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Thread: Interesting DIY vehicle repair experience

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Interesting DIY vehicle repair experience

    Many of us older guys, like myself and my brother, would perform all the maintenance and repair of our vehicles. As time went on and modern day vehicles became so complex, containing hundreds of microcontrollers and sensors, many of us wouldn't even attempt a diagnosis or repair.

    Yesterday on a trip back home my vehicle felt like it was running rough or that a tire was out of balance. The next time I had to accelerate from a stop I realized that the engine had lost some power. Then I noticed lights coming on the dash. The check engine light was flashing. A message indicating the Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system failure appeared. And other symbol lights came on indicating a problem with the Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Traction Control systems. I live in a rural area and there aren't any roads that you can go slow on but I was able to get home in about 30 minutes.

    About 5 minutes before this all started I had my vehicle washed and was thinking that something may have gotten wet that wasn't supposed to thus causing the issue. I waited until this morning and started the vehicle hoping that whatever may have dried out and the problem would be fixed. No such luck. Looking at a couple of forums for my vehicle I discovered that these particular failure indications were not unusual. But there were several different repairs made that did fix the problem even though they were not, by common sense thinking, related to the visual error indications.

    I discovered that my brother has one of the diagnostic code readers that plugs into a vehicle's OBD2 connector. But when he came over with it I realized that the reader which he purchased back in 1997 was not able diagnose any newer car like my 2015 model. So off to a local auto parts store where I bought a middle of the road, in price, code reader for $100. Plugging it into my vehicle and pairing it with my phone which I had downloaded an app that has access to the thousands of different vehicles and codes I was presented with a result indicating that the spark plug coil for the number two cylinder was bad. A trip back to the store to buy the $50 replacement part ended with my engine happily purring again. BTW, this was not one the fixes on any of the forums for this issue.

    I consider myself lucky in taking the chance to buy this code reader and then the repair part as I'm sure the repair performed by a dealer would have been much more than the $150 I spent. So, sometimes, it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks.

  2. #2
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    Good work. If it's going to be electronic, error codes are a good thing. I'd rather buy tools and make sure something is done right than pay someone else to maybe fix something.

  3. #3
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    Good job Well done!
    Best Regards, Maurice

  4. #4
    internet is a huge help. I bought my 92 wally in SC. Way home cruise control would not stay on. No big deal but 1000 mile drive id like to use it. Back here asked an old school mechanic 40 years with many of them his own bus. He said its a grand to fix it and not worth it. I posted on a forum and someone with a love for the cars said go the back window and clean the two contacts there with 600 paper. I did that and the cruise worked perfectly.

    I dont have a cell and no reader but will have a computer with XP service Pack 3 and find a Tech 2 Scanner, was told is the scanner for these cars. Not sure if some modern one could out do it then id be open to that. I have old simple cars, the net changes it all. So many people have posted good info.

    Good Colombo work there.

  5. #5
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    Sounds like a happy ending John.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Ziebron View Post
    the number two cylinder was bad…. this was not one the fixes on any of the forums for this issue.
    Great fix story. Perhaps post this experience on one of those forums for your vehicle to save someone else an expensive bill.

  7. #7
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    I've found youtube videos for about any kind of auto repair I've needed. For complicated jobs, like replacing a steering column wiring harness, they save not only a lot of time knowing what steps to take, but any job is started with all the tools you need laid out. When I watch such a video, I make a list of the tools when I first go through the video.

    I don't know what mechanics charge now, but back when I would get a price to do some job, after I'd done it myself my time was worth well over $150 an hour, and I make no attempt to be fast at it. That was a number of years ago. I expect it would be a lot more now.

  8. #8
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    I have had a number of obscure problems solved by helpful patrons of various internet forums, or youtube videos. It's really amazing what people put effort into making and publishing.

    When I bought my last tractor, I searched high and low to find a relatively recent model that didn't have electronic controls. I found one that did indeed have an entirely mechanical drive train, but of course the starter loop was electrical, and had various sensors involved. So one day it won't turnover. Couldn't hear the relay that kicked the solenoid click, so immediately I assume its a sensor issue (could be on the clutch, the PTO, the gearshift ...). Eventually discover a blown fuze, which when replaced immediately blows again. Something that is energized when the key is turned is shorted, but since pretty much everything is energized, it could be anything electrical. Checking wiring harnesses on tractors is a real pain, but an internet search tells me that on this model, the engine coolant temperature sensor fails hard to ground, leading to my problem. Just unplugged the sensor until I could get a new one, and drove away. I could hug the guy who figured that out and posted in a tractor owners forum - undoubtedly saved me either hours of hard labor tracking down the culprit, or a multi-hundred dollar repair bill at the local John Deere dealer.

  9. #9
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    I often end up liking the ones where the mechanic is barefoot or in sandals, working outside on dirt, with crummy tools, with no talking.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  10. #10
    I also want to thank those people who have a strange issue, and record it for the rest of us.

    I had one where the check-engine and traction control lights came on for no apparent reason.
    After a little sleuthing, I learned that this can be caused by not properly tightening the fuel cap (human error on my part).
    There are a lot of these strange issues out there, and some won't send an error code to a reader.
    So thanks again to those who document these bizarre issues.

    BTW last time I was at the dealer I believe it was $100 per hour labor.

  11. #11
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    Whatever their advertised rate for labor by the hour almost never gets used except by the book that gives an estimated time for any job. They charge by the estimate of hours for a particular job, and good mechanics make more money that way, but probably nothing like the business does. Boat dealers here are $180 an hour. I don't know about car places.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Great fix story. Perhaps post this experience on one of those forums for your vehicle to save someone else an expensive bill.
    Good suggestion John, thanks. I just joined the biggest forum for my vehicle and posted my experience.

  13. #13
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    As a FYI AutoZone and O'Reilly's both have a code reader you can use right at the store. If your vehicle isn't capable of being driven there then you would need one of your own or know someone you can borrow one from. You can see any active and stored codes and clear them if you wish. There is a standardization of codes so every make isn't dancing to their own drum. That isn't to say there isn't possibly a sub code but for the most part they are all the same. Working on electronically controlled diesel engines we had SPN and FMI codes. I don't recall if the same system is used in the automotive or not. Our newest machines with GPS on them were awesome. Operator might call and say I have an alarm or derate situation. I could bring up the machine on my phone and view active codes. Sometimes I could advise what he needed to do without visiting the machine. Most of the time it wasn't so simple and I had to go hook the laptop up and diagnose further.

  14. #14
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    Code readers are amazing. I bought an el cheapo a number of years ago, and it's still working. Solid investment for anybody with a bit of DIY spirit.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    Code readers are amazing. I bought an el cheapo a number of years ago, and it's still working. Solid investment for anybody with a bit of DIY spirit.
    I use them for my vehicles and those of friends, keep one in my truck. I sometimes have to do an internet search of the code to understand what it really means. One reader does this for me.

    Depending on the situation (e.g. new code and engine seems to be running fine) I wrote down the code, clear it, and see if it comes back. I did that once when one popped up 1/2 hour into an 8hr drive - it never came back in 10 more years of driving that car. BTW all auto parts stores I know of will read the codes for you but those who won’t clear them will let you clear with their reader.

    JKJ

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