OK, so I just have to tell you about my new automotive technician....

Happyflowerlady

Happyflowerlady

Vagabond Flowerchild
Location
Northern Alabama
Recently I traded my lo-rider Chevy Cavalier for a Ford Taurus wagon that I can get in and out of a whole lot easier. It is a 2000, and has over 187k miles, so the engine light was on when I got it, but on Sunday, I was going over to see my daughter, and the light started flashing off and on, and then went back to a steady "on" light again.
I was telling Robin what happened, and , to my surprise, she said we needed to read the computer codes for it, went and got a fancy little meter, and headed out for my car.

For almost the next half hour, she programmed the meter, and it chatted with my car computer, while she told me all about what my car was doing, and what might fix it.
Then, she reset all the codes, and we drove around for another half hour, with the meter connected, while observing what was happening as we drove.


Now, I always believed that my daughter was awesome, but who would have ever thought that she would turn out to be an automotive computer technician !
I was so totally impressed with how much she knew, and I have been to shops where the mechanic was not that good with the diagnostics, so I told her that I am sure that not one woman out of a thousand can do what she just did.
She just laughed, and said it was a lot of fun.


So, now my light came back on again, and she said I need to get a new PCV valve to try first, and if that doesn't fix it, then we go on to the next recommendation on the list.....
 

Smart little girl you have there Happyflowerlady! Where I live, you can go to auto part stores like AutoZone, and get a free diagnostic also with no obligation...may be worth comparing your meter with theirs, if there's places like that by you. :drive:
 
We can do that here, too, SeaBreeze, and I did that before with a different vehicle. The information they gave me was pretty basic, compared to all the tests that Robin did on my car. She is a Gadget Girl, so i am sure that she got the most sophisticated one that she could find, and she loves doing that kind of thing anyway.
She was a helicopter mechanic when she was in the military.

She took after her dad on that one, he used to spend HOURS with his head under the hood of the family vehicle, running tests with some gauge or meter, and I was the one stuck behind the wheel, waiting for the instructions to "rev it up now ", at just the right time when he had it all set up.
 

Well, she IS a highly qualified Gadget Girl, and her service in the military is appreciated. :) I'm like you, behind the wheel, waiting for instructions. ;)
 
Your daughter is one impressive lady!

Just as a cautionary thought - sometimes manufacturers set the "Service Engine Soon" light to come on at automatic intervals, regardless of whether there is anything wrong at all. They just want the dealership service department to make a few bucks. All they do is reset the light, tell you they "did periodic service" and you drive away happy.

Your daughter is right to recommend a PCV valve first - that's probably the cheapest fix of all.
 
Wow, that is wonderful! I hate taking my car to the garage as I never know if I'm getting the truth or just a line to spend more $$. Lucky you!
 
Sifu, you are right about the service light coming on. I used to have a Mazda pickup, and at 50k, the light suddenly came on, and when I took it to be checked, they told me that it was to have it serviced, and then reset it. So, when it came back on at 100k miles, I already knew what it was. At about 125k, it turned off, and then came back on at 150k miles again.

The meter that Robin has, gives you suggestions to correct the problem that has caused the light to come on, starting with the easiest fix, and then progressing to more expensive possibilities. So, the first suggestion was to replace the PCV valve, and if the light comes back on again, then we try the next recommendation on the list. Eventually, the wagon should be running good, without the light being on.

Tica, you are SO right about not trusting mechanics. Especially with a woman, they think they can tell us anything.
I bought a VW camper bus, when I lived in Western Washington, and took it in for an oil change right away. It ran fine when I bought it, but after the oil change, it would barely chug along, and they showed me an oil pan full of filings and quoted almost $500 of work that it needed.

I didn't know what happened, but I knew it ran fine before, so I refused to pay, and putt-putted down the street to a different shop. The mechanic there soon discovered that they had drilled a hole in my oil cap, thus making the car run bad. When he put duct tape over the hole, the little Camper bus ran like a champ again.
Also, it turned out that the bits of "chewed up engine" that they found in my oil pan, were from someone sharpening their CHAINSAW !
 
A woman who knows her way around an engine has the power. Well done.

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Happyflowerlady said:
Recently I traded my lo-rider Chevy Cavalier for a Ford Taurus wagon that I can get in and out of a whole lot easier. It is a 2000, and has over 187k miles, so the engine light was on when I got it, but on Sunday, I was going over to see my daughter, and the light started flashing off and on, and then went back to a steady "on" light again.
I was telling Robin what happened, and , to my surprise, she said we needed to read the computer codes for it, went and got a fancy little meter, and headed out for my car.

For almost the next half hour, she programmed the meter, and it chatted with my car computer, while she told me all about what my car was doing, and what might fix it.
Then, she reset all the codes, and we drove around for another half hour, with the meter connected, while observing what was happening as we drove.


Now, I always believed that my daughter was awesome, but who would have ever thought that she would turn out to be an automotive computer technician !
I was so totally impressed with how much she knew, and I have been to shops where the mechanic was not that good with the diagnostics, so I told her that I am sure that not one woman out of a thousand can do what she just did.
She just laughed, and said it was a lot of fun.


So, now my light came back on again, and she said I need to get a new PCV valve to try first, and if that doesn't fix it, then we go on to the next recommendation on the list.....
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All the time I was reading it, Happy, I'm thinking Robin is one more smart cookie. Most of the the women I know have no clue about car repair. NADDA! You've got yourself a very smart daughter.....and you're right, she is awesome. You can tell her I said so because I'm jealous and would give anything to be gifted in that way..and it is a gift. You're so lucky to have her and she. you. And I think the comparison is more like 1 in every 5,000 ladies that may have had some knowledge. Half the ones I know who claim to be knowledgeable aren't, they just know enough to be dangerous! Good luck w/your new purchase once you get the kinks out, and they all have them!
 
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Boo's Mom said:
In the early days of SERVICE ENGINE light coming on, I remember always hearing .. "Check the gas cap! .. it might be loose".
Click to expand...

I'm ashamed to admit that very thing just happened to me last wk. The repair guys (whom I deal with all the time) just reminded me to adjust the gas cap tighter. What a relief, I figured it would be several hundred dollars, instead it was free!

Going forward, I'll know!
 
HFL..Great story and an awesome daughter you have. Doesn't look like the local mechanics will be pulling the wool over her eyes any time soon!

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