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I am so excited about this that I tell just about anybody who will listen. I try to be careful that I don't repeat myself but this secret is so exciting that I just can't help telling everybody I meet. It's not really a secret. I'm sure lots of people know this but I just discovered it and I'm sure there are lots of people out there who still don't know about it and could benefit from this information. I know that no one I talk to knows about it.
If you're like me, you've taken your cars to garages and paid big bucks for car repairs. After all, we're often in strange cities with no family to lean on and no idea where to take our cars for competent and honest work. We're at the mercy of the mechanics and we pay whatever they demand. What choice do we have? Well, now we do have a choice.
Until about 3 years ago, I always paid big auto repair bills. I drive a 10 year old car that I bought new from AAFES and about once a year it would gradually start running rougher and rougher. It wouldn't be very noticeable at first but it would gradually, over several days, get worse and worse. After a couple of days, the check engine light would come on and then, after a couple more days, it would get so bad that while stopped at red lights, the engine would vibrate so much that I was afraid the car would die right there on the spot. I could just imagine hundreds of cars piling up behind me as I tried to get it started again.
So to prevent breaking down on a busy road, on my day off I'd make an appointment at a car repair shop. I always went to a Ford authorized repair shop a couple of miles from my house. It was probably more expensive than some garages but I figured, being an authorized Ford repair place, they'd know what they were doing, charge me a fair price, and do a good job.
I'd go to this repair shop and a mechanic would take the car around to the garage and eventually get around to diagnosing the problem. The way it worked at this particular shop is that the mechanic would make the diagnosis and pass the information to a shop manager who would relay the information to me.
I would stand at the counter as the shop manager listed the things that needed to be done. And it was never one thing that needed to be fixed. It was always a combination of things, some absolutely necessary, some optional but urgently recommended, and some that could wait if necessary. And because I'm not a mechanic, I had no choice but to take this person's word for it and fork over the money. I thought it was just the way it was. Each visit cost from $600 to $900 bucks. Afterwards the car would run fine for another year. This scenario repeated itself three years in a row.
A few months later, my car started to run rough again and the check engine light came on right on schedule. But this time, instead of going to the shop, I tried out my new meter. I followed the instructions that came with it and plugged it into the car's data plug under the dash. I turned on the ignition and after 10 seconds, an error code appeared on the meter's screen. Error 303. I looked up the code in the little book that came with it and it corresponded to "cylinder 3 misfire detected".
I had no idea which cylinder was number 3 so I bought a Haynes manual for my model car from Advance Auto Parts. It cost about $20 which seemed high to me but I needed it. And the information it provided was invaluable. The Haynes book detailed everything about the car including which cylinder was number 3 and what kind of plugs it needed and how to replace them.
I should point out that the meter didn't tell me to replace the spark plugs but, I guessed, from my sketchy knowledge of internal combustion engines, that a misfire might be due to worn or defective plugs.
I bought a new set of spark plugs ($12 for all 6 plugs) and replaced all of them. It took me a couple of hours because it was my first time changing plugs for this car and I had to run to the auto parts store to buy a socket wrench extension to reach one of the plugs. But afterwards the car ran like a Swiss clock!
After about a year, the car began to run rough again -just like before -and after a couple of days, the check engine light came on again. I nursed the car through the week and on Saturday I used my meter again. It showed the same error as last time: "cylinder 3 misfire detected". I forgot to mention that the previous year, when I changed the plugs, I noticed that the plug in cylinder 3 was fouled. Its electrode was gummy with oil residue. I'm no mechanic but I thought that maybe I had worn rings in that cylinder that was allowing oil to seep past and foul the plug. But I had replaced all the plugs just to be sure.
This time, because I am lazy, I only checked cylinder number 3's spark plug and sure enough, it was fouled again. I compared it to the chart that was inside the back cover of the Hayne's manual to be sure. So I bought a new spark plug and replaced the number 3 plug. The car ran like a fine Swiss timepiece! Total time invested: an hour. Total cost: $2 (for the sparkplug).
I felt even better than last time! I fixed my car again!! I felt like driving over to the Ford authorized repair shop and giving them the finger! It was apparent that they had been ripping me off in the past. Those honest-looking shop managers had lied to my face and robbed me. No more. I was no longer a slave to some grease monkey who told me whatever he felt like! Now I had the power!
I have replaced the same cylinder 3 spark plug for the third year in a row now. I realize that I might not be actually fixing the problem and only cleaning up the symptom but I can live with that. I figure a once-a-year spark plug replacement is better than having a mechanic tear my engine apart and replace the rings. My cousin, who is an expert mechanic, told me that it's possible that I don't have worn rings, that I might have a bad spark plug wire for that plug which doesn't deliver a hot enough spark to keep it clean and allows oil to accumulate. So next time the problem reoccurs, I will replace the spark plug wires and see if that fixes the problem for good. A set of spark plug wires is only about $20.
But my point is, I have saved an estimated $2,500 by using my meter. The last three years that I have been diagnosing and making my own "repairs" would normally have seen three trips to the repair shop averaging $800 a trip!
I strongly recommend getting one of these meters and saving yourself big bucks. Every car has a data plug right under the dash, as conveniently reachable as the parking brake. You've probably not even noticed yours. Mine was covered with a small plastic panel that snaps in and out. You don't have to be a mechanic to use this little device. I'm not. And the Haynes or Chiltons manual, which are available at any auto parts store, tells you everything you need to know.
Not only will this little code reader keep your mechanic honest, you can also use them to turn off Check Engine lights that you think might be flukes. You just hook it up to the car's data port and click on the erase button and BAM --it's off! Some people might be afraid that turning the Check Engine light off will damage their car but it won't. If it actually has a problem, it will cause the related sensor to re-trigger the check engine light again.
I turned my friend's Check Engine light off and saved him $50. He had taken his Toyota to the Toyota dealership because the Check Engine light came on. He didn't have any apparent problem but was concerned because of the light. The Toyota mechanic told him that it was caused by a faulty gas cap and that he would need a new one. My friend remembered that I'd told him about my meter --I told you I tell everybody --so he declined to buy a new gas cap from Toyota and asked me to hook up the meter to see what it said. It reported an error "Evaporative emission control system leak detected (fuel cap loose/off)". We decided the Check Engine light was probably a result of him leaving his gas cap off too long and used the code reader to turn his Check Engine light off. It's been about a year now and it hasn't come back on and the car runs fine.
There are several brands and models of the OBD2 code readers but they all do about the same thing. I recommend buying the cheapest one you can find. These code readers work on any car, foreign or domestic, if they were built after 1996. Before that year the auto industry wasn't standardized and used various diagnostic software in their cars so if your car is a 1996 model or older, read the fine print.
Don't be intimidated by ads for these code readers that show them hooked up to computer monitors. Although some of the more expensive models may have the ability to transfer data to a computer and display it, the computer isn't necessary. That's just an impressive feature. Mine has that capability (I think) but I've never used it. All you need is the meter.
Another thing that many people don't know is that, if you don't want to buy your own meter, Advance Auto Parts and other stores will diagnose your Check Engine light for you. Every store has an OBD2 code reader and will use it with your car to determine what your Check Engine light is trying to tell you. And it's free!
So stop handing your hard-earned money to unscrupulous mechanics and get a Diagnostic Code Scanner!
Disclaimer: working on a car can be dangerous. Engines are extremely hot and full of flammable liquids. Always have a safety observer. The author is not a mechanic and doesn't know jack about cars.
Please report mistakes, inaccuracies, or broken links to editor@armywriter.com.