Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Apr 16, 2004

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	Help Request	Answers
	1995 Audi S6 2.2L Misfire VIN: WAULA84A7S Slight misfire felt under moderate to heavy acceleration. Doesn't feel like a dead misfire, more like incomplete combustion, irratic. You can just kind of feel the car holding back then let's go and accelerates ok. This has been going on for over a year and it... Trouble codes: 544 (Engine speed sensor but problem present for a year previous to code)	View
	1971 Austin mini 1275CC cam timing this is supposedly a minisport stage 3 engine but that is NOT verified. The customer said that it has been bored out and has an after market camshaft (cust originally thought it was a kent cam now they are unshure) and now has a belt drive on cam customer purc...	View
	1987 Buick Century Custom 2.5L cooling fan VIN: 1G4AH51ROH Greetings fellow Techs,.. I'll try to remember to list everything here, because I swear we've checked everything. Cooling fan does not come on when engine reaches temp. This system is pretty basic, there's the fan motor, fan relay, coolant temp sensor, ECM an...	View
	1978 Cadillac Fleetwood 7.0L programmer Hi, guys. I am in need of some advice on diagnosing the hvac on this car. The problem is I do not have any service info on the climate control for this car. An older gentleman owns this car and only drives it in the summer. He has no temperature control and on...	View
	1982 Chevrolet Corvette 5.7L hood VIN: 1G1AY8781C Changed oil on this vehicle, replaced headlamp actuator on passenger side. Hood will not un latch on passenger side. was able to hook cable from drivers side, but feels like cable is disconnected or broken. Any ideas would be appreciated . Hoping someone in th...	View
	1992 Chevrolet C2500 Cheyenne 5.7L fuel gauge VIN: 1GCGC24KIN This truck came in with gas gauge not working, installed new sender in gas tank, but now gauge works good untill you come to a stop. The gauge pegs to empty and then slowly goes to normal. Have check complete circuit, all grounds ok, we even installed another ...	View
	2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3L MIL Lamp on VIN: 2GCEK19T1Y I have a chevy truck with check engine light on,code P0102 MAF low frequency.Replaced MAF meter couple of months ago for same problem.Customer said light came back on in a couple of days.He said he did not notice any driveability problems.Looked at freeze fram... Trouble codes: P0102 (maf low frequency)	View
	2000 Chevrolet Venture 3.4L SRS system VIN: 1GNDUO3E5Y We have a 2000 Chev. Venture mini van. The Supplimantal restraint system show a lamp on and the code B0065, "drivers pretensioner deploy loop open", is present. My problem is that books just do not cover this vehicle and we have no idea what this pretensioner ...	View
	2000 Chevrolet Prizm 1.8L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall, Misfire VIN: 1Y1SK5285Y hello guys, i need some insight on this one. i inherited this car from another shop. the problem the car is having is a rough idle on cold start and smooths out after a few minutes. when it's cold, the car will not take any gas. if you ease into it, it will g...	View
	2001 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 2.4L Poor Idle Quality VIN: 1G1JF12T91 Car has high idle, about 200 rpm over normal. Ckd for vacuum leaks, none found. Tested TPS due to code in history, no problems found at this time. I cannot comand IAC down below 800 rpm with the Tech 2 but I can use a IAC tester and can control the IAC to any ... Trouble codes: P0122	View
	1990 Dodge Ramcharger 5.9L Cuts out, Misfire VIN: HJMAKEMSL5 This problem can not be duplicated in a shop environment. This problem only happens when it is cold and there is excessive moisture in the air. (Rain, fog, snow..etc) While cruising, vehicle will misfire through the intake and it will then stumble for 1-2 se...	View
	1996 Dodge B2500 5.2L Surge, Stall, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2B7HB21Y9T Van originally had code 11 camshaft & crankshaft malfunctions w/ a complaint that van won't accelerate & dies if you try to accelerate . it restarts immediateltly & runs at light throttle & dies again if you try to accelrate . fuel presssure tested 49 psi. cam... Trouble codes: 11 (cam shaft sensor), 54 (crank shaht sensor)	View
