Where do I start?

cars now use so called can bus technology, which they claim frees lots of thick bundles of wiring and reduces weight and uses just a couple of pairs of wires to control every aspect of cars, from brake lights to indicators, fogs, headlights and so on, so if it is just a a pair of wires carrying coded control signals millions of times per second, each item addressed decodes that code and performs a function required, even sensors are now connected to it, each sensor identifies itself and outputs its data when addressed, but such complexity is outside a diy owner. when things go wrong you are At the mercy of expensive ripping off dealers.
 
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The upside is of course that if you have the software, and / or the correct reader, then you can read the faults and in some cases alter the software.
When I had trouble with the Saxo we had, it was dead simple to read the codes and change the lambda sensor. No guessing what was wrong.
The downside is that it's more complication. You end up with a switch telling a computer to energise a relay to send power to a light, rather than a switch directly energising the same relay.
 
Yes Dave, there are advantages as well as disadvantages, which is if a module goes bad, you then have no fault codes to go by, and will then be at the mercy of the dealers, or you may join forums and ask others and most of the time it will be guess work, change this change that, trial and error until a fault is sorted out.

A mate had a BMW320d (his one was diesel) it developed door locking problem, found out that two of his doors won't lock, but if you locked manually they will unlock, so after bangging my head for him, asking on BMW forums, reprogramming key fobs, etc etc, his windows also started to misbehave, some would no go up all the way, checked his battery voltage etc etc, they suggested that I look inside the door locking module, but they don't tell you where to find it, so you go back and ask another question where the hell is it? so someone comes along and says it is behind the glove box, so you start ripping glove box and eventually find it not quite behind the glove box but underneath it, and finally i managed to put it right by changing two relays, which were difficult to unsolder and remove due to plated through holes, any way after refitting everything and all working fine, two weeks later his indicators pilot lights in his dashboard stopped working but on ten outside they all worked fine.

This was quite a dangerous fault as a driver if you did not know that your indicators on the outside were blinking and you had no intention of turning, then someone may jump in front of you thinking you were indicating to turn, this particular fault was same like it came and went and one minute it was fine the next minute it wasn't, so rather than find where the fault was, I temporary rigged tow small wires from his outside indicators on to his dash board and wired two little LEDs so that until we find exact fault, he has some means of indication that his external indicators are working.

With that fault, his dashboards panel also stopped showing which head light was on, or which fog light was on, or if doors were not fully closed, eventually we found out that it was his light module, we changed that and the problem cured, couldn't see any dry joints etc, so this time it was corrupt software in his module and we managed to get a cheap one on ebay.
 
Agreed Mike, it doesn't make it easy if there's a problem with the software or the ECU etc. Mate of mine bought a nice looking Rover "Streetwise" last year. Basically one of the last Rover 25s. He had considerable fun with the locking, which then turned into trouble with lights. Luckily there is a garage down here who understand the cars, so a replacement BCM (or whatever it's called on those) and some modifications fixed it. Didn't cost him too much either.
Older cheaper cars have become a nightmare to repair. I was talking to the bloke who does my MOTs down here. Small local garage. he said he had several cars there at any time which are basically scrap because the cost of repairing the electronics far outweighs the value of an otherwise perfectly serviceable motor.
 
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Burnerman said:
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Is that a Briggs wind up starter, Nige? Haven't seen one of those for 40 odd years!
John :)
Click to expand...
No M8 it's a Lauson engine with a gravity fed carb - not a poxy B+S diaphragm;) so the starter was probably fitted to B+S engines too. the mower man who serviced it said it dated from the 1960's - looks no more than 10 year old with just a little surface rust.
 
Lauson....no experience with them but parts look remarkably similar to Tecumseh stuff, so maybe they've become one.
John :)
 
Was it BAS who once remarked something along the lines of, "...keeping DIYnot posters on topic is akin to herding cats..."
:)
 
Wonder if it's a fault in that ribbon cable holding a break in it open when it's colder and more "springy"
Whatever, if it was mine I'd take it in I reckon.
 
I had a run down to the main Skoda dealer today, and spoke to the workshop foreman who reckoned that a new 'steering wheel interface' is needed (from that I presume he means switchgear) so, next Wednesday is new interface day!
Fingers crossed, etc.
John :)
 
let us hope they you won't have to cough up anything and knowing manufacturer's will always try to come up with something like but we don't cover that under warranty as it is an interface device and is subject to wear and tear like brake pads! (so the more steering wheel you have used you have buggered your interface!)LOL

PS. I know what an interface is, I am just saying I wonder what other excuse they ,may come up with.
 
A few years ago a new "steering wheel interface" would have been one of those stitch on fake leather wheel gloves! :D
Good luck with it John. Sounds as if they may know something about the steering wheel interface that we don't?
I expect it'll be fine after. I hate taking anything new back for repairs though!
 
Yes indeed, and my interface is giving me a bit of a problem now, so if i suddenly go quiet you know my interface is down, it is running at only 2mbs at the moment.
you could also say the toilet seat is an interface between one's bum and the toilet pan!
 
So.....an update.
Yeti now has a replacement steering wheel interface - naturally enough the computer scrolling facility was working perfectly today, so we'll see what happens.
I mean, with only 12 switches on the steering wheel and maybe the same number of tiny lamps, what can possibly fail there?
Anyway, there was a free tin of mints to reinforce my faith in the marque!
John :)
 
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