[ssjr0498]

Hi Guys,

just came across this thread, I had experience something like this quite a while back but I never thought that this would be of this magnitude.

This happened with me on Hosur Rd just before bomanhalli crossing at arnd 11pm in the night.

One guy on the bike comes close to the car and says, " there are sparks coming out of your engine bay".. I immediately pull over, do the prelim checks like batterry connection, spark plug cables and with the help of the light from the mobile, just gaze through the engine bay to see if anything looks out of place. Nothing!! Just when I was about to close the hood, another chap walks up and says the same thing, "saar engine sey spaarks aa raha tha"

Since my car has a MP registration and it was late at night, I thought the best thing to do is to get away from here at this time and I somewhat was convinced that there was nothing in my car which would cause sparks to come out of the engine bay, I sat inside and told them.." thoda jhuk kar neechey dekho, peechey sey aag bhi dekheygi" ( just bend down a little and see, you will see fire also) and then zipped off!


Phew, what all ways do these people come up with for conning innocent people.

Cheers
Shrey

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ssjr0498

One guy on the bike comes close to the car and says, " there are sparks coming out of your engine bay".. I immediately pull over, do the prelim checks like batterry connection, spark plug cables and with the help of the light from the mobile, just gaze through the engine bay to see if anything looks out of place. Nothing!! Just when I was about to close the hood, another chap walks up and says the same thing, "saar engine sey spaarks aa raha tha"

Since my car has a MP registration and it was late at night, I thought the best thing to do is to get away from here at this time and I somewhat was convinced that there was nothing in my car which would cause sparks to come out of the engine bay, I sat inside and told them.." thoda jhuk kar neechey dekho, peechey sey aag bhi dekheygi" ( just bend down a little and see, you will see fire also) and then zipped off!

Good one, dude! If in the same situation, perhaps I'd say "Mera gaadi me Chevrolet Spark ki engine laga hua hai, tho spark nahin aayega tho aur kya aayega"?

[pulsar56]

kar neechey dekho, peechey sey aag bhi dekheygi" ( just bend down a little and see, you will see fire also) and then zipped off!

That's a really nice one, Shrey.

Something similar happened to me couple of weeks back.

The fuel meter was almost touching the Empty mark when I was leaving for work. Since I usually fill up at Shell on Raj bhavan Road, I decided to brave the busy Khairatabad traffic and fill up. Since it was almost 12 Noon, I had the A/C on and was waiting patiently at the signal for the RTC bus blocking just enough to prevent me from taking the free left!

A guy on a bicycle stops near me, and after few minutes, taps on the glass. He was frantically pointing at my right rear wheel and saying something. I lower my glass a little bit to hear what he was saying but the signal was green by now and I moved slowly and parked the car on the side to check if it was a puncture. The same cycle guy had followed me and I ask him "Kya hai"? His response made me think about this thread and had me laughing at him and threatening to hand him over to the cops!

His response: "Aapka brake cut ho gaya hai aur wheel idhar udhar hil raha hai. Gaadi mein Jack hai to do, main abhi theek kar deta hoon!"
Translated: "Your brake is cut and because of that, your wheel is shaking. Do you have a Jack? I will fix it immediately!"

Thanks to T-BHP and this thread, we are now safe from engine sparks and wheel shakes!! cheers:

Have any other BHPians in Hyderabad experienced such acts?

[Eddy]

I am waiting for this kinda thing to happen to me. Will give the guy one tight slap and relieve myself of all the stress I have built up driving

[NetfreakBombay]

Looks like Alto is Zinxed

Someone tried to pull this trick on me yesterday. It was on Western Express Highway, at Jogeshwary Signal.

Was stuck on that signal, as soon as car started to move a guy who was crossing the road turned toward the car and started tapping on window. He was pointing towards that bonnet. This thread flashed through my mind.

Signaled him to reach extreme left on road few meters ahead (I was on right lane). He helped navigate through traffic by stopping other lanes.

Rolled the window down just enough to hear what he was saying. As soon as he uttered "Spark", I asked him to stuff it up and revved.

One benefit of being on T-BHP

[Ravveendrra]

The posts in this thread saddened me. I can recount innumerable times that good samaritans have pointed out issues in my car / bike to me. This has ranged from low tyre pressure on one wheel, leaking coolant, to mistaking the A/c. drain for a leak. All the guys were genuinely trying to help me and in instances they have saved me from additional damage & cost, perhaps even a major accident.

Now with the scamsters posing as good samaritans we are all bound to view even genuine warnings with suspicion. I feel really sad that we are moving towards being a society where eveyone looks upon everyone else with mistrust.

Perhaps a way out is to wave, smile and thank the guy who warned you but, to drive ahead for a short distance and then check your vehicle for leaks and damage (after getting out and locking the door after you).

Meanwhile pray for better times.

[dushmish]

Few more places where this happens are Mahim Causeway, Cadel road (Mahim) and Peddar road. They strategically choose the locations. High traffic density, no repair shops on either side, high pressure on the driver to keep moving (if your car stalls you get a million dirty looks). In such situations people tend to pay up and get out of the jam quickly. Two of my colleagues ended up paying Rs 3000 and Rs 3500 at different times. I was stopped at least 20 times in 5 years of commuting to work that way in my Zen. The first time I almost fell for it, but what helped me is my knowledge that the engine compartment cant be seen from outside thru the front grill. The radiator blocks the view and the radiator grill doesnt have any electricals to cause sparks.

I stopped and called up Spectra Motors (Maruti Service Station) and talked to my service supervisor. He just heard one sentence, sparks in engine, and told me that you are at Mahim Causeway. I was surprised! How did he know? Well, he reassured that nothing is wrong with the car. Its a trap. Move on. He knew this happens at Mahim Causeway often and thats why he could guess.

Mornings it happens at Mahim Causeway, evenings at Cadel road. Peddar road can be anytime. So my experience says that it helps to carry the service station's number and the 24 help line numbers as well. Beware! Happy driving.

[hrishig]

Moral of the story:-

Call Service engineer ASAP whenever similar things happen. Do NOT open bonnet / car doors so that somebody can do any harm to your car.

[quickdraw]

I literally smiled when I saw the title of the thread, but after going through the 3 pages I felt so proud of myself.

I was headed to Pune from Daman and somewhere after Manor but before Fountain on the NH8 there was a pretty bad potholed section which forces you to drive at walking pace and is full of muck and mud. There were inumerable trucks parked on the left side and one guy pointed towards me and was waving at me. I was like what does he want and Kirk Hammet was just getting into the solo of "One" and I really didnt want to miss that. About 20 meters ahead another guy did the same thing. My eyebrows raised I checked the RVM's and stopped on the left. Pressed "pause" and got out of the car (reluctantly with all the mud and my new white sneakers :( )

The guy comes up to me and says "Bhai sahab aapke engine mein se toh sparks aa rahe hai" I bent down pissed off about the muck on the shoes and the brand new (almost) swift giving me problems. And all I saw was darkness from the grill. I turned around and lit a smoke trying to remember the nearest service centre by then there was another guy there saying there is a mechanic nearby. Then it hit me. I smiled and asked "Sahi me, kahan par hai" he pointed behind me. After which I said good and got back into the car. Put her in 1st and spew muck all over those losers while negotiating torque steer from all the muck on the road and kind of regretting it because it was a new car. But today after reading all this I am so happy those losers deserved it. And I am praying to God that I encounter one of them again. I swear for the sake of everyone who has lost money those losers are going to get a nice tight slap from me.

[anoop.mathew]

Happened to me yesterday when driving my Santro at night (8:30pm) on the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR).

I really thought that there was something wrong with the car and was actually going along with whatever the 'mechanic' was doing till he said Rs.7,800 for the new alternator. At which point I thought that if it was going to be that costly, I'd call Modi Hyundai's emergency number and get it professionally done.

What the con artists did

1) 2-3 guys about 50 metres apart keep pointing to the engine grill and say something in an urgent manner
2) When you pull to the side to check out what's happening, a guy comes up and says that he will get a mechanic to check the sparking that is visible through the engine grill
3) The mechanic comes up and asks for the bonnet to be opened. As soon as you pull the lever, he has got it up and has pulled out a spark plug before you come to the front. Then, when the engine is running he shows the sparks coming. Before closing the bonnet he looks at the fuse box and palms one of the fuses.
4) When you start the engine, it does not start even though you can hear the cranking sound
5) He then says he will give a 'direct' connection from the battery to the engine and quietly removes another fuse and puts back the old one. Now, the entire electrical system is dead. At which point he says the alternator has to be replaced. The 'AC' load has killed it and that it was too old. He will then bring some cylindrical automotive component ('Lucas' brand), claiming to replace the alternator. Although he didn't claim it to be new, he shows it to you wrapped in plastic, implying the same. Once he installs it (as it is quite dark in the night, you are not sure what he is doing exactly), the car starts magically (he has replaced all the fuses).

He then says that the new alternator costs 7800 and you need to pay up.

As soon as I called the Hyundai emergency number, this guy quickly vanished. Unfortunately, he took one of the fuses as well, so I had to pay Hyundai for the fuse and for the emergency response.

Moral: Do not let anyone else open the bonnet. If you suspect something wrong, make sure you are the one opening the bonnet. Finally, if something is really wrong with the car, the check engine light would have come on!

[tanwaramit]

thanks for this thread, I will be careful, though looking at it, it seems more prevalent in Mumbai as compared to other cities of India. Though a few reported from other cities including Delhi here

I am waiting for someone to tell me like this, I will click his photograph and tell him to see in next days newspaper as a good samaritan who can see through radiator grill and help others on the road.

