2004 Suzuki Forenza, Headlights Do Not Work

This 2004 Suzuki Forenza came in with the complaint that the headlights do not work except for the flash to pass feature.  I checked the fuses and the headlight relay in the underhood fuse box and they were okay. I then turned my attention to the 201 splice pack that is located behind the instrument cluster assembly.

To remove the instrument cluster bezel there are two phillip’s headed screws along the upper wedge of the bezel.

The lower edge is held in place by spring clips. The clips can be seen in the following picture. The lower edge of the bezel has to be pulled towards the driver’s seat in order for the clips to disengage.

Once the bezel is out of the way, there are three screws that hold the instrument cluster in place; two along the lower edge and one above the center upper edge.

With the cluster loose it can be maneuvered to access the harness connectors along the top rear edge. The latches are a little difficult to depress so take your time.

There are two splice packs located behind the instrument cluster. The 201 splice pack is located to the left. Pretty obvious there is a problem here. Lots of melted plastic and discolored wires.

A closer look showed that someone has been here before. Two of the wires had already been cut out of the splice pack and joined together.

The two blue wires were the ones that I needed to fix to correct the headlight problem on this car but I decided to remove the splice pack completely.

The inside of the melted splice pack assembly.

In the end there were three different splices. Three purple wires, two blue wires and the remaining light green wires.

2004 Volkswagon Beetle, Stop Lights Work Erratically

This 2004 Volkswagon Beetle came in with the complaint that the stoplights are not very bright and when the park lights are on the lights they go out completely. This is a classic faulty ground condition and not a big deal to repair. Other than trying to figure out how to remove the tail light assemblies.

After opening the rear hatch, look inside for the oval cutouts that are located at either side behind the tailight area.

There are slots at the lower edge that you can slide a tool into to pry it out.

A small screwdriver works as well. I have heard that a quarter can be used also.

Once the panel is removed you will find a knob that is actually the retaining nut.

The plastic nut removed.

The stud with the plastic nut removed.

There are spring retainers at about 2:30 and 4:30 for the driver’s side (left) tail lamp assembly. The spring retainers will be at 8:30 and 10:30 on the passenger (right) side of the car.  I used the same plastic pry bar to lift the tail light assembly from the body. Note the interior stud is attached to an accordion strap.

Note the interior stud is attached to an accordion strap.

The sockets twist out of the light assemblies. The harness connector has a tab that has to be depressed to separate it from the socket.

The outside edge of the light assemblies have a hook that holds them to the body. It acts somewhat as a pivot point when removing the light assembly. It is very important to not pry on this edge to remove the light. Something will break if you do.

I marked the spring clip locations with soapstone so that I would have reference points once it was re installed. As mentioned earlier the clips are located at approximately 2:30 and 4:30 or 8:30 and 10:30 depending on which side you are working on. I used a soft plastic pry bar to lift the tail light assembly from the body.

The new socket is on the left and the old one is on the right. What fails in the sockets is the spring tension on the two lower contacts. When the spring tension goes away the bulb base will not make proper contact with the ground contact in the socket. A temporary repair would be to pull the two lower contact arms up and restore the spring tension. Depending on the overall condition this will either not work at all or it will work and last several months. It may give you enough time to acquire new sockets.

I want to mention also to get the correct bulbs. They look like ordinary 1157 bulbs but they are not. The correct bulb number is 17635.

1998 Honda Civic, A/C Cool But Not Cold

This 1998 Honda Civic came in with the complaint that the a/c was cool but not cold. The owner had already repaired a couple of minor leaks and charged the system. Both he and I we unsure if the correct amount of refrigerant had been installed. For good measure I recovered, measured and recharged the a/c system. It had been slightly over charged. I took the vehicle for a test drive after working with the refrigerant system and found that the vent temperatures were cycling between 45 and 51 degrees F. Not bad except that it was not comfortable in the car after ten minutes of driving. The outside air temperature  was 80 F and the humidity was 60%. This along with a blower motor that sounded slightly off key made me want to look and see if there was a restricted cabin air filter.

I started by removing the two 8 mm headed screws at each lower corner of the glove box.

After the two screws were removed it took just a little wiggling to pull the glove box completely out of the dash.

I saw what looked like an access panel to a cabin air filter but there was a wiring harness bracket that was in the way. A phillip’s headed screw driver removed the bracket fastener.

Now there was enough room to work with the access panel.

I pulled the latch at the bottom of the panel.

Then I pulled the panel up and off of the hook at the top of the box.

I do believe this is the problem.

I used a vacuum cleaner with a rubber hose adapter that I made to pull most of the debris from the evaporator core. I then took a rubber tipped air blow gun and used it to remove the stuck on crud. I had the engine running, the blower set on high and the a/c OFF while I cleaned the evaporator case out. This allowed the case and its contents to dry out.

It took a good while to get the case cleaned out. Then it took a little more time to vacuum out the stuff that got spread all over the inside of the car.

I thought that the cabin air filter had been removed from this vehicle but since I found no listings for replacement filters, I had to assume it never had one. Anyway I put it all back together again and the interior of this Honda Civic is cold again. In case you were wondering the debris build up was interfering with BTU absorption in the evaporator core.

2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Turn Signals Erratic / Not Working

This 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee came in with the complaint that the turns signals would work sometimes. When it arrived at the shop they were not working at all. Experience tells me that it is probably a faulty flasher assembly but a few panels have to be removed to access the flasher relay.

The panel at the lower edge of the instrument cluster unsnaps and pulls away. It has to be maneuvered around the tilt lever.


The fuse box cover at the lower left of the dash has to be removed. It unsnaps and pulls down.

There is a 10 mm headed screw in each of the lower corners of the knee bolster.

A phillip’s head screw at the end of the dash.

Two phillip’s headed screws at the top edge. One on either side of the steering column.

In the picture below, I am pointing out that there are relays above the fuse area.

The hazard/turn signal flasher relay. With either the hazards or turns signals switched on it usually only takes a slight push to make the flasher start working again. After I was sure of the problem, I used a pair of pliers to gently grab the relay and wiggle it from its socket.

I then used a couple of small screw drivers to release the side latches that hold the cover on the relay assembly.

With the latches released I separated the two pieces.

If you look closely at the upper left solder joint you should see the crack in the solder joint.

A little touch up with a soldering gun and some electronics grade solder and this one was fixed.

Sometimes more that one solder joint will have to be repaired so look closely.

2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue GLS, Turn Signals Flash Too Quickly

This 2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue GLS came in with the turn signal flashing very quickly. I checked and found that the problem was related to the front turn signals. I pulled up on and removed the two locking bars that hold the headlight assembly in place. Once the rubber cover was removed from the back side of the assembly this is what I found. The bulb socket was damaged at the interior contacts and the insulation was falling off of the wiring harness. Obviously someone has been here before as I doubt that the original manufacturer sent it out with electrical tape wrapped around the wiring.

In order to work on this I had to remove the cover at the adjacent bulb access point. This allowed me to pull the wiring through so there was ample room for repair.

My intention was to remove the wiring all of the way to the main plug in connector. This plan was foiled by the fact that it cannot be removed for service. It was installed into the housing before the assembly was glued together. The insulation on these three wires seemed to be degraded mostly at the bulb end but it clearly had issues the full length. Time to improvise. After doing some measuring I cut three pieces of 1/8″ heat shrink tubing to 10 inch lengths.

I slid the tubing over my new wire lead. Crimped the new wire to the old and slid the tubing into the light assembly.

I checked the travel of the tubing to make sure it went the full distance to the main harness connector. I had to remove yet another bulb access cover to do this. It also required a little bit of gentle manipulation of the remaining wires to ensure the tubing reached the connector.

I heated the tubing as far as I could without causing any damage to the light assembly. Heat from the lights and nature should eventually shrink the remainder of the tubing inside the light assembly. One wire down and two to go.

Now that all three of the wires have been repaired I have to fish the connector back through the light assembly to the correct connection point. There is plenty of room so this was no big deal.

Now that the wiring has been repaired, I installed a new bulb and socket assembly.

In the end, I did find it easier to mount the new socket and bulb into the light assembly and then install the three wire connector.

This also allowed me to position the wires below the bulb as it would sit in the car. Heat rises so it will be cooler below the bulb than above it. If you find your vehicle has the same problem and would like to buy all of the needed parts in one easy to use kit please click here.

The heat damage from the bulb can be seen in the interior of the light assembly. Notice the powder like substance in the picture below. That is actually the plastic that has been baked dry to the point of disintegrating. Since the bulb is used for the front turn signals, front park lights and the daytime running lights there is heat being generated pretty much anytime the vehicle is in use.

