Large Scale Central

Weird car problem

General Discussion
#1

Yesterday we took a trip out to Yuma to visit my wife’s grandmother. Coming back through the desert, we enountered a thick, humid haze, almost a fog. The temperature was about 105F. Soon the “check engine” light was blinking and the engine seemed to be skipping/misfiring. We were going uphill, and as soon as we got past the haze, the engine went back to normal. Has anyone else ever heard of a problem like this? Could the weather really affect the engine that way, or was it something else that merely happened to coincide with the strange weather?

FYI my car is a 2001 Isuzu Trooper, V6, fuel injection etc.

#2

I know a few days ago, they had a VERY nasty dust storm in Arizona, where visibility because of the dust dropped to thick fog levels. (The video coming over our feeds was incredible–something out of a sci-fi movie.) Perhaps that could be a contributing factor.

Later,

K

#3

I saw that dust storm on the news. I was also wondering if that might have been the cause of the car problem.

Maybe the air filter got gummed up with the dust and the engine was running too rich. Except that the problem should have persisted as the filter would not have cleaned itself. In any case, if you drove through a dust storm, I would check the air filter.

Maybe one of the polution sensors detected the dirty air coming in and saw it as a problem.

Going out on a limb here, but maybe the oxygen content of the air in that storm was lower than the engine wanted.

#4

Speaking of oxygen, what was your altitude at the time? They tend to tune cars differently for sea level (Sandy Ago) and areas of higher altitude. It does make a difference. If you were at high altitude, and had a partially plugged air filter you could develop problems. Come down to sea level and it goes away.

#5

Yer missing the obvious! That close to Area 51…it was the GREYS! they abviously were making an attempt at abduction…any stange dreams? unexplained bruisesor scars? heheheheheh

#6

I agree with Bart. You were the victum of some sort of weapons experiment from a super-blaster on Area 51. Heek an eye on your car for the green bloby stuff oozing out of your car!

#7

I took the Trooper to a mechanic today, and they said it didn’t save the code so there’s nothing they can do!

Seems to me I’m screwed… if it only acts up when I’m in the desert a hundred miles from anyone who can fix it, and it doesn’t save the code, how can I get it fixed?? If I have to wait until the car actually breaks down, that’ll most likely happen when I’m in some remote desert location with triple-digit temperatures. :frowning:

BTW, that haze wasn’t anything bizarre. It was just extreme humidity, precursor to the next day’s thunderstorm.

#8
Bart Salmons said:
Yer missing the obvious! That close to Area 51....it was the GREYS! they abviously were making an attempt at abduction....any stange dreams? unexplained bruisesor scars? heheheheheh
Bart, I'm closer to Area 51 and I know from reliable sources that they were working in Utah at that time. That experiment went bad and started a bunch of fires....You saw them on the news, didn't you?

LV_Tom

#9

Why would any sane person want to go out into the desert, where good Whisky evaporates very quickly, and there is no ice…

As you say you have no problems in a healthy area, so stay out of the desert. !!!

#10
Roger Crooks said:
I agree with Bart. You were the victum of some sort of weapons experiment from a super-blaster on Area 51. Heek an eye on your car for the green bloby stuff oozing out of your car!
Also, bend over and take a look in the mirror. Is there a metallic probe where it shouldn't be?
#11
Kevin Morris said:
Roger Crooks said:
I agree with Bart. You were the victum of some sort of weapons experiment from a super-blaster on Area 51. Heek an eye on your car for the green bloby stuff oozing out of your car!
Also, bend over and take a look in the mirror. Is there a metallic probe where it shouldn't be?
Would that be a "Ventilator" blade??? :lol: :lol: :lol:
#12
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Would that be a "Ventilator" blade??? :lol: :lol: :lol:
Yeah, laugh it up! But the next time you wake up naked in a field in Arkansas with a "probe" sticking out of your butt, you'll sing a different tune. :-D

Just what is it that those aliens are looking for with the “probe”???

#13
Kevin Morris said:
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Would that be a "Ventilator" blade??? :lol: :lol: :lol:
Yeah, laugh it up! But the next time you wake up naked in a field in Arkansas with a "probe" sticking out of your butt, you'll sing a different tune. :-D

Just what is it that those aliens are looking for with the “probe”???


Marvin? :wink:

#14
Kevin Morris said:
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Would that be a "Ventilator" blade??? :lol: :lol: :lol:
Yeah, laugh it up! But the next time you wake up naked in a field in Arkansas with a "probe" sticking out of your butt, you'll sing a different tune. :-D

Just what is it that those aliens are looking for with the “probe”???


Kevin,

Now why would I go to Arkansas?

There are aliens in our neighbourhood! You know the funny crop circles where the UFOs set down?? we got two of those not a kilometer from the house in the provincial park. Damn grass in the grasslands hasn’t been touched by anything and yet the circles are there.

b…u…t it could be that they’re doing a study of the local marmot population, you know those guys who are related to the gophers? ? Sleep a lot and miss a lot more!! Remind me of some other gofers.

#15

Hey, HJ. Lay off the Marmots. They’re our city mascot…:smiley:

I guess I have nothing to fear. I can ventilate quite nicely back there without help from an alien’s probe…:lol:

#16
Warren Mumpower said:
Hey, HJ. Lay off the Marmots. They're our city mascot....:D

I guess I have nothing to fear. I can ventilate quite nicely back there without help from an alien’s probe…:lol:


Hey, I like marmots. :slight_smile: They are great entertainment, the one silly bugger lives in a culvert under the path going down to the beach. One morning we get down there, silly guy sits outside the culvert, a snout full of grass he had collected. Looked at the dogs - they are always on the lead in the park! - as if to say “Well, fancy that! I’m working and you guys are idling!!!”

About two weeks back we came down the path there were about thirty little furballs on the wide patch of grass of the picnic grounds. The sentry whistled while we were still 50m away and all the furballs started moving. What a sight!

#17

Around here they all come running and beg for handouts.

#18

I like marmots too. Especially with cranberry sauce and a nice pinot.

Groooaaannnnn!!

#19
Kevin Morris said:
I like marmots too. Especially with cranberry sauce and a nice pinot.

Groooaaannnnn!!


Well Kevin, that’s what you get from pigging out on gophers. Cranberries or pinot won’t do a damn thing when you overindulge. :lol: :lol:

#20

How in the world did we get from car problems in the desert to over indulging in gourmet roasted marmot with cranberries?? :confused: