Author Topic: I think I broke my car  (Read 740 times)

Offline mora

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I think I broke my car
« Reply #15 on: April 01, 2005, 03:13:46 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by vorticon
"Analysis showing bogus error reports, mechanicians having a wild goose chase and customer paying the bill."

shouldent the mechanic, if hes any good, be able to figure out what the problem is WITHOUT a computer?


Most new cars have a CAN(Controlled Area Network) bus. There's little or nothing a mechanic can do to fix an electrical problem without a make specific computer tester. You cannot do troubleshooting with a wiring diagram anb a multimeter any longer.

Offline Chairboy

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I think I broke my car
« Reply #16 on: April 01, 2005, 03:26:06 PM »
Ah, I misunderstood what you were saying, I thought you were telling me that the computer I installed in the compuer was a bad idea.  

And yeah, the OBD-II is for displaying in-depth diagnostic data about the car.  It's super keen, and has already paid for itself.  A scamming mechanic told me the check engine light came on during a smog check and that automatically failed it, and tried to get me to pay $150 for them to read the code off the computer.  When I said that I had my own reader, they said 'no, you need a $15k dollar reader like we have' and I said 'Nope, actually I just need an OBD-II reader.  I have the software too, let me go look it up" and they suddenly got really evasive, saying that they couldn't use the results from whatever test I did, etc, etc.  I left, looked it up, and there were no freeze frames stored (as is standard for GMs), no log of the light being turned on, etc.  I called them as a courtesy before writing a letter to the Better Business Bureau to let them know what happened, and they were all over it saying 'we must have made a mistake, let us run the smog test again for free' and I told them I didn't want them touching my car again.

After this longest of run-on sentences, I took the car elsewhere where it smog-passed with flying colors.
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis