Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Nov 10, 2006

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	Help Request	Answers
	1990 Acura Integra RS 1.8L No Start VIN: JH4DA9448L After rebuilding the cylinder heads car was running fine. Then the next day the battery was too weak to start car so we hooked the battery charger up, but it was set to 500 amps and we had no noticed this. Now the car won't run. We have lost ignition and injec...	View
	1999 BMW 528i 2.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: WBADM6334X this car has a couple of rough running cylinders - most obvious is #4 which does not go to injector cut off - but on the rough scale on my scanner is in the 3's --- #2 is also somewhat high but #4 is highest - i replaced all the plugs and swapped coils from th...	View
	1990 Buick Skylark 3.3L Cooling Fan/Engine VIN: 1GYNM1YN0L Hello All, have a puzzling problem with this vehicle. This engine seems to hold the heated coolant apparently too long. I know, you'd think a thermostat would solve the problem, but it has not. I have replaced this thermostat about 4 times within the last year...	View
	1993 Buick Century Custom 3.3L Poor Idle Quality VIN: 1G4AG53N6P customer complaint is that when driving at 70-80 kmph and releases the throttle the car maintains that speed and if the vehicle is shifted in neutral the rpm stays around 1200 rpm.we have scanned it and found that the desired rpm(at operating temp ) is 700 rpm...	View
	2001 Buick Century Custom 3.1L Stall VIN: 2G4WS52J01 I have this Buick that sometime dies when driveing and when you pull to the side of the road it starts right back up and runs good, sometimes it will it will pick it self up before you get pulled to the side of the road. then other times it will die and take a...	View
	1995 Chevrolet P30 5.7L 2/3 shift limp mode VIN: 1GBHP32K5S hi guys thanks for reading,,, truck came in stuck in 2nd gear ( limp mode ) dropped pan and replaced 2/3 shift solenoid , replaced brake switch,, cleared codes and road test,, everything ok dokey,, customer came back next day and said was doing same thing,, as...	View
	1996 Chevrolet Blazer 4.3L abs system VIN: 1GNDT13W8T I'm having a problem with ABS code C1245. My scanner read out says "RF channel will not move" I've checked the 1996 dealer service manual and it only list two digit codes. I also checked a 1998 dealer service manual which lists four digit codes but there's no ...	View
	1997 Chevrolet Malibu 3.1L ride control VIN: 1G1ND52M9V This vehicle stiil has very hard suspension can not push vehicle down while pushing up and down on car .Continually waers out struts within 3000 miles. Can not find problem; any ideas?	View
	1997 Chevrolet Corvette 5.7L Magasteer 2 VIN: 1G1YY22G4V Hi Corvette guys: This car runs and steers fine. The only indication of a problem is the Service Vehicle Soon that appears on the IP shortly after the steering wheel is turned after start up. The code C1281 is set. I have been through the diagnostic procedu...	View
	2000 Chevrolet S10 2.2L master cyl VIN: 1GTCS1456Y this truck in really wierd if your going forward brakes are fine every once in awhile pedal goes to floor but if you are in reverse the pedal goes to floor all the time. I was told that there still might be air in controller that I need to go out and slam the ...	View
	2000 Chevrolet Tracker 2.0L Speedometer VIN: 2CNBJ13C8Y Speedometer and odometer are inop. This vehicle has been in a frontal impact accident. It has new hood, fenders & grill. Pulled test proceedure from Shop Key and all tests were good. Looked at VSS output with Tech 2 and it tracked MPH correctly. Tested wiring ...	View
	2003 Chevrolet Impala 3.8L Starting VIN: 2G1WF52E63 car came in as a no crank, would start if i pulled out one of the bcm fuses, (thts how i got it in the garage) i installed a new ign. switch, ( mounted in the dash, not the column) i turned on the ign. switch to do the relearn 10 min. at a time for three times...	View
	1997 Chrysler LHS 3.5L exhaust valves VIN: 2C3HC56XFV Hello all, I have a disaster in my bay that I need advice on. This LHS came in with a BIG coolant leak. The primary leak was coming from the lower intake manifold gaskets with a secondary leak from the water pump. Although the leak was large and there was v...	View
	2004 Dodge Ram 1500 ST 4.7L No Start VIN: 1D7HA18N54 I hope someone else has run into this probably simple problem. this dodoge truck after sitting for several hours has a very hard or no start condition, when the problem occurs it has spark and injector pulse and all scanner data appears normal, it will usually...	View
	1985 Ford Bronco Custom 5.0L air flow VIN: 1FMDD15A4G Hi We have an 85 Bronco. Pretty basic vacuum setup on this. The thing will no switch to defrost etc. The weird thing is that the solenoid is moving and I can feel and hear the doors move but the air flow stays the same. Mostly out the front vents. We checked ...	View
	1999 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 4.6L lack of power VIN: 1FMRU1769X Vehicle has loss of power under accelaration.If I clear the codes they will return the same ones. The plugs look good. I put new wires on these cylinders did not make a difference. Checked compression it had 145 to 150 psi. At idle you can unplug the injectors... Trouble codes: P0301, P0302, P0303	View
	2000 Ford Windstar SEL 3.8L tires VIN: 2FMZA5343Y Is it true that u can not add compressed air to a nitrogen filled tire?? I have been told that the tire could blow!	View
	2001 Ford F-450 Super Duty Lariat 7.3L Turn signals/hazards VIN: 1FDXW46F41 Customer plugged in trailer and at one point lost turn signals and hazards. Fuses are good. I need the location of the flasher relay (as MOD calls it). According to MOD, it's in the IP relay center of which there are no more references. Time is too tight for m...	View
	2001 Ford F-150 XL 5.4L Misfire VIN: 1FTRWO8L11 Cyl #3 misfire code hasn't returned, but there is still a miss in the system. Seems to only be present when hot, but may just be more noticable after it gets up to temp. It's definately most noticable when lugging a bit in OD uphill and especially when TCC is ... Trouble codes: P1000	View
	2004 Ford Taurus LX 3.0L Misfire VIN: 1FAFP56S3Y hello ford techs 2004 taurus came in with cel po306. car goes into misfire once in a while with flashing check eng light for about 40 seconds then runs fine until the next time it happens usally within a half hour to an hour.compression was a slight bit low c... Trouble codes: 306 (misfire 6)	View
	2005 Ford F-250 Super Duty Lariat 5.4L Misfire VIN: 1FTSX21545 Misfire under hard acceleration, feels like loosing a plug. Checked one plug with great difficulity. Tried to gaulled the threads when removed. We are also going to preform an update Ford TSB O6-3-3,which states to replace with latest uopdated plugs. HAS A... Trouble codes: P0300 (ramdom missfire), P0171	View
	1993 Honda Prelude Si 2.3L Alignment VIN: JHMBB22500 this one has come in from another shop that has replaced both rack & pump due to leaks. since then the 4ws light has stayed on. The strange thing is the speedo sits at 40kmh while the ignition is on or the engine is running. when driving the speedo reads very ...	View
	1995 Hyundai Elantra 1.6L No Start VIN: KMHJF23R0S I received this car as a no start condition. Upon checking for codes, spark and fuel, I found i had no injector pulse on #3 & #4 fuel injectors. Car tries to start and run on two cylinders. I have power on all four injectors, but ecm does not ground injectors ...	View
	1995 Jaguar XJ6 4.0L Misfire VIN: SAJHX1747S This jag was towed in from another shop, and was told that it needed a MAF, I scanned this thing and found a crank sensor code stored and no RPM signal, scope checked the sensor and found bad. Replaced the crank sensor and vehicle started, well this is where m...	View
	1992 Mazda MPV Cargo 3.0L Hesitation, Surge VIN: JM3LV5228N This MPV has a severe surge at about 1500RPM with no load and about the same or 25MPH. If you step your foot into it won't RPM at all, as if it has no fuel. Problem seems to be very throttle sensitive. Air induction boot, TPS, and air flow meter all are good. ...	View
	1999 Mazda Protege DX 1.6L 1-2 shift VIN: JM1BJ2222X When driving and atempting a 1-2 upshift it revs up thin goes into fail safe third gear only and stores a po731 gear ratio in 1st. Then the o/d light flashes. I cleared the code and re road tested. this time it stored a po734 4th ratio code. The fluid is pink....	View
	1999 Mercedes-Benz S500 5.0L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall VIN: WDB2201702 Hi Group, Have another puzzle. This S class came in from another shop with code P0100 'Air mass meter" current and stored. seems easy enough, throw on a new meter, no change, check all inputs Ok . reading 1.4v at idle , Ok but also reading 32 kg/hour air intak... Trouble codes: P0100 (Air Mass Meter)	View
	1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 3.0L Hesitation, Surge, Cuts out VIN: JA3XE74CXN I am posting this help request for informational purposes only. I will close it as soon as I open it. This 3000GT-VR4 was brought into my shop for a part throttle acceleration surge or miss. At more than 70% throttle there was no drivability issue. Any time t...	View
