P0108 Manifold Absolute Pressure High Input

Recently, as I was traveling on an interstate, I notice the scary words "Service Engine Soon" appear in yellow on my dashboard. I did not think I would reach my destination safely after that. But I did and got home safely again. In the morning I went to an auto parts store and asked what it meant. They got out a $400 gizmo and plugged it into a socket under the driver's side. After some hemming and hawing, it said "MAP/BARO High Input" and "P0108". I went home and looked it up on the Internet. It means "Manifold absolute pressure/Barometric pressure Voltage High Input". What in the heck does that mean? I read some more web sites and found out that it means something about the fuel injection system, which is governed by pressure in the engine. It also made mention of a "manifold absolute pressure sensor" or MAP sensor. Why was it making high voltage?

After the plugin, the light vanished! But it reappeared two days later when I turned into a parking lot. This time the van stalled, and it was hesitant upon restarting. The yellow light went on again. I went to an auto parts store and they tested it and it came up with the same message: P0108. The guy there told me that the MAP sensor was dead. Now how was that supposed to cause high input? I suppose it is supposed to control that input but it doesn't. I bought one but realized that a service place would have to install it. Two days later I took it in for repair and they installed my new MAP sensor, ran diagnostic tests, and cleaned up a fuel system munged up by improper fuel injection uncontrolled by the dead MAP sensor.

So that is apparently OK now. However, I think the entire process is rotten. We should not have to buy a $400 tool to plug into a socket when something goes wrong and read an incomprehensible error message. The message should state on the dash somewhere in clear language what has happened. I should get a message on my dash saying "MAP sensor voltage improper, may need replacement" instead of the cryptic and unhelpful "Service Engine Soon". But that is usual for the car industry, which I find the most disreputable of any group in this country. It is so bad, both car sales (blaring SUV ads at you at newstime on TV) and repair, that I refused to vote for Don Beyer for any office in Virginia, even though this meant voting for conservative Republicans. He was a car dealer. He was also a strike against Howard Dean, in my opinion. He was Dean's treasurer. That was cancelled out in part by Bobby Scott's support for Dean, but it still meant I was not completely for Dean. Something needs to be done about the car industry in this country.

Under God

The time has come. The case of Michael Newdow vs Elk Grove School is coming to the Supreme Court. Dr. Newdow sued to have the Pledge of Allegiance removed from the school that his daughter attended because the words "under God" were in it and hence it was a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. A lower court disagreed with him but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, saying that a Pledge that contains "God" cannot be recited in a public school classroom.

I agree with this ruling. Bringing in God or Christ into the classroom make people who don't believe in God or Christianity feel like second class citizens. However, the entire Senate of the USA voted in favor of a resolution condemning this decision. This includes some of my favorite senators such as Dianne Feinstein, John Edwards, and John F. Kerry, Democratic (probably) candidate for President of the United States. I resolved not to vote for any incumbents in the Senate in 2002 and I didn't. The House passed a similar resolution, which was voted 440-3 or something. One of those three was Bobby Scott of my home state of Virginia. I now am likely to write him in every time I see an unopposed race here in Virginia.

But with such a herd of people insisting that we must hear "God" in the public classroom here in America, what hope is there of this ruling surviving the Supreme Court? Actually much better than I had expected. Scalia saw fit to blabbermouth about his wanting to force God into the classroom, and Newdow objected, whereupon Scalia had to recuse himself from the case.

That makes it 8 justices, minus a conservative one. Further, a 4-4 tie is a null decision, thus leaving standing the ruling of the 9th Circuit Court and forbidding "God" in pledges throughout America. So the pro undergod forces need a 5-3 margin, and I don't know if they will get it. All that is needed would be for the four justices that voted against the selection of Bush as President in 2000 to rule in favor of the 9th Circuit Court. So far they think this is not religious or a prayer. Well, it is not a prayer, but anything containing "God" is religious and needs to be kept out of the public classroom. I am hoping that the justices will see the light and not ride the wrong-way white horseman of God through the public schools.