This 2014 GMC Enclave came in with the complaint that the engine would fail to start sometimes and occasionally stall while driving. Multiple warning lights would come on in the dash. I checked codes and found codes P0689 and P1682 stored in the PCM. In researching the codes I found a GM TSB #19-NA-276
I had also found references to loose connecting bolts at the underhood fuse box that hold the harness connectors to the bottom of the fuse box. I checked and the were fully engaged even though the click while rotating was disconcerting.
This is where the following video pick up. Please remember to Like, Share and Subscribe.
This 2017 Buick Enclave came in with the complaints that the a/c would stop and a “message” would appear in the dash. It took a few times checking this problem out for the problem to actually occur.
There were no codes stored in the pcm related to the charging system. There were however low voltage codes stored in various modules.
I tested the charging system multiple times throughout the day and could never find an issue. The next morning I decided to take it on a long test drive to see if I could get this Enclave to act up. I was driving with the window down since it was a cool morning, when I noticed a noise coming from the front of the vehicle. I looked down at the gauges and saw the voltmeter dropping. It was about then that I also noticed the a/c was not working.
I headed by to the shop and that is where the following video picks up the diagnostics. Please remember to Like, Share and Subscribe.
This 2011 Ram 1500 came in with the complaint that the alternator was not charging even though it had been replaced.
After checking codes and finding a codes P0622 Generator Field Control Circuit Open and P063A Generator Voltage Sense Circuit. The battery light was on in the dash.
I had already replaced the battery because it would not take a charge and here is where the following video picks up. Please remember to Like, Share and Subscribe.
This 2004 Lexus RX330 came in with he complaint that the stoplights were not working correctly. It turned out that the LED circuit boards were faulty . Sometimes a few of the LEDs worked and sometimes none worked. This repair applies to 2004, 2005 and 2006 year models
I found that the LED circuit boards were accessible. Well kind of accessible. If you loosen, separate, turn and wiggle just right they will come out of the tail lamp housings.
It did surprise me that the LED circuit boards are actually replaceable. The local Lexus dealership said you could not purchase them by themselves. They only come as part of the assemblies. It turns out that you can (at least for now) and I did. The part numbers are 81563-0E010 and 81553-0E010.
To watch this repair please go to my YouTube channel below. Be sure to Comment, Like, Share and Subscribe. Thanks, Sparky
This 2012 Chevrolet Silverado came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead if the owner let the truck sit for a week.
No one was able to replicate the concern including myself. I went a couple of steps further and eventually got the truck to act up.
I was concerned that the battery was being overlooked so I installed a known good battery in the truck and parked it. I also fully charged the customer’s battery and left it in my shop where I checked the voltage at least twice a day. I did find a problem with the customer’s battery. The voltage started at 12.95 and after several day dropped to 12.5 volts. A good battery should have held above 12.6 volts.
The day came for deep testing and I went ahead and load tested the customer’s battery and it tested as okay. However, I went to the truck to see how it was doing and found that the voltage had dropped to 3.5 volts. I checked for a drain at the truck and found none present. I went ahead and jump started the engine with a battery jump box and this is about where the following video begins. Hope you like the format I am trying out. Let, me know in the comments either here or on YouTube, Thanks Sparky
This 2003 Chevrolet Silverado came in with the very distinct complaint that the power window regulator was failing. Actually, it is my truck and I heard one or two of the cable strands pop while I was rolling the window down at a drive up teller. This repair generally applies to 1998 through 2007 GM: Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC classic series full sized trucks and SUVs. Avalanche, Escalade, Sierra, Silverado, Suburban, and Yukon.
Don’t let the smile fool you. Not really happy to work on this vehicle since it is mine. No profit in working on your own stuff.
To replace the regulator assembly the door panel has to come off and the first step is to remove the side view mirror trim cover. You can grasp the panel along the top edge and pull it away from the door or you can use a small tool to get behind it for leverage. The top edge has to be pulled out and then the panel will roll down and off. There is a hook at the bottom.
