1996 Ford F350, No Crank Condition

This 1996 Ford F350 with a diesel engine came in with the complaint that sometimes the engine would not crank. At other times it would crank normally. Luckily for me when I got to it, it would not start, almost like there was no battery in the truck. Seemed pretty simple. I connected the clamp of my test light to ground and made sure I had a connection by touching the positive battery post. I also checked at the terminal end to make sure it had a solid connection to the battery post. It was good.

I followed the cable to the starter relay and tested there. No power.

If you need to buy a new starter relay please click my affiliate link image above. I always try to use OEM quality when possible.

I found a convenient place about halfway down the cable and checked for power. It was present. The problem is between this last test point and the terminal end at the starter relay.

I took the cable end off at the relay fro inspection. It was loose on the cable.

So loose in fact that I pulled it off with my fingers.

I crimped on and soldered a new terminal and then applied the heat shrink tubing.

Installed the new cable end to the starter relay and this part was done.

If you would like to buy a test light like the one in my repair articles please click on the image link above. 

1999 Lexus ES300, Battery Goes Dead

This 1999 Lexus ES300 was sent to me because that battery would go dead after several days of sitting. I checked with the customer to make sure he had the radio code of needed. Thankfully in the end we did not have to have it. Next, I connected my multimeter to the engine and to the negative battery post. I already had  the leads set up for reading dc amps and at the 10 amp location. The initial amp draw was 1.23 amps.

After a few minutes it went down to .53 amps as different modules went to sleep.

Finally after leaving the car alone for about half an hour it settled down to a .10 amp draw and stayed there.

I was very lucky on this one. The first fuse that I pulled dropped the drain down to .02-.03 amps.

I checked the fuse designation and went to my wiring diagrams to see what all was attached to that fuse.

The system drain with the fuse removed.

I found out that one of the things this fuse supplied was the memory power seat. I have seen a lot of power seat switches get stuck and cause drains and blow fuses. I went right to the driver’s power  seat to inspect and this is what I found. A button stuck in.

A light touch with my screw driver and it popped right up. I worked it back and forth several times. It never stuck again.

The fuse back in the fuse box and the drain was still at .02 amps. I advised the customer of the situation and he stated that he would just keep and eye on it to see if it would stick again.

That was about four months ago and I have not heard back from them.

2004 Lincoln Town Car, Multiple Misfires P0300 & P0304

This 2004 Lincoln town car came in with a rough run condition and codes P0300 and P0304 stored. the standard repair is new spark plugs, new spark plug boot kits and replace #4 coil assembly. I normally do not post tune up type repairs but I decided to do this one to see if there is any interest in this kind of topic. This repair generally applies to any Ford, Lincoln or Mercury with the 4.6 liter engine.

The very first thing that has to be done is to blow off all of the and and dirt from the top of the engine. Once most of it is gone, I take the air inlet tube off of the engine to access the coils and plugs on the driver’s side.

Then I blow more dirt from the top of the engine from where I could not reach before.

There is normally a lot of dirt to blow off and this car was no exception.

To remove the coil assembly, first depress the locking tab on the under side of the connector. Then pull the connector from the coil assembly.

Next a 7 mm headed screw needs to be removed.

Then pull the coil away from the underside of the fuel rail or anything else that may inhibit it’s removal. The Boot will normally be stuck on the spark plug so it may take some pulling and twisting to get it to come free.

This particular coil was removed from cylinder number five. It has an obvious arc mark on the side and should not be reused. I thought it was a little strange that the PCM had a code P0304 stored and not a P0305 stored given the condition of this coil.

The number six coil is on the left and again the one on the right with the obvious arc mark is from cylinder number five. My plan was to now replace coils 4 and 5.

When reusing a coil and new boot kit should be installed.  The boot will easily pull loose from the coil.

Once the boot is removed the spring and resistor will need to be removed from the coil. It to pulls loose but sometimes takes a little more effort. It will also pop the end of your fingers a little. Do not feel great but doesn’t really hurt. At lest hardened old hands. the new spring assembly needs to be fully pushed on the terminal inside the end of the coil. I normally line it up and the using a straight line force, compress the spring and seat it into the coil.

I also use a damp shop rag and wipe the dirt from the coil while inspecting for arc marks and cracks. If I find any that are suspicious, I prefer to change them but If needed I will just locate it to a cylinder position that is easy to remove.

Some of the coils require using a swivel or universal socket to remove and install the screws.  When installing the screws, try to only use your fingers to start them and make sure they start easily. They screw into brass inserts that are very easy to cross thread.

Now that the coils are removed, I blow more dirt from the spark plug tubes. You would think as much as I had already blown the dirt off of the engine that it would be fairly clean. If you look closely you can see the sand being blown about.

Various extension lengths and a good universal socket will be needed to get all of the spark plugs out and back in.

The original is on the right and the new plug is on the left. It is easy to see if a spark plug is the original on a Ford product because they put paint on the tip at the factory. No paint and the spark plug has already been changed.

