Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Jul 18, 2012

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	Help Request	Answers
	2001 BMW X5 3.0i 3.0L Fuel gauge VIN: WBAFA53551 Cust complaint is fuel gauge works fine but it runs out of fuel when the gauge says 1/4 tank remaining??? Measured both float assemblies and get the same reading on both. Anyone see this before? Is there a dash test? The gauge seems to work properly, on fillin...	View
	2001 BMW X5 3.0i 3.0L Hesitation, Stall, MIL Lamp on VIN: WBAFA53581 Hello Everyone, this X5 3.0 it's a mess.It goes in to limp mode. When you start it idles fine, the message Trans fail safe comes on. The throtte works, but if you press the brake pedal the accelerator stop working untill you realease the brake. Also it stalls ... Trouble codes: 146 (range check voltage supply pedal sensor 2 hard code), 149 (motor throttle feedback and air mass signal inplausible hard)	View
	2004 BMW X5 4.4i 4.4L engine VIN: 5UXFB53544 vehicle had rattle noise at initial start up after sitting awhile. also had ticking sound while it was runnig. rattle goes away real quick but ticking/knocking sound stays. noise coming from driver side front upper area. pulled down and found broken chain guid...	View
	1996 Chevrolet Impala SS 5.7L No Start, Stall VIN: 1G1BL52P9T Fuel pressure at service port on rail is 20 psi.Fuel pressure on feed line(which is the bigger line) is 20 psi.When I disconnect line to test pressure fuel shoots out like a fire hose.Someone told me of a forum online that the pump wiring in fuel pump kit is b... Trouble codes: P0171, P0300, P0420, P1626	View
	1998 Chevrolet Tahoe LS 5.7L speedometer VIN: 1GNEK13R4W Customer was complaining of transmission flare at 40mph or so interm. He didn't say he had any speedo issue. I road tested and verified trans flare around 3rd gear and OD I noticed at same time trans would flare I would loose speedo.(it would drop out) I hooke...	View
	2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer North Face 4.2L loss of power VIN: 1GNET16S13 i have an 03 trailblazer that i am stumped on. it has a big lack of power. idles perfectly smooth. i pulled the front o2 sensor and drove it with no change. then i second guessed myself and figured maybe that wasn't enough so i dropped the pipe from the manifo...	View
	2009 Chevrolet Colorado WT 3.7L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GCCS19E69 Scanned for codes and found p0300 randome cylinder misfie and after looking at misfire monitors found cylinder one was the issue,installed new spark plug, no change, switched coil with a good one, no change,have powers and ground,have injector pulse, fuel pres... Trouble codes: P0300 (Cylinder Misfire)	View
	2010 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 5.3L buss system VIN: 1GNUKJE36A Hello everyone and thanks for your help in advance. This Suburban is my boss's so Im pretty up to speed on the symptoms it has. About three weeks ago the vehicle wouldnt crank for his wife. The service 4x4 light was on at that time. Then after a few tries it c...	View
	1997 Dodge Dakota SLT 5.2L No Start VIN: 1B7GL23Y8V Well little help needed this truck keeps eating the coil first time about a year ago.then 3 weeks ago thats when i went looking for why? cap rotor &wires had over 100k customer said and they look it plugs had been changed 30k before but i put in a new set to p... Trouble codes: 43 (Ign. Coil primary)	View
	2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SE 3.3L guage cluster, asd relay, iac VIN: 1D4GP24R55 never seen this before. took it out for a test drive cluster started flickering while driving on freeway or street driving and then all the needles when crazy all dash light started to flicker radio and climate control flicker and then after about 10 sec of th...	View
	1997 Ford Mustang 3.8L Stall VIN: 1FALP4044V This is the 3 time the customer has brought the car in for random stalling, usually while coming to a stop. I've monitored the IAC at idle, and it shows approximately 16%, and will go up to 25-28% while at idle, turning the A/C on. From what I've read, my read...	View
