The Tow Files: Blast From The Past

[dalesys]

...Then I had to tell them where to stick it and how to read the Morris code.

As long as it doesn't start dancing the Dark Morris.

[Rosco the Iroc]

I'm finding it hard to find a place that will work on the Camaro, if it doesn't have OBDII, an increasing number of places either don't or won't give you the time of day, they want an instant answer from the computer or they're not interested...

I can do that.

I had to lol when a guy came into AZ parts to get his code read on his '90 Caprice. The kid form the retail counter came back in and couldn't understand why he could not get the reader to plug in. After much debate they came back to me in commercial and told me. OK I got this, give me a second to make you a scanner for that.... *bends paper clip into a U*
Here you go...

That's the scan tool.

Then I had to tell them where to stick it and how to read the Morris code.

[raw1989]

my Honda was having issues wile it was stopped its not an old Honda its a 2011 I took it to the dealer for this 3 times before I finally went in and was a bit demanding and advised I think its a fan can u check them sure enough one of my a/c fans were out on it so not only did I have to get tires the fan had to be done the spark plugs and the gas line was cleaned, I just put more work in it as the last time I told them you know a computers doesn't know everything magic how now my Struts were leaking and yes they were I had them done somewhere else who showed them to me, and my rotors need to be machined hubbys just going to replace them and my breaks together, oh and the fluids need to be exchanged so I have a love hate relationship with the computers in the car.

[Argus]

I have a Universal Remote, will you talk me through programming it over the phone?

I had a similar problem once helping some friends 70 miles away get their TV/VCR/Cable setup back into shape after a power failure messed it up. I started with something simple: Put a pre-recorded tape in the VCR and get it to show up on the TV (on channel 3). Once I had that working, the tape could be put away. Then the roommate wandered into the room, reached behind the VCR, and flipped a switch his girlfriend (who worked at a Blockbuster or something) had told him about. He was apparently under the impression that it would fix all conceivable problems in the entire setup. For those of you who remember that far back, it was the switch for changing the VCR's output between channels 3 and 4.

Oh, and the actual problem was that the TV had forgotten that it was supposed to be on channel 3, and its short list of channels had been programmed years earlier based on just broadcast channels.

[raudf]

I have a Universal Remote, will you talk me through programming it over the phone? (Answer: Hell No. Every person I’ve tried to do this with has turned into a blithering idiot for the remainder of that call. I’m never doing it again. Example Actual Conversation with my Mom: “Okay, your TV is on the wrong input, which button do you push on the TV remote to watch a DVD?” “Hey! It’s working now!” “Which button did you push?” “Okay, how do I change the TV channel?” “I need to finish fixing the DVD; which button did you push?” “The one I always push.” Arrrrgggghhh!!!!)

Uuuuugggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Hate, loathe, despise universal remotes on a repair level! By the end of my term with the MW repair, we had several brands that had universals and you'd be surprised by how many we had manuals for. Exactly NONE. This was when internet wasn't so common, so if you lost that booklet that came with the TV, you were SCREWED.

[Sparklyturtle]

My mechanic (very good) has classic cars and motorcycles. Last time I was at the shop he had a red and white late 50s Chevy parked in the lot. Looked just like the one my family had in the early 1960s when we lived in Japan, and my mother learned to swear in Japanese by driving on the Tokyo freeway.

[wolfie]

They want an instant answer from the computer, but the computer may not be telling the whole story. For a long time, my truck was giving an "EGR not responding" code. Much money spent on EGR and sensor replacement. Turned out it was a leak in the air to air charge air cooler.

It takes a GOOD mechanic, not a parts-changer, to translate the diagnostic code into what's up at the root of the problem.

[Argabarga]

The other reasons are probably that your local chain garage isn't going to have the tools or skills necessary to rebuild a carb for a 1920s Model T,

On Antique plates, we had the same issue, PENNDOT wouldn't issue them to our army truck because it "didn't have a proper VIN" and we told them "It has a serial number, unique to it, right on the manufacturer's plate" "Nope" they said "that won't do at all, it's a 1970 vehicle so it MUST have a VIN, you're just not looking in the right place"

We sicced our state rep on them, they gave us our plate


And 20's car nothing, I'm finding it hard to find a place that will work on the Camaro, if it doesn't have OBDII, an increasing number of places either don't or won't give you the time of day, they want an instant answer from the computer or they're not interested...

[protege]

That's among the reasons why, I'd wager, that you can get "Antique" plates for your classic car in this state, can't drive it at night, and can only drive "X" miles a year (excluding mileage to and from shows) but it's permanently emissions/safety exempt, so nobody but you gets to touch it.

