Quote:

I drove the truck again yesterday and it ran perfectly. I'm going to do as you suggest. Next time it does it, (hopefully never), it will be driven straight to the dealership. Being a mechanic my whole life and doing all of my own work, I've NEVER been satisfied with the work that comes out of any dealership. Most mechanics now a days are just parts changers. It seem they don't know how to troubleshoot like in the old days. Time is money I guess.....




This attitude always chaps me. Up until 2013, I was a Chrysler tech. We had to go through A LOT of school/training to be able to even touch cars. I made it to level 4 in a few areas before I switched careers, took me several years to get there.

An engine code does not tell you the problem, it only indicates which circuit is having the issue. The computer is seeing a variation in voltage outside of the normal range which indicates there is an issue somewhere. There is nothing in the scan tool that will tell you to replace something if you get a code. Sometimes through experience you know what fails but often you need to dig deeper into the situation to find the real problem.

That's where a lot of the misconception comes from. Just because you get code PXXX does not mean you automatically replace sensor XX or trans. solenoid pack.

The scan tool allows you to monitor the circuit under dynamic situations to help pinpoint intermittent problems. You'd probably have to monitor data streams and see if there was a glitch or an anomaly. Once found, then you start looking at the parts, wiring etc. Sometimes stuff does not happen the way you think it will and you don't find anything.

It's true there are plenty of guys that see a code and just replace parts - they are lazy. Sometimes they get lucky, often times not and they get a come back. It takes a lot to find a chafed wire in a harness, nobody wants to dig through all kinds of crap to find it.


'71 Duster
'72 Challenger
'17 Ram 1500