Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Dec 13, 2004

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	Help Request	Answers
	2001 Acura MDX 3.5L MIL Lamp on VIN: 2HNYD18251 Greetings, This Acura has mil with code P1456. I inspected and leak tested the system with a MotorVac evap leak chek. As stated in the test results above it may have passed. Is code P1456 for a large or small leak? At step #21 in the diagnostics the FTP senso... Trouble codes: P1456 (Evap Control System Leakage)	View
	1993 Audi 100 2.8L no upshift when warm VIN: WAUAJ84A1P Trans works great when cold. We have no speed sensor signal to the trans computer. Speedo works fine. Can I route the speed signal directly to the trans controller from the speed sensor.	View
	1998 BMW 528i 2.8L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: WBADD6322W Greetings BMW experts. We have a 528I that keeps getting misfire codes for all cylinders except #2. The ECM sees a misfire and shuts down the corresponding injector intermittently. We found coolant in the oil a few weeks ago and replaced head gasket, had cylin... Trouble codes: 238 (Misfire cyl 1), 240 (Misfire cyl 3), 241 (Misfire cyl 4), 242 (Misfire cyl 5), 243 (Misfire cyl 6)	View
	1999 BMW Z3 Roadster 2.8L No Start VIN: 4USCH3339X Now the car wont start, checked codes again and i had 209, and a new code 208, realigned EWS and started right up. Test drove car 2 miles came back to the shop shut car off, and restarted it 3 times, on the 3rd time car would not start, checked codes and had 2... Trouble codes: 209 (Anti-Tampering Protection EWS), 208 (Speed Monitoring not plausible EWS)	View
	2000 BMW 528i 2.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: WBADM6348Y Hello, We are having a problem with this 2000 528i. It came in with codes P1250 and P1477. We cleared the codes and drove the vehicle several times. The P1250 never returned and we were unable to find a description for this code. P1477 (leakage diagnostic pum... Trouble codes: P1477 (Leakage diagnostic pump reed switch did not open)	View
	2001 BMW 525i 2.5L Engine VIN: WBADT43421 This car has been using quite a bit oil as of late and every so often heaves out heavy billows of oil smoke (yes it does have synthetic oil). I can easily replicate the problem by disconnecting the breather pipe from the valve cover to the crankcase pressure ...	View
	1986 Buick LeSabre Custom 3.8L convertor lockup VIN: 1G4HR6937C does any one know where i can get a lock-up delay module for a 440t4 transmission	View
	1988 Buick Skylark Custom 3.0L Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall, Misfire VIN: 1G4ND51L5J Car has hesitation on snap throttle and under load. Missfires into intake manafold. Bring up throttle gently then ok. all things above have been changed recently and I have tripple checked all the operations of: MAF, Intake air temp, crank sensor, modual, tps....	View
	1989 Buick Skylark Custom 2.5L No Start VIN: 1G4NC54UHK hi, i have this buick died on highway. i have no injector pulse, tried different computer, same problem. tried to ohm injector, is 1.3 ohms but shop keys does not give spec that i can find, so i dont knoe if that is good or bad.	View
	1997 Buick Century Custom 3.1L Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2G4WS52M7V Hello Fellow Techs. Todays Diagnostic Dilema comes from a 1997 Buick Century with a 3.1 Liter Engine. The customer came in complaining of check engine light coming on. Scanning the computer I found code P0300-Randome\Multiple Misfire. Further inspection showed... Trouble codes: P0300 (Random/Multiple Misfire)	View
	1990 Chevrolet Lumina 3.1L Poor Idle Quality, Surge, Misfire VIN: 21GWN54T6L Started with a high idle. Initially thought I had a severe vacuum leak, but was absoutely unable to find one; even replaced majority of vacuum hoses to rule out--sprayed carb cleaner every where I thought there could even be a leak. Thought an EGR valve (Dig... Trouble codes: 22 (high tps voltage)	View
	1995 Chevrolet C2500 Suburban 7.4L Excessive Emissions VIN: 1GNGC26N9S Hello GM techs. I have this Surburban that failed smog as a gross polluter for NOx. I found no misfires and the vehicle runs very smooth. I did replace the wires because one broke when I removed it for cat testing. I determined the cat wasn't retaining oxygen ...	View
	1996 Chevrolet C1500 Suburban 5.7L popping VIN: 1GNFK16K9R Happy Holidays all. This 96 Suburban has a 2000 suburban motor. I was informed the intake manifold was purchased at local chevy dealer to accomodate the original TBI system. Nice clean job underhood. The problem is an intermittant popping in intake that only...	View
	1996 Chevrolet Corvette 5.7L air bag VIN: 1G1YY22P5T tnx for the help in advance.our local dealers say that they have never replaced & do not stock this.i'm i missing something here or are these things bullet-proof.veicle has not been in any collision.	View
	2002 Chrysler 300M 3.5L tracklock VIN: 2C3HE66G02 vehicle pulls left all the time found that if you turn off the track control pull is gone. don't know if i'm looking to hard or if it's right in front of my face or in my imagination but told customer and he agrees the vehicle drives better with track contol o...	View
	1997 Dodge Ram 2500 5.9L Excessive Emissions VIN: 3B7KF23D3V I am posting this for one of my garages that i do work for. This Dodge ram 2500 came in as a "no start". Had no previous running problems before this. No Mil light or codes stored. Found debris in filter so changed pre and main fuel filters. Got vehicle to sta...	View
	2002 Dodge Ram 2500 5.9L Cuts out VIN: 3B7KF23682 Customer complaint was of intermittent lack of power and engine light coming on. I pulled PO216 and erased it, I could not get the problem to re-occur but found a leaking injection line and replaced it. The problem than occured for me once only briefly, it fel... Trouble codes: P0216	View
	1989 Ford F-250 Custom 7.3L No Start VIN: 1FTHX25M6K this truck came to us after the customer was told we could fix anything. we have not worked on this vehicle before now. but we are stumped on this one. when cold it cranks fine but does not start quickly (temp at 5 deg c.) It does not start & stall but cranks,...	View
	1991 Ford Mustang LX 5.0L Mechanical VIN: 1FACP4DE9M Hi All, I have this 5 liter mustang that is leaking oil all over the place. I found that the oil pan gasket and the rear main oil seal are both leaking. I also found oil in the throttle body coming from the fresh air tube. So I checked the PCV valve which is l...	View
	1993 Ford Ranger STX 2.3L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1FTCR10A3P Hello Techs, This is my first time posting. Here is the annoying problem. Customer came in with the MIL on and no running problems. There is no conclusive flow chart for this code 224. Have replaced Ignition module, both ignition coils and crank sensor. Crank ... Trouble codes: 224 (PCM detected 123or4 primary circuit failure dual plug EI)	View
	1993 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4.0L abs light VIN: 1FMCU24X9P This truck came in with the abs light on with code 65. We did a pin point test and found that the LATERAL ACCELEROMETER sensor is bad [ford calls this sensor a G SWITCH ] Can anyone tell me what this sensor does? Can this sensor cause the brakes not to work? T...	View
	1995 Ford Escort 1.9L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Surge, Stall VIN: 1FTAWSSJ12 hello well this one has me scratching my head and problem has got to be right under my nose.1995 escort that falls right on it's face under heavy excel like converter is plugged but at 3000 rpm starts to come around. In the shop if you floor it it will pop thr...	View
	1999 Ford Taurus SE 3.0L power steering pump VIN: 1FAFP53U9X Car came in with HARD to steer & pump very noisy added fluid Still stiff. Was spitting fluid when turned off. Replaced p/s pump (reman)& flushed lines & bled ststem. Finally worked Good. Sent home. Customer returned: hard to steer, with low fluid & fluid all o...	View
	2000 Ford Windstar LX 3.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: 2FMDA5145Y Thank you in Advance for any help on this one... Trouble codes: 171 (Lean Bank 1), 174 (Lean Bank 2)	View
