1993 BMW 318IS, No Charge Condition

This 1993 BMW 318IS came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead after a few days of driving. The battery and the alternator had been changed, with no success. The first thing I spotted when I opened the hood and look at the alternator was a 12 gauge red ground wire,  that … Continue reading “1993 BMW 318IS, No Charge Condition”

1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Shade Tree, DIYer Disaster

This 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse came in with a complaint that the 30 amp engine fuse would blow.  The customer stated that a friend of his that claimed to work on cars put a transmission in for him. Now there was smoke coming from the engine compartment and the 30 amp engine fuse in the underhood … Continue reading “1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Shade Tree, DIYer Disaster”

2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer, Poor Heat, Clicking Sound Under Dash

This 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer came in with a clicking sound under the driver’s side of the dash and erratic control of heat and a/c, hot and cold,  air from the driver’s side of the dash. To find the actual site of the clicking noise, I had to remove some of the underside of the dash. … Continue reading “2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer, Poor Heat, Clicking Sound Under Dash”

1997 Maxima Code P0340, No Start or Start and Stall

This 1997 Nissan Maxima was towed in from another shop after unsuccessful repair attempts. I am not sure how many shops it has been to. Tried to crank vehicle, it spit and coughed and jumped and carried on but I managed to get it to fire a little by depessing the gas pedal to the … Continue reading “1997 Maxima Code P0340, No Start or Start and Stall”

1999 Ford F150, P0306 Misfire Cylinder #6

This 1999 Ford F150 Came in with a misfire on cylinder number 6. No big deal except that the spark plugs, spark plug wires and coil assembly have already been changed with quality parts. The other thing I noticed was that the misfire did not come in until the engine speed reached about 1500 RPMs. … Continue reading “1999 Ford F150, P0306 Misfire Cylinder #6”

2003 Chevrolet Impala, Battery Goes Dead

This 2003 Chevrolet Impala came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead after a couple of days of driving. The customer stated that the battery light had been coming on and going off for a while now. The alternator has been replaced three times and the battery twice. The battery light was … Continue reading “2003 Chevrolet Impala, Battery Goes Dead”

2004 Ford Expedition, P0305 Misfire Cylinder #5

This 2004 Ford Expedition came in with a code P0305, misfire cylinder #5. The customer already had the spark plugs changed out a few days ago, but his misfire was back. Time to get to cylinder #5 coil. I removed the two bolts that held the engine cover in place. After the top engine cover … Continue reading “2004 Ford Expedition, P0305 Misfire Cylinder #5”

1997 GMC C1500 Pickup, No Blower Part 3

Last of a three part post on Chevrolet and GMC full sized truck and suv blower issues. The best place to start testing is at the blower motor. Key on and blower set to high. Check for power on the purple wire and ground on the black wire. If power is missing on the purple … Continue reading “1997 GMC C1500 Pickup, No Blower Part 3”

1997 GMC C1500 Pickup, No Blower Part 2

Second part of a multi-part repair post on GM truck blower systems. The blower resistor and the blower relay are located on top of the heater case. Behind the glove box. After opening the glove box, there may be two retention systems present. Sometimes there are plastic cables that are attached to the sides of … Continue reading “1997 GMC C1500 Pickup, No Blower Part 2”

1997 GMC C1500 Pickup, No Blower Part 1

This 1997 GMC C1500 came in for some other a/c service and I asked the customer about the blower working. He said it worked fine and asked why I wanted to know. I told him of the endless requests that I get for information on the blower systems on these trucks and how I wanted … Continue reading “1997 GMC C1500 Pickup, No Blower Part 1”