Again , a small tool can be inserted at the rear of the manual door lock trim cover so that the cover can be pulled from the door. Pull the rear edge away from the door panel then roll it forward and off.
Same small tool goes under the rear edge of the inner door handle trim panel. After the rear edge is clear, work around the upper and lower edges to free up the retaining clips. Then pull the whole trim panel slightly rearward to release the front hook
There are three screws that hold the door panel to the door. All three have a 7 mm head but the screw lengths and thread pitches are different,
The middle screw shown below is the longest of the three.
About 2 – 3 times longer than the top screw.
The bottom screw is under the door panel and you just have to kind of feel around for it.
That screw is the same length as the top screw but it has a sharper point and coarser thread pitch.
Now the door panel can be lifted straight up and off of the door.
It may hang up on the door lock rod. If so the panel will need to be flexed around it of it will need to be popped out of the inner slide clip for clearance.
You have to reach down to the door panel light and either remove the harness connector or wiggle the whole harness and socket connection around to free it from the lens assembly. No picture since I did not have some one else to work the camera or a third hand.
Next, while supporting the door panel you will have to disconnect the harness connector from the driver’s door module.
Most of the connectors have a thumb latch that has to be depressed before the connector can be pulled out of the DDN|
The next connector shown below has a lever latch. You have to depress the little bump tab just in front of it and then use a small screwdriver the move the gray bar past it…
… and all of the way over to fully release the latch.
Now we are down to moving the vapor barrier out of the way. Please do not cut or tear the vapor barrier as it is very important for protecting the harness connectors, switches and the materials of the door panel itself.
To see the YouTube video of this repair please click below. there will also be a part 2 coming in the next day or two.
I bought this item locally because it was immediately available and had a better warranty from my local parts store than buying it on Amazon.
I would have preferred to have purchased this one on Amazon but I did not want to wait several days to get it.
This 2015 Kia K900 was in my bay for diagnosis of several problems when the engine stalled and would not restart. There I was at the end of the day with the car half in and half out of the shop. My first thought was no big deal, I will just knock the shifter into neutral and roll the car the rest of the way inside my bay so the door could be closed.
My next thought was Oh Crap the electronic shifter does not work unless the engine is running and the starter just died. I looked around for the slot or hole to stick the key or a screw driver in the unlock the shifter but there was nothing evident.
I looked into service information but was not having much luck so I searched for it on line. After about an hour of trying to figure out how to move this Kia, I found a single line about turning a screw under the storage compartment. There are several “storage compartments” in the center console but it turns out the one I needed was in front of the shifter assembly. There is a door over the compartment but it was already open. I looked in the compartment and there was a rubber tray in the bottom that had to be removed. Sorry for the dark picture.
In the next picture you can clearly see the oval slot or hole to the left of the compartment bottom.
If you look closely you can see the screw head slot in the next image.
I just needed a long, skinny common screwdriver to turn the screw. My first attempts were unsuccessful because I would turn the screw several times and it would rotate back to it’s original position as if it had a motor attached to it. Well, it turns out is does have an actuator motor attached to it. The solution was to just turn the ignition fully off and open the driver’s door. Then I turned the screw to the right about 10 times and checked to see if the car would now roll when I pushed it. Hallelujah, it worked.
Since I already had to raise the vehicle up in the air to check out the starter malfunction, I looked around to see what that screw might be attached to. I could not see a direct connection but I am reasonably sure that it attaches to this cable indirectly. I think the screw head that I turned on the interior of the vehicle was part of a driveshaft in an actuator that uses a lever to connect to tis cable. Time to call it a day.
I did diagnose that the starter was faulty but by the next morning and after a couple of tries the starter worked. The engine started and the shifter worked. I did not have to turn the screw backwards to put the transmission back into park because once the engine was running the computer system repositioned everything back to it’s desired location.