	2001 Ford Windstar LX 3.8L no communication with modules VIN: 2FMZA50401 Hey guys I hope someone out there can help me. I'm pretty sure this vehicle has an open or grounded wire somewhere, I just seem to not to be able to pinpoint it. I could only get the codes to set when I drive the vehicle numerous miles. It seems like I have a ...	View
	1999 GMC Savana 3500 5.7L Mechanical VIN: 1GDJG31ROX Evening Folks We have this box van that has a strange brake issue. One of our companies bought this truck from Ryder and it was brought to us because the driver said the front brakes would lock up on wet surface and slide,what made it worse was when the ABS w...	View
	1997 Honda Accord LX 2.2L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1HGCD563XV with only limited info on this system i am inquiring if anyone has run into this problem, as i can find no tsb's or any further data on why the code is setting. the procedures are very specific as to checking the vacuum and voltage yet the conclusion condems t... Trouble codes: 0441 (insufficent purge flow)	View
	1998 Honda Civic LX 1.6L Charging VIN: JHMEJ6672W Car came in after customers installed battery.Found vehicle not charging.Also had numerous trouble codes in computer system,Po501,1298,0135,0141,0700,0720.We replace the alternator and fuse for charge at vss retested system and all was fine. Customer picked up...	View
	1998 Lincoln Town Car 4.6L Hesitation VIN: 1LN81W7W69 Hi Guys!! Traction contol light comes on esp. on curves and engine loses power while light is on . Going staight down the road seems to be ok. Would appeciate your help, thanks, Leon [...]	View
	1971 Mercedes-Benz 280sel 4520CC coil VIN: 1080191207 trying to find wiring diagram for distributer and coil system. we think there may be some parts missing from this system. any help or pictures or diagrams would be very helpful.	View
	1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 2.6L Cuts out, Stall VIN: JHMCA630KC hi there this car seems to be a problem child first off i would like to thank all who respond this problem seems to come and go as it wants. the problem is sometimes when comming to a stop the car dies and then it will restart and sometimes it will just die at...	View
	1998 Mercury Sable GS 3.0L converter?? VIN: 1MEFM50U1W Customer came in complaining of stalling at stops. Test drove vehicle initially and vehicle would buck and jerk, but never stall. Shift points were erratic, sometimes vehicle would feel like it started out in second and then shift straight to fourth. Pulled tr...	View
	1997 Mitsubishi Mirage LS 1.8L Cuts out VIN: JA3AY31COV When cold the vehicle will not idle with out holding accelerator, but when worm idles fine. tech line said common problem when I.A.C. goes bad that windings in computer go bad.	View
	1993 Nissan Maxima SE 3.0L No Start VIN: F1PT118475 found that fuse going to eccs relay was blown after replacing valve cover gaskets. replaced fuse and vehicle still would not run. Checked and found that engine control unit was not grounding out eccs relay. when gounding pin 16 on engine control unit vehicle w...	View
	2003 Nissan Murano SE 3.5L Transfer Case VIN: JN8AZ08W13 Hey Nissan Techs, This Murano entered my shop from our body shop on November 3rd. The right front was hit hard enough to crack the transmission case. I had to drop the powerplant to replace the trans. Everything went together smooth except for when I got it r...	View
	1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue GL 3.5L remote door locks VIN: 1G3WS52HXX coustomer brought in car for inoperative remote keyless entry. tried to reprogram according to mitchells dirrections."remove key from ign. close all doors hold door lock switch in un lock possition insert key 3 times release door lock switch , wait for 3 chime...	View
	1989 Plymouth Acclaim 2.5L Stall VIN: 1P3BA46K2K customer says that the vehicle has died on her and she has problems keeping the car running in the morning when it's cold and she first starts it up. The first time I checked it out I couldn't find any problems with it. This time every time I start it it dies ...	View
	2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE 2.2L Mechanical VIN: 1G2JB1244Y Vehicle came in at 46000 miles with an overheat problem found combustion gases in coolant, diagnosed faulty head gasket, started disassembly and found that center head bolts were loose, continued with head gasket replacement, reassembled per mitchell 46 43 and...	View
	1987 Porsche 944 2.5L Hesitation, Cuts out, Misfire VIN: WPOAA2956H hi porsche techs. this 944 turbo has a intermittent misfire under load. (it revs fine in neutral). It seems to be a lean misfire since there's no black smoke coming out the exhaust when it happens. fuel pressure is within specs, has a new ECTS, new TPS , new c...	View
	1996 Saab 900 S 2.3L Speedometer VIN: YS3DD58B4T Hello fellow techs, I have this 96 saab with no speedometer or odometer operation. The abs light is on as well as the mil. It has vss codes set. My mod doesn't describe the circuit very well. Does anyone know how the speedo gets its signal. It looks to me like...	View
	1995 Subaru Legacy L 2.2L No Start VIN: 4S3BK6350S Hello to all Subaru techs.What we have here is a legacy 2.2 tha has an intermittant crank but no start.This car was in our shop about 2 weeks ago but we were not able to duplicate it.Cust called today and said after driving about 20 minutes,she stopped and shu...	View
	1999 Toyota Corolla CE 1.8L Poor Idle Quality VIN: GUH33NNBFS vehicle come with fast idle problem (2000 RPM at idle speed) i will cleaning throttle body,idle air control valve, air passages,sensors grips, fast idle problem is ok BUT another problems are here that is when vehicle comes after run at road with high speed or...	View
	1999 Volkswagen Beetle GLS 2.0L electric windows and door locks VIN: 3VWCA21C6X Have a good one here. Customer purchased vehicle from used car lot. The problem that they are having is if they lock the doors the driverside door will not unlock with the driverside door switch but will unlock with the passenger side switch. Thats not all. Wh...	View
	1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 2.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: 3VWSC29M4X dear vw-friends: my problems is that i don’t have communication with the scanners (launch, modis, obd2 mastertech) , the check engine light is on, the engine starts but the transmission is in limp-mode. i check : a.- the electrical lines at dlc connector,wh...	View
	2002 Volkswagen Beetle GLS 1.9L Hard start VIN: 3VWCP21C62 Vehicle came in for hard start and short glow plug on time. Tested the glow plugs and they were only about 4 ohms above the specification for new ones. Customer wanted them replaced and the vehicle tested good for a cold start. After the vehicle was back with ...	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	1994 BMW 325is 2.5L Cruise Control VIN: WBABF3327R THanks to everyone that responded to my help request. Unfortunatly I have yet to repair the cruise control system on the vehicle. I did notice while test driving the vehicle that the speedometer would randomly display an incorrect speed (cruise around 50mph,...	6
	1994 Buick Park Avenue 3.8L radio control VIN: 1G4CW52L3R Thank you to all that responded. We installed a known good radio assembly and all radio/ heat functions now operate to specs.	3
	1998 Cadillac DeVille 4.6L battery draw VIN: 1GGKE54Y4W the rap relay seems to have fixed this caddy ,waited to close this one due to the fact it only would happen every 5 or 6 days	3
	1993 Chevrolet G20 Beauville 5.7L Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1GCEG25K9P Well, this one turned out easy. This morning the van turned into a no start. I got spark but no injector pulse via noid light. Check power for the injectors which is present. I then grabbed the lab scope. I checked for the proper signals: Distributor reference...	16
	1996 Chevrolet Lumina 3.1L MIL Lamp on VIN: 2G1WL52M7T Thank you everyone for all the helpful advise. without it i wouldnt have made the repair. the code p1675 was being caused by a faulty pcm. i did a voltage drop test on the vent solenoid and also manually activated the switch and both tests proved the vent sole... Trouble codes: P1675.	8
