ArcaMax

The sensors built into the seats of modern cars are very sensitive. The idea is to adjust the force of the air bag's deployment in the event of a crash to suit the size (and weight) of the person occupying the seat. The bags deploy with less force if it's a small kid, for example. But what if it's your foot-long from the deli? This happens - and it's uber annoying.

A sub, a laptop - almost anything that has some weight can trigger the sensors - which trigger the "buckle up" buzzers. The fix is easy. Reach over, grab the stupid seat belt and plug the male end into the female end. Now your sandwich is "safe."

Even better, get an old male end (from a junkyard) and use it to defeat the buckle up buzzer. It works just as well for the driver's side, too.

* If your car starts acting hinky, try disconnecting the battery -

Modern cars are in a very real sense computers on wheels. And just like your desktop, sometimes, the fix is a reboot.

I had a brand-new Mini Cooper to test drive about six months ago. One day, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. ABS, TCS and several other warning lights all came on at once. The car seemed to work ok, but - clearly - something wasn't right. Probably not mechanical, either. The ABS, TCS (traction/stability control) are electronic - or electronically controlled - systems. Computers. Code.

Sometimes, there's a hiccup. And sometimes, you can "fix" it by unplugging the car - just like you would your PC at home. Do this by disconnecting the negative cable at the battery. It should be black and clearly marked with a "-" symbol. Let the car sit for at least 15 minutes but better yet, overnight. So it (the computer) will forget.

In the morning, reconnect the cable and start the car up. Fingers crossed, the system will reboot and whatever the hiccup was, it'll have cleared itself from the code. If the lights that were on before don't come back on now, you're good. If they do, you haven't hurt anything - and you tried something that hasn't costyou anything.

Caveat: If the "check engine" light comes on (and no other warning lights come on) the above will probably not work. A trouble code has been stored in the computer's memory and the light probably will stay lit until the code is cleared (using a scan tool) from memory and the problem that triggered the code is fixed.

Caveat II: Disconnecting the battery will also erase stored settings, such as radio stations and so on. You'll have to punch all that back in.

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