Reply to: Car ODB2 scanner

[DealorNoDeal]

£40 scanner has probably paid for itself. Used it to read the fault code causing the engine warning light to come on. A bit of googling pointed to it being most likely a failing fuel pump control module. Picked one up second hand on eBay for £15; less than 20 mins to swap out the old one and use the scanner to clear down the fault code. Job done.

I suspect it might have cost a bit more at an Audi dealer!

PS. I'm not sure I'd have risked driving 80 miles to the airport, to catch a flight, if I'd known what the actual problem was.

[DoctorStrangelove]

I thought MB had calmed down quite a lot after they came back to Blighty.

Some of the nonsense in septicland was quite irritating.

[DealorNoDeal]

Edd China left in series 13, replaced by Ant, and now by Elvis.

I liked Edd the best. Ant was ok but I prefer Elvis.

For me, the problem with the later episodes isn't the mechanic. It's Brewer getting more and more full of himself. His ego has expanded like his waistline.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Edd China left in series 13, replaced by Ant, and now by Elvis.

Wheeler Dealers is on Quest every weekday at 18:00, and on Saturday morning from 09:00 until 14:00.

[Snooky]

watching Wheeler Dealers

I love Wheeler Dealers - but only ones with Edd China. Used to be my post-pub viewing on a Wed night, but I think they've moved it now

[velcro]

I've got a couple of OBD scanners, neither of which cost more than twenty pounds.
One is Bluetooth and sends data to the phone and gives all sorts of live data such as engine temp, throttle position, etc in addition to fault codes although it won't clear the faults. The other one is a handheld and allows you to clear the code.
I bought them as the other half's car was having an intermittent problem with the ignition. The most useful thing I found was when going to look at second hand cars you can plug them in while on a test drive to check for problems.

[Zigenare]

^^^ Just as well the Wheeler Dealers outsource the soldering coz the incumbents can't solder a couple of bits of wire together for toffee.

It regularly makes me cringe.

Loved the way the tv repair chap replaced the matrix display on that Audi dash. He knew what he was doing.

I served my apprenticeship at Ferranti back in the day - needless to say my eyes are FUBAR but wires and through-hole components I can still solder aplomb - mostly "Sans Plomb" though these days <-- little "electronics" joke for the uninitiated.

[DoctorStrangelove]

^^^ Just as well the Wheeler Dealers outsource the soldering coz the incumbents can't solder a couple of bits of wire together for toffee.

It regularly makes me cringe.

Loved the way the tv repair chap replaced the matrix display on that Audi dash. He knew what he was doing.

[DealorNoDeal]

Odd innit? Used to be the rust that scrapped cars, now it's the £1000 electronic black box.

And, watching Wheeler Dealers, invariably it's something trivial, like soldered joints gone bad, which kills the electronic black box. That's certainly the case with the ABS pump in my car; refurbishment typically just involves a bit of re-soldering in the control unit.

[DealorNoDeal]

OK, I've seen £300-£1000 quoted, depending on what's wrong. but if a key component has failed on something worth less that £1800 or so, I'd be changing it for something less likely to kill me. But that's my opinion, yours may rightly well be totally different since you know the car in question.

Also depends on what's failed, as well of course. You can't easily repair the physical bits, but controllers and actuators can be replaced; in which case you still have an old key component on the car...

It's all relative.

I only do about 1000 miles a year. On the other hand, I'm a smoker.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Odd innit? Used to be the rust that scrapped cars, now it's the £1000 electronic black box.

Several of mine (and there's another one waiting) have met the scrappy due to that.

Especially since I can't be arsed to DIY it any more.

[malvolio]

A new one is the best part of 2 grand, and that's without fitting. Reconditioned ones are around £200.

OK, I've seen £300-£1000 quoted, depending on what's wrong. but if a key component has failed on something worth less that £1800 or so, I'd be changing it for something less likely to kill me. But that's my opinion, yours may rightly well be totally different since you know the car in question.

Also depends on what's failed, as well of course. You can't easily repair the physical bits, but controllers and actuators can be replaced; in which case you still have an old key component on the car...

[DealorNoDeal]

Not sure I'd want to replace a faulty and fairly important brake component with a used one that may well develop the same fault...

A new one is the best part of 2 grand, and that's without fitting. Reconditioned ones are around £200.

[malvolio]

As an aside, one of the fault codes that came up was with the ABS pump. I got a quote from the local main dealer for replacing the pump and it was more than the car is worth.

Fortunately, I managed to find a reconditioned pump online and got the local garage to install it for a fraction of the price.

Not sure I'd want to replace a faulty and fairly important brake component with a used one that may well develop the same fault...

[DealorNoDeal]

As an aside, one of the fault codes that came up was with the ABS pump. I got a quote from the local main dealer for replacing the pump and it was more than the car is worth.

Fortunately, I managed to find a reconditioned pump online and got the local garage to install it for a fraction of the price.