2001 Cadillac Deville DTS, Passenger Side Air Stuck on Cold

This 2001 Cadillac DeVille DTS came in with the complaint that the passenger side air was stuck on cold. There was a code B0429 stored in the Instrument Panel Module. B0429 relates to a fault with the passenger temperature door actuator assembly.

To gain access to the passenger side temperature door actuator the glove box will need to be removed. This starts by removing the trim panel that surrounds the sides and lower edge of the glove box. It is held in place by spring clips and will unsnap from the dash.

With the surround panel removed it is easier to gain access to the two 7 mm screws that hold the lower hush panel in place.

Next there are eight torx screws that hold the glove box assembly into the dash. They are either T15 or T20. Two are at the upper leading edge.

Two on the right face panel and two on the left face panel.

Two at the rear of the glove box. Just above the interior shelf.

With all of the screws removed the glove box will slide out of the dash. Keep in mind that there are several wiring connectors attached to the switches and light on the left side of the glove box assembly. Bring the box out slowly and in a way to gain access to the connectors.

On this Cadillac there were two plug in connectors with clips/latches that have to be released before removing the connector. The blue one has a latch that can be depressed with either using a small screw driver or your thumb. Hence the name thumb latch. The other has a latch that has to be lifted slightly so that the harness connector can be removed. The light assembly has two latches that have to be depressed. One upper and one lower.

Once the latches on the light are released, it has to be pushed to the inside of the glove box.

Once the light is fully within the glove box it can be rotated and placed back through the hole for removal. The wires do not disconnect from the light it has to be removed as an assembly.

Now that the glove box is fully out of the way the passenger side temperature door actuator can be easily seen.

There are two screws that need to be removed both have 5.5 mm heads. The first is located in the hole near the center of the actuator.

The other is located on the lower edge. The wiring harness at the lower left edge will also need to be removed. It sometimes takes a bit of wiggling and maneuvering but the actuator will come out and go back in with no other parts removal.

Once off you will notice that there is a split shaft on the underside of the actuator. That is because the actuator also controls the temperature of the r rear vents in the back of the enter console. When installing the new actuator, you will need to reach in and slightly flex the center shaft towards you so that the actuator will slide onto it.

The old actuator has a label with the following numbers on it: 52474996, B311031CSA.

If you need of this actuator please click here. 

2006 Chevrolet Impala, Ticking/Clicking Sound From Under Passenger Side Of Dash

This 2006 Chevrolet Impala came in with a rapid clicking or ticking sound coming from the passenger side of the dash. As far as I could tell it was emanating from behind the upper right corner of the glove box area. I opened the glove box fully and found that there were two locking tabs at the rear on either side. A slight push down and the latches released.

A better look at the latches. The glove box body has to be pushed down so that the latches can clear the rear housing. After they are clear the glove box will roll down out of the way.

Looking through the opening I could see the door bumping back and forth in rhythm with the clicking sound. I disconnected the wiring and it stopped. There are two 5.5 mm headed screws that hold the actuator in place.

The old actuator with a part number 52411997.

I decided to open the actuator up to see if the problem is evident. I suspect a broken gear.

There it is – two missing teeth.

Click on the pictures to enlarge for a better view.

The gears are not available by themselves.

Luckily the actuators are not very expensive.

If you have the same problem and need to buy this actuator please click here.

Sparky’s going to Vegas!

Sparky will be attending the SEMA and AAPEX conventions in Las Vegas next week. As of this posting he will be unavailable to respond to any comments or emails until Monday, November 7.

As you can see in the photo above, Sparky’s had an “interesting” last day before he left for Vegas. This car had been wrecked and the frame man cut wires under the ABS unit and did not realize it. Sparky found and fixed the problems before leaving for Vegas.

1999 Chevrolet S10 Blazer, Runs Poorly Sometimes

This 1999 S10 Blazer came in with the complaint that the engine would run poorly sometimes. The customer unfortunately could not provide a better description of the issue. Luckily there were some clear codes stored in the PCM memory, P0118 and P1115

Code P0118 was stored due to a high voltage signal from the coolant temperature sensor.

Code P1115 was stored due to and intermittent high voltage signal from the coolant temperature sensor. This intermittent code explains why the vehicle runs poorly sometimes.

The coolant temperature sensor is located on the driver’s side cylinder head, below the master cylinder area. It is a two wire sensor and if you look closely at the picture below you will see that the terminals are compressed. You may want to click on the picture to enlarge it. This compressed condition will allow the terminals to lose contact with the corresponding terminal on the coolant temperature sensor.

Looking at the data below with the coolant temperature sensor unplugged you will see a coolant temperature of -40 F. The coolant temperature is at 5 volts. To clarify the 5 volt signal is a high voltage signal as the sensor operating voltage range is from 0-5 volts.

I used a fused jumper wire to “short” the two wires together. The wire does not need to be fused but I happen to have one that has the correct terminal ends on it and it makes the process much easier.

With the two wires “shorted” together the temperature jumps to 302 F and the signal voltage drops to zero volts. This test confirms that the remaining wire and the PCM are both okay at this time.

I cut off the old harness connector and spliced in a new one. Note that I staggered the splice connections.

I used a small torch to heat the heat shrink tubing.

The wires are neatly back into the split loom and the harness is reconnected to the temperature sensor.

The coolant temperature at engine startup.

The engine temperature after about ten minutes of idling.

I cleared the codes and took this Blazer for a test drive. This one is fixed.

2004 Kia Optima, Power Windows Do Not Work

This 2004 Kia Optima came in with the complaint that all of the power windows stopped working at the same time. I took a quick look at a wiring diagram and saw that it was a fairly simple system. A power window fuse, power window relay and power window switches.

The 40 amp power window fuse is located in the underhood fuse box. It is the second fuse down from the top left corner of the fuse box legend.

I looked closely at the fuse and could see that it was okay. Looking however does not let you know if there is power there or not. Also sometimes it is very hard to tell by visual inspection that a fuse of this style is good or not.

To be absolutely sure this is what I do. After first removing the fuse in question, I use a small screwdriver to release the locking tabs on the window or clear cover.

With the cover removed I could get a clear view of the fuse element and it was good.

To go one step further, I reinstalled the fuse and checked for power on both sides of the fuse with a test light. Obviously power is present and the fuse was indeed good.

The next thing that I wanted to do was to check the power window relay. I looked in the component locators,in the data base that I use and the only reference that I could find to it was that it is located in the junction block. Not knowing where the relay was prompted me to remove the driver’s door panel and check to see if power was present at the connector.

There were several screws to be removed from the door panel. Two at the rear edge. Tow at the front edge, Two at the lower edge. One at the bottom of the pull grip. One that holds the interior door release handle bezel in place. Then at the bottom of the panel find a hand hold and pull the panel to release the plastic retaining pins. There were three harness connectors that had to be released and they were quite difficult due to the angles. Each one has a locking tab that has to be released first.

I located the pink power supply wire to the power window switch and there was no power present, with the key on. Now I have to find the relay. One of my best friends was at my shop working on a ATV and mentioned that I should do an search online. I laughed and told him that you cannot find information like this on line and that is one of the many reasons why I started Sparky’s Answers. I did however give it a try and sure enough plenty of questions and no answers. It did remind me that Kia has a very friendly information site so I went there and signed up so that I could find the information in the dealer site. I am sad to say that I could not find a location there either.

After coming back to the Optima, my friend asked me if I had found the answer. I said “No, as usual the internet is useless when it comes to finding needed automotive technical information. At least what I need.”

His reply was “Why don’t you call the dealership and ask one of the mechanics there”.

I looked him in the eyes and said ” Do you even know me at all, I’m MoFlo Sparky at Sparky’s Answers. I don’t call people for trivial stuff like this. They call me!” We both busted out laughing and I told him to go back to playing with his ATV while I got to work.

Now to finally answer the question of just where is the power window relay on this Kia.  It is the second relay from the left on the back side of the fuse/junction block. I am pointing to it in the picture below. The lower dash trim panel had to be removed to gain good access to it. First the left switch panel has to be removed. There is one screw at the upper edge of the opening once the switch panel is out. You can see the clip nut in the picture below. There are also two screws in the lower corners of that panel that have to be removed. From there the panel unsnaps from the dash. It is a little tedious though.

I put my fingers on the relay while I switched the ignition on and back off. No click. I removed the relay and testing it and it was okay. What next?

In looking closer at the wiring diagrams I found that the relay is controlled by the ECATS module. A complicated term for a body control module. I thought that maybe there was a problem in there so I wanted to remove and inspect it for damage. When I started figuring out how to remove it, I realized that the lower edge of it was loose. I snapped it into place and the key in warning buzzer sounded. I was pretty sure that this car was fixed.

I turned the ignition on and checked for power at the power window switch harness. As you can see it was back.

I put everything back together and checked to make sure everything worked. It did and this one was done.

2002 Buick Century Power Windows Do Not Work

This 2002 Buick Century came in with the complaint that all of the power windows do not work. I decided the best place to start was the master power window switch. I used a small screwdriver to depress the locking tab and lifted the front edge of the switch up.

I checked for power supply at the yellow wire, terminal “G”. Power was present with the ignition on.

I used  the seat bracket for a ground location for my test light.

Since I knew I had power at terminal “G”, I used it as a power source to check for a ground on terminal “B”. I also used a jumper wire as a means of connection between the clamp on my test light and terminal “G” of the harness connector. No light meant no ground was present.

Normally I would suspect a broken wire in the driver’s door jamb wiring. I pulled the harness boot loose from the body and the door. I saw no problem there.

I looked around to see where the harness connected in the interior and could not see anything. I felt around in the hole in the body and could feel something that resembled a connector. I wiggled and pulled the harness and found this connector.

I flipped the latch and separated the two halves. I you will click on and enlarge the following picture you should notice two damaged terminals in the lower left corner of the connector.

The burn damage on the mating connector.

The blue locking comb had to be removed first.

I did not have the proper terminals to repair this connection. On top of that I am not sure the connector body would have held a new terminal anyways. So I went old school on it. I would normally run new wire through the connector bodies and spliced the wires on either side. Since this is on a moving harness, I checked to make sure my splicing terminals would fit in the connector body and be well insulated. They would. I next used a cordless drill and bits to cut the locking tabs out of the circuit holes. I spliced a new wire onto the door side wire and ran it through the connector bodies.

I repeated the process with the other wire and pulled the splice connections into the connector bodies.

DSC05914

 

The only way I knew that I could do this was that the separators were not damaged and that would keep the connectors from touching each other.

I fished my two wires through the other connector body.

I then worked on pulling the wires and moving the connector bodies back together, making sure to keep everything properly aligned. It took some effort but it finally went back together and snapped into place.

Then I cut and spliced my two new wires to the old wires that were in the body side connector body. I felt good about putting the splice in this location as there is little if any movement onside the body cavity.

All spliced back together and ready to put back into the body and door cavities.

I connected the switch back to the wiring and turned the key on. Then driver’s power window went straight down without the switch being depressed. I guess that explains what burnt the circuits out.

Terminals “B” and “G” need to be replaced in the main harness connector for the driver’s door switch as well. The customer declined doing that repair at this time. If you were to find yourself needing this connector, it is the same connector that is used for the blower motor resistor. Please click here to see.

What originally happened on this vehicle was that the driver’s power window switch failed and applying constant power and ground to the driver’s power window motor. That overloaded the circuits and burnt the terminals. Had the driver known what to do they could have simply removed the power window circuit breaker and saved all of the wiring headaches. Ignorance sure can be expensive or profitable, depending on your point of view.

How To Find A Good Repair Shop / Mechanic?

You know, this question gets kicked around a lot and I have read others recommendations on how to find a good repair shop so I thought I would give my opinions. The number one way to find a good automotive repair shop is to ask! The only problem is who do you ask? You can always ask friends, family and even perfect strangers but let’s face the truth, if these people really knew anything about auto repairs they would be in the business. Your friends and family can relate to you that the problem was or was not fixed. They can relate their feelings about the services but “do they really know what a good shop or mechanic really is?”

Some of the problems that come from asking this group of people are:

1. Timeline of repair history. Did your friend or family member have their experience with a repair shop last week, last month, last year or several years ago? Shops can change for the better or for the worse within a few days, let alone months or years. You could visit a shop today and have a particular experience (good or bad) and tomorrow the key person responsible for that experience (good or bad) could be gone. That person could have just been having a great or terrible day themselves (an average of experiences means more than a single experience). I usually am quite honest with my customers, if I am having a particularly bad day, I let them know. Of course I wear my emotions on my sleeve and therefore it is pretty easy to tell about me. I know that about myself and normally I will pre apologize for not being my normal self.

