wrote:
> Something is drawing a lot more current than on the good computer,
> though, so I have a chance of zeroing in on it. Most likely it is one
> of the devices connected to the "silver towers", which are heat sinks.
> The parts that get hot are mounted on them, so they're the ones that
> tend to fail, and they're most likely voltage regulators. Peering thru
> the amber potting compound, the one at lower left looks like a
> switching power supply, it probably makes 5V out of 12V.
>
> Thanks for the reply.
>
> -Paul

Why would they bother with a switching power supply just to drop 12
volts to 5 volts? Reduce heat? Wouldn't a voltage divider or a
regulator do the same? I'm trying to remember why these were used on
computers, to reduce weight and heat, but on a car, that increases
complexity unnecessarily? So anyway the VIN is encoded into the PCM,
the EEPROM? Can you ask your department of motor vehicles what they
suggest since this must be somewhat a common problem in repairing cars?
Or only the dealer can resolve this with reprogramming the PCM,
actually, the EEPROM? Unless it's just an EPROM. I found dental tools
were good for dealing with potted plants.