Modern cars are high-tech marvels with electronic components galore. Like personal computers and cellphones, those electrical systems can go haywire, seemingly without cause. Thankfully, if that happens, there is an easy way to reset your car for free, so you can continue on your travels.
How can you reset your car for free when strange electrical issues arise?
#savagescotty has the answer and it’s easier than you ever hoped. You just have to turn the onboard computer off and back on again. No, really. It’s that easy. And it doesn’t take very long either.
But how in the world do you turn the onboard computer off? Well, you do have to go beyond simply turning off the key and hoping for the best. Thankfully, mechanic Scotty Kilmer is here to go through the steps.
Scotty’s Steps to Resetting Your Onboard Computer
Time takes a toll on electronic components, leaving them in need of a hard reset. The reason boils down to Boolean logic, which uses zeros and ones to run the software programs.
Scotty points out that all it takes is for the software to go off on the wrong path of zeros or ones and the system goes wild. When that happens, your car is sure to have strange electrical problems.
Fortunately, you can reset it with the following steps.
Note: Make sure you have your anti-theft radio code before starting. And don’t bother trying this procedure on super high-tech rides, like a BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
1. Open the Hood and Find the Battery
You’ll start the process by opening the hood and finding the battery. You should have a small socket on hand to loosen the nuts on the battery terminals. If you find your terminals have a lot of corrosion, use a wire brush to scrape it all off before you start.
2. Disconnect the Cables from the Terminals
Once the nuts are loosened, you’ll just want to wiggle the cables to disconnect them from the battery.
Leave the battery in the car as you move onto the next step.
3. Touch the Battery Cables Together
If the cables are long enough, you can simply touch them together. Most aren’t, however, so you will likely need a short jumper wire with alligator clips on both sides. You can make your own or buy one from the auto parts store.
Either way, connect one end of the jumper wire to the positive battery cable. Then, connect the other side to the negative cable. While you do this, make sure that the cables do not touch the posts on the battery.
4. Turn the Headlight Switch on
Go into the car and turn on the headlight switch. This will help drain out all the power in the system to force the onboard computer to shut down. The headlights will not turn on since the battery is disconnected. Despite that, it will still drain power out of the electrical system faster.
5. Wait for About 15 Minutes Total
After about four minutes, turn the headlight switch off. Leave the jumper wire connected and wait another 10 minutes for the onboard computer to fully power down.
6. Reconnect the Battery
Once that’s done, you’ll need to remove the jumper wire and reinstall the cables going to the battery. Start with the positive cable first and tighten it down.
By hooking up the positive cable first, you eliminate the risk of it shorting out when the ground is hooked up. Then, hook up the negative cable and tighten it to its post.
7. Help Your Car Reset its Idle
For many cars, it’s common for the idle to go a bit wonky after doing the onboard computer reset process. Expect it to start a bit harder than it usually does. You may need to crank it a few times to get it started. And then, it might idle lower than normal.
To help it reset faster and restore its normal idle, you can turn on the AC system and hold the RPMs at 2,000 for around five minutes. You should notice your idle return to its regular level by the end of that cycle.
Drive Around for a Few Days to See if the Fix Sticks
After you get your car’s idle to settle down, drive around normally over the next couple of days to see if the fix sticks. If not, then a trip to the auto shop is likely in your future. Just make sure to bring your Vehicle History report, so, your mechanic has all the info they need to repair your car right.