	1998 Chevrolet Venture 3.4L heater VIN: 1G6AW69Y4D At this time owner does not want to spend the money to find problem, however, this will be short lived because winter is here in Illinois. Thanks for all of the replies and good information, but until I get a chance to actually work on the vehicle I do not kno...	18
	2004 Chevrolet Optra 2.0L Forward gears VIN: KL1JK52ZX4 Thanks to all who responded to my Trans nogo problem, I ended up replacing the transmission with a new one, I and Tac figure it was a hydraulic problem that was causing no 1st or 2nd gears	3
	1997 Dodge Grand Caravan SE 3.3L Cuts out, LACKS POWER VIN: 2B4GP44R3V Well the customer came and stole vehicle out of the lot that night and will not give us ample time to try and figure out problem But they did have to come back for air box to be put back on and pay their Bill. Thanks for all of the Great responses the top thre...	15
	1999 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L No Start, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2B4GP24R7X Thank you all for the helpfull tips on the related problem. Duane from Alaska hit the nail on the head. Found wire loon at the transmission was rubbing and causing wires to short together. The fuel evap pruge was shorting back to the computer and taking out th...	4
	2000 Dodge Stratus SE 2.0L Dash Cluster VIN: 1B3EJ46X4Y It is fixed; it was the cluster's circuit board. Some of the things I learned: The cluster circuit board is a frequent problem. In the instructions the “unlock” possion is: Key on, the engine off. This car did not have a trip reset; the only way to cha...	3
	2003 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT 5.7L No Start VIN: 1D7HU18D23 we tried new crank sensor but that didn't fix the problem. spark was still erratic. we then removed the sensor and looked through the hole at the crankshaft. we found a tooth on the crank that was smashed over. needs new crank.	5
	1987 Ford F-250 Custom 6.9L glow plug relay VIN: 1FTHX26M4K First of all I want to thank you all for taking time to answer my help request. It turns out that the solution was simple as replacing the glow plug battery. It seems that if you test this battery right after removing the cables from the other battery everythi...	15
	1997 Ford E-350 Econoline 5.4L heater door VIN: 1FTJE34L9V Thanks to all that replied,the problem was a bad actuator I tried a known good one and it didnt work.It turns out that the one I tried did work but for some reason it didnt on this van,I ordered a new one it and worked fine.	3
	1998 Ford Ranger Splash 3.0L 4wd low range VIN: 1FTYR11U3W Thanks to everyone who helped me out on this truck and a special thanks to Scott [...] for the valuable wiring diagrams you faxed me. To make a long story short, I had no voltage to the GEM module from fuse 28 because one of the legs on the fuse was broken o...	12
	1998 Ford Taurus LX 3.0L battery VIN: 1FAFP52V9W Thanks for the info on this problem, I didn't realize the battery saver shuts down electrical loads in about 1 hour. My amp draw went to .025 mA. Talking again to customer I found out sometimes 10Amp battery saver fuse blows when operating power window on driv...	20
	2001 Ford Focus ZX3 2.0L hydraulic VIN: 3FAHP31321 thanks to everyone that replied i took the trans back out and looked closely at the disc and when i laid it across the pressure plate there is a gapat all 4 pucks(this is a cermaic performance)almost looks like its bent in real weridlook and you could see on e...	15
	1989 Honda Accord LX 2.0L Excessive Emissions VIN: JHMCA5630K i found that the egr pasages were a little carboned up. I cleaned them and the car went through thanks for all the help	12
	1991 Jeep Comanche Pioneer 2.5L engine VIN: 1J7FT36P3M we had many good replies- some said that it was a gm bellhousing pattern- that may have been true in the older jeeps, but this year is jeep only- another said to use the 91 only & another looked up used engines on the salvage yard hotline- one reply said it wo...	6
	1988 Mazda 323 GT 1.6L No Start VIN: JM1BF2237J Well, bust my buttons!!! This one is fixed. Thanks to all 7 who responded with good input. Neglect was ultimately the cause of my lost time and days of frustration. Responses involved checking fuses, and/or circuit breakers;MAF sensor issues;rotten wiring arou...	9
