Check Engine light: A brilliant idea?

John S. wrote:

>
> N8N wrote:

> >
> > Memory is cheap - there's no reason that the message couldn't be
> > "right bank O2 sensor trim full lean" instead of "27" for example.
>
> Yes, we hear that phrase repeated all the time when it somes to
> computers. And yes, the cost of storage has come down notably from
> the days of core memory.
>
> However to add such a feature and have it provide useful information
> to the driver would involve a lot more than adding a memory chip I'm
> afraid.



But what about just having the already stored error code flash
alternately with mileage on the already existing digital odometer?

P0420
123456.7
P0420
123456.7
P0420
123456.7
P0420
123456.7
and so on...

My response would be to go to www.automd.com

John S. > wrote:
>> No, the *head*. The shape of the impression in the piston crown was
>> that of the edge of the combustion chamber in the head.
>>
>> It seems the bearings were severely worn, with the result that the
>> pistons were travelling further upward than they should have.
>
>Yow....those were loose bearings!!! I can imagine the conversation
>now:
>
>She: Dear, what is that rattling and banging coming from under the
>hood.
>
>He: Oh, nothing. I found some gasoline on sale and the motor is
>pinging a bit. It will settle down I'm sure.

I have seen this happen more than once on an airplane engine. The thing
about airplanes is that it's hard to pull over to the side of the road when
it starts running rough. But basically it was a matter of a bearing seizing
and spinning out, and then next thing you know the bearing race is being
torn up... and all of a sudden there is a lot of scrap metal in the oil pan
and there is no bearing there at all. This is sometimes accompanied by
large amounts of oil spewing out of the engine cowling, which is always an
exciting view for the passengers.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Hugo Schmeisser wrote:
>
> Yesterday I rode with a young lady in her '99 Civic. During the ride I
> noticed her Check Engine light was on and asked her about it. She
> replied that it had been on for about a week. She wasn't in a hurry to
> get it looked at because the last time she did, it cost her many
> hundreds of dollars to get it to turn off
> "...and the car's driving fine, so...".
>
> She won't even take it in to get the code read, seeming to have the
> idea that ignorance is bliss.
>
> So, my idea:
> Most cars these days have digital odometers. How much trouble would it
> be to have the odometer alternately flash the trouble code(s) and its
> normal mileage reading, and continue to do so until the light went off?
>
> Wouldn't this make it less of a hardship for unwilling owners to at
> least know what the problem is? They could do it with a quick phone
> call to a garage rather than bother with appointments and lengthy
> waiting.
>
> Wouldn't this possibly result in at least a few more cars getting
> repaired more quickly?
>
> How come no one has done this yet?
>
> Comments?

We can tell that you are not a mechanic with boat payments to make. ;-)

If the consumer doesn't have the wherewithal to repair the problem
themselves, what good would knowing the problem be? Typically, the codes
aren't broken down into 'go ahead and ignore for 6 months' and 'fix this
one immediately' categories. It would be best to develop a relationship
with a trustworthy mechanic who can assess the risk of letting one go
for a while. They might even read the code and provide an estimate for
free.

--
Paul Hovnanian
------------------------------------------------------------------
Incorrigible punster -- Do not incorrige.

=======
=======
Ken wrote:
> Why don't we all just issue ourselves a degree in on-board diagnostics,
> programming and electrical engineering for our cars and while we are at
> it issue a degree as a medical doctor so we no longer have to pay those
> outrageous co-pays and percentages for interpretation of x-rays, MRI's
> and catscans for diagnosing our body..............Fact is that there
> are rip-offs out there usually found by the people who shop by price
> for their repairs but their are just as many mechanics who continually
> invest in themselves with continuous education and tool purchases so
> that when your car is brought in to them they can diagnose the vehicle
> in a brief amount of time (Brevity is customer driven). Many times the
> computer will generate multiple codes but only one of them will be the
> cause. In most cases a properly educated mechanic will know which code
> is the actual cause of the light coming on thereby saving you time and
> money by not fixing everything the computer reads. Otherwise you can
> do it yourself or shop by price and then by trial and error start
> fixing the codes one at a time (in order I suppose) until the light
> stays out. Computers, as advanced as they are, cannot think on their
> own, they can only interpret and offer support.
=======
=======
what Ken said.....
in all caps.


and......
i'd like to submit his name as the new PR manager for the union.


~:~
marsh
~is off to Biloxi fer duh ATRA seminar~

E Meyer wrote:
>
> On 3/2/06 9:05 PM, in article , "Eric
> Edwards" > wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 18:55:27 -0800, Paul Hovnanian P.E. >
> > wrote:
> >> If the consumer doesn't have the wherewithal to repair the problem
> >> themselves, what good would knowing the problem be?
> >
> > So they can call their trusted mechanic what the problem is. Then the
> > mechanic can give an estimate of the scope of the problem, how soon it
> > needs to be fixed, and how long it will take.
> >
> > This seems a whole lot better than the consumer taking their car into
> > the shop with no idea when they are going to get their car back or if
> > interrupting their life at a bad time was really necessary.
>
> Been there. Tried that. Response from the shop: "Those codes are not always
> right. Bring it and and pay the diagnostic fee and we'll tell you what's
> really wrong". (of course the code was right...)

So, what good does giving the codes to the owner do? If they call in
with the diagnostic messages, the shop might still say, "We need to see
the car". That's why you need a trustworthy mechanic.

Reading the codes only takes a minute or so. If a shop needs to do some
additional checking (legitimately), of course they are going to charge
more for their time. And they're not apt to give you a quote over the
phone based on dashboard diagnostics. If they aren't trustworthy, how
can you trust a price they give you over the phone.

I've taken cars in to good mechanics on several occasions and had codes
read for free (before I bought my own reader) and had them put my car on
an emission tester for a very reasonable price.


--
Paul Hovnanian
------------------------------------------------------------------
Marching to a different kettle of fish.