2. Frequency of repairs. Did your relative or friend visit a particular repair shop once, twice or many times. I will let you in on something. If you visit a shop once you are a consumer. If you visit a shop several times you are a customer. In the services industries of which an auto repair shop is part of, a consumer is some one that comes in once (usually with the worst of needs) and you know in your heart will likely never return for anything simple. A customer however is some one that will frequent the establishment and likely return for future needs of all sizes. Most shops do not consciously think of it this way (I Do) but it is just part of being human. The more you see a person the more comfortable you are around them and the better you will treat them. Both a good shop and a good customer are trying to find out if this first step, in the relationship is going to work or not. Once you have found a good shop remember to be a customer and not a consumer. Equally important once a shop has found a good customer take care of them. I have dozens if not a few hundred of what I consider to be really good customers.  I will do whatever it takes to help them (within reason of course) and this includes delaying service on a consumers vehicle. Would you rather be considered a “good customer” or a “consumer” if your car was broken?

3. Attitude. Ask yourself this question. Would you want to do anything for your friend or family member, that requires you charging them a fee? If you would great. If you would not, then find someone else to ask! If they are too much of a pain in the rear for you to deal with, chances are they will not have a good opinion of any shop and very little knowledge can be gained.

So, who should you ask? The people to ask are the counter people at your local parts stores. This works whether you are in your home town or traveling. If you have a problem you cannot handle yourself and need the services of a professional mechanic go to your local parts store, explain the type of vehicle and the type of symptom you are experiencing. Then ask,  “If it were their vehicle, who would they take it to?” Repeat this at several parts stores in the area and if one name keeps coming up that is where you should go. Although they cannot discuss the actual details, the part stores know a lot about shops and mechanics.

For example they know if the shop is credit worthy and actually pay their bills. They know if the shop has a high parts return ratio (this means the shop is trying parts in order to fix cars, rather than diagnosing).  They know the general demeanor of the shop (are they easy or hard to get along with). They hear a lot of feedback from their customers about shop experiences (sometimes accurate, sometimes not). Believe it or not the best thing to hear about a shop is that “They are a little expensive but they fix it right the first time.” I may be a little biased, because this is the most common statement about my shop and I like it for two reasons.

1: I know what I have to charge to stay in business.
2: I know I will fix the vehicle if I agree to do so.

I know that I am a little different but I also know I am not alone in this industry. There are a lot of really good shops and mechanics out there. There are also a lot of really good customers out there. The problem is getting the two together. Maybe my opinions will help.

1994 Chevrolet Caprice, Runs Hot

This 1994 Chevrolet caprice came in with the complaint that the engine runs hot. I ran the engine while monitoring the temperature with the dash gauge, a Tech 2 scan tool and an infrared heat gun. The coolant gauge was reading hot but with the infrared heat gun it was not.

Data stream also confirmed that it was not running hot.

The cooling fans came on at 219 “F” and there were no signs of a overheated engine except for the dash gauge.

The cooling fans were actually on when I took this picture but with the flash and the speed of my camera they look like they are not turning.

It was time to shift my testing to an inaccurate temperature gauge. The temperature sending unit on this caprice is located near the rear of the passenger cylinder head.

After the engine had cooled down somewhat, I reached under the exhaust manifold and unplugged the sending unit.

I got out my decade resistance box and set it at about 1400 ohms.

I then connected one end to ground and the other end to the sender harness. I did use a jumper wire with the proper size terminal on the end that was probing the harness connector.

The temperature gauge went to full cold as it should have.

I reset my decade resistance box to 55 ohms and connected the leads as I had earlier.

Now it reads full hot as it should. I now have a diagnosis of a faulty temperature sending unit.

I replaced the sending unit and ran the engine again to confirm the repair.

I was also again comparing it to scan data.

So in the end this was not a run hot condition. Instead it was an inaccurate gauge reading leading the driver to think the engine was running hot.

I realize that most readers will not have a decade resistance box but you can go to an electronics supply company and buy a 1400 ohm and a 55 ohm resistor to test with.

