driver70
Probationary Member
- 26
- 0
- Mar 8, 2005
-
West Bend,
Wisconsin
Just thought I'd share my experience in case someone else has a similar problem.
When I bought my car like 2 months ago, it came with a datalogger cable and a cd with all of the free datalogger programs. After figuring that the only other hardware I needed to run a datalogger was a Palm Pilot, I knew I was in business because I already had one. So I got it up and running in no time flat and was log happy, logging practically every time I got in the car. Little did I know then that all those logs would actually come in handy.
One day over lunch my girlfriend and I went to Best Buy down in Milwaukee (about a 30 min drive from where we work.) Leaving Best Buy, go to start the car, turns over, starts, runs for like 2 seconds, dies... Uh oh!
Try again and give it gas after it starts, no go. Check the plug wires because I changed them the night before, no go.
The only tool I have with me is my palm with mmcd... Free datalogger saves the day!!!
Pull the error codes, none active, but stored was 21 (I think that's right) Coolant Temp Sensor. Remember the p/o told me the dealer had replaced the coolant temp sensor saying that they always go bad, they're only a couple dollars, and really easy to get at. Well, I knew that that stored code was actually new, because the last time I tried it there was nothing stored. So it got me thinking about coolant temperatures...
So I did a log trying to start the car and get it running... Look at the log, notice coolant temp @ 100+ *C. Go to review some of the many logs I happened to have in my Palm at the time, look at the coolant temps, and notice that they're normally around 80 give or take, and 95 is usually the hottest when idling for long periods.
So the idea pops into my head- maybe it's just too hot, I'll let it cool down then try starting it. So we go back in, browse for a little while, buy some stuff, come back out almost 30 minutes later, check the coolant temps before starting-72*C. Start it up... STAYS RUNNING!!!! WooHoo!
So, what was truly a free datalogger to me, ended up being priceless because I was able to diagnose on the spot so we could drive outta there, instead of paying for a tow. The same problem happened one more time before I really started thinking about what could be going wrong. Noticed that the radiator cap had some corrosion on the top of it and had noticed previously that it sounded like it was leaking after I would shut the car off. So I thought that an old radiator cap that was leaking might cause the temps to shoot up and cause an error with the coolant temp sensor, replaced it with a cap from autozone and haven't had the problem since. Whew!
Amazing how just a few minutes of thinking can take so many words to explain. Happy DSM'ing!
Rommel
When I bought my car like 2 months ago, it came with a datalogger cable and a cd with all of the free datalogger programs. After figuring that the only other hardware I needed to run a datalogger was a Palm Pilot, I knew I was in business because I already had one. So I got it up and running in no time flat and was log happy, logging practically every time I got in the car. Little did I know then that all those logs would actually come in handy.
One day over lunch my girlfriend and I went to Best Buy down in Milwaukee (about a 30 min drive from where we work.) Leaving Best Buy, go to start the car, turns over, starts, runs for like 2 seconds, dies... Uh oh!
Try again and give it gas after it starts, no go. Check the plug wires because I changed them the night before, no go.The only tool I have with me is my palm with mmcd... Free datalogger saves the day!!!
Pull the error codes, none active, but stored was 21 (I think that's right) Coolant Temp Sensor. Remember the p/o told me the dealer had replaced the coolant temp sensor saying that they always go bad, they're only a couple dollars, and really easy to get at. Well, I knew that that stored code was actually new, because the last time I tried it there was nothing stored. So it got me thinking about coolant temperatures...
So I did a log trying to start the car and get it running... Look at the log, notice coolant temp @ 100+ *C. Go to review some of the many logs I happened to have in my Palm at the time, look at the coolant temps, and notice that they're normally around 80 give or take, and 95 is usually the hottest when idling for long periods.
So the idea pops into my head- maybe it's just too hot, I'll let it cool down then try starting it. So we go back in, browse for a little while, buy some stuff, come back out almost 30 minutes later, check the coolant temps before starting-72*C. Start it up... STAYS RUNNING!!!! WooHoo!
So, what was truly a free datalogger to me, ended up being priceless because I was able to diagnose on the spot so we could drive outta there, instead of paying for a tow. The same problem happened one more time before I really started thinking about what could be going wrong. Noticed that the radiator cap had some corrosion on the top of it and had noticed previously that it sounded like it was leaking after I would shut the car off. So I thought that an old radiator cap that was leaking might cause the temps to shoot up and cause an error with the coolant temp sensor, replaced it with a cap from autozone and haven't had the problem since. Whew!
Amazing how just a few minutes of thinking can take so many words to explain. Happy DSM'ing!
Rommel
