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Jim Grant's Tech Tips
Ford, Check Engine Light
Q:
My
check engine light is on. I brought it to Ford twice and they did a complete
tune-up. After a few months it came on again. I took it back to Ford and
they changed my plug wires. A few days later it came on again. I have
taken it to a few service stations and I keep getting charged over and
over again. One repair shop said they would have to remove the head and
clean the ports for $900. Any help?
-
Nick P.
A:
You
have two problems you're going to have to get over. The first one is jumping
around. When you jump from one service facility to the next you will automatically
incur diagnostic fees. This further compounds the problem because the
facility has no repair history on the vehicle. Second educate yourself!
Why was the Check Engine Light on in the first place? Do you have this
information? Why did you need a tune-up? Did you fork the money out without
asking? Even if you had documentation from a dozen shops I would still
insist on plugging into your vehicle's computer. Yes, you would be charged
for this as well. Why? Any technician diagnosing a problem such as yours
needs real and live information. What is written on paper is only that,
information written on paper. In most cases our techs are told to disregard
written information unless they can query the technician that created
it. Think of it this way. If your doctor referred you to another specialist
would you expect that doctor to except the report provided? Or would you
want them to start from the beginning? Myself, start from the beginning.
There may have been a valuable piece of information missed that would
provide the cure. The fewer the needles the better I like it, I'm a real
pansy to needles. My suggestion? Ask your friends for a reference or go
to the repair facility that you felt most comfortable. Tell them you want
to know why the check engine light is on and just what it will take to
correct the cause. That's step one. Step two is always easier and that
is the repair.
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