	1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse 2.0L lubrication VIN: 4A3AK44Y6V This thing appears to be leaking from the head gasket as most suspect; we will be getting it back after the holidays to pull the head and verify; seems to be a common problem on these motors. Thank you all for the help.	15
	1986 Nissan D21 XE 2.4L No Start VIN: 1M6HD11YOG Thanks for the 2 replies. We had the Ecu rebuilt by some folks in Grand Prarie, TX. They missed it the first time and with Thanksgiving this took a few weeks to complete with shipping time. There was a short to ground in the ECU. They fixed it the second time ...	3
	1992 Nissan Pathfinder XE 3.0L No Start VIN: JN8HD17S8N Thanks to Richard [...] from Ohio and Mark from Illinois both of whom were very insightful in directing me to a stripped t.belt as the problem.I guess from now on i will always ck for cam/crank signal input when an ECU CONTINUALLY FIRES at me no matter how smo...	5
	1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue GL 3.5L Crank Sensor VIN: 1G3WS52H0X Once again,it's the simplest solution that makes the fix. It goes to show that 'KISS' (keep it simple, stupid) should always be adhered to. Most of the replys focused on the no crank condition after I installed a new PCM, stating that GM PCMs need to be progra...	11
	1993 Pontiac Bonneville SE 3.8L starter VIN: 1G2HZ52L6P well, the bonneville works well now- I guess I was confused by the security light not flashing- reading the procedures further, I see that it will stay lit during lockout- I was looking for a flashing light- the wires to the lock cylinder must have been almost...	9
	2001 Saturn SL1 1.9L Rack VIN: 1GBZH52801 Thanks for the 4 replies. 2 stated to replace the rack, common problem. 1 stated noise might be from column traveling down,however we already 100% pinpointed the noise by unhooking column during checking. 1 stated replacing column was only temporary fix,that n...	4
	2001 Saturn SL1 1.9L Cooling System VIN: 1G8ZS52812 Hello Everyone Thanks for all the info. Most said there was a problem with the head cracking on the cam journal. Will get oil in coolant but no coolant in oil. With this car, I drained the oil, removed valve cover, and pressured tested the cooling system and...	18
	1997 Toyota RAV4 2.0L p/s pump VIN: JT3GP10V6V Hi good people; Thanks for all the replies. It was, as 2 people said a plugged screen in the bottom of the reservoir. Cleaned and flushed and refilled with new fluid. All is well. My customer sends his thanks also. Wishing all a merry Christmas and the bes...	8
	2002 Toyota Corolla CE 1.8L Poor Idle Quality VIN: 1NXBR12E22 To begin thanks for all of the reply's on this subject. To those that were wondering why not just bring the vehicle back to Toyota seeing as the car is still under warranty...Pride! Plus we live on an island making it a little more difficult to send customers ...	14
	1996 Volkswagen Passat GLX 2.8L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Stall, Poor Fuel Economy VIN: WVWEE83A1T Hi all this one is fixed.I ran tests (lab scope tested waveform and had fluctuating voltage at steady speeds and injector on time was around 30 ms)and also car had a MAF sesor code.I was still remiss to order up a $ 595.00 sensor,only to find out that it was'n... Trouble codes: P0133, P0440, P0103.	10
	1999 Volkswagen Passat GLS 2.8L secondary air pump VIN: WVWMD63B6X Just about all responces came back with the same advice: I replaced the relay and the car is fixed. Relay contacts were in fact BURNT! thanks everybody for the help!!	9
	1995 Volvo 960 2.9L timming belt replacement VIN: YV1KW9617S Thanks for all the help from you volvo techs. the vote says to replace the tensioner with every other timing belt service and/or if there is fluid leaking from the plunger. since this is its second belt replacement i am going to replace it. also it is recommen...	7
	1998 Volvo V70 R 2.3L timing VIN: YV1LW5241W the special cam set up tool was needed for the variable valve timing engine. thank you all for your time and advise especially Zee in north carolina	17

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