Prominent mechanic Scotty Kilmer has warned that petrol and diesel homeowners can repair their cars “for free” with advice that almost all owners can take advantage of.
Scotty noted that disconnecting the battery terminal would reset the car’s computer systems and could solve many problems.
This can be done in any driveway or garage and will likely prevent drivers from having to pay a mechanic to read about their vehicle.
Scotty made the suggestion while speaking on his YouTube channel, joking that he could be “prosecuted” for leaking too many secrets.
The chief mechanic explained, “Today I’m going to show you how you can repair your car at no cost. Car computers are like people, they’re confused.
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“And what do you do with a home computer when it fails, you turn it off and on again?
“So here you have the battery terminal and then you wait five minutes for it to reboot, because cars are full of little microprocessors and that brings them back to their original configuration.
“Then turn on the headlights with the battery unplugged. This will not turn on the headlights but will consume the power from the capacitors. Then, simply plug the terminal back in and make sure it’s tight.
“Now, slow motion can be a little weird because the computer may have to reset slow motion, but you can fix the problems by just restarting the computers. “
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YouTube viewers praised Scotty’s recommendation, with some even admitting that the recommendation had fixed problems in their own vehicles.
@alanc6781 posted, “You can’t lose, Scotty. Many of us know this trick, but not all of us. You’re a smart teacher. We thank you. “
@shamrockfile wrote: “I had to do this on a new Subaru, it worked. However, one road user recommended that this trick probably wouldn’t be as effective on newer models.
@jessewynne8193 added: “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on most post-2018 cars, there’s a memory chip that stores the codes and you need an OBD scanner to reset them. “
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BookMyGarage, the leading repair and maintenance comparison site, states that it’s imperative that road users who disconnect batteries make sure they do so at all times.
To disconnect a battery, drivers will need to turn off the ignition and then locate the battery’s negative terminal.
The nut can then be loosened and removed by turning the screw counterclockwise.
Road users do not touch the battery until the positive terminal has also been disconnected.