Since the socket and repair harness shown in this repair posts fits several vehicles, I can only assume that some of those will have the same condition seen in this repair.

Buick Allure 2005
Buick Century 1997-2005
Buick LaCross 2005
Buick Regal 1997-2005
Oldsmobile Intrigue 1998-2002

2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer, Changing the Rear Mode Actuator

This 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer had a loud ticking noise coming from the rear of the vehicle on the passenger side. In the last post I showed how to remove the trim panels and locate the faulty actuator assembly. Please click here to see that part of this repair.

Once the trim panels were removed it was just a matter of feeling the clicking in the actuator.

The thumb latch has to be depressed to release the harness connector.

There are a total of three phillips headed screws that hold the actuator in place.

It took a little bit of wiggling around but the actuator pulls straight up off of the mode door shaft. The old actuator had several part numbers on it; 47210105, 0297707 and AH24102002. If you want to purchase the most up to date replacement actuators please click here.

I manually turned the shaft to make sure the door moved freely.

Notice the shaft has a half round section with a perpendicular tab to one side. There is a matching recess in the actuator assembly.

When voltage testing, I use an angled pick to probe the harness wires individually. I then clip my meters test lead to the pick.

There are various designs and many are useful for this kind of testing.

Now that the actuator has been replaced the system should be recalibrated. The standard Trailblazer or Envoy would need the driver’s side rear seat cushion lifted to access the fuse box. The vehicle is an EXT version and the whole seat flips up to access the interior fuse box.

There are two push pin retainers that have to be removed as shown below.

I had to locate the fuse labeled “HVAC B” on the fuse box legend.

I had to orient the legend to align the picture with the actual fuse box components.

Once I had located the proper fuse I removed it to start the recalibration process.

The key must be off before the fuse is removed.

Leave the fuse out for one minute.

Install the previously removed fuse.

Turn the ignition on for one minute.

Put your hands in your pockets and Do Not Touch Anything while the ignition is on.

Turn the ignition off for at least ten seconds but no more than thirty seconds.

Turn the ignition on and start the engine. Test the actuator for proper function.

2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer, Clicking Sound From Rear HVAC Unit

This 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer came in with the complaint that there was a loud ticking sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. From experience I knew that one of the rear actuators was making the clicking or ticking sound. I checked the rear controls and found that adjusting the mode position would make the sound go away but the mode position would not change. I found out that the blend or temperature door was also unresponsive. The bulk of the rear HVAC system is located behind the passenger rear trim panel. This is a fairly long post so I will be breaking it up into several shorter posts.

There are multiple panels that have to come off first before the main cover can be removed. I started by lifting the rear floor trim strip that finishes the edge of the carpet. There sure is a lot of dust in there.

I then turn my attention to the right rear upper pillar seat belt mounting bolt. The cover first has to be lifted by lifting each corner one at a time so that the clips will release.

Once both lower corners are unclipped the cover will flip straight up.

Now the mounting bolt can be removed. A Torx T47 bit is needed.

Next lift the rear rubber seal from the body edge.

I generally grab the upper edge of the panel and pull the panel from the body. Having the rubber seal loose and out of the way allows me to be able to see what is going on behind the panel and gives me access to the plastic edge for better pulling.

Now the right rear door sill panel needs to be removed. You just have to reach under one of the edges and start lifting up. Although the picture gives the impression that I started pulling up from the outer edge, the truth is that I normally start at the inner edge or one end. The angle that the picture was taken at was to show the way that the clips fasten in.

The second row seat belt bolt has to be removed in the same manner as the third row was. This is an EXT style vehicle. Once the seat belt bolt is removed the trim panel can be pulled loose from the vehicle.

There are five phillips headed screws that have to be removed from the rear area of the passenger side panel. Two about half way up the panel and three along the lower edge.

Now the side panel can finally be unsnapped from the body. There are clips along the rear edge, the front edge and the edge just below the side glass.

The panel will slide out either the right rear door opening or you could pull it out of the back.

With the ignition on the clicking noise started and it was easy enough to just place my hand on the actuator to feel the malfunction. The actuator shown below is the auxiliary mode actuator. If you want to purchase the most up to date replacement actuators please click here.

Now that the panels have been removed and the clicking sound identified the next post will deal with changing and calibrating the faulty actuator.

