Enough with the downer talk.
Last week was a rough one, no question. All in all, one of the roughest weeks of my life. But it wasn’t all bad.
- The car – the back brakes needed to be done anyway, and as it turned out it wasn’t a bad thing that the right front started sticking when it did, because I found that the left front had lost one of the pins on which the caliper slides. This allowed the caliper to swing out at certain times, which was the cause of the intermittent noise that had been occurring. It was only a matter of time until catastrophic failure.
- The flood- the insurance company had a plumber out the next (Sunday) morning. The cost will go to the strata, who will probably just pay it. Even if they don’t, it was only about a 20 minute job. It turns out that the problem was caused by long ago incompetence, somebody rushing to complete a job using the materials at hand rather than getting the right solution, and so now that the problem section is replaced it is unlikely to occur again.
- The flood II – the insurance company also had a flood restoration specialist out on Sunday. He left a drier running, and they will be out later today to start pulling up the flooring. I have to say that I am impressed with our insurance company so far.
So while last week was a bad one, it ended on a positive note, and I feel quite a bit better about life this morning than I did Saturday about 4:00 PM.
Now I have to deal with the Check Engine light on Lola, the Miata. I bought a code reader Saturday morning (it was on sale!), and it revealed the problem to be the catalytic converter not functioning according to standard. The cat is only 6 months old, but it is an aftermarket free-flow cat, so it is possible that it is malfunctioning. It is also possible that the problem is one of the oxygen sensors.
The fact that the code reader was on sale was both a boon and a curse: I went intending to buy the more expensive one, but while I could justify another $100 for live scan data, I couldn’t justify another $200, and so I got the less capable one. Turns out that if I want to diagnose this problem without replacing parts until it goes away, I need the live scan version, which would show me the data returned from the oxygen sensors.
On the other hand, this isn’t an impending mechanical problem. The worst case scenario is that I am polluting more than I was and the catalytic converter has to be replaced under warranty. Best case, it’s a faulty sensor.
If I sound more hopeful and less angry, it’s because I am.
#1 by Jim Winter on January 18th, 2010
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If we’d been wiser when a hurricane blew through Cincinnati for the first time in 100 years, we’d have let our friendly neighborhood insurance adjuster buy us a new roof.
#2 by Dean on January 19th, 2010
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Now the two insurance companies are fighting over the cabinet that was damaged.
#3 by shaina on January 18th, 2010
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argh stupid catalytic converters…my check engine light came on at the beginning of the school year, dealer that we go to said it was the CC sensor. replaced that. okay. two weeks, all good. then, the light came back. went away, came back. and stayed. turns out, the code on my car for the sensor and for the actual part is the SAME, so it was really the part itself malfunctioning the whole time. we finally got the converter replaced over break, and so far so good. it was super annoying though…i was at the verge of putting some duct tape to cover the check engine light, i hated seeing it. good luck with yours!
#4 by Dean on January 19th, 2010
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Yah, there’s no sensor in the actual catalytic converter itself. The emission control system samples the exhaust above and below, and compares them. If the difference isn’t within acceptable limits, the light goes on. Problem is, it could be the converter, or it could be either of the sensors, or it could be something like an exhaust leak allowing new oxygen into the exhaust.