My mothers 2004 Ford exploder had the check engine light come on and being the indentured servant that I am it was my job to take care of the problem. I told her to bring it to Autozone where they will read the code so I can make repair when I get home. It was a random misfire so the first thing to do is check the plugs and wires.
I pulled the furthest plug from the coil and determined they needed replacement even though I had put top of the Bosch line plugs and wires in maybe 20k miles ago.
So off to Autozone I go and get the new plugs. When I exited the store there was a early to mid 90's beat grand am parked there with the hood up and two of the six people in the car fiddling under the hood. I noticed the front right tire was low and told one of the guys as I pulled away they should get some air for the tire. They gave me a blank stare and a little smile and one of them thanked me in broken english.
I get home and go to pull the wire off the second plug and it had corroded onto the plug which caused the end of the relatively young top of the line wire to loose it's end:fury:. Bosch plugs and Bosch wires which don't seem to protect the connection, nice. Off to Autozone I go again.
I get into the lot and notice two wet floor cones and a large pile of speedy dry in a space right out front. I go in and get the new wires and when returning to the car I said "boy someones had big issues with their car, that kind of leak, I'm surprised they didn't need it towed".48441
It had been maybe 30 minutes since my last visit. The autozone employee then tells me it wasn't a leak:confused: Someone had drained their oil right there in the parking space. What is wrong with people????

Being a white male and making comment on their inability to speak the language doesn't automatically make me racist.
Don't we learn behavior? But we don't learn anything about some people by observing their behavior, if we do and speak out we are racist:confused:

You should have thinned the oil with a little gas and tossed your smoke into it Ed. Would be a more efficient clean up than that oil soaked "speedy dry" blowing all over the place and eventually ending up in the dumpster....in fact the "right" thing to do would have been to call clean harbors for the proper clean up ,then the store owner would be fined and a big write up in the paper about the polluting store, and a bunch of yuppie asshat, plover loving tree hugging,prius driving non smokers would show up and protest until the store closed,causing more economic woes. Yay friggin team!
And no we (society) don't learn, we cater to these meatsticks and allow them to live here illegally. In fact the beloved governor refuses to address the situation. I dump on everyone equally, so I'm not racist...eff everyone!

You should have thinned the oil with a little gas and tossed your smoke into it Ed. Would be a more efficient clean up than that oil soaked "speedy dry" blowing all over the place and eventually ending up in the dumpster....in fact the "right" thing to do would have been to call clean harbors for the proper clean up ,then the store owner would be fined and a big write up in the paper about the polluting store, and a bunch of yuppie asshat, plover loving tree hugging,prius driving non smokers would show up and protest until the store closed,causing more economic woes. Yay friggin team!
And no we (society) don't learn, we cater to these meatsticks and allow them to live here illegally. In fact the beloved governor refuses to address the situation. I dump on everyone equally, so I'm not racist...eff everyone!

We are going to get along just fine...thanks for bringing a little sunshine to my day:rotf2:

:cheers: Right back at you !

I never did finish bitching......
I get the plugs and wires in and the car runs great but the check engine light is still on. Well someone had suggested I disconnect the battery. Well that made matters worse. It set the computer into failsafe mode and the car started running like crap, it was hard to start and kept stalling:wall:. Off to the dealer I go and pay $120 for a diagnostic service because as I was told there may be other issues and yada yada blah blah.....pay me. I told the service writer to let me know when the car is fixed so I can ask the mechanic how he bent the paper clip and which contacts he connected to reset the code so I could do it myself next time (actually it now requires a tool about $70 at Autozone, I will be buying one). They called and my mother answered the phone and let them install a new ABS pressure switch $99 labor:fury: (it's the little hex shaped thing at the end of the supply manifold under the brake fluid reservoir). So now she tells me that the car stalls sometimes when she backs up, I notice the idle seems to low, but no adjustment it's computer controled. I see the same service guy say "remember me I'm the bone head who needed the code reset because I disconnected the battery. He then tells me they will have to diagnose the car to see what the problem is :bs::mad:. I tell him the car was running fine until it went into failsafe mode and in fact when I brought it here to have the code cleared it was back to running fine but to keep my mother happy I allowed them to diagnose the problem and supposedly "reprogram the computer". He picked up on my displeasure of what he was trying to do and told me unless their is another problem there would be no charge for diagnosis. The car was running fine even when the check engine light was on before the fail safe activation BS.
Another thing I saw when we were looking at new cars (my 97 is not worth repair anymore so it has to go) is they have now come out with an automatic rain sensing wipers that come on automatically. I don't know who thought that was a great idea except for the fact it builds more profit margin into the price of the vehicle or future service. I guess they think we are morons who can't figure that we need to turn the wipers on when the windshield is wet..please it's all profit motivated. I know; buy a vehicle without auto wipers if you don't want them....but wait isn't that nice how they are part of the package with some of the other options she wants:wall:. If she goes with that vehicle and there is some sort of dealer only blades or other type code crap that makes the wipers work improperly until serviced I will be posting again.
Maybe in my next post I will tell you what I think about electronic throttles:yak5:

Ed your very angry today....the rain sense wipers are an un-needed option, but what do you expect in a drive through world? Technology is vastly improved, the wiper systems work through a silicone diaphragm attached to the glass, its not rocket science. They are definatley included in a vehicle with a higher trim level (more options) but depending on the manufacturer you may be able to delete that part of the option. You can also get cooled seats, blows cold air at the hiney, bluetooth technology for your smaht phone, USB ports to upload your ipod or other devices....points and condensors are a thing of the past my friend, they went the way of leaded fuel,distributors and bias ply tires.

