Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Dec 24, 2008

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Open Help Requests for All Makes and Models

	Help Request	Answers
	2004 Buick Regal LS 3.8L All lights VIN: 2G4WB52KX4 Customer complaint is all lights go off at night while driving. First attempt was headlight switch, disassembled and cleaned all contact points and reassembled switch. Customer drove for several weeks and happened again. This time we run car four hours with li...	View
	1978 Chevrolet Corvette 5.7L Ignition VIN: 1Z8748S433 I got this 1978 corvette sting ray in the shop with a no start issue. They have a aftermarket 350 ram jet engine with an aftermarket wiring kit installed. It will start for a min, than cut out and unable to restart. I ran a few test and found no spark coming o...	View
	1984 Chevrolet Corvette 5.7L Horns VIN: 1G1AY0785E Vehicle alarm sounds all on its own. Horns chirp. It doesn't matter whether the car is running or sitting still. And when it activates there is no deactivating it. It either kills the battery or you disconnect the battery. I have been told there where lots of ...	View
	1999 Chevrolet Malibu 2.4L Engine Oil VIN: 1G1ND52T2X Hi all. About a month ago the engine had an occasional banging noise (belt,water pump side), upon a very cold start-up (-30 celcius). I checked the oil and it looked contaminated with coolant. Two oil changes and two weeks later it is still happening. My testi...	View
	2000 Chevrolet C3500 6.5L No Start, Cuts out, Stall, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GBKC34F6Y I can really use some help on this one guys. Vehicle came in 2 days prior during a snow storm and is a plow truck. Customer complained of intermittent stalling/crank- no start. Found nearly out of fuel. Filled with fuel and replaced fuel filter and it drove f... Trouble codes: P0231 (Lift pump secondary circuit low voltage)	View
	1999 Dodge Dakota 3.9L Heater VIN: 1B7FL26X2X Cust arrived with inop blower motor, testing found that the motor was open circuit. Easy, removed the dash, and accessed the blower and replaced it. Repair verification found blower operated ok, and the heat was nice and toasty. UNTIL...the next day, after of ...	View
	2002 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport 3.3L Fans VIN: 2B4GP44392 Hello everyone. Customer complained that cooling fans are coming on with key out of ign & engine is cold. We caught it once for very brief moment that fans were commanded on by ECM but coolant temp was not at high enough temp to request fan. Same for trans tem...	View
	2003 Dodge Ram 1500 Van 3.9L defrost VIN: 2D6WB11X33 all blend doors seem to work, windows will fog up even with just him, this van is in imaculate shape the guy cant stand bird poop on it. i cant smell any coolant inside, the heat will blow you out on any given day. thanks for any sugestiions given	View
	2006 Dodge Magnum SE 2.7L MIL Lamp on VIN: 2D4FV47T86 hey i am working on this vehicle and it sets a misfire on number one cylinder replaced spark plug and number one coil vehicle runs fine but it sets misfire coed any help would be appreciated. Trouble codes: 301 (misfire on number 1)	View
	2000 Ford F-150 XL 4.2L rear drum brakes VIN: 1FTZF1727Y merry christmas.thanx in advance fellow techs.This truck will lock up the left rear wheel upon moderate braking.replaced shoes,wheels cylinders and brake hardware kit.left rear adjusting cable was very loose.adusted rear brakes correctly. truck does same thing...	View
	2001 Ford F-350 Super Duty XL 7.3L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Misfire This truck has no power, and feels like it could have a misfire, especially when in gear. I suspect fuel volume and read about the sending unit stopping up. I pulled the line off at the frame mounted fuel pump inlet, and KOEO & KOER got only a trickle. I pulle... Trouble codes: P0266, P0272	View
	2005 Ford Freestyle SE 3.0L Cooling Systems VIN: 1FMZK02155 Car came in with poor heat at idle,rev car up and it has good heat, I checked heater core it has good flow, checked water pump impeller, it is tight on the shaft, t-stat seems to be working properly, has good clean coolant, any one ever seen this, Thanks for t...	View
	2006 Ford E-250 4.6L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1FTNE24W16 vehicle was brought in with the check engine light on,notice from last work order, the check engine light was on for the same code. went under global obd2 and found out the check engine light was turned off 3300 miles ago. looking under global obd2 notice the ... Trouble codes: P0451 (fuel tank pressure out of range)	View
	2001 GMC Sierra 1500 SL 5.3L Radiator VIN: 2GTEC19T41 I am posting this truck hopefully to help other techs. I did a search on this data base and found nothing related to this repair but found the fix in napafix. The first thing we noticed was the lower hose was ice cold and the upper hose was warm, the temp gaug...	View
	2002 GMC Savana 3500 6.5L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Surge, Cuts out, Misfire VIN: 1GDJG31F72 I work on very few of these so I am not well versed on how GM controls these. I cannot get this pump to time correctly. When it came in the offset was +.09° and under timing enable procedure the DES and ACT were both 0°. I adjusted the pump toward the drivers ... Trouble codes: P0238 (Boost sensor circuit)	View
	2005 Honda Accord EX 3.0L Misfire VIN: 1HGCM6675A This one has me stumped. I only have missfires on 1 and 5 and only at 6000 rpm or above that set the light. I do get some very light missfires on these holes under moderate acceloration but less the 30 when they occur. I have changed two plugs, swapped coils, ... Trouble codes: P0301 (Missfire Cylinder 1), P0305 (Missfire Cylinder 5)	View
	2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L Charging VIN: 1J4FF48S1Y Intermitant no charge. Has P0622 Gen feild circuit P1682 charge sys. voltage to lo, and a P1698 no chrys. collision detection message. If alt is unpluggeed at regulator and pluged back in it charges fine for about a day. Alt output is up to 95a. Connections ar...	View
	2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L Rear Defrost VIN: 1J4FF48S21 I'm hoping that this may be something simple. This Vehicle has Rear Defrost and Rear Wiper. When the Rear Defrost Button is depressed the rear washer pump activates and will continue pumping until the defrost button is depressed again to deactivate the Rear De...	View
	2002 Kia Sportage 2.0L won't take fuel VIN: KNDJA72302 Customers orginal problem was truck will not take fuel. I tried to fill it and only takes it very slowly like vent is pinched or plugged. Now it also has code p0442. Removed and cleaned out charcoal canister as a few on Idenifix had stated were plugged. Doe... Trouble codes: P0442 (evap leak small)	View
	1998 Mazda MPV ES 3.0L Thermostat VIN: JM3LV5235W This one came in with a complaint of no heat and a low temp guage reading. The lower radiator hose was ice. Thawed it out, replaced the thermostat with a Stant Superstat, flushed the cooling system and sent it back out even though the heat still seemed mediocr...	View
	1972 Mercedes-Benz 280SEL 4.5L Ft. band adjustment VIN: WDB1200557 We just overhauled this trans. There was bad Ft bushing & seal, so customer wanted overhaul anyway. We overhauled entire unit but don't have the specs for adjusting the Ft. band. Would anyone have the specs for the Ft. band adjust? My tranny man is on vacation...	View
	1999 Oldsmobile Bravada 4.3L rear axle? VIN: IGHDT13W9W Hello everyone and Merry Chistmas! I have tis vehicle here for a vibration in the driveline, It is most pronounced at 52 to 55 MPH. I have narrowed it down to the rear of the vehicle by having one of my techs ride on the floor in the back while i drove it down...	View
	1994 Toyota Camry LE 2.2L No Start VIN: 4T1SK12E0R After replacing distributor assy with rebuilt unit from worldpac, am2 fuse no longer blows, fuel pump/ system energizes. still no start, ck wires, open resistance, replace wire set. have no spark while cranking. I have checked timing, apparently on. i have 2 h...	View
	1998 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8L No Start, Poor Idle Quality, Cuts out, Stall VIN: WVWMA63B6W 1998 VW Passat came in as a no start died while driving. replaced cyl head and timing belt ran perfect, picked up by owner three days go by get a call that battery is dead,Towed into shop replaced battery now will not stay running unless throttle is slightly d...	View
	1999 Volkswagen Beetle GLS 2.0L No Start, MIL Lamp on VIN: 3VWCC21C1X Car came from another shop (body shop) I have told they only replace the battery. So far.I diagnotic the car with Modis and got the code p1543. But if I reset the CEL the code goes away, then. Try to Reset Trottle Body but nothing happen. Then check for code a... Trouble codes: P1543 (Angle Sensor Trottle Motor-G187 Signal Too Low P1543 Intermittent)	View
	2001 Volkswagen Beetle GLX 1.8L Poor Idle Quality, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 3VWDD21C71 Pretty sure I know what the story is here, just looking for some confirmation from some of the Euro-car guys. This Beetle came in with a customer complaint of rough idle. Had a pending p0171 code which became a hard code on the test drive. Found that big y-sha... Trouble codes: P0301, P0171, P0300, P0302, P0303, P0304	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	2000 Acura RL Premium 3.5L VSA/Abs VIN: JH4A9654YC Sorry it took so long to update this request.The customer finally made back and thanks to all who helped. The steering angle sensor needed to be initalized as mentioned. Adam	11
	2001 Audi A6 Quattro Avant 2.8L Radio Code VIN: WAULH54B51 An iatn member emailed me the code (Thanks Ernie!), so once again iatn pulls through! This place is great, it would be better if people didn't just throw up BS replies to get their response count up. Short 2 weld spots? Wouldn't 2 weld spots on the same piece ...	4
