noise."August State of the Author, with bonuses! · 10:38am Aug 4th, 2022
It's August! And I'm secretly working on a secret project which I can't tell you about because it's a secret.
I also can't find a good, topical opening image.
So this'll have to do.
Since coming back from Trotcon, I've worked every single day, and I've got until Saturday until I finally get a day off. And I haven't been as productive as I'd've liked, at least when it comes to horsewords. I've got a few things languishing in the almost-done pile, a couple more things in the 'pre-read but haven't done the edits yet', and a vast pile of unfinished stuff. Including my secret project which has a hard deadline, and I probably should be working on it now.
Probably shoulda done a mechanic blog, too; I got to put all the lights and wires on the back of a dump truck and . . .
What the heck, we're gonna have a mini-Mechanic blog! Yay! But not about the dump truck; that one has several lessons to be learned.
Instead, we're going to do a real quick one. (Yeah, yeah, you've all heard me say that before.) Y'all know what to do.
The vehicle in question was a 2015 or so Ford Excursion (I don't remember the exact year). Good old three-valve Triton V8, and the complaints were a rattle under the vehicle and a check engine light.
I'll tell you what the rattle probably was later, and I'll tell you what the check engine light was right away:
P0171: Bank 1 too lean
P0174: Bank 2 too lean
P0420: Catalytic convertor efficiency Bank 1
In a nutshell, the first two codes mean that the computer has to add more fuel than it thinks it should in order to maintain a proper air/fuel ration (cars of that era typically had a 10% +/- allowance, anything more than that would set the code). The last code means that the catalytic convertor isn't converting like it ought to, and that's a code I've never seen be a false code before. That's based on a calculation of what goes in and what comes out, as read by the oxygen sensors.
[That rattle was almost certainly the catalyst material bouncing around inside the convertor.]
There's a number of factors that can cause the fuel mixtures to be wrong; one of the most common in a system with a mass airflow sensor like this engine has is air's getting somewhere that isn't being measured.
Since I've got the scan tool hooked up already, it's an easy matter to take a quick look at the data. One thing I'd like to know is just how much fuel it's adding, since that'll give me an idea of how big the leak might be (if it is a vacuum leak). But I don't get that far before I find the actual problem.
Cars care about the density of the air, and to know what the density is, the car's got to know what the air pressure is. They have various ways of measuring this; one that Ford's used forever is built into the mass airflow sensor. For whatever reason, the scan tool doesn't display that value in PSI or inHg, it gives the value in Hertz, since that's how the sensor reads.
Which is fine, I've worked on lots and lots of these things, and I know what the Hz value should be for us. Give or take one or two, it's not a super precise reading. This one's wrong; it thinks it's at a higher altitude than it actually is.
Ford also tells you how long the check engine light has been on; in the case of this Excursion, it was about 25,000 miles (that's, like, 40,000km or so, I don't feel like looking up the actual number). I don't know for sure, but I bet that's what killed the catalytic convertor.
Some time back I mentioned a Buick that had a bug in its mass airflow sensor and all the havoc this caused. Well, same thing happened to this Ford, and it was too deep to get out.
The customer declined the repairs.
I've seen people shotgun parts in an attempt to repair something; just this week we had an older F150 in where the customer managed to break everything that they touched--the truck wouldn't start so they put a starter on it, but they also wired up a ground terminal to the positive lead to the starter, so every time the starter was activated, it made a short circuit. Thinking that its weird electrical problem must be the alternator, they took out the alternator to test it . . . and managed to poke a hole in the radiator with one of the alternator bolts, because it was too long and didn't clear. Also they forgot to plug one of the wires into the alternator when they reinstalled it, which made it not charge (or not tell the truck that it was). Also they installed the alternator in the wrong holes in its mounting bracket. Also when they put in the new radiator, they managed to make one of the transmission line fittings leak.
Good thing they brought it to us before they managed to really break it.
Anyway, the moral is that sometimes a pro will find the problem quickly just based on their experience.
I've also been watching some George Collier videos on YouTube, in part because I like music and in part because sometimes his notes in the transcriptions are funny. YouTube's algorithm offered me one of Andrea Giuffredi's videos, and I'm glad it did because trumpets are awesome and so was Ennio Morricone.
So about that secret project . . . well, in a couple of weeks I'm going to Everfree Northwest, and I not only put in panel applications, but I got accepted! Yay!
Which means all I've got to do is write a couple panels, learn how to make a PowerPoint presentation
And draw a bunch of artwork. That's right, I'm doing a panel about harnesses!
Outro!
Source
Postscript and second outro!
And obligatory batpony
I ought to mention here, rather than in the hashtags, that it's my birthday! People who are clever at math can probably suss out how old I am.
I'm gonna celebrate by working eleven hours at the shop. 
Happy birthday, Admiral!
Bat ponies are so cute.
Happy birthday!
Being born now makes you a Leo. IMO, so are many superheroes.
Things Learned The Hard Way
NEVER buy a car on a mechanic's lien Basically, you don't pay for the work, the mechanic can legally sell your vehicle to pay for the work.
There are reasons why the previous owner let the car go. You will learn the reasons & sorrow will enter your life.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday, Biscuit!
Have cake…it’s important and delicious!
Happy freakin birthday dude!
Happy Birthday!!!
Happy B-day!
Happy Birthday!
Aw, no need to bury the fact of your birthday deep in the post. Enjoy it! Happy birthday, buddy!
Happy Birthday, Biscuit!
A batpony cutting up some fruit that isn't mangos? Surely that's not right.
Happy Birthday!
🎂 🎉 🎊
5677448
Unless you are yourself a mechanic willing to work on the vehicle you are considering buying, or you are willing to spend BIG buck$$$ on same, never buy a mechanic's special automobile. The vehicle has something wrong with it, and the previous owner considered it more expensive to repair the vehicle properly than to simply replace the vehicle with another one. Or the dealership arrived at the conclusion that they would never be able to recoup the cost of repairs at sale time.
5677502
The law has the "implied doctrine of merchantability". That is, you sell someone rat poison, you warrant that it will kill rats, etc.
Really shook me up to learn Warfarin is sold as medicine & rat poison. It's all in the warranty.
That's why written warranties were developed -for the merchant's protection.
This is why used merchandise sometimes says "As Is".
Happy Birfday
Happy birthday, Biscuit! 🎂
Happy birthday, Biscuit!
5677510
As far as the spoilered part, it's all about the dosage. Like another heart medicine, digitalis - very small doses, it does the thing. Larger doses, like found in Foxglove (where it was originaly derived from), it kills you.
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Admiral Biscuit.
Happy birthday to you!
Happy Birthday!
Ooh, I'm excited!
Happy Birthday 🎂 Admiral! Hope you do enjoy it. Be well!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU MADCAP GENIUS, YOU.
Yes, the book of faces accidentally reminded me and I had to say hi. 🍪 Congrats on another trip around this burning ball of gas!
A belated Happy Birthday to you, sir.
Happy birthday! :-)
Happy belated birthday!
Yeah, the problem's the customer thinking they're a mechanic.
Also, Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
And take care of your nerves at your work.
Happy Birthday Admiral!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday!
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Thanks for the updates (and cute pony pictures), and I hope the con goes well!
(I sadly still have no expectation of being there -- but, on the other hand, Ponyville Ciderfest has released more information, with the 2022 site in progress! Looks like they are indeed going to be at the Hilton again, so that should be convenient for me. I still haven't book a room yet, though, as I'm guessing there'll be a convention block.)
Oh, and regarding the postscript and second outro, happy belated birthday! :D