Happy New Year

Brandon & Wiz's car failed their safety/emissions test this week.  Their car needed a proper battery tie-down (apparently bungie cords are not okay), and their check engine light is on.  The trouble code for the engine light indicated a low EGR valve flow.  For those of you not in "the know", EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation.  Modern cars recycle a small amount of exhaust back through the engine to help lower emissions. 

Brandon & Wiz live on a very modest budget, so I try to help them with their automotive issues whenever they pop up.  So far we've repaired a crummy battery cable, a broken washer fluid line, a water pump (good story here), replaced brakes, repaired a major oil leak, and now repaired the EGR system.

I started last night by checking the vacuum line that actuates the valve - sure enough, it was broken and repaired with electrical tape, which we promptly replaced.  Next we removed the valve and cleaned it thoroughly, and replaced a missing gasket.  The valve held vacuum pressure, and the pintle operated, so we re-installed it.  I checked the vacuum solendoid which seemed to be working.  And finally today, I replaced the DPFE sensor, which controls the vacuum solendoid.  After removing the battery cable to reset the computer, the check engine light went off!

That's me in my classy work clothes, pointing at the culprit part.  At some point G.I. Joe came over to keep me company, and he decided to replace their broken radio antenna.

Of course, after dinner tonight, the check engine light came back on...  We'll have to pull the trouble code and see what's next!