My car is back from the mechanic no different than when it got there. I was hoping they’d be able to diagnose the wonky right rear wheel speed sensor, but they didn’t seem all that interested. All it needs is to have the continuity and resistance tested on the wires from the sensor the the plug on the ABS module. Apparently their electrical whiz was out sick. I think it’s kind of hard to be a professional mechanic and not be comfortable doing such a simple electrical test. They also tried to get me to spend thousands of dollars on work the car doesn’t need. I was told the front and rear struts needed replacement and the tires were chopped. The rear struts might actually need to be changed, but I put the fronts on a year and a half ago, and the tires aren’t new, but they’re in fine shape. I was really disappointed in this place. Two former coworkers who I look up to worked there, and they’re both excellent mechanics, so I was expecting something better than the stereotypical upselling mechanic. On the upside, the manager of the place jogged my memory and gave me a place to start looking. Last summer, one of the sunroof drains got clogged and water pooled up in the right rear foot well. I suppose it’s possible it’s taken a year to do the damage. He also seemed confident it needs a new steering angle sensor, which I’m not totally sure about. I’m going to see if I can get the ABS thing fixed first and then see about the SAS because that wasn’t a problem until I decided to try recalibrating it.

I’ll have to figure out a way to diagnose the ABS problem myself, which I would have done earlier if I had the tools. Many of the electrical pins on connectors in cars are really, really tiny and need special adapters to be tested with a multimeter. Those adapters are really, really expensive. I’m thinking about ways to make some myself. It’s going to be pretty nice outside for the rest of the week, so I’ll see what I can get done.

In an unrelated matter, I polished and waxed my mom’s convertible and my wife’s car. It’s easy, but time consuming; I think each of the three cars I’ve done has taken about three and a half hours. The results are worth it though. The car comes out so shiny and smooth. I think the convertible came out with the most impressive results, probably because it’s black, which shows everything in the paint, good and bad.