	2000 Isuzu N NPR 4.8L exterior lights I have a box truck (npr diesel) the problem is when the vehicle sitts over night, the next morning all parking lights work for about 10 min or less then the fuse blows and will continue to blow all day long, the combo switch was replaced no change. all bulbs a...	View
	2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT 3.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: 4A3AE85H51 we have seen this car several times for this concern-we have replaced the egr valve and serviced the egr system with bg service tool-last time we removed all the plumbing and inspected for any restrictions or related problems and found nothing wrong-any advise... Trouble codes: P0401 (insufficient egr flow)	View
	1999 Oldsmobile Bravada 4.3L heater VIN: 1GHDT13W1X This bravada will not heat. It has an automatic temp control system. The heater core flows good, but the blend door will not move. Tested the wiring at the back of the control head going to the motor and did not get any voltage change, put used head in and whe...	View
	2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette Premiere 3.4L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GHDX13E6Y Alright,here we go.Customer states that when under load check engine light comes on.Found codes listed above.Freeze frmae data showes both codes set with engine conditions as follow!..71% throttle,73 mph,temp 194f,engine load 79%,eng rpm 3954..Test drove under... Trouble codes: P0131 (low voltage bank 1 sensor 1), P0137 (low voltage bank 1 sensor 2)	View
	1997 Pontiac Grand Am SE 2.4L passkey system VIN: 1G2NE52T9V After replacing lock cyl. from dealer due to inop keys, relearn procedure fails to work. Mitchel says, to start car and after it stalls leave ign. on until theft system light stops flashing (approx. 10 minutes) then turn ign. off. This is supposed to be the ex...	View
	2000 Pontiac Grand Am SE 3.4L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1G2NW52E64 We're pulling our hair out on this one. C/E light will immediately light when monitors reset. As told in related repair history, the system has been tested and possible sources of leak worked on and subsequently ruled out.This last round we found a gouge in th... Trouble codes: 0440 (small leak in evap system)	View
	1992 Toyota 4Runner SR5 3.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: JT3VN39W2N Codes14 and 16 for igntion igf signal and trans ecu. Vehicle runs normal but trans is in limp mode and wont shift. The ecu is very wet on the outside and the floor is soaked. The ecu is dry on the inside and I didnt see any signs of corrosion or other problems... Trouble codes: 14 (no igf igniton signal), 16 (fault in trans ecu)	View
	1998 Toyota Camry CE 3.0L timing belt VIN: JT2BF22K8X This car came in as a no start this time, the last time it was here the rear cam was off by one tooth and the other tech replaced the tensioner and it ran fine for two weeks. Now it is back and will not start it had started and the customer said that on a cold...	View
	1995 Volkswagen Cabrio 2.0L Surge, MIL Lamp on VIN: WVWBC82E4S Check engine light comes on intermittently, and when it does the engine runs rough and surges, then light goes off and car runs fine. Had two codes 00515 Hall sensor-G40 open circuit/short and 00513 engine speed sensor no signal. Cleared codes and drove car an... Trouble codes: 00515 (Hall sensor-G40 open curcuit/short with power error occurs intermitently), 00513 (Engine speed sensor on signal)	View
	1996 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0L tachometer no working VIN: 3VWDA81H1T HI, everyone I need help.the car come in .no Tachometer and no speedometer at same time.if tachometer working,the speedometer working at same time.when both meter no working.i try to tapping top of instrument to get both meter working. but no helping.thanks	View
	2003 Volkswagen Beetle GLS 2.0L "wing" flaps for top VIN: 3VWCK21Y23 Hello! I have a very clean convertible here. Customers initial complaint was that when top is in down position, body panel "wings" at hinge area, will not retract when top is in down position. I discovered that the yellow warning lamp at top of windshield, w...	View
