courses on automotive mechanics. I was
thirteen at the time. I learned driving on two-and-a-half-ton
army trucks. Later, in the USA, I rebuilt engines and manual
transmissions, taking care of my cars myself, instead of
paying someone else to do
it.


It seems that way, but now there are computerized test rigs that
can point the mechanic in the right direction. The new part is
that there can be problems with the sensors. I had that happen
with my last year's Honda Civic. The "check engine" light kept
coming on, now and then. The Honda mechanics told me to make
sure the gas cap is good and tight (I already knew about that). After the next two times, they replaced the gas cap, and when
the problem kept recurring, they replaced an associated sensor. That appears to have fixed the problem. We'll see ...


I have a couple of friends who fix vehicles. Their main
speciality is
Land Rovers of any type and age, but they'll tackle anything. They have a friend in the trade who has one of these computers,
with a software library that is building up model by model. They
get a diagnostic for most vehicles for 50 UKP a time, and if the
friend has to get more software they pay for it and get the
diagnostic free. It seems like a good arrangement.

I have a code reader that I have used on cars other than my Civic.
Since the Civic is still under warranty, I let the Honda people do
their stuff.

Request your permission to print out your email to take to my auto
sales place. They have been unable to fix the "check engine
light", beyond telling me to open and close my gas cap. Now I
can't recall who else also had problems with that light, but
corrected it by diddling the throttle (oh yes, Brian's throttle
position sensor. I will save his post, too.) And, having given
them the car to fix 4 or 5 times in the past 3 years, they will pay
for that fix. . . Of course, my KIA is nearly 8 years old.

Common first move in Mustang forums is:
"Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery; leave it disconnected for half an hour", also known as "reboot". This is reputed to return all car computers to original settings, and testimonials reveal it is effective, sometimes.

Some extremists, manufacturers of aftermarket engine equipment in particular, recommend disconnecting both battery cables and touching them together for half a minute. I can attest this does not do any perceptible damage, but I have no way of knowing if it had any effect like that it was intended to produce (bleed pressure from the fuel lines prior to installation of a Fitch Fuel Catalyst).

If you can extract a code and do a Google search on it and a couple of key words, there's almost certainly a Usenet or Brand-specific forum where the problem has been worked over, usually thoroughly, not always to good effect.

--
Frank ess

.

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