On 10 May 2012 10:33, Chas. <[email protected]> wrote: > Of course on the technical front there is much less you can do at home > with modern electronics than you could with points and tappets. >
Sadly, this myth has been well and truly sold to many people, who honestly believe that you can't work with modern cars at home. Routine servicing is much easier than it used to be, spark plugs only have to be changed once in a blue moon, tappets, never need attention, all you really have to do is change the oil and check the fluids - and yet strangely the costs we get charged by the dealer are vastly higher than ever they used to be. Cheapest entry point is 30 quid or so, which buys a code reader with which you can interpret any stored fault codes and clear them (a process which a dealer would charge 70 quid plus for). Plug the reader into the OBDII socket, download the codes, look up what they mean, fix the offending part. Perfect for identifying and cleaning or replacing a dirty MAF sensor or similar. If you want to spend a bit more money, then a couple of hundred quid on a laptop, a copy of the relevant software (e.g. Rovacom for a GEMS +8) and you can furtle to your heart's content, really getting to grips with what your engine's up to. If you want to get properly ambitious, then you can buy a complete replacement ECU from someone like Omex (who supply MMC), Emerald, or MBE, and completely remap and reprogram your entire performance envelope. And if you want to go completely OTT, you can even build you own engine management system from scratch with Megasquirt. I fully understand that messing about with one's engine is not everyone's cup of tea - and fair enough, I wouldn't try to convince anyone to do stuff they don't want to, but I would hate to think there are people out there who think 'I wish I could work on my modern Mog like I used to with my old one". It's a different set of skills, sure, but certainly not beyond an average enthusiast mechanic. I reckon that adjusting one's fuelling map with a laptop is a heck of a lot more straightforward than trying to understand the complexities of twin DCOEs. Tim ------------------------------------------- View posts on The Mail Archive http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ [http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/] Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=22459785&id_secret=22459785-4a39ddf8 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