	2002 Buick Century Custom 3.1L Misfire VIN: 2G4WS52J12 Sorry I'm so late reporting the progress of this car. as of yet we have not been able to find a fix for the car. we preformed all the suggestions you gave us. We believe at this point it might be a bad injector or a sticking valve, but the customer decided to ... Trouble codes: P1811.	16
	1998 Chevrolet C3500 Cheyenne 5.7L Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GBGC34R2W first of all i would like to say thank you for yuor help. we end up replacing the fuel pump. what i noticed on the scanner (otc geneysis) under gm mode LTFT was +6 in generic mode +14. dont know why the difference. test drove with propane installed and misfire... Trouble codes: 300 (multiple misfire).	10
	2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer LS 4.2L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GNDS13S82 Hey to all you wise men Took the valve cover off and put a 1 inch wrench on the exhaust cam and could not get any degree of movement out of the advance unit that is made as a part of the exhaust cam gear SO I with a little work it broke loose so we called th... Trouble codes: P0014 (cam phase sensor).	4
	2001 Dodge Grand Caravan SE 3.3L can't clear monitors VIN: 1B4GP24381 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO GILBERT FROM MASS I DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY AND CLEARED THE COMPUTER A DAY OF RUNNING FOR PARTS AND THE MONITORS CLEARED THANKS AGAIN DON	10
	2003 Dodge Ram 3500 5.9L Hydro-Boost VIN: 3D7LU38C83 Thanks for all the replies.When the customer replaced the pump they kinked the return hose at the pump. Customers should just drive the vechiles & not work on them. Thanks again for the help. Bill	8
	1999 Ford F-350 Super Duty XL 5.4L tail shaft VIN: 1FDWF36L5X Ok this one was a little screwy but heres what we got from it. The bushing in the tail shaft looked ok so we decided to go ahead and replace the u-joints although they had no play in them they were very sloppy so we gave it a shot. This took care of the vibrat...	4
	2001 Ford Taurus SE 3.0L relay VIN: 1FAFP53U51 Thank you to James [...]. All 3 said the battery saver relay is an integral part of the central junction box. Yes Jim, not one of Ford's better ideas. One of the things that got me on this was that NAPA lists a relay for this. Part # E...	3
	2003 Ford F-250 Super Duty XL 5.4L Misfire VIN: 1FTNF20L33 AFTER NUMEROUS COMPRESSION TEST AND FOUND COMPRESSION GOOD...DECIDED TO FOCUS ON ONLY ONE CYLINDER .. NUMBER 4...DID COMPRESSION WHEN HOT AND WHEN THE MISS MOST NOTICEABLE...DID THIS 3 TIMES IN A ROW AND FOUND ON THE LAST TIME NO COMPRESSION...WE THEN PULLLED ...	10
	2004 Honda Element EX 2.4L Differential VIN: 5J6YH28544 Thanks for the many replies, much appreciated folks! I had to change the Diff fluid twice to fix this thing using Honda Dual Pump Fluid 2 #08200-9007. Again thanks all and have a happy holliday	23
	2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT 2.7L Clutch VIN: KMHHNG5F83 A new flywheel fixed all the problems. Of course a warrenty clutch kit was also installed at the same time. The moral to the story is ALWAYS replace the flywheel when doing a clutch on one of these (as directed by our brothers from the dealerships). A sudd...	6
	2003 Kia Sedona EX 3.5L MIL Lamp on VIN: KNDUP13143 Thanks to all who replied, we were using a Snap On Modis scanner. The only info I could get on this code was "catalyst temperature sensor", from myscantool.com. The customer opted to take it to the dealer. I will post more info when the customer returns. Al... Trouble codes: P0425 (Cannot find any info on this code).	8
	1991 Mazda B2200 2.2L Poor Idle Quality VIN: JM2UF3133M Byron [...] is the man!!! We found the choke plugged into the heater and the choke voltage plugged into the alternator. Thanks for the foggy memory. This customer is fixing this truck for his sons Christmas present. You have made him very happy.	5
	2004 Mazda RX-8 1.3L heater VIN: JM1FE17334 These car must have real problems with the control heads and modules. The people in the know all pointed that direction. But, on this one we found the heater core plugged internally halfway across. The core sits in sideways with inlet and outlet on the pass...	4
	1998 Oldsmobile 88 Royale 3.8L wheel speed sensor VIN: 1G3HN52K0W Thanks for replies. After further testing of harness and sensor got sensor to malfunction on hoist with erratic pattern. Replaced hub again. No further problems from it. Found the manufacturer to be BCA the last 2 hubs. Went OE this time, and added the BCA hub...	9
	1994 Pontiac Grand Prix SE 3.1L heat VIN: 1G2WJ12M6R thanks to everyone who responded. turns out after further testing that cylinder head gasket was breached replaced both cylinder headgaskets after we had the cylinder heads cleaned and check for cracks. engine has heat.	13
	2004 Saab 9-5 Aero 2.3L automatic temp VIN: YS3EH49GX4 I HAD TO REPLACE THE AUTO TEMP CONTROL UNIT IN THE DASH.A TIP WAS THE SOLAR SENSOR WAS READING 0 VOLTS ON ALL ANGLES.THE REPLACEMENT ONE I HAD VOLTAGES,THANKS	5
	2001 Toyota Highlander 3.0L Temperature Control VIN: JTEGF21A71 We replaced the interior temperature sensor. So far so good.	7

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