The most complicated way to fix a simple problem
Discussion
Had a mk.2 Golf that was throwing up all sorts of random electrical problems. The dash lights would all cut out when you turned the ignition on and died several times refusing to restart. Had 2 people look at it, couldn't find the fault. Took it to a garage, they couldn't figure it out. Out of folorn hop I decided to use a jump lead as an extra earth, just in case. It started first time.
I once had a Mondeo auto that was downshifting when it felt like it. I removed the ECU, Instrument cluster and Transmission control module to carry out wiring checks. everything checked out. I then suspected a fault with a module behind the dashboard. Removed the front seats, dashboard to gain access to the module. After removing the plug and plugging it back in again. I decided to test the car with the dash bolted up with a couple of bolts. The car drove perfect. Was a lot of work to tell the customer it just needed unplugged and plugged back in again.
roscozs said:
I once had a Mondeo auto that was downshifting when it felt like it. I removed the ECU, Instrument cluster and Transmission control module to carry out wiring checks. everything checked out. I then suspected a fault with a module behind the dashboard. Removed the front seats, dashboard to gain access to the module. After removing the plug and plugging it back in again. I decided to test the car with the dash bolted up with a couple of bolts. The car drove perfect. Was a lot of work to tell the customer it just needed unplugged and plugged back in again.
I love it when my mum calls me with all sorts of home electrical nightmares- 90pc are solved by a simple reboot, and she think's I'm an electrical God as a result...I had a Defender that was overheating. I replaced the rad, the viscous coupling on the fan, the thermostat and flushed the coolant and it finally went perfectly on a test run... until I indicated before turning round when the temp went off the scale again. Turned out to be a dodgy earth that was sorted in a couple of minutes with a nail file. All done in a campsite in Namibia 
Negative Creep said:
Had a mk.2 Golf that was throwing up all sorts of random electrical problems. The dash lights would all cut out when you turned the ignition on and died several times refusing to restart. Had 2 people look at it, couldn't find the fault. Took it to a garage, they couldn't figure it out. Out of folorn hop I decided to use a jump lead as an extra earth, just in case. It started first time.
Similar story - I had an aged Polo which just wouldn't run. Plugs, points, leads, condensor, coil, battery - nothing would sort it. Until I leant on something and heard a tiny click from a relay. I had leant on the engine-body earth strap. After tightening the connections, it started first time. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff