Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Sep 10, 2004

Join Now

Prev	Professional Automotive Repair Technical Discussions for September 10, 2004 International Automotive Technicians' Network (iATN) - Members Only	Next
(Also Available: All, Asian, Chrysler, European, Ford, GM.)
Vehicle Owners: If you are seeking an automotive repair professional to service your vehicle, visit the iATN Repair Shop Finder.

Open Help Requests for All Makes and Models

	Help Request	Answers
	2001 Audi A6 Quattro 2.8L door locks VIN: WAUED64B61 Passenger door lock actuator will not work with drivers door switch, keyless remote or drivers door key lock, but will operate manually. When using the scan tool to actuate the lock through the control unit, door lock will operate most of the time in component...	View
	2001 BMW X5 3.0i 3.0L Brake lights VIN: WBAFA53591 I finished repairing the customer's concerns on this one. It's Friday afternoon. Murphy's law kicks in. And this BMW SUV starts to disintegrate. The information center says, "Check brake lights." Sure enough, no brake lights. It had them when it came into the ...	View
	2003 BMW 325ci 2.8L air bag VIN: WBABW33453 need to remove air bag for turn signal replacment how does it come off?? THANKS	View
	1992 Buick Regal 3.8L Poor Idle Quality, Surge, Cuts out, Stall VIN: ZG4WB54L3N I got this car with very bad driveabilty Prob. Scaned for codes and found none ck fuel presure and was in specs. Car will not idle on own and can be hard to keep runing even above idle. Disconected maf and car smothed out and idle ok. Replaced maf same problem...	View
	1994 Buick Roadmaster 5.7L Cooling Systems VIN: 1G4BR82P0R Hello GM techs. This car came in for routine service. When we went to check the coolant we found quite a bit of oil in the coolant bottle. Our first thought was a bad oil cooler in the radiator so we pulled the radiator and sent it in to get checked out. Unfor...	View
	1995 Cadillac DeVille Concours 4.6L Poor Idle Quality, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1G6KF52YXS This Caddy is getting me furious. I got this beast after another tech spent two weeks on it, and has now since quit here. So now I have the luxury of working on it. This is what has been happening so far, prior to me working on car, although all work is sketch...	View
	1997 Cadillac DeVille 4.6L anti-theft VIN: 1G6KD54Y9V Dash display's "theft system problem". Has current code B2711. Engine starts and runs.	View
	1984 Chevrolet C10 Scottsdale 5.0L no drive or rev VIN: 2GCEC14H7E bought this truck with inop trans, removed and insp. just o.h. resealed anyways reinstalled still no fwd or rev(unless @ 3000 rpm then creeps) line press ok in all ranges any help would be apprieciated thank you in advance.	View
	1998 Chevrolet Blazer 4.3L Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GNDT13W3W Blazer has a very severe loss of power due to misfires in cylinders #1, #5,& #6 at highway speeds in OD climbing a grade. It only manifests itself after a steady acceleration for 10 seconds or so. FP holds at near 60 psi during the power loss.If you allow it s... Trouble codes: P0300 (random misfire)	View
	1998 Chrysler Town & Country LXi 3.8L limp in VIN: 1C4GP64L5W Hello Group! This van came in with MIL on and in limp-in mode. Scanned and code #p1717=no communication with MIC. (I'm assuming that MIC is the instrument cluster)The data for shift indicator is accurate,the indicator in the cluster is accurate and never stops...	View
	1991 Dodge Stealth 3.0L No Start, Poor Idle Quality, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: JB3XD44S1M let me start out and tell you that work order number ends in 666. that should tell you how well this job has been going.(p) the car orignialy came in with a check engine light on for misfire to cyl. #5. no signal to the injector. checked ecu and found no signa...	View
	2000 Dodge Ram 2500 5.9L steering` VIN: 3B7KF236XY This truck came to us as a referal from another shop, it originally had low power steering pump pressure wich affected steering performance at idle and was notebly worse when brake peadl depressed (hydro boost system), we replaced power steeing pump, with pres...	View
	2000 Dodge Neon High Line 2.0L dome light VIN: 1B3E546COY This is my daughter's car and this has been a problem since 2000. The dome light stays "on" all the time and the factory alarm turns "on" on occasions (horn blowing and lights flashing) and by unlocking the drivers side door shuts off the alarm. I think there ...	View
	1993 Eagle Vision TSi 3.5L 1-2 shift VIN: 2E3ED66F8P HI Guys, This Eagle isn't flying to well. At times the transmission goes into a limp mode and will not shift. After turning the car off and starting out again it may do fine for some time, then start out from a start and she won't shift. You have to cut it of...	View
	1993 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe 3.8L hard start hot VIN: 1FAPP64R7P This car runs great hot or cold. Starts great cold. The problem is if you get the engine hot and shut it off for any short length of time, the engine acts like the ignition timing is being advanced and the engine is hard to start. It advances to a point where ...	View
	1996 Ford Explorer Sport 4.0L trans VIN: 1FMCU24X6T Help!!! I have a 96 ford explorer with a strange noise (grinding,kind of sound,like when the bendix from a starter gets stuck in the on position)the noise is coming out of the transmission.but the only time it does it is when you put it in reverse on start up ...	View
	1998 Ford Windstar GL 3.8L check engine light VIN: 2FMZA514XW This van came in for check engine light on complaint and runs fine. We check the codes and they are P1537 & P1538. We install a new IMRC motor. Customer took van and call back a week later the check engine light is back on. Now the code is P1513 IMRC bank 2 st... Trouble codes: P1513 (IMRC bank 1 stuck open), P1538 (IMRC bank 2stuck open)	View
	2000 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Edition 5.4L Mechanical VIN: 2FTRX07L1Y Need some information please. This is a conficated vehicle that we have had for about two years and the last 20,000 miles. It has developed a knock in the engine and the right head gasket leaks at the back of the engine. They want to keep the truck, so we are ...	View
	2003 Ford mustang mach 4.6L hard start VIN: 123HELPPLE First of all thanks to all,and sorry for vin,will up date,well fuel pressure test seem fine,but let set over night and have to turn and hold key on for three or four second before she will start.thanks again will find and pass on.	View
	1995 Honda Accord EX 2.2L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1HGCD5652S This one has me stumped. Long-time customer came in with check engine light on. Car has all it's maintenance up to date and runs fine. DTC code 9 stored in computer. Mitchell recommended replace distributor, so we did. Check engine light still on. Continued to...	View
	1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4.0L left turn signal VIN: 1J4GZ78S1R this vehicle was brought to me to repair the left turn signal that flashes at a faster pace when the running lights are on. I have checked the front and rear bulbs. replaced one running light bulb in the rear, didn't solve the problem. this problem does not ef...	View
	1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.2L No Start VIN: 1J4GZ78YXR We rarely see a coil problem but this one is going to be a pain. When the Jeep came in we found no codes, key was on and battery dead when we got it, plenty of fuel pressure but no spark, and the tech did not check fuel injector pulse. (already talked to him a...	View
	1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.2L engine VIN: 1J4G258YXS Hi everyone, it's my turn... Gotta love this place !!! We pulled and rebuilt this engine last spring and been pulling our hair out for the last 2 months or so with the bugger running hot. Worse with the a/c on and at idle. Durring the rebuild we punched out th...	View
	1981 Mercedes-Benz 380SL 3.8L climate control servo VIN: WDB1070451 Hi Group I have very little information on this problem. Car came in with a complaint of a coolant leak. I found the climate control servo was leaking. Dealer wants big bucks for this part. As far as I can tell it is functioning properly. I have searched the ...	View
	1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL 5.6L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Poor Fuel Economy VIN: WDBCA39D9H Greetings, Group, This Benz was in about nine months ago running very poorly: lumpy idle, rich exhaust, hesitation when punching throttle. We found fuel distributor leaking into the intake, injectors had a terrible spray pattern on the test bench. Tune-up par...	View
	1990 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 3.0L convertible top VIN: WDBFA61EXL hello all, Alldata does not have any information on this system,I have a well maintained 300sl with a cabriolet top that does not function,nor can the hard top be locked down.While you are driving the buzzer sounds and the softop switch flashes.I first suspect...	View
	1997 Nissan Pickup XE 2.4L Poor Fuel Economy just looking for some answers on my dads 97 pickup. bought it in may and got 22mpg consitently around town and 29-31 on highway.about 6 weeks ago it droped to 20mpg in town. at that time we changed the plugs [with ngk] and found old plugs burnt to a gap of .06...	View
	1994 Oldsmobile 98 Regency 3.8L MIL Lamp on, DTC P0641 QDM ERROR VIN: 1G3HY52K8S we installed a used trans check engine light is on checked bulletins ) possible a short in the internal wiring harness on the trans we installed the original wiring harness and all the solenoids from the used trans customer also went to the dealer to check the... Trouble codes: P0641 (qdm error high)	View
	1997 Oldsmobile Achieva S 2.4L vtd passlock 1 VIN: 1G3NL52T0V Hello, this Achieva (N body) will not start reliably no matter how many parts we put on it. Even now in the new cluster the security light doesn't act right. It flashes erraticly. I would love to bypass the whole vtd system. Does anyone know how? Right now the...	View
	1984 Plymouth Horizon 2.2L coolant VIN: 1P3BM18C1E This car has a coolant leak I can't find. Have visually checked for leaks around engine, hoses, and heater core, and can only find a leak of green coolant where pipes from evaporator connects to the condensor near the radiator. It is to far from the radiator t...	View
	1992 Pontiac Grand Am SE 2.3L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1G2NES134N When the car is at operating temp. I came off the highway and stopped at a light. On accel. it felt as if the trans. was still in lock up or OD, pumped the pedal to WOT a few times and back to normal. At the shop, I found the trans. fluid aerated. Removed pan ... Trouble codes: 26 (quad driver error)	View
	1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE 3.4L fuel injectors VIN: 1G2NE52E3X How do we by-pass security system to make the injectors work?-thanks for any help-	View
	1997 Porsche Boxster 2.5L battery VIN: WPOCA298XV This car came in with dead battery. After instaling new batery found parasitic draw of 3000ma. I removed all fuses and relays from both fuse boxes and the draw still there. The car is all stock, no aftermarket alarm or radio. Is there a conector I can disconec...	View
	2004 Saab 9-3 Aero 2.0L wARNING lIGHT VIN: YS3FH49Y84 Evening Gents, I have this 10/03 Saab Aero 93 that came in for warning lights illuminated..It says it is the pass seat problem--shows up in red at the info panel center top of dash. I pulled codes B1001 and B1016 which appear to be modules that are not on line...	View
	2000 Toyota Tacoma DLX 2.7L intake gasket VIN: 4TAWM72NXY Hi The gasket kit I recieved had the wrong intake replacement gasket. I called Toyota to get more info and with the serial number they insist that all 16 valve 2.7l engines require the gasket with dual ports (2 holes per cylinder) The original gasket has only ...	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	1995 Acura Legend GS 3.2L temp guage VIN: JH4KA768XS sorry this car has never returned to repair. the replies said mostly that the head gasket was bad, but the cooling system went all summer without adding any coolant, another reply suggested using the factory thermostat, and when i ordered one it had been super...	9
	1997 Acura CL 2.2L compressor VIN: 19UYA1249V thanks to all that replied to my help request. the climate control has a self test and will display a failure 'code' on the display when the system is not functioning. since the failure would happen about every two weeks, the customer brought the vehicle by wh...	4
	1979 Chevrolet K20 Cheyenne 6.6L Temp gauge VIN: CKR249J158 Replaced temp sending unit with a GM part and gauge reads 1/3 at operating temp.(This is after replacing the NAPA unit twice so somthing said for OE parts)	10
	1987 Chevrolet S10 Blazer Sport 2.8L Must manual shift for overdrive VIN: 1GNCS18R7H Sorry this has taken so long for me to respond. I haven't actually fixed this truck yet. From what everyone is telling me including a local shop which I know does good work, the front sprag is going to be the problem. I'm still driving it with it like this so ...	13
	1994 Chevrolet S10 Blazer Tahoe 4.3L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Surge, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1GNDT13W2R I recieved a reponse from Richard [...]. He said that there might be an intake valve not opening. He was only part right there were 3 intake valves on the driverside that were bent thus not allowing the fuel to get into the cylinders. The fuel was backing up in...	12
	1996 Chevrolet C2500 Cheyenne 5.7L No Start VIN: 1GCGC24R1T well gentz, this fix goes to tell us that we should not always spectulate componant failure. after just about pulling my hair out i figured i would go back to old school techniques and trace each related wire and to my amazement i found the purple wire going t... Trouble codes: P0336, P0337.	4
	1997 Chevrolet K1500 Cheyenne 6.5L Excessive Emissions VIN: 1GTEK19S1V i found a broken wire at the egr vent solenoid it didnt look broken until i pulled on it now everything is ok thank you Trouble codes: 101 (mass air flow), 401 (egr flow in suffient).	1
	2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3L Fuel Gauge VIN: 1GCEC19TXY Iam so very sorry I haven't gotten back to you guys sooner. I came back from helping a friend in Florida and found my computer gone, along with a few other things. Things are back now and returned to semi-normal. It was the ignition switch that was causing t...	14
	2001 Chevrolet Lumina 3.1L Cuts out, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2G1WKL52J8 Well this one is fixed ,most replies were for pcm flexing , pin fit etc. THE FIX WAS: There are two vertical studs on the left of the heater case under hood with facrory rubber caps to protect the harness . The bottom cap had fallen of causing the stut to shor... Trouble codes: P0122.	6
	1992 Chrysler Imperial 3.8L low/rev clutch VIN: 1C3XV56LIN The clutches I received in the banner kit for the low/rev pack and the 2/4 pack were the same thickness, .085' good for the 2/4 clutch pack but not the low rev. pack. Ordered the correct clutches for the low/rev pack,with a .075' thickness, now I got a good .0...	13
	2001 Chrysler Town & Country Limited 3.8L Speedometer VIN: 2C8GP64L61 Received five responces and I only posted the question on the way home last night-had answers upon arriving to work-thank you. Chad from Minnesota hit the nail on the head, upon close inspection, the speedo needle was on the wrong side of the 'stop pin', hold ...	7
	2000 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie 5.9L No Start, Stall sorry it took so lomng to post the fix. first of all thank you to everyone that helped out, and pretty much everyone was right. it was a plug exhaust by way of the catalytic converter. with the bad injectors and running rich the guy must have melted the conver...	6
	1988 Ford Ranger STX 2.9L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1FTCR15T5J I only got three replies. Two to check the wiring and one to check voltage. I changed the ACT sensor and the problem is fixed. Bad sensor out of the box. Thanks to the 3 that replied***Don	3
	1995 Ford Escort 1.9L No Start VIN: 1FASP15J25 Hello group and thank you all who tried to help me. I received replies which stated to check keyway on harmonic balancer to see if it was elongated . It was not. The final fix ended up being a bad shield wire going from the edis module to the vrs (ckp) sensor ...	13
	1999 Ford Expedition XLT 5.4L Misfire, MIL Lamp on Sorry guys I tried everything under my power to fix this truck, But lost my shirt, Sent to truck to a Ford dealer, Thanks for help.	11
	1997 GMC K1500 Sierra SL 5.7L Cuts out, Stall, Misfire, backfire through exh VIN: 1GTEK19R2V after giving all suggestions proper consideration, all items tested good. found problem by accident. i bumped the pcm and it started running poorly, tapped it again and it ran well, tapped again ran poorly, and on and on. replaced and reprogrammed pcm w/knock ...	16
	1990 Honda Civic DX 1.5L No Start VIN: JHMEE2857L Thanks to those that replied. I installed a new PGMFI relay went on test drive came back started acting up, but it never failed after that. We had it for several days after relay replacement. Customer took car and we have not heard back. Thank you again to tho... Trouble codes: 16 (Injector fault).	6
	1995 Honda Accord EX 2.7L Modulator VIN: 1HGCE666XS Fix was the accumulator. The dealer had asked if I needed one when I ordered the modulator, but none of the diagnostics pointed to the accumulator. I finaly called identifix and they led me through testing of the pressure sensor. The unit pressureized on initi...	3
	1993 Infiniti G20 2.0L inhibitor switch VIN: JNKCP01D5P thank all of you who replied I ended up lubricating around the outside of the bushing on the end of the shift cable this seems to have solved the problem as the cable no longer binds. We contacted the customer and she reports no more problems.	4
	1993 Lexus LS400 4.0L Tachometer & Speedometer VIN: JT8UF11EXP Recieved 2 replies reccomendin spedo service center there phone # is [...] or at www.spedometer service.com customer opted to wait to repair vehicle when it quits all together thanks for your help on this unique situation...	3
	2000 Mazda 626 ES 2.0L Power windows-Heater-Wipers VIN: 1YVGF22C6Y Thanks to all who replied.Most said ignition switch was suspect. I did try wiggling key to try and make this car act up but never had any luck.We through a switch at it anyway due to the posts we recieved and the huge ring of keys the customer had.We finally g...	5
	1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT 3.0L Cuts out VIN: JA3AM84J9S The tip about IAC counts was a big help. Performed several tests on Idle Air Control, and found it to be the fault. Replaced faulty component,re-set idle specs; and no more stalls occured.	3
	2002 Oldsmobile Bravada 4.2L remote door locks VIN: 1GHDT13S92 hey guys late fix post caused by iatn computer down time. reprogramming of liftgate module did the trick. i usually check tsb's and just plane blew it this time . thank's to all that helped bill	4
	1995 Other GM 16 pass bus 5.7L Stall VIN: 1GBKH32K7S Thanks for the help folks. In checking the pickup coil on the new dist. it was very weak in AC output. I did some more followup and found out that the first complaint was really one of a boggy jerking on accel(read miss on accel). I re-installed the original d...	6
	1996 Subaru Legacy L 2.2L Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 453BK4358T Thank you for your help. 8 people responded from putting on a new coil, to injector checking, and scoping. My thoughts before putting on a new coil went similar to Jeremy's which I recieved just after fixing the problem. I went to the opposite cylinder that th... Trouble codes: P0303 (Misfire Cyl 3).	8
	2001 Subaru Outback 2.5L pump VIN: 4S3BH6864Y What fixed this vehicle was fresh o rings on the suction nipple where it bolts to the pump. In the process of removing the resevoir for inspection and cleaning we noticed fluid oozing out of the nipple-pump seam that had just happened from flexing the resevoir...	4
	1991 Toyota MR2 2.2L engine VIN: JT2SWZ1M00 Hello everyone!! Turned out to be the fuel system needed calibrating and the Champion plugs do not work in an MR2. A couple of other minor adjustments and it runs just fine. Brian	3
	1991 Toyota MR2 2.2L engine VIN: JT2SWZ1M00 Hello everyone!! Turned out to be the fuel system needed calibrating and the Champion plugs do not work in an MR2. A couple of other minor adjustments and it runs just fine. Brian	1
	1994 Toyota Camry LE 3.0L sensors VIN: JT2GK12E4R had removed rear 2 abs sensors to clean and did not have mounted totally flush when I put them back causing codes to set-reinstalled and all ok now. thanks a MILLION, chuck [...]	8
	1997 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 2.0L alarm VIN: 3VWSA81H2V Thanks for the replies ! You guys are great ! Once agaian IATN saved the day . The prob . was a broken ground wire in door jam of left rear door . I should have noticed it because the window in that door didnt work ! Once again thanks for the help !	3
	2000 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 2.8L power windows, power mirrors, sun roof, can bus, i VIN: 3VWSE29M2Y there was two different problems, the first wich is somewhat embarrising is the fuse for the wondows sunroof and ect.. was not even there, when i checked the fuses i did it with the power probe just to see if there was a blown fuse. the customer had stated whe...	5
	2002 Volkswagen Beetle GL 2.0L speedo drive gear VIN: 3VWCK21C72 Hi all thanks for the replies after removing the rear cover I discovered that someone had removed the 180mm long driven gear & housing for auto trans and installed a 135mm short gear & housing for manual trans. the gear on the inside is perfect. Now the 2 gear...	3
	1987 Volvo 740 GLE 2.3L Cuts out VIN: 1V1FX8758H thanks to all-- wiring harness under intake was burnt badly- replaced harness and vehicle is FIXED! thanks a MILLION! chuck [...]-	16

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