	1989 Ford E-350 Econoline Custom 5.8L Poor Idle Quality, LOSING POWER VIN: 1FDKE37HXK This van is a challenge,I hope some one can help.The customer drove it in, it was losing power.I drove it to verify the complaint.It acted like it was losing fuel pressure or maybe a plugged cat.I tested the fuel pressure and it was steady at 40 psi.I put it i...	View
	1995 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4.0L O/D light flashes VIN: 1FMDU34XXS Two days ago I drained transmission fluid from pan and changed filter. Customer drove car home and back to town approx. 50 miles total. Next day O/D light started flashing and shifting seems irratic. I checked codes and found codes 647 & 648. 3rd & 4th gear pr...	View
	1997 Ford Explorer XL 4.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1FMDU34X9U This vehicle came in from a used car lot with performance problems such as, rough running and violent bucking under heavy accelleration. Ran diagnostics and found PO340 code. Replaced CMP with new unit and housing. Problem symptoms are gone but MIL still comin... Trouble codes: P0340	View
	2000 Ford Focus ZX3 2.0L Stall VIN: 3FAFP3134Y Customer complains that ONLY on a hard stop the car will stall. Have checked Idle speed control, shorts, codes. Vehicle operates fine other then this complaint! Have checked with local Ford dealer also TSB nothing covering this topic. Anyone run across this?	View
	1995 Geo Prizm LSi 1.8L Hesitation, Cuts out VIN: 1Y1SK5285S This vehicle was at another repair shop several times before we received it. The problem occurs between initial cold start up and closed loop operation. Vehicle bucks/jerks quite violently on moderate acceleration. Feels very similar to the air intake hose bet...	View
	1991 Honda Civic Si 1.6L No Start VIN: 2HGED7365M Greetings, Honda techs- this must be my lucky week- we had this 91 civic towed in- no start- no spark- timing belt OK- distributor bearings bad & reluctors ground up pickup coils- installed A1 rebuilt distributor,new japan cap & rotor-plugs& wires good- let wa...	View
	2004 Honda Accord LX 2.4L Starting system VIN: 1HGCM72294 This is my fiancee's car and it only happens with her. She says that when she gets into the car, she sticks the key into the ignition and turns it to start position and nothing happens for a split second, then it starts turning over very slowly (like a low bat...	View
	1985 Jaguar Vanden Plas 4.2L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall, Misfire VIN: SAJAY1348F Customer complains this Jaguar will "microstall" and "misfire" on his way into work (about 2 miles), then do it again on his way home after setting all day. We have had the car off and on for several weeks (a whole consecutive week once while he was out of tow...	View
	1994 Jeep Cherokee SE 4.0L front end VIN: 1J4FT28S7R This Jeep came in a few weeks ago needing a rf steering u-joint and had a viabration but nothing major, the costomer was not concerned at the time. It has since become a lot worse, but I don't beleive the u-joint to be affecting it. There was a constant tire v...	View
	2000 Land Rover Discovery Series II 4.0L Traction con VIN: SALTY124XY I have had this Rover in my fleet for 4 years. It came in w/ABS, Hill descent, and traction control fault lights are on. Pads were low, so I replaced them. I used an ohmmeter and got alike readings on the two rear sensors(1089). And alike on the fronts(10.1). ...	View
	1989 Lincoln Mark VII LSC 5.0L dash lights VIN: 1LNBM93E2K Dash and cluster lights work only with door jam switch, once key is turned on, they become inop. Replaced h/lamp and dimmer, same problem. I understand there are wires in the trunk related to our issue. Ford techs help with this one,Thanks Jim	View
	1995 Mazda Millenia 2.5L No Start, Stall VIN: JM1TA2214S I have a 95 Mazda millinea that has a stall condition after about 20 minutes at idle or cruise,and sometimes wont start for several minutes.Ive checked for codes and the only one that comes back each time is the egr boost code,Ive checked fuel pressure,crank s...	View
	1996 Mercury Sable LS 3.0L Poor Idle Quality, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1MELM53S9T Have a Sable with rough idle and check engine light. Has misfire codes for cylinders 1,2 and 3. All on bank #1. Long term fuel trim on bank 1 is -18%, Long term fuel on bank 2 is 20%. Check for vacuum leaks at intake manifold, none detected. Unsure why bank 1 ... Trouble codes: P0301, P0302 (Misfire code), P0303 (Misfire code), P0172 (Rich bank 1), P0174 (Lean bank 2)	View
	1996 Mercury Mystique GS 2.0L transmission shifting VIN: 1MELM6536T hello out there lests hope you guys can help with this one have 96 mercury mystique in my shop now we dont normally do any trani work but this is a very good long time customer car is having problems shifting through the gears 1-2 3-4 well cant get it to 3rd s...	View
	1998 Mercury Mountaineer 4.0L No Start VIN: AM2ZU54EXW hi all this truck was towed in costumer said truck stoped running like some one turned key off. found low compression on cyls. 4&5 all others ok.have no cranking vacuum,used smoke found plumin was leaking.replaced gaskets stil no vacuum.replaced plugs was wet ... Trouble codes: 171 (lean bank 1), 174 (lean bank 2)	View
	2002 Mercury Cougar 2.5L engine VIN: 1ZWFT61L42 Noise occurs warm engine, 1500 to 2000 RPM. Noise ends on decel and is steady on steady RPM. Rattling or knocking noise.	View
	1989 Nissan D21 SE 3.0L Cuts out VIN: IN6HDI6S9J Motor will not rev above 3000 rpm. Runs good, idle to 3000 rpm. Changed fuel filter, spark plugs, plug wires, distributor, dist. cap & rotor, ECM, and all sensors that I thought would pertain to this problem. Please help.	View
	1997 Nissan Pickup XE 2.4L Poor Idle Quality VIN: 1N6SP1156V We have this truck in for rough idle. Idle hunts around a few hundred rpm's but never stalls or really struggles. The timing drifts around as the idle hunts between 5 and 15 deg. The vac. also drifts, 12-13 in. HG. we are at 5000 ft. and would like to see at l...	View
	1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass 3.1L hard start VIN: 1G3NB52M9V cranks, cranks, cranks starts, if you press accelerator starts easier, no codes, im reading mass air flow o.oo, installed new sensor same thing, wiring intact, 12 volts on pink, .002 voltage drop on black ground, and 4.4 volts on yellow signal wire, also 2.3 h...	View
	1996 Plymouth Breeze 2.0L Surge, Stall, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1P3EJ46C6T at the first 5 miles the MIL lite and car began to surge, brought it back into the shop and opened the hood again,inspected all wiring and plug ins,all apear in taced. restared engine and it idled good, setup ,snap-on Modis,and began code search found P1390 ca... Trouble codes: P1351 (cam/crank timing not correct), P0351 (ignition coil 1 primary circuit)	View
	1990 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1G2HX54C9L Hi and thanks for checking this one out! This car came in with the check engine light on. Had codes 63,64 and 65 stored. We have cleared these codes and they at different times will return. Not all together. Light only comes on during decel which I now know is...	View
	1988 Toyota Land Cruiser 4.0L Hesitation, long crank cold VIN: JT3FJ62GXJ I work at lincoln mercury dealer dont work on toyota. Oil pan gasket was changed then hard start cold started. Unrelated? Sent to dealer now runs worse still has long crank and now a hesitation off idle and no power. WE checked compression 150 all cyl. Has goo...	View
	1997 Toyota Corolla 1.6L Excessive Emissions VIN: 2T1BA01E0V Hey guys, I've got a stubborn Corolla here that doesn't want to pass emissions. It is very clean at idle, but at 40km, the HC and CO both go over the limits by almost double. I have checked everything that I know of, including the plugs, cap, rotor, compressio...	View
	1997 Toyota Corolla DX 1.8L battery drains VIN: 1NXBB02E8V I have a 250mA drain. The drain is in the dome light circuit somewhere. The light is not on, it does work though. It is not the trunk light, I have disconnected it and has no effect on the drain. The drain does go up to about 360ma whenever I open any of the d...	View
	1989 Volkswagen Golf 1.8L No Start VIN: 3VWAA01G5K Key on cold, the ECM commands the injectors on full. I don't mean a wide pulse width, I mean they are ON! During crank, there is still no pulse, just full ON. I'm no VW expert, but logic tells me that the inputs any ECM looks at to determine fuel delivery at s...	View
	1997 Volkswagen Jetta GT 2.0L code 16806 VIN: 3VWVA81H1V Replaced the 02 sensors at customer request..bosch sensors --Went out and DOne readiness set procedure--everthing pass`s except evap---stored a po 422 or 16806 vag code for cat efficiency below threshold--monitored data blocks 025-120 and 116 and everthing app... Trouble codes: 16806 (Cat Efficiency--below threshold--p0 422)	View
	1999 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8L "Manual Mode" tiptronic VIN: WVWMA63B3X Hello Group This Passat has the automatic tiptronic transmission. It functions perfectly in the fully automatic mode, but when the manual gate is selected, it continues to function as a fully automatic transmission. Scanning for codes reveals no faults. Checki...	View
	2001 Volkswagen Golf GLS 1.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: 9BWGD21JX1 Hello...We are having trouble here...These two codes pop up together only after 2-3 weeks of driving. We replaced the MAF sensor to no avail...same codes. I know lean codes are prevalent on these cars, but a too rich code?! I checked the air intake box for obs... Trouble codes: 17545 (system too rich), 17705 (tubocharger/ throttle valve connection pressure loss)	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	1998 BMW 528i 2.8L coolant VIN: WBADD6328W We drained and flushed the cooling system, refilled w/ fresh coolant. Added dye to oil and I drove the car home and back (60 miles total). No oil or dye in coolant, customer must have added oil to coolant himself.	4
	1993 Cadillac Eldorado 4.9L Cooling Systems VIN: 1G6EL12B5P Apparently, I am the last one to learn about this pattern failure also. Scott [...], Darren...	11
	1994 Cadillac Seville STS 4.6L Surge, Stall VIN: 1G6KY5299R tryed replacing idle control motor still had same problem, swapped computer out of another car, that was the fix, replaced the computer reset the idle and test drove ok Trouble codes: P0035.	3
	1999 Chevrolet Blazer 4.3L 4wd VIN: 1GNDT13W5X Thanks for the help It was a bad cable that had coroded from battery acid replaced the front axle clutch cable and that fixed it timothy you were right on the money...Thanks	9
	1997 Chrysler Town & Country LXi 3.8L Stall VIN: 1C4GP64L9V This vehicle is still having problems with stalling. Will get it back in for more testing. Thanks for the reply's	11
	1995 Dodge Stratus ES 2.5L No Start VIN: 1B3E556H6S Yes the distributor was bad as everybody said, had to pull the intake top off to get it out, somebody had replaced plug wires and crushed a wire between the intake and the valve cover, I am sure the wir arcing to the manifold had something to do with burning u...	8
	1997 Dodge Ram 3500 5.9L center suppt VIN: 3B7MF33D1V Thanks a bunch to Adam [...] for their responses. The motor/transmission mounts are, in fact, fine. After further inspection and no silver bullets forthcoming, we found a rear fuel tank strap separated from the ...	6
	1998 Dodge Neon R/T 2.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1B3ES42Y4W Finally this car is gone! There were actually 2 problems, #1 the new Leak Detection pump was bad, and #2 (take note of this so you won't get burnt like I did!) with this car the DRB3 will NOT display the LDP switch state correctly! I had 3 different PCMs in th... Trouble codes: 1494 (leak detection pump switch or mechanicle failure).	4
	1991 Ford Taurus SHO 3.0L No Start VIN: 1FACP54Y2M Thanks to everyone who responded. I got a new IGN module to see if the grd ckt grd'd through the module and mounting screws. The new one had continuiity through pin 7 to the mounting screws. veh now runs. My schematic didn't show the module having this grd.	13
	1994 Ford Taurus GL 3.8L Cooling fan on high VIN: 1FALP5241R Thanks to all that replied. The problem was actually part of the A/C system. The Refrigerant Containment Switch was defective and the fan stopped when the connector to this switch was disconnected. This switch sends a signal to the computer based on the high p...	7
	1997 Ford F-150 XL 4.2L Electronic VIN: 1FTDX1723V found a broken wire on the 2-3 shift solenoid wire loom was laying on the exaust grounding that solenoid from time to time thanks for all the help !	8
	1998 Ford Contour SVT 2.5L pulls left VIN: 1FALP68GXW Thanks to everyone who replied. This one turned out to be chassis related. Michael, Nelson and Gerard sent me into the chassis looking. Sure enough a slight deflection in the suspension gave the feeling of pulling brakes. I guess the steering wheel movement wa...	6
	2001 Ford Escort SE 2.0L Surge, HIGH IDLE VIN: 3FAFP13PX1 thanks to all who replied. we did the checks necessary to determine that problem was not a vacuum leak, which meant that ecm was commanding high idle. we cleaned maf and iac and installed a new air filter as there was none. these repairs did not affect problem...	6
	1995 GMC Jimmy SL 4.3L Hesitation, Surge, Stall, Misfire VIN: 1GKDT13W1S First off I must say thanks for all the replies. They did give us other directions to head. We found a rather large dent in the bottom of the fuel tank near the fuel pump under the plastic cover. We replaced the tank and pulse dampener. Filter was also replace...	8
	2000 GMC Safari SL 4.3L No Start This problem was a combination of sticking poppets and weak ignition coil. I was suprised with coil because it would jump a 1/2 inch gap. Thanks Rick	9
	1998 Honda Civic LX 1.6L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1HGEJ6672W Thanks to everyone that responded to my help request. I am happy to report that the customers vehicle has been repaired successfully. As many of you responded that the code P1456 was indicating a leak in the system upfront, I replaced the EVAP Canister Vent ... Trouble codes: P1456 (Manufacture Controlled Auxillary Emissions Controls).	5
	1991 Jeep Cherokee Laredo 4.0L Cruide Control VIN: 1J4FJ57S1M Afetr testing and retesting electrical connections and wire continuity I decided to manually control the servos grounds as the PCM should. By grounding vent solenoid and momentarly grounding vacuum solenoid I was able engage the speed control and hold desired ...	4
	1993 Mazda 626 LX 2.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1YVGE22AXP hELLO FINE tECHS: I was finally able to come to a solution on this 626. It turns out that the two brand new sensors (one for the fan the other the ECT) came from Carquest and we were able to determine that the fan sensor was showing high temperature too soon a... Trouble codes: 69 (Coolant Temp. Sensor for cooling fan).	3
	1994 Mitsubishi Galant ES 2.4L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Surge, MIL Lamp on VIN: 4A3AJ56G4R I ran three bottles of fuel injector cleaner with the return hose blocked.That cured the lean condition,told customer if problem returns it would need four injectors.Thanks for the replies.Brent!!! Trouble codes: 11 (O2 sensor not switching).	6
	1989 Nissan 240SX SE 2.4L Timing chain VIN: JN1HS36P7K I tore down the engine on the 240SX today and found the problem. The tension side timing chain guide was broken and had fallen down to a position near the crank gear. The chain was rubbing on it. This guide came from NAPA. There is a redesigned metal-backed gu...	7
	2000 Nissan Frontier SE 3.3L No Start, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1N6ED26Y6Y Hello all, This vehicle is fixed.It's been a week and all's well.It turns out that fuse# 13 also powers a couple of solenoids.(Map soleniod,cannister close sol.)The vehicle would blow the fuse almost exactly 12 miles into a road test,but would idle for hours...	5
	1994 Oldsmobile 88 Royale LS 3.8L No Start, Stall VIN: 1G3HY52L5R I recieved 19 replies and the majority referred to the crank position sensor I was never able to duplicate the problem. After reviewing the replies the owner said to go ahead with a new sensor, We replaced it and she has driven the car for 2 weeks and never a ...	19
	1997 Oldsmobile Achieva S 3.1L security system VIN: 1G3NL12M3V I'm going to call this one fixed. I decided not to bypass the system. As stated earlier, I replaced the lock cylinder with the new passlock key. After replacement the vehicle never failed to start. The reason that I wanted to bypass the system was because of t...	7
	1994 Pontiac Firebird 5.7L Hesitation, Misfire found moist inside cap which will affect opti spark..new kit cap rotor and bolts cost at gm dealer apx.$300.00 or complete distributor $700.00 Trouble codes: 18 (ignition signal).	5
	1996 Pontiac Sunfire SE 2.2L MIL Lamp on VIN: 3G2JB5247T Hello Guy's Thanks for all the reply. There was rust in between the CMP and the engine distancing the sensor from the gear causing a bad reading. I did clean the Rust away and the problem is now gone. Thank for your help Richard. Trouble codes: P0342 (cam shaft position sensor).	3
	1999 Porsche Boxster 2.5L check engine light VIN: WPOCA298XX Thanks to all for all your help. There were two problems with this car; #1 was a vaccum leak at the accordian tube where it connects to the intake. #2 was the mass air sensor, actually Porsche has an updated sensor that replaces the O.E. sensor, Part # 9866061... Trouble codes: P1123 (lean limit at idle), P1125 (Lean limit at idle).	11
	1998 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 1.9L ses light on VIN: 3VWRF81H9W I really don't have much to say we reapired a few suspect vac lines and just went over all the engine compartment checking all the turbo system cleared codes and the codes have not returned. It has been a couple of weeks and still the codes have not returned. ...	3

(Also Available: All, Asian, Chrysler, European, Ford, GM.)