	2002 Ford Ranger Edge 3.0L air bag module VIN: 1FTYR44V12 vehicle came in with srs light on, scan the computer could not communitcate with module, found 10amp mini fuse blown it supplies power to the module...replaced fuse scanned system..no codes light off...went to back vehicle out of bay turned the steering wheel ...	View
	2005 Ford F-250 Super Duty FX4 5.4L spark plugs VIN: 1FTNF21565 I need some advice on how to remove the spark plugs on this 5.4 . thank you	View
	2006 Ford E-450 Super Duty 6.0L No Start VIN: 1FDXE45P06 Truck initially had bad hpop gear seal and 1 bad injector and stand pipe, replaced parts air tested no leaks.now van starts runs well but intermittantly has long crank and no start even with ipr commanded to 85 or jumped to 12v will not build over 350psi has a...	View
	1991 GMC C6000 Topkick C6H042 6.0L Surge, Cuts out VIN: 1GDG6H1P7M Throttle plates will open but slam shut by itself as soon as it opens. Thought it was gov. shutting plate but the same with new gov. Not to familiar with governor system, could fault in computer system cause this?	View
	1993 Honda Accord 10th Anniversary 2.2L Mechanical VIN: 1HGCB7695P After replacement of shraeder valves ran vacuum and system held for 30 min so i charged system with one 12 oz. Can r-134 readings low 20 high 50 so proceeded with second can. Should have been plenty according mitchell even overcharged. High side read 100 and l...	View
	2004 Honda CR-V EX 2.4L Door locks ? VIN: JHLRD78814 Have a battery drain, pull #9 fuse in the underhood fuse box drain goes away, power to connector J in multi-plex fuse box this appernatly goes to the Immobilizer control unit (ignition switch)the only other problem found is that the lock button on the key fob ...	View
	2005 Honda Odyssey Touring 3.5L Noise VIN: 5FNRL38885 A body shop brought this car to us for a high pitched noise while driving. The sound occurs at about 40 mph, light throttle,near 2000 rpm only. It decreases and goes away with any throttle movement or change in vehicle speed. I tested for vac leaks, cleaned th...	View
	2003 Infiniti FX35 3.5L bcm VIN: JNRAS08W43 have this infiniti here that was towed in with a dead batt. charging system working good.checked for drain on system and found it to have 110-120ma drain coming from the BCM disconect the BCM and the drain drops to 20ma. checked with consult-II and all input d...	View
	2002 Isuzu Rodeo LS 3.2L MIL Lamp on VIN: 4S2DM58W72 this code is a hard fault comes back in pending after one test drive check coils in right places and right plugs installed alldata is vague bout this code seen where there is a tsb on it but cant find it if anyone knows where I can find it that would help me Trouble codes: P1341	View
	2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4.7L No Start VIN: 1J4HR58N86 Towed in for a no crank no start. I was able to start and drive into shop. Retrived the codes listed. Have cleared all codes at this point. Any direction on which module to look at for a locked up data stream would great. Looks like there are about 23 modules ... Trouble codes: P1684, U0024, U0019, U1415, U1414	View
	2006 Jeep Commander 3.7L Low power VIN: 1J8HG48K66 This is a 2006 Jeep Commander with a 3.7 v6. We just replaced both cylinder heads due to damaged valve seats. Upon reassembly we have absolutely no take off power. The cam crank show to be synced but it feels like we may have gotten it a tooth or so out but i ... Trouble codes: N/A	View
	2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 3.7L Instrument Gauge VIN: 1J4GR48K16 Hi everyone this vehicle have the intermittent problem with the instrument gauge needle swing back & forth and all warning light are up, even a/c light on & off for 10-15 second while driving, all light are not dimm or weak. Engine running normal. The problem...	View
	2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X 3.8L Accessories VIN: 1J4GA39128 Problems started immediately after jump start/battery replacement by owner.Periodic "no fuse" message on info display almost everytime vehicle is started.key remote inop.wipers cycle 1 time each start up.clock rests to 12:00 each key cycle.noticable delay when...	View
	2005 Kia Spectra EX 2.0L speedometer VIN: KNAFE12175 Hi, this is a 06 spectra, auto, speedometer intermitant will drop to 0 and inop, most first start, it will work a few min., and than drop to 0. I did replaced a cluster and BCM, still not working, it don't have vehicle speed sensor and use a TCM to send signal...	View
	1996 Mazda 626 LX 2.5L Misfire VIN: 1YVGE22D6T The car has a misfire off of idle. Check engine lamp on code set P0301. I replaced plugs and the plug wires, replace intake gaskets, compression test all cylinders a little low but close together. Checked the ohms at the injectors and all the same. Trouble codes: P0301 (Cylinder 1 misfire)	View
	2005 Mazda 3 S 2.3L MIL Lamp on VIN: JM1BK34375 Hello, hope you all can help. This mazda runs and drives great. lt trims stay at +20 with great o2 response and st trims between -3 to +6. I smoked the intake again taking special care of looking at hose under intake going to pcv. the hose visually looks fine ... Trouble codes: P2177 (Lean at idle), P2187 (Lean off idle)	View
	1979 Mercedes-Benz 450SL 4.5L No Start, Vapor Lock VIN: 1070441205 This car generally runs great. Cold starts perfect - first crank / almost immediately. Warm starts great most of the time. However, after a good-long drive followed by a 15-20 minute hot soak it won't restart or restarts hard (requiring multiple cranks and ful...	View
	1992 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 3.0L Mechanical VIN: WDBFA61E4N Hi need some assistance from the mercedes techs, This car came in shifting and driving fine. The transmission had alot of leaks. We removed the transmission and got a full seal kit. i removed the tail shaft the governor the band servo the front pump, basically...	View
	2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK320 3.2L Unknown VIN: WDBTK65G45 The A/C in this vehicle cools intermitantly. When you first start it the blower runs and you get warm air, after driving for a while it begins to cool. The system has exactly the correct charge. It had no codes set, but I did notice that the pressure sensor un...	View
	2001 Mitsubishi Galant ES 2.4L Misfire VIN: 4A3AA46G71 Looking for some advice on this galant... Seems to run great until fully warm then it develops a misfire most of the time just random but occasionally hit sets a po304. Its a pretty harsh miss at idle or just sitting in drive. Ive swapped injectors from cylind... Trouble codes: P0300, P0304	View
	1996 Nissan Sentra GXE 1.6L MIL Lamp on VIN: 3N1AB41D3T Thanks for any help you may offer. As stated engine will stall when manifold vacume is applied to egr. Im suspecting possible partial porting blockage. Dont know what may need cleaning,or even where these ports are, as i've not worked on one of these before. A... Trouble codes: P0400 (Insufficient egr flow)	View
	2004 Nissan Maxima SL 3.5L Excessive Emissions, Cuts out VIN: 1N4BA41E04 car was towed in had 5 codes P0300 random cyl misfire P1148 closed loop 2 closed loop B1 P1031 A/F sensor heater control circuit P1278 A/F sensor B1 P1279 A/F sensor B1 slow response repaired exhaust leak at B1 sensor 1 with new cat & replaced A/F sensor, sens... Trouble codes: P1278 (Bank 1 02 sensor), P1279 (bank 1 02 sensor heater)	View
	2007 Nissan Quest SL 3.5L Poor Idle Quality, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 5N1BV28U87 Hello Fellow Techs ! This Quest is driving me crazy ! I thought i nailed the problem when i replaced ground cable and two visually blistered coils ( cyl 1 & 3) . Vehicle is missfiring with same po300. I hooked up labscope and i get nice pattern , Ecm seems lik... Trouble codes: P0300	View
	1992 Pontiac Sunbird SE 2.0L Compressor VIN: 1G2JB34H4N Have a very clean sunbird that will not allow the compressor clutch to engauge. Has new, not reman, compressor and new pressue/transducer switch. When you turn on the a/c the clutch will click on for about 2 seconds and than shut off, the cooling fan will come...	View
	2006 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T 2.0L Parking brake VIN: WVWEK73C16 Using Autel MaxiDAS ds708 scanner,we are attempting to retract pistons,went into parking brake systems,open motors and it actuates pistons but will not retract all the way in only moves about 6mm at a time scanner doesn't tell when piston are ready to be pushe...	View