And technically you could have kept driving the vehicle with the check engine light on after you repaired it, on a Ford disconnecting the battery for more than 10 minutes resets the KAM (keep alive memory) it would square itself out. When you disconnected the battery it reset all the OBD2 I/M monitors. After all monitors passed the light would have cleared itself....

I have rain sense wipers and i like them

:fart2:

I have rain sense wipers and i like them

Me too bother :buds::buds::buds::uhuh::love:

-spence

I've had the CEL on with the diesel since I disconnected the EGR. I reconnect once a month to see if anything else pops

the other problem is that the contacts on the inside of the distributer cap
get built up with a spark residue that eventually makes the car run crappy
until ya either replace the cap or clean those contacts with something not too abrasive.

Or get a Scan Gauge and reap the benefit of a fuel computer and reading codes ;)

But knowing the codes is still only a small part of diagnosing problems. All the codes do is point you in the direction of the problem. There still needs to be some analysis to determine the problem and the success of that will vary by technician and circumstance. Otherwise every $10/hour lube tech could fix issues with replacing O2 sensors

Or get a Scan Gauge and reap the benefit of a fuel computer and reading codes ;)

But knowing the codes is still only a small part of diagnosing problems. All the codes do is point you in the direction of the problem. There still needs to be some analysis to determine the problem and the success of that will vary by technician and circumstance. Otherwise every $10/hour lube tech could fix issues with replacing O2 sensors

Correct John, anyone can replace an O2 sensor ,but when the light comes back on they can't find the cause of why the O2 is running rich/lean, or verify power,ground and reference circuits. Newer technology creates new challenges for technicians everywhere. There is access to wiring diagrams available but the independant shops have to pay for it, most of them do have it,the problem is circuitry is increasingly difficult to understand your average "lube tech" or independant mechanic has no comprehension of potentiometers or high speed communications systems in vehicles. Most electrical connectors are made with terminals at .064" so the days of jamming a test light in a plug to check for signal are long gone. We get alot of vehicles here the owner or an independant has tried to diagnose, we need to repair the damage they caused before actually getting to what is wrong with the vehicle. This is a classic case of "a little knowledge doing alot of harm"

I will invest in a tool to reset my codes so I can perform the repair for the cost of parts. I only bring a car to a dealer if I cannot get the problem fixed or the tools required to perform the repair are not worth my investing in. An example is the upper ball joints on my 97 exploder which have to be pressed in and I didn't want to buy the press, plus after the repair was completed I would still need the car aligned which only a shop can properly do accurately. After having the work done and looking over the charges like environmental disposal fee (for a ball joint really?), shop supplies charge (I was told gloves and rags aren't free:rotf2:) padding the actual hourly rate. Now I have learned another lesson and will get a press the next time I have to do ball joints. I may not be ASE trained but I was a full time autobody man and have the ability to perform most repairs on my own, keep in mind I grew up when there were distributors and carburetors and timing chains etcetera. Now I look under the hood and I'm appalled by what I see; plastic and more plastic, which to me should have kept the cost to the manufacturer down but it hasn't.

Ty being a service writer I am sure you can understand my perspective that a dealership is looking to get as much money as they can from a customer, isn't your pay commision based? I'm not saying you would try and take advantage of people but being commission based it is only natural that a person would want to make sure all possible repairs that can be are done to increase the numbers for himself and keep the managers off their back. To me the customer is the pogie in a school of bluefish, it's the nature of the business. Why don't service writers/advisers get paid a salary for doing their job, why don't mechanics get paid salary rather than flat rate?

Ed my writers are paid salary , they also get a bonus off monthly sales. I know what your saying, Ive seen and worked with people who sell things people dont need...I dont run my shop that way and never will. As far as paying techs salary thats a whole seperate issue. Think about it, if a tech is getting paid X amount what drives them to make XX amount? Relying on individuals to be self motivated and 100% efficient on their own is a dream world! We used to be an hourly shop, Ive seen the complacency and it is not good for business. Shop suppplies and envir. fees go on every ro otherwise we would be forced to change oil in parking lots....the techs buy their own tools, and quality ones arent cheap. Why quality? Try fishing for tuna with a trout rod from walmart :stir: ,let me know how long and nice the stuff holds up..

And if you ever need any tools I probably own it, as a tech for a long time I have a full double stack box including a ball joint press...

I did take pride in my tools but boy did they cost. I still can't see an environmental fee for an upper ball joint that will be sold for scrap, there is no impact on the environment from an upper ball joint (I'll have to look but I think it was a $10-$15 fee, that just rubs me the wrong way.
Being flat rate could also make the mechanic cut corners to save time thus increasing his pay. Hourly or salary pay would ensure the mechanic does the repair properly and in a timely manner or they would be replaced, they aren't union employees.

It probably has to do with the grease that is on it
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