	1999 Volvo S80 2.9 2.9L Electric door locks VIN: YV1TS97D4X Another Volvo electrical mystery. The door locks don't work electrically from the drivers side outside lock. There is no key slot on the passenger side. Inside electric lock does not work either. The doors can be manually locked and unlocked. We have no remote...	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	1997 BMW 740iL 4.4L loss of voltage to computer VIN: WBAGJ8323V thanks to everyone for the info.A turbine sensor was going in & out when driving that fixed the tranny.The voltage problem,well the customer would not give me permission to go any farther with that problem.thanks again.The wiring diagrams were a lot of help.p....	9
	2002 Buick Rendezvous CX 3.4L Air bag VIN: 3G5DB03E32 A BIG thanks to all that replied. The fix was a new clock spring assembly. This also took care of the lack of control problem the customer was having with the radio control switchs in the steering wheel. Seems everything travels through the clock spring unit. ...	4
	1982 Cadillac Cimarron 1.8L speedometer VIN: 1G6AG69G6C I had already removed inner cable and lubed prior to my post, but the responses from a few others as to companies that make cables were very helpful. James [...] recommended Auto Tech in Tucson. Their web address is www.speedometers.com, phone number is 1-800...	7
	1986 Cadillac Fleetwood 5.0L Charging VIN: 1G5DW69YXG Thanks for all the help. One of you told me to check to see if I could spin the alternator by hand so I did and I could. So we investigated further. We found that the water pump was bad causing us not to get enough tension on the alternator as well as making t...	9
	1991 Cadillac DeVille 4.9L veh speed inc by it VIN: 1G6CD53B6M A dumb mistake is what caused this. When I checked to see if the throttle was against the throttle stop screw, it was. What I failed to notice was that someone had turned in the throttle stop screw, so that the throttle plates were open at idle. I guess the pc...	7
	1994 Cadillac Fleetwood 5.7L starter VIN: 1G6DW52P9R sorry about delay,the car is fixed but the customer has not picked it up yet,i have been driving it to lunch everyday,it does not have problem anymore,anyway the cure was the body control module in the trunk,replaced it once because of testing to verify failur...	6
	1995 Chevrolet Camaro 3.8L Poor Idle Quality VIN: S4S2152003 Thanks for ALL OF THE RESPONSES, The problem ended up being the coil pac, I recieved alot of good tips on fuel pressure regulators, injectors etc, but being as the only way to get this car to stop acting up was to turn it off and then back on we were leaning t...	15
	1996 Chevrolet Blazer 4.3L Shift Motor?? VIN: 1GNDT13W9T I recieved 3 replies on this one, one with fail safe test procedure - if you are getting power to the motor, disconnect the battery for couple of minutes and if motor works perfectly now you have a bad motor - but make sure your transfer case shifts manually f...	3
	2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT LT 4.2L Poor Fuel Economy, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GNET16S94 Sorry about the delay in closing this help request. It took a while to come up with the fix and I wanted to be sure it was not going to come back. First of all I wanted to let everyone know that this model vehicle does not have a MAF sensor or spider injector ... Trouble codes: P0131, P1133, P0171, P0172.	6
	2005 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 6.6L No Start VIN: 1GCJK33275 Tahnks for the replies, I think William from Michigan was right on. It looks like we just had to let it purge itself. Customer has had it for 2 days now with no further problems	3
	1997 Dodge Grand Caravan SE 3.0L rear window wiper/washer VIN: 2B4GP4434V Hello All, Thank you for the responses and the suggestion of reprogramming were exactly correct. Reprogrammed climate control and problem was cured. The ABS was a different issue and the customer opted to trade the vehicle in for something else. Again, I great...	11
	2006 Dodge durango 4.7L windows,wiper motor thanks for the input after getting it back in today i added a ground to the radio from the dash frame test drove still there added a ground from body to dash frame test drove again IT IS GONE! also after reading about the bcm to be safe I tried a tap test it d...	2
	2001 Ford F-350 Super Duty XL 7.3L Torque converter VIN: 1FT5W31FX1 Good evening gentlemen, as usual all of the posts were very good and we had checked most of them previous to the help post. As I stated in the help request, the TCC was not dropping out it was being commanded down. After several test drives graphing the data s...	7