	2007 Volvo XC90 3.2 3.2L power asst.steering Hi Techs This is chassis the details of this vehicle [...] - XC90 fitted with diesel D5244T4 engine so please ignore title engine spec as D5244T4 is not listed in the presets. This vehicle loses power assistance of steering intermittently maily w...	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo LS 3.4L No Start VIN: 2G1WW12E71 Thanks to everyone for your help, also, Thanks to Randy Briggs from Napa Training for his input, here is what we did: We went into the BCM, special functions, output control, and performed power moding test, and that is when we commanded it on, everything came... Trouble codes: P1626 (Theft fault), U1040 (No communication with abs module), U1096 (No communication with the ipc module).	4
	2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3L Compressor VIN: 1GCEK14TX3 thanks everyone for the help when replacing the first compressor we did do the drier and orfice. when the second compressor went bad it did blow metal through the system. you guys were right it was not an electrical fault. we flushed out the system replaced dr...	21
	2009 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ 3.6L Door locks VIN: 1G1ZK577X9 I took the vehicle to my local favorite gm dealer to have the bcm installed and the tech there fixed it for me. he found both door lock switches were bad. the drivers door was completely open and the passenger door was stuck in the lock position. I am very gre...	16
	2000 Chrysler Sebring JXi 2.5L No Shift thank you all for your help, it was the output speed sensor as most of you told me. thank you all.after checking the ohms on both speed sensors, i found a very low reading on the out put speed sensor. it was 15 ohms, far cry from the recomended 800 ohms	17
	2003 Dodge Grand Caravan SE 3.3L Master cylinder VIN: 2D4GP44R33 Well replaced the hydraulic control unit as suggested by the many replies and so far so good. Customer has had vehicle for approx a week with no issues at least for now. Keeping our fingers crossed on this one. Installed a know good used part. Thanks for the h...	14
	2008 Dodge Caliber SE 2.0L Unknown VIN: 1B3HB28B48 Sorry it took so long to close but customer decided to take vehicle and have not had a chance to resume further testing thanks to all who offered help.	6
	1988 Ford Bronco II Eddie Bauer 2.9L Contamination VIN: 1FMCU14T2J We flushed the cooling system again and put UV Dye in the oil and they decided to drive the truck again for a few months and let us check the cooling system. If we find oil in the cooling system they won't want to spend the money to fix the issue. Thank you a...	20
	1992 Ford F-150 Custom 4.9L Hesitation, Surge, Cuts out, MIL Lamp on, Gas transfer VIN: 1FTEX15Y0N First of all I want to thank everyone who replied to my post. I put the fuel line check valves per Ford tsb on front and back gas tank fuel pumps. Replaced both fuel pumps with new assemblies. Pickup was still transfering gas from rear tank to front when fron... Trouble codes: 179 (fuel system lean limit).	23
	1997 Ford F-150 Lariat 4.6L turn signals VIN: 1FTDX1861V Every reply was good,but the ones who told me to check the ground under the right kick panel hit it on the head. The ground was rusted completely off! Repaired ground and all is well with the world again. Thanks again for all the great answers.	13
	2005 Ford Ranger Edge 4.0L transfercase VIN: 1FTZR45E35 John [...] had it on the money.I put in neutral with foot on brake and shift to 2WD ,It shifted smoothly right in and out. I road tested after, in all gears and no problems. Lucky no damage was done. Thanks guys for all the help.	10
	2006 Ford Mustang GT 4.6L #4cylinder VIN: 1ZVHT85H76 I would like to thank you guys for taking the time to help. After the Snap On delivered the adapter for the 4.6 compression guage I checked it and it was very low. Went down the hole with a boroscope mirror attached and could clearly see where the valve seat h...	9
