Mr B's hair raising Vauxhall vex

Hello faithful readers and welcome to another week of adventures from the KAM team. We have been very busy this week as you continue to heed the call and more and more of your cars are being restored to perfect health. You can leave your comments, questions and queries at www.twitter.com/dr_kev and on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kamservicing.

    As the KAM team were hard at work at our Bulwell depot preparing for a Bank holiday weekend break when we received a visit from Mr B. He parked up his Vauxhall Zafira in the forecourt and from first glance there did not appear to be any visible problems. In fact the only tell tale sign that anything was wrong was the look of desperation that overcame Mr B’s face as he entered the reception. “Kev I feel I may have been a catalyst in the appearance of a dreaded gremlin within my car. I just need an expert’s opinion and I have heard you are the best.” Mr B was a retired scientist from Nottingham and even sported similar hair to that of one Mr Albert Einstein. He was now home a lot and had used some of his free time to undertake some DIY mechanics. “Kev I recently installed a cooler into my car and I may have interfered with parts elsewhere.” Before I could assure Mr B that this would be an easily fixed problem, it appeared he was not done. He said with some hesitation “Kev I got a little too confident and used what little knowledge I possess to install in an in car entertainment system.” Mr B was happy to admit that the procedure had been successful but recently he had noticed the appearance of the ABS (anti-lock braking system) light.  “I need your help Kev.” We assured Mr B that we would have his car fixed in no time and after all the details were taken, he was dispatched in one of our courtesy cars.”

   Diagnostic Dan got to work and immediately got out his diagnostic tools to start the search for the illusive gremlin. He first did a visual test and to see if there were any visible faults that could be deduced before we would need to bust out the diagnostic machines. After some rooting around it was not long till the infamous words rang out. “I’ve got it Kev.” It so transpired that the DIY work that Mr B had undertaken on the car had unfortunately had an adverse affect on the car. It so transpired that when he had wired the new features into the car he had wired the main live feed incorrectly through the fuse box. This had burnt the wiring loom, which leads to the ABS wiring. This had caused the ABS light to appear. Dan then removed the ABS pump and saw that the wiring leading up to the ECU (Engine Control Unit) was burnt. Mr B’s work had led to some electrical problems but thankfully he had bought his car in time and so no serious damage had occurred.

 

 We called our fantastic suppliers who arrived promptly and we were able to source a reconditioned ECU. This usually costs a lot of money but we were able to get it for a fraction of the price. Dan fitted the new ECU and then reprogrammed it and it was time for the moment of truth. Dan got behind the wheel and turned the key, and after a few seconds delight covered his face. “The light is gone Kev. We did it, this car is back on the fast track.”

Mr B arrived later and was elated to have his car back. “Thanks Kev, I suppose next time I’ll leave it to the professionals.”

  Remember faithful reader, our team of dedicated and hard working staff at the branches in Sutton, Long Eaton, Bulwell and Belper along with our bodywork shop are open every day of the week, EXCLUDING Sunday’s, while the lads at our Sawley and Heanor workshops are at your service seven days a week and most Bank Holidays, keeping your car where it belongs. ON THE ROAD.

So until next week faithful reader, drive safely and keep it shiny side up.

Dr.Kev.