Cap Self Inspection: Fill & Download for Free

I had to discontinue free service due to the cost !!!Here in Comiefornia, we have the BAR ( Bureau of Automotive Affairs ). These folks are supposed to prevent the people of California from being cheated in Automotive service, and repairs.So, I used to run a pre inspection on all vehicles that came into my shop for a Smog inspection. There was no charge for this, but I could not do any repairs.Many times I would find a disconnected vacuum line, or a bad gas cap, something small, that would still fail a smog inspection. I would point to where the line had come loose, but I wouldn’t put it on. The customer had to do that. Same for the Gas cap. I could test it, I could sell them a new one, but I couldn’t put it on, because that would violate state law.Now this free service saved my customers lots of money, especially for repairs that they could easily make for them selves, if they knew where to look.This wasn’t good enough for the BAR. They came up with new rules,that placed a mandatory, arbitrary number of failed smog inspections for every shop. If you didn’t reach that quota, you would be audited, and usually fined.So I had to take in a vehicle that I knew was going to fail, just to keep the State happy.I couldn’t do it !!! I got a lawyer, and spent thousands of dollars to keep them away from my shop, but the State never changed it’s rules.Other shops are run ragged by the BAR, as the BAR is self funded. That is they earn their pay from the fines that they generate !!!So you know you are going to be fined for something, because they have to !!!One time, we were required to keep our Smog Licences under glass, the next time, it was illegal to have them covered by any means.One time they tried to fine me for not having certain equipment, that was not even required yet. They ever sent me a memo, from the head of the BAR, saying that they knew that this equipment requirement was not law yet, but they were to go ahead and enforce it any way !!!I made trips up and down the State to Government meetings that were required before things could become law. Each time I showed that their new equipment was neither useful or cost effective, and that training was all that was needed.I got the law defeated even before it became law, by using the public input requirement for new rules to be implemented, or passed in to law.The head of Standards, and Training was furious, as he was bought, and paid for by Snap On tools, who just happened to have the exact product that was going to be mandated into law. ( It was junk, but they needed to peddle it to make a profit )He didn’t realize that I went to College with him, and I knew what he didn’t know. He was a wood shop teacher, not an automotive person !!! The State made him an “ Air Quality Engineer “ but he had neither the training or the degree for that position.So much for the State having a consumer’s best interests at heart !!! LOL !!!Tim

An “open secret” to the warning lights on the dashboard of your vehicle is that they are color-coded. The general rule-of-thumb is anything in RED (such as brakes, low oil pressure, etc.) is critical and could cost you your engine or your life. If one of these lights comes on, pull off the road, stop, and shut the engine off as quickly as you can safely. Anything in orange is less serious and should be addressed quickly, but not urgently. The MIL (a.k.a. “Check Engine” light) is one of these orange lights.If the MIL is solidly lit, take the vehicle to your local auto parts store. Here in the USA, stores like AutoZone and O’Reilly Auto will check your codes for free and may even suggest possible reasons for the code. Sometimes the MIL could be on for something silly like the gas cap not being tightened completely the last time you put gasoline in the tank or a faulty gas cap. You can drive for a year (until your next inspection is due) with a silly fault like that without much risk of any further damage to the vehicle.If your MIL is blinking or if the code is more serious, I would recommend you stop driving the vehicle until you can get it fixed. Some problems can cause other problems if ignored. For example, a misfire can dump unburned fuel down the exhaust system which will cause the catalytic converters to overheat and self-destruct. One common cause of a misfire is bad spark-plugs. A spark-plug typically costs between US $5 and $10. The cost of a set varies with how many cylinders your engine has. A catalytic converter will set you back a couple hundred dollars. Plus labor!I recommend finding out what is causing the MIL to illuminate first. You might find out it is something really silly and cheap to fix. You might find out it is serious enough to warrant taking the vehicle to get the problem fixed post haste. One warning: Even if you find out the MIL is on for a relatively silly reason, you should not continue to drive the vehicle without a plan to get it fixed. If the MIL is already lit, you will not know if another, more serious, problem arises. Once lit, check early and check often (until fixed).

My first ever airline flight was in 1998, as I was traveling from Karachi to Islamabad.My father booked a flight from Pakistan International Airlines or PIA. Today, many people do not know about PIA. Those who know are either people who are old or those who have read the list of “Worst performing airlines”. Back In those days, PIA was the best performing airline. The first ever Asian airline to fly a Jetliner, it leased aircrafts to Emirates, trained the pilots of Saudi Airlines and provided administrative assistance to numerous Middle eastern airlines, mostly those that are very famous these days.So my journey began,I had some fear about air-crashes and it was only getting worse when I entered the airport. I was accompanied by my mother, and she did everything to calm her 7/year old son. We boarded the flight, got over-self seated, as we were 25 minutes earlier so that left plenty of time for me to over-think and bring every possible scenario that I’ll never reach my destination. It got so worse that I puked within 5 minutes.Seeing my situation, an air-hostess came by and my mother explained everything that was going on with me, and boy she was my savior. She took my hand, and introduced me to the Pilots, the Captain was a former F-16 Air Force veteran and already gave me tremendous confidence.I was treated like a VIP by the whole crew.The Captain of the flight took me to an airplane inspection while handing his uniform cap to me, and said I was the Captain now. I was shown every part of the plane accompanied by the flight Captain, from the airplane cockpit, from a call to Air Traffic Control, to the ground inspection teams.This whole Journey bought an immediate confidence in me, realizing there are hundreds ensuring safety of every passenger.After the tour, When I reached my seat, it was filled with Candies, and a coloring book. Before take-off the Captain while making his usual announcement also mentioned my name, and introduced every passenger by saying its my first flight. The whole plane clapped for me, and cheered me up before the take-off!When we safely landed, I met the Captain, returned his Cap and gave him a Big hug!Ever since then, I have never feared any of my flight, and hold every respect for the crew/pilots that helped fight my Phobia.Great Airlines do everything to make sure their Passengers are not afraid of Flying. Its a team struggle.