Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 06/07/18> One step forward, three steps back…
12:23 AM and here I am just starting to crank up the old daily dose, it seems like the old sultnpapper has pretty much lost his schedule on getting these doses posted. It isn’t that I’m not trying to keep a schedule; it is that life just keeps pushing the schedule around on me.
I have always enjoyed doing things with my hands, so I keep a pretty steady diet of projects to work on. With the extended daylight hours and the comfortable temperatures in the evenings I have just found myself staying outside later in the evenings trying to get some things done.
One particular project I am working on though has just been kicking my ass. If I weren’t so stubborn I would have called it quits on this project months ago, now it has become more than a project, it has become a battle.
Those of you who were with me back in the winter may remember that I mentioned an old Dodge van that we keep around to haul things, mainly Girl Scout cookies and such. Back then in February it had a misfire on cylinders 1 and 4, which isn’t good when you just have six cylinders. After doing many tests, and replacing several minor components I finally determined it was the ECM (engine control module) that was causing the problem.
That fiasco with the computer company took over two months to resolve but finally at the last week of April it was ended. I finally got them to send me the right computer, with the right vehicle information programmed into the computer. That two hundred dollar computer ended up costing me over $500 in the end since I finally had to take it to the Dodge dealership to get it fixed. It turned out that the car computer place had transposed some numbers and the computers I was getting from them didn’t match the vehicle that I had so the van refused to run.
But at the end of April, and just in time I might add, it was fixed; the motor was running smooth and it passed inspection and got the new license stickers. It never got to fulfill one of its intended purposes this year, as it never even saw a box a girls scout cookies. Well that was April and this is June and I will be damned if the trouble hasn’t started again.
The other day the wife drove it up to pick up some things for the Girl Scout camping and horseback riding that was coming up and the check engine light came on. When that happened the van went into limp mode, which means, “limp on home” seriously, that is what Dodge calls it. The van shuts down the computer system and only allows the van to drive in second gear, no matter how hard you press on the gas you ain’t going any faster, you might blow the engine up, but you aren’t going any faster.
I took the van up the road in limp mode and had the check engine light code read and it was P0700, transmission problems. Pretty much a generic code so it makes it kind of hard to tell just exactly what the problem is, but rest assured there is a problem. A good friend of mine is a real car guy and he has all the right tools, the expensive ones that I won’t buy. His scanner that reads codes will get past the generic P0700 and give me the detailed report. So I borrowed his scanner and low and behold, I then found out the problem…
The problem right now is, I am well past my bedtime so I will continue this tomorrow. I hate to leave you hanging, but I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
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Life has been surprisingly turbulent over the last two days for me as well, so I definitely feel the pain when it comes to upholding schedules.
Of course, we won't let that stop us, right? Right.
I am not into cars all that much myself, I hardly even know how these things work. but I know from a couple of friends who are also into this that passion for this always comes with a certain does of frustration.
The joy for overcoming the reasons for said frustration seems to always be worth it, so keep at it.
Yes, I am going to keep at it, if only to prove I can do it. Thanks for stopping by and for the encouragement.
You would do the same for me. It was also my pleasure.
That right there is the reason I drive older beaters. The interconnectedness (I know that's not a word but you get it anyway) of the systems just make diagnosis nearly impossible. It is also the reason that I buy a service manual at the same time I buy a motorcycle. Every time. I have a few left but generally I sell them with the bike.
I do have a 1949 full set for Indian Chief. I never owned one but a friend that worked for Indian gave it to me. There are many chapters in the service manual for the Connie that are longer than the whole thing for the Indian. Times have changed.
Good luck with your van. It's an aggravating thing to deal with.
One only has to look at Cuba to know that we use to make vehicles that could last as daily drivers for well over sixty years, as most of the cars there are from the early to mid fifties. These vehicles with computers are nothing more than a way to insure that people will have to continue to buy new vehicles.
Between business and government they have created the perfect mouse trap. Government won't issue a license to the vehicle if it doesn't pass the
"emissions test" , the computers constantly cause problems that the average person has no way of determining and even the mechanics that are certified have problems figuring them out.
By making it where you can't do it, and when the vehicle is out of warranty it is so expensive for the dealership repairs, people just buy a new one. I drive by so many junk yards when I work and see what appear to be perfectly fine looking cars and trucks that have been scrapped, primarily because of all the electronics.
The hottest place on a car and truck is the engine compartment , computers don't like heat, so where do they put the computers? In the engine compartment, is where. Sounds like the perfect plan to insure failures.
Thanks for the good luck wishes, I sure need them on getting this resolved.
I live in an area that doesn't have emissions tests. Yuma County is so big and so sparsely populated that it doesn't pop the meter on the government emissions requirements. It's not even close.
It's funny. The computers on motorcycles last pretty well, and there is no doubt it's because of air flow and general cooling. You hear about a failure now and again, but really not much.
We have had Dodge vans for a while now and it is a pretty common occurrence on the vans, the stick the computer inside the front driver's side fender behind the plastic wheel well and then mount it up against the inside portion of the fender so the back of the computer is up against the engine compartment. No air circulation in the area for sure.
It had passed the emissions test, so that is good, even though I think that is all a bunch of BS.
Sorry to hear the hassles with your vehicle I hope the problem isn’t major
Thanks Jay. That is still to be decided on just how "major" it is.
Well good luck
Thanks Jay, I need it.
Car problems, one of my biggest pet peeves!! We have had a couple of cars that had the engine light come on. It’s good to know and trust someone that knows about cars. I wish we had a mechanic in our family..:maybe one of our children will become one. 😄
I like how you are keeping us in suspense and making us wait to find out what the problem is! 😁 I’ll be tuning in to find out!
I wish there were no suspense to keep you and I in. Thanks for stopping by and if you want a mechanic in the family I'll give you suggestion boy your kids tools not toys, then as "stuff' breaks let them take it apart and "play " with it. That is the easy way to get kids hooked on learning mechanics.
Thank you! That is such a smart idea, I never thought about doing that. We let them take apart electronics and play around with them...why not do the same with mechanical tools?!!! 😃
You are very welcome. That is why they let me hang around here, every now and then I will come up with something that makes sense and people can use.
Haaa! Well I’m glad they let you stick around!!! That was definitely useful for me!! 😉
What?!
Such suspense!
Just kidding... glad you found the issue and I hope it's nothing majorly annoyoing or expensive to fix!
How about that a "thriller" from the Papper, who would have ever saw that coming.
Haha!
I too have days like this where when you finally have an answer to a problem you are too tired to anything about it. I hope you get this straightened out without oo much headache. I, and computers in cars/trucks often don't see eye to eye. I would love to find an older model that is in good working condition and doesn't use a computer...
OH you bratt! LOL!! Sounds like typical S.N.A.F.U. when trying to get certain parts. Crossing my fingers then off the read part two. LOL
Don't forget part three, "The end is reached..." on 06/10/18. Thanks for dropping in... I've set the hook, now it is time to start reeling in.