	2005 Ford E-350 Super Duty 6.0L Trans Tenp Sensor VIN: 1FTSS34P95 Thanks for the great tips everyone. This is one of several fleet vehicles I work on, and I'm sure that I'll see several variations of the same problem, since it is wiring related. A couple tips said to check the wiring to PCM, and the other two tips were speci...	4
	1994 Honda Accord LX 2.2L Surge, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1HGCD5634R A ECU was the answer here. It cured both the injector on/off cycle and the IAC code and inability to compensate for increased load at idle. The damaged ECU would not recognize the increase in TPS voltage most of the time. In addition when it would fail the vol...	3
	1998 Hyundai Sonata GL 2.0L Alternator VIN: KMHCF24F3W Hey guys and gals, I'm gonna call this one a fix. Was hoping for more replies, but you get what you get. Thanks to those that replied. As per the replies, I had checked for harness problems and did voltage drop tests both when the system was working and not wo...	3
	1994 Infiniti Q45 4.5L axles diff. or ??? VIN: JNKNGO1D2R Hey everyone it's fixed:):):) after replacing the new driveshaft again! thanks for all of the replies. Hey Louie thanks again:) DON'T ASSUME IT'S GOOD JUST BECAUSE IT'S NEW !!!	5
	1993 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1J4FJ6855P replaced crank postion sensor , sensor was shorting out,causing intermitent stalss	15
	2002 Lexus SC430 4.3L Hesitation, LOOSES POWER VIN: JTHFN48Y12 hello all, after getting the info relating to the concern at hand we had checked the fuel pressure and it check fine in the stall and also on test drive. when checking the tps sensor unfortunetly the vehicle would not act up on several test drives for over a w...	6
	1992 Mazda Miata 1.6L transmission VIN: JM1NA3519N hey guy's i did not fix the mazda but thank's for the reply's.like i said in the begining i did check and recheck the exhaust.cat.converter all looked ok.the customer took the car to store for the winter.will see it in the spring.thank's again for the reply's.	8
	1996 Mercedes-Benz SL320 3.2L Head Gasket VIN: WDBFA63F3T OK, thanks everyone for the help. I found a place to order the Eldring gasket set, also had a tensioner and head bolts. One stop shopping :-). Car's coming in next week for the repair...I'm ready for it, thanks to all of you.	15
	1995 Mercury Cougar XR-7 3.8L Misfire VIN: 1MELM6248S I made my mistake by assuming the new parts were good, I should know better.	10
	1993 Nissan GTR 2.6L abs and 4wd VIN: BNR3230135 Sorry about the delay of the repair. Another one came in the same model and we swapped the g force sensor and the problem was fixed. Apparently the g sensor are very sensitive so even the second hand component was hand deleverd and not sent by post. Thanks for...	3
	2001 Saturn SL1 1.9L Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1G8ZH54831 Well sometimes the thing that makes most sense is overlooked. As I said car had the same symptoms as the first breakdown that the fuel pump fixed. Guess what? The fuel pump fixed it again. Yep a defective OE pump from the dealer. After checking all grounds inc...	7
	2001 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4.7L warning lights come on VIN: 5TDBT48A41 Several members pointed to the translate ecu as the culprit. There is also a tsb for an '03 model (different part # for the translate ecu) advising of updated logic to solve communication faults. Unfortunately my customer does not want to spend the money to re...	7
	1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 2.0L Coolant Temp Light VIN: 3VWSC29M8X I thank everyone for replying. Almost everybody pointed at the Coolant Level Sensor (which is part of the tank). Surprisingly very reasonably priced! Replacing this put the light out for good. I am so glad I wrote this to IATN, because I never realized that a ...	12
	2000 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 1.9L MIL Lamp on VIN: 3VWSF29M2Y found a couple things bad. glow plug wires bad and replaced and also found that the three coolant temp sensors on the t-stat housing were corroded badly replaced sensors and wire pigtails. clear codes and no problems found, may thanks to the replies. Trouble codes: P0380 (glow plug heater circuit a).	8
	2003 Volvo S60 2.4T 2.4L MIL Lamp on VIN: YV1RS61T23 thank all who helped and yes it was the fuel psi sensor on the end of the fuel rail i was just waiting to make sure this car was fixed. the ck eng lite is off now and the car does not stall any more . alot of money for such a small part that probably cost abou... Trouble codes: P0194.	9

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