This 2000 Cadillac Deville came in with the complaint that the anti theft system lights and messages were on but the vehicle always cranked up just fine. Of course when the vehicle was dropped off at my shop all of the lights were out and everything was normal. I did a code check and … Continue reading “2000 Cadillac DeVille, B1009 Anti Theft Warning Message and Security Light On”
This 2009 Saturn Aura came in with the complaint that the alternator would not charge. Originally it came in for a no crank condition that was diagnosed as a faulty PCM. The vehicle was sent to a local dealership to have the PCM replaced under warranty. The car only had just over 31,000 miles on … Continue reading “2009 Saturn Aura, No Charge Condition”
This 2008 Chevrolet Colorado came in with the complaint that the blower would work sometimes however the condition had worsened and now it did not work at all. Up until now I have always found two common problems with the blower systems on these Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and Isuzu I Series trucks. If the … Continue reading “2008 Chevrolet Colorado Blower Inop All Speeds”
This 1999 Ford E150 van came in with the complaint that the a/c would only blow out of the defroster. The mode actuators in this vehicle are vacuum controlled so checking vacuum is the first point in the diagnostic routine. There is a vacuum hose splice connector under the hood on the passenger side of … Continue reading “1999 Ford E150 Air Only Blows Out The Defroster Vents”
This 2006 Nissan Maxima came in with the complaint that the gauges and the a/c controls did not work. After the obvious fuse checks I went to the most common location for this problem in Nissan Maximas. The problem is located behind the a/c control panel and repairs start with removing the shifter knob or … Continue reading “2006 Nissan Maxima, Gauges and A/C Inop”
This 2001 Lincoln Continental came in with the complaint that the speedometer and the tachometer were not working. The mileage displayed dashes instead of digits. There were “Check Traction Control” and “Check Transmission” fault messages. The “Service Engine Soon” light was on and codes P0500, P1502, P1744 and U1039 were stored in the PCM. That … Continue reading “2001 Lincoln Continental, Speedometer and Tach Inop”
This 2009 Chevrolet Impala came in the shop for some routine work and in completing those tasks I noted that the battery went dead within ten minutes of having the ignition on. A good battery would have been able to crank the engine if the key had been left on for thirty minutes to an … Continue reading “2009 Chevrolet Impala, Changing The Battery”
This 2006 Hummer H3 came in with the complaint that the blower had been working sometimes but now the blower motor had stopped working completely. The most common failure point for this system is the blower resistor and it’s harness connector. This repair applies to 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010 H3 Hummer. Both are … Continue reading “2006 Hummer H3, Blower Inop / Erratic”
It was time for me to replace worn out tires on my 2003 Chevrolet Silverado and I wanted to also update the look with new wheels. I wanted to stick with factory wheels, just newer. I located a company, Alan’s Wheels near Greenville, SC that handles a lot of late model take-offs on many makes and … Continue reading “Updating the Wheels & Tires, 2003 Chevrolet with 2014 Silverado LTZ Take Offs”
This 2005 Mazda Tribute came in with the complaint that the tail lights would not work.This same general information would apply to the Ford Escape and the Mercury Mariner of the same era. A quick check revealed that fuse #3 in the interior fuse box was blown. One of the more common places for a … Continue reading “2005 Mazda Tribute, Fuse #3 Blows, No Tail Lights”