1995 Infiniti J30 Low Blower Speeds Do Not Work

This 1995 Infiniti J30 came in with multiple blower issues. The main culprit was a faulty blower motor and I show how to change it at this repair post.  Once I had a working blower motor I found that the lower speeds did not work.

In doing this post I am addressing the concern that the blower motor is working fine on high speed but there is a problem with the lower speeds.

You will first need to remove the lower cover under the passenger side of the dash. A few phillip’s headed screws…

…and the cover will drop down.

For some reason I did not get pictures of actually testing the signals. Probably more interested in finishing the job at the time.

There are three wires that connect to the blower resistor.

The Yellow/Black wire connects to the blower motor and is the ground control wire for the blower motor. With the system not working and a good blower motor present there will be a nominal battery voltage present.

The Black wire is chassis ground and terminates at the left side of the instrument panel.

The Light Blue wire is the control signal from the a/c controls system.

In my testing on this wire I found these voltages present with the faulty blower resistor. Key  and a/c system on. Black lead connected to a known good chassis ground. Red lead connected to the Light Blue wire.

1.33 volts on the lowest speed.

1.435 volts on speed two.

1.61 volts on speed three

.003 volts on high speed

I found these voltages with the new blower resistor.

2.56 volts on the lowest speed

2.71 volts on speed two

2.93 volts on speed three

0.00 volts on high speed

The voltage reading is not a result of power being supplied from the a/c controls to the blower resistor. Instead it is being out put by the resistor and the controls are applying a ground signal to it in a varying degree that lowers the voltage. I would suspect that the output from the terminal in the blower resistor would be a nominal 5 volts.

The three terminal connector on the blower resistor.

The aluminum rods are for cooling the resistor electronics. The resistor actually is not a resistor instead it is a power module or blower speed controller. The manufacturer describes it as a resistor so I have been doing the same.

The new and old resistor assemblies side by side.

2004 Volkswagen Beetle, Battery Goes Dead

This 2004 VW Beetle came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead while driving the vehicle. Especially when the a/c and lights were on. A quick visual inspection found the problem. Note the rusted nut in the center of the picture below. Rust on a steel nut that is part of n electrical connection indicates a loose connection. The more rust the longer the connection has been loose.

From the looks of this one it has been causing a problem for quite a while now. The reason the battery has been going dead is that this is the wire that connects between the output stud of the alternator and the battery positive terminal.

The heat that was generated from the loose connection melted the insulation away from the cable about an inch away from the terminal. The insulation was melted into the cable about four inches away from the connection.

All I had to work with on this repair was a Mega fuse holder assembly. I cut the cable back to a good clean location and spliced in a new lead that I attached to the fuse holder assembly.

I tied my new fuse holder assembly into the battery positive terminal connection and tucked the fuse holder into a stable position between the battery and the air filter box.

After installing this in line fuse holder, I got together with The Electric Connection and helped them put together a repair kit that has all of the needed parts to replace the damaged fuse box and the burnt wire that I had to replace in this repair. After R&R of the fuse box assembly, all you will need is the ability to crimp and solder the one splice terminal. Note; the battery must be removed from the vehicle if an open flame or inductive soldering tool is used to solder the connection or shrink the heat shrink tubing. The gases from the battery can explode violently causing injury or death when exposed to an open flame or spark. 

If you need one of these repair kits please click here to be taken to the product page. 

1995 Buick Park Avenue, Hard Crank Condition

This 1995 Buick Park Avenue came in with the complaint that it was hard to crank sometimes. Meaning that the starter would turn slowly. A quick look at the positive battery terminal connection revealed a possible problem. The engine was still running at this point so I touched the terminal to see if it was warm.

As it turned out it was actually very warm. One hundred and seventy nine degrees fahrenheit to be exact.  According to my infrared temperature gun.

On the left is the assortment of lock and flat washers that were installed. On the right is the proper lead spacer that is supposed to be installed between the two cable ends.

The cable ends were also fairly corroded.

A quick clean up with a wire brush attachment in my 1/4″ drive impact driver.

Nice clean terminals.

A new bolt, spacer and clean terminals.

A much better temperature reading. I tried to get the owner to let me replace one of the terminal ends because it was getting warm at the crimp area.

The customer declined, stating it was “good enough for her, now that is was cranking okay”. Oh well she will be back one day and I will fix it then.