2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, Replacing The Right Front Power Window Regulator Assembly

This 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo came in with the passenger front window down. The driver said she heard a pop and then the window went down. Sounds like the power window regulator cable broke.

The door panel is fairly easy to remove. One phillips headed screw at the bottom of the door pull.

One T20 torx screw behind the interior door handle.

Using a small screwdriver, lift the cover as shown below. There is a phillips headed screw under the cover.

Going around the outer edge of the door panel are push pin fasteners. Pull the door panel loose from the door one fastener at a time.

Disconnect the mirror wiring.

Rotate the locking tabs for the linkage.

Lift the linkage from the locking tabs.

Disconnect the wiring for the passenger switch assembly. The locking tab is underneath.

My thumb is on the locking tab in the next picture.

Remove the speaker assembly. Four phillips headed screws and one harness connector.

As carefully as possible pull the vapor barrier from the door panel.

There are clips at either end of the attaching bar that have to be removed to separate the window glass from the regulator assembly.

It only take a little force to pull the metal clips out. The new regulator should already have new clips installed.

A good look at the clip.

The window glass has two pins that have to be maneuvered out of the white plastic bushing that the clips were in. Once it is free I used suction cup cables to hold the glass up. You may need an assistant to do that for you.

There are three bolts that hold the regulator to the door. There are three nuts that hold the motor attaching plate to the door.

One more regulator bolt at the bottom of the door.

Shift the red bar so that the black latch will release and disconnect the wiring for the motor.

With all of the fasteners and connections released the regulator assembly will now slide out of the bottom of the door.

After the new regulator is secured in the door the glass can be lowered to the attaching bar. Line the pins up to the white plastic mounts and snap into position. Make sure the pins are fully seated.

I had to take my time and secure the vapor barrier to the door and re enforce it with black duct tape.

I put everything back together one step at a time and this one is done.

2006 Toyota Tundra, Power Windows and A/C Not Working

This 2006 Toyota Tundra came in with the complaint that the power windows and air conditioner did not work. The customer had stated that the battery went dead a couple of times and he would just jump it off. The last time he changed the battery.

I was pretty sure one of the multi fuse link assemblies would be damaged in the underhood fuse box.

I guessed that it would be the black one because it had two visible cables attached to it.

Sure enough no power to one of the cable connections as shown below.

I connected one of my heavier duty in line fuse holders into the system for testing.

I now had power and the fuse did not blow. My thinking is that someone had hooked jumper cables up backwards at some point and blew the fuse.

I decided to connect by charging system analyzer up and check the amperage going through this circuit.

When I first checked it, the reading was 80 amps. It settled down to 59 amps by the time I got the picture.

Just to show the relationship between amps and heat I also took a temperature check of the fuse and fuse holder. The peak was 158° F.

The fuse itself was easy enough to change; one bolt, one nut and it pulled out.

I did have to use a pair of pliers to get it released initially.

I had not paid a lot of attention to it but there is a 7.5 amp fuse that should be removed at the end of the fuse assembly. One side of it is still attached to the fuse assembly in the next picture.

The new fuse assembly on the left and the old one on the right.

The blown fuse in towards the lower right hand corner. It is horizontal and clearly blown.

I lined the new assembly up in the fuse box and firmly pushed it into position. It has to be fully seated in order the get the screw in without cross threading anything.

Installed the cable and nut on the stud.

Installed the 7.5 amp fuse at the end of the assembly.

I had to check the remaining fuses, clear codes and finish checking out the vehicle. The power windows and a/c are now working as well.

I originally thought that someone had connected the battery or jumper cables and blew the fuse. Now after seeing the amperage out put of the alternator and the rating on the factory fuse, I think the fuse blew by design or  accident to protect the alternator from being damaged by an excessively low battery condition. The fuse is supposed to be rated at 140 amps. There are two options for the alternator on this truck. One is a 100 amp unit and the other is a 130 amp unit. In theory the 130 amp alternator operating at full output for and extended period of time could melt the fuse material. In a close up look at the damaged fuse it looks melted. It does not have the flash marks on the clear plastic indicating a blown fuse caused by a strong short. at this point it is just my opinion but I would be interested if others have this same condition and can confirm nothing was connected backwards.