The other reasons are probably that your local chain garage isn't going to have the tools or skills necessary to rebuild a carb for a 1920s Model T, and the state assumes that the owner would handle the repairs But seriously, getting those antique (or even classic) plates in PA is a pain...and yes, I know that from personal experience. I had my project car re-titled some years ago.

Even though the paperwork was all in order--despite the Triple-A people not seeing a 1981-issued A title--I was told that there might be some trouble putting the car in my name. Why? Because in the photos I supplied...the windows were down Of course they were *bleeping* down, it was 100-plus-F when I took the photos! After I threatened to get my local representative involved, the paperwork was duly sent to Harrisburg

Uh, where was I going with this? Oh yes. The car has classic plates on it. Unlike antique tags that carry a 1,500 annual mileage cap, classic plates raise it to 3,500. The other difference, is that I'm subject to getting the car inspected every year. I don't have to get it through emissions testing, because it's exempt. While I could probably get it registered as an "antique" and enjoy not having to get it inspected, I've chosen not to. I'd rather have the car gone over before I lay it up for the winter.

[eltf177]

I've seen stuff on YouTube (and once on the news!) from people who took their shiny sports car in to be serviced, and later found dashcam footage from when a mechanic took it out for a 'test drive' which turned out to involve picking up their friends and hooning around at speed.

You hear about this all the time, one would think the owner would make darn sure to tell his employees NOT to touch these cars unless there's an excellent reason, and unauthorized use is an automatic firing!

[Valentinian]

I've seen stuff on YouTube (and once on the news!) from people who took their shiny sports car in to be serviced, and later found dashcam footage from when a mechanic took it out for a 'test drive' which turned out to involve picking up their friends and hooning around at speed.

[Argabarga]

At least once a year, someone makes the news for taking their souped-up classic for it's yearly inspection, and the mechanic decides to "test drive" it and wraps it around a utility pole.

Last year's victim was a 69' Camaro Z28

That's among the reasons why, I'd wager, that you can get "Antique" plates for your classic car in this state, can't drive it at night, and can only drive "X" miles a year (excluding mileage to and from shows) but it's permanently emissions/safety exempt, so nobody but you gets to touch it.

[EricKei]

I have heard tales of another guy who was at a car club convention, got s**tfaced and got into another member's historic race car (purpose-built endurance racer from the 60s) and wrecked it, injuring himself. And sued the club and the owner of the car...

Please, PLEASE tell me he lost...or that the judge refused to even entertain the suit because of that whole Grand Theft Auto thing...o_O

[Nunavut Pants]

Mechanic took the car from the shop, got drunk, and rammed a tree.

An acquaintance of mine bought a car that turned out to be the very first of that model ever made. Took it to his mechanic to get it checked out and serviced. Mechanic took the (fairly sporty) car for a test drive, and wrapped it around a tree.

Nice job on that formerly collectable car, Skippy.



I have heard tales of another guy who was at a car club convention, got s**tfaced and got into another member's historic race car (purpose-built endurance racer from the 60s) and wrecked it, injuring himself. And sued the club and the owner of the car...

[mjr]

As a fellow "Computer Guy", I, too, have learned the limits of what I will agree to fix. My checklist:

Tell me about it...

I have this issue with certain members of my family. I even got to the point where I bought a t-shirt that reads, "No, I will not fix your computer". I'm a software engineer, which apparently to some people translates to "knows everything about computers". I've tried to explain it to some members of my family, and they seem to think that "works with computers" is the same thing.

A couple of stories of my own:

1. My mother's computer was giving her some kind of error once. She was getting a "non system disk..." error, IIRC. So she decides to call me. When I don't immediately call her back, she tries (in vain) to fix it herself, and basically wipes her hard drive (with no backup of the OS). Then she proceeds to blame me, because I didn't call her back quickly enough.

2. My mother's 3rd ex-husband kept messing with their home network, and she kept trying to get it back where it was (he'd unplug things, etc). I told her many, many times to label both ends of the cables, that way when things got unplugged, she'd know where things went. Did she listen? No.

3. My wife and I had gone to a HS football game. Well, my mother calls and asks if we'd like to meet her after the game at a nearby burger joint (I forget the reason). Anyway, as we're getting ready to leave said burger joint, she calls me over to her car, and shows me a computer in the trunk. She had volunteered me (without asking) if I could fix that computer. It wasn't even her computer. It belonged to a lady she worked with. My wife intervened there. She said we didn't have a place to plug it in. I think it needed an OS or something installed on it.

I told my wife later on that we should have installed Linux on it and sent it back to her. But my wife said that would have been more trouble than it would have been amusing.