Something like this happened in Delhi too

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-...e1-578165.aspx

[aqualeo2040]

The best possible solution to this would be to buy a diesel car

Would love to hear those guys try this with a diesel car. The response from the owner should be worth it.

[revvhed]

Hi guys, i only just saw this thread and slapped my noggin' ..
The exact same thing happened to my brother a year or two ago. A family member was recovering in hospital and i was staying there for the night, relieving my brother who had stayed there in the day. I drove my Esteem to the hospital and my brother was driving it back home. It was about 09:30 p.m. and i got a call from my brother saying that the car had broken down on Cadel Road opp. the Dadar Catering College and that some 'guy' was trying to fix it. The 'EXACT' same modus operandi was used. My brother not being as car-savvy as the rest of us (though he's better informed than the average user) and also not wanting to bother me since i was in hospital didn't call me at first and went along with what the chap said.
However, here's the twist in the tale. This 'mechanic' had brought a 'second hand' coil from his garage and fitted it, but couldn't get the car to start !
He then fiddled around a bit more and then said he was going to get his sahab from the garage and disappeared. My brother then got suspicious and called me. I immediately suspected foul play but couldn't be sure as i was not there (and had not read this thread ). I told my brother not to allow that chap to touch anything in the car and not to allow him to take any of the old parts. Luckily, the chap had not yet unbolted the original ignition coil as he was still trying to show my brother that the coil was faulty and had thus only temporarily connected the new coil without removing the old one. I then promptly called up a friend and asked him to pick up my mecahnic and head there.
The part that got me wondering however was, why didn't the car start even with his 'new' part. After my friends got there with the mechanic and i heard what the mechanic did, i burst out laughing as i realised the 'good samaritan's' folly.
I have an MSD and he couldn't figure out the wiring.

Needless to say, the chappie never returned with his sahab.

So, you see, moral of the story : Performance Mods Save the Day !! Heh heh heh ..

[nomadabhi]

This is an incident happened while I was returning from Examm.

Venue: Manpada on Kalyan-Shil phata Road

I was driving back to home all alone in my Estilo. It has been 2 days with no car wash so my ride was all covered with mud.

While I was talking to my Wife on bluetooth, I heard a continuous honking from a guy with pillion on Black RX100. Gave him side to overtake me. However, they came close to my left side and pillion wanted to convey something to me with his hands. I ignored and they came infront of my car doing the same gestures as if something was wrong with my car.
Stopped my car and one of them came to me just to update me that there is smoke coming out of my car front. (strange, coz i was on AC and couldnt smell anything). The guys with full confidence told me to check my car's front for any short circuits.

Went back to cockpit tp open the lid and the guy shouted to turn the engine off. I did.

He told me there is fire coming out of coil. He told me to start the engine again and look for myself. By the time I came to front after cranking the engine, I saw a candle like flame coming out of the coil socket (generally it should be spark but a flame?).

The guy asked me if I am coming from long distance (probably mud covered ride and MH31 number plate).

I was convinced as anyone will and got nervous. One of the guy who was showing me all this technical things told me that he himself has a transport business so he is aware of issue and I will have to get the coil changed (My Rds coil costed me 2500INR so I knew this is going to be heavy on pocket).

He also told me that since he is from same area, there is a mech nearby who can do the needful. He came along with me, suddenly the other guy with him again told me to stop and shut the engine. They told me not to take car any long and assisted me to get the mech to the site.

While the other guy went to call the mech to site, smart guy was showing utmost care to my issue. I told him that I will call my mech for second opinion.
As soon as I called my mech, he told me that I am being fooled. Luckily, my mech had an Estilo right infront of him and he guided me to check few connections around coil. Check was done, started engine and found no issues. By this time I tried to look around for the quite friendly guys but they disappeared (guess while I was talking to my mech and checking things out myself).

Drove directly to garage and came to know about this whole new fraud going on streets of Mumbai.

"Smart guy will point you that something went wrong with car. By the time you go back to start your car after opening bonnet, the smart guy will loosen the coil wire and put some kind of powder on it. The time you crank up engine, sparks will ignite the powder to bring in flamming magic giving near heart attack to the owner. The bait will end up loosing nearly 5 grand with a working coil which may be kept as spare only to remind how he was fooled.

After having detailed discussion with my mech and other guys in garage, came to know that this thing is going on around following regions;

1. Borivali
2. Dahisar
3. Powai Pipeline
4. Kalyan Shil phata (me saved being victim)

Probably, the smart guys thought of me being an outsider (considering my car's condition and number plate)

Thought of sharing it here as this was new to me and will help all of us travelling nomads. Anyone faced or knew about this issue?

My Suggestion: Always keep your personnel mech's and Vehicle Manufacturer's toll free number handy

In the end, thanks to TBHP and my instincts.

[adg_andy]

Thanks for the info @ nomadabhi. These thugs are getting way too innovative nowadays. These incidents should be reported to general public over newspaper, electronic means(t-bhp) so that there are no such unsuspecting victims anymore.