Diagnostics Addendum

Earlier this year I wrote about the shortcomings of on-board car diagnostics and how I was searching for a computer-reader that would provide more information in the event of a problem.  Like a fire extinguisher, it’s something that I had hoped to never need to use.

But I had to use it.  And I’m glad I had it.

Less than a year after purchasing the CR-V, it died in a grocery store parking lot.  I, being at work, dutifully responded to my wife’s texts in a most timely manner–an hour later–and was off to save the day…cursing and muttering the entire way.

The vehicle, refusing to start, notified me of such by informing me that the parking break was malfunctioning, as well as the antilock breaks, and the electronic break stabilizers, and the gate lift mechanism, and a number of other systems.  It was disconcerting, but not very helpful.

So I plugged in the OBDII device and waited while it ran a diagnostic.  It then informed me that two systems had insufficient voltage to operate.  I cleverly deduced that voltage insufficient to operate the breaking mechanism probably meant the starter wouldn’t work.  I’m a real mechanic I am.

So I jumped the car and it started, and it promptly died when it got home.  Presumably the battery was bad, but that seemed unlikely given how new it was.

AAA agreed, once they came out and tested the electrical system.  Surely the battery was fine, and something was drawing power when the vehicle was off.

Then the Village Elder came over and gave us a charger, and after manually giving the battery a full charge, I tested it an hour later and it had already been drained.  Ultimately, a replacement battery seems to have fixed the problem, though we’re still left wondering why the original died so quickly.  Maybe it was just a lemon.

I’m also left with the nagging irritation at Honda’s dash alerts.  While telling me that every electrical system was malfunctioning was technically accurate, it wasn’t very practical information, especially considering the error codes themselves had the information we needed.

Oh well, at least the computer reader proved its worth.  I can finally give it a solid recommendation now.

–Simon

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