The starter fault coupled with a larger transmission issue and the customer decided to trade out of the vehicle.
To see the video version of this post use the link below.
This 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe was towed in with the complaint that the engine stopped running after running over a bump in the road. I checked codes and data and found codes B1370, B1380, B1395, B1517, B1529 and P0615 stored amongst other but these all related to the no crank condition. They are generally associated with low voltage and ignition control circuits. I proceeded to check for blown fuses. While checking the fuses in the underhood fuse box I found a problem with the #34 fuse.
It is listed as the DLIS fuse and supplies power to the ignition switch on terminal #4 and the theft deterrent module on terminal #1.
I looked around the ignition switch area for a small red/white wire and found this one that had a blue wire tapped into it. I took the blue wire out of the circuit…
…and replaced the blown fuse with a new one.
The engine now cranks and runs.
The blue wire was part of a mess of added wiring for what looked like a sound system. Blue is typically the color of the turn on circuit for an amplifier or other device. I never have understood why people will spend so much time and money doing such nonsense to a vehicle without taking the time to learn how to do it correctly. Especially their daily driver.
This 2010 Ram 1500 Pickup came in with the complaint that the alternator and the battery have both been replaced but the battery still keeps going dead.
Checking the voltage at the alternator output post while the engine was running found that the alternator was charging. The image below shows the alternator charge voltage on the left while the actual battery voltage is on the right.
I am pointing to the alternator fusible link in the next picture. It is the blue/gray wire behind the red one.
Looking at the fusible link from the backside, you can see that the insulation is split open and the inner wire is charred/burnt looking. A fracture can also be seen going across the wire.
The size of the fusible link is 8 gauge and not too easy to find, especially on a local level. My intention is to replace it with a mega fuse and fuse holder that I intend to mount on the side of the fuse box bracket.
Before I could get down to mounting the new fuse holder assembly, I had to remove the burnt fusible link and open up the harness.
This allows me to make my wiring cuts and repairs in the proper locations.
I had to disconnect the harness connector as seen in the image below. I also had to remove s few wire ties that also held the harness down. That was followed up with splitting the harness open to get to the needed wiring.
For a good fit.
Below you can see the remnants of the fusible link repair.
This 2015 Kia Soul came in with the complaint that the driver’s high beam headlight and the left front turn signal did not work. I had already done some preliminary work before getting to this point in the diagnosis. The previous work included checking the fuses, headlight bulb & it’s harness connector, codes and data. The fuses were all good, the bulb was new and the harness connector was not damaged. There was a code B2513:00 stored in the Smart Junction Block. The description was for a short to ground in the left low beam circuit.
That is when I noticed some evidence of tampering at the connector body below. I disconnected the harness connector and inspected the end that is behind the mirror in the image below. It looked fine. Then I got my mirror on a stick out to inspect the mating half of the connect that is fixed to the headlamp assembly. That is when I noticed the two bent terminals that are at the upper right of the image seen in the mirror.
I decided to get some picks out to try and bend the terminals back into position. I was able to get them partially straightened and at least away from the plastic body.
Then I could slide the end of a small screwdriver between the plastic body and the terminal to finish bending it back into position.
After they were close to being straightened out I used a pair of duckbill pliers to bend the terminals back flat and get them more aligned horizontally.
I used a pair of needle nose pliers the straighten out a little bit of twist in one of the terminals.
I used the mirror again to confirm that they were straight and back into alignment.
I then carefully attached the mating harness connector and made sure it was firmly seated. I did pull it off and put it back on to confirm the pins stayed straight.
I then had to reinstall the bulb cover that was left loose by the customer when they replaced the bulb. I had to hold it in the gap between the headlamp and the fuse box and then move it towards the outside of the car, drop it down and bring it back around to center it up on the hole. It took some wiggling and maneuvering around to get it into position and then a little more work to get it aligned and twisted to its lock stop.
The headlight and turn signal now work as they should.