	2002 GMC Envoy SLE 4.2L air bag diver s VIN: 1GKDS13S62 guys sorry about this help request that was sent,one of the tec in the shop sent this help request with out me knowing and he didnt put in what he had already done,he thinks that you can put a code out hear and some one will know what the problem is and just g...	3
	2005 Honda Odyssey EX 3.5L Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 5FNRL38795 Thank you to all who replied. I readjusted the valves .001 over spec. Made sure all EGR passages were clear. Blocked off EGR valve completely. Scope tested main shaft rpm vs engine rpm, ok. Nothing made any difference. Customer took their vehicle to dealer for... Trouble codes: P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303, P0304, P0305.	14
	2000 Kia Sportage 2.0L No Start VIN: KNDJA7239Y Man, this car is a fighter. Yup. The computer was failed. A auto recycler had the exact ECM (make sure you compare ALL the numbers on the box) and it plugged in without programming needed. All fixed. Woot.	1
	2006 Mazda 3 S 2.3L MIL Lamp on VIN: JM1BK12406 We returned vehicle to mazda,as our test had shown, loss of proper ground from ecm to sensor bank 1/ sensor 1-vehicle has been road tested over 55 miles and systems are clear, computer was exchanged and reprogrammed- thank you for your time Trouble codes: P0130, P0134.	4
	1990 Mercedes-Benz 300CE 3.0L Poor Fuel Economy VIN: WDBEA51D5L Thanks to all who replied, there was a good reply to make up a tool, here is the link.	7
	1995 Mercedes-Benz C220 2.2L Door Locks VIN: WDBHA22E6S Thanks to all. what i found that when i pulled the interior lamp fuse , all is good , when i put the fuse back system went into lock out mode vehicle would not start, Pull fuse out goes for weeks with out a hitch, so it has to do with the interior lamp system ...	3
	2001 Mercedes-Benz S600 5.8L ac not workn VIN: WDBNG78J41 evap sensor fixed it.it was out of range.thanks for the info.	7
	1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS 4.6L ac clutch VIN: 2MELM75W0V thanks for taking your time to help a fellow tech. i have fixed this vehicle! i tested all my powers and grounds going into eatc control head, and all were ok. so i knew the prob was in the head itself. i disassembled head and found broken solder joint on bac...	10
	2001 Nissan Frontier SC 3.3L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1N6MD27T11 sory it took so long to reply the fix end being a leak at the top of the fuel tank around the o ring,it was hard to see when doing a smoke test.we replaced the o ring and bam its fixed,thanks to all of you who helped out. Trouble codes: P0455.	7
	2003 Oldsmobile Alero GL 2.2L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1G3NL52F23 THE PROBLEM WAS THE COIL COVER.I HAD OVERLOOKED IT EARLIER IN THE DAY BECAUSE IT WASN'T ACTING EXACTLY LIKE THE OLD QUAD FOURS USED TO(THAT WE'VE ALL DEALT WITH SO MANY TIMES.I WENT AND PULLED ONE FROM THE SALVAGE YARD THIS MORNING,AND THE CAR DIDN'T EVEN FIRE... Trouble codes: P0171, P0300.	15
	2006 Pontiac G6 GTP 3.9L Charging system VIN: 1G2ZM35126 First of all, thanks to all who replied. The information was very helpful. I looked at the fusable link after you guys pointed me in that direction. The fusable link and the solenoid connector were both broken, causing the charging issue. Both items have be...	7
	2003 Saturn LW200 2.2L No Start VIN: 1G8JU84F23 After carefully checking out your great suggestions, I decided to take a more direct approach to fixing this vehicle. I came to the conclusion that the pcm was giving me fits again, and that the design of this circuit was allowing the pcm to act as a circuit b...	17
	1999 Toyota Tacoma Pre Runner 3.4L motor VIN: 4TASN92N8X many-many thanks to everyone who took the time to send a reply. dan and terry hit the nail on the head.came in the door this morning read answers everyone sent back.pulled idle air control motor off cleaned it replaced. cranked truck ldle drop to specs.had som...	9
	2006 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5 2.5L intermittant operation VIN: 3VWPW31CX6 the people who said that the compressor was bad are correct. the customer declined to have the repair done at this time. the cost was a major factor. thanks everyone for your help.ken [...]	10

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