I try to always use a torque wrench when installing spark plugs. Sometimes there just isn’t enough room but this car has plenty. By the way the torque specification  is 11 ft lbs.

I finished putting this one back together and took it for a test drive. All is well and no codes.

2001 Nissan Altima SE, A/C Erratic

This 2001 Nissan Altima SE came in with the complaint that the a/c compressor would not engage properly. the customer stated that the compressor work fine sometimes. At other times it would click on and off several times before not coming on at all. Of course when I checked it seemed to work fien. Well I did have to charge the system properly first. after that it worked fine except for on flaw. The compressor would not cycle off and the evaporator core would start to ice up.

Since I already had a suspicion that the thermo amplifier was the problem (experience), I decided to start there with my testing.

The connector can be accessed without taking the glove box out. There are however only a few screws and it makes it much easier to work and take pictures. There are two lower screws. One at each corner. All have phillips heads.

There are two screws in the center at the glove box latch.

Then one in each corner. A little bit of pulling and maneuvering around and the assembly will come out. Removing the lower right kick panel makes it easier. Once it is free the glove box light will need to be twisted out of the assembly.

The evaporator case with the glove box assembly removed. The connector for the thermo amplifier is at the lower left corner of the evaporator case.

Since the compressor would not turn off testing was very easy. I first confirmed that turning the a/c switch in the dash off would cycle the compressor off, it did. I know the switch is good. Next, I had the engine running with the a/c on. Once the vent temperature dropped below 40 degrees “F” and the compressor was still on, I simply unplugged the thermo amplifier connection. The compressor cycled off as it should. I let the vent temperature rise to about 50 degrees “F” and plugged the connector back in. The compressor cycled back on. This test told me that all of the components from the thermo amplifier to the compressor were working as designed. The only conclusion was that the thermo amplifier was indeed the problem.

The connector from the thermo amplifier is attached to a bar on the evaporator case as shown below. A small screwdriver to release the locking tab and the connector will slide off.

The evaporator case is made of very flexible plastic, so you can separate the case by removing the two phillips headed screws at the case seam. Then remove the two lower screws that hold the case to the firewall edge of the assembly. They have 10 mm heads. With those screws removed you should be able to lift the two latches at the front of the case seam. this will allow the lower half of the case to be flexed down as shown in the picture below. Follow the wiring forward to the actual thermo amplifier. It has a bar that slides into the evaporator core fins.

With the case flexed down your hand should be able to go inside the case and grab the thermo amplifier body and slide it straight out to the left side of the car. Feel around to get an understanding of where the thermo amplifier is mounted.

Try to install the new part in the same place. If you are off slightly it will not make a big deal. If you try to place it to far away from the original location you may not get the proper vent temperatures. Also remember that the mounting bar has to be slid into the open spaces between the evaporator core fins. It should go in with minimal to slight force.

Perhaps the hardest part on this one was getting the case seam to go back together properly. I had to have one hand pushing the lower case up from underneath, while I used my other hand to flex the edges of both case halves around until it finally lined up and slid together.  You may or may not have the same issue as me but I thought it was important to tell you about it. If the case does not go fully together you will wind up with an air leak and a whistle.

2003 Chevrolet Avalanche, No Run Condition

This 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche with a 5.3 liter VIN “T” engine was towed in with the complaint that the engine would not run. I went to check codes and data and found that communication to the PCM was down. I checked all of the fusees under the hood and in the interior fuse box. No problems found there. The next step was to go to the PCM located above the frame rail next to the battery. I had to remove the plastic cover and then unsnap the clip that holds it in place. That allowed enough room to disconnect the PCM harness connectors. They both have a 7 mm headed screw in the center of the connector.

I used a pocket screwdriver to depress the clips that held the covers on the back side of the connectors. The green, C2 connector only had two circuits to test, so I started there.

I was looking for the ground signals on terminals 1 and 40. I started with terminal 1, black/white wire.  I checked continuity to the battery negative terminal and found it was open. Notice I used a fine tip pick attached to my multimeter lead to test at the harness connector. I also used a very gentle touch as the terminals are easily damaged.

A closer look at the test setup.

This is another test I like to use to test the amp carrying ability of a circuit. Some people use a sealed beam headlight as a load but I find that cumbersome. I must caution you that you must have a full understanding of what is connected to a particular circuit before performing any kind of a load test on it. Failure to do this may result in very expensive damage. In this case I connected one end of a fused jumper wire to battery positive. I placed my probe into the terminal to be tested. I then touched the other end of the fused jumper wire to my test probe. This is important as I did not want to create an arc mark inside the PCM terminal. The arc takes place at the side of my probe.

Since I already knew that there was an open condition on this terminal it is not very practical. If there was ground present, it would have popped the black tab up in the circuit breaker. You can do this with a fuse as well. Just can’t reset a blown fuse though. By the way I was using a five amp circuit breaker.

A closer look at the reset tab on the circuit breaker.

A look through the wiring diagrams showed that the ground terminated at the right rear of the engine. If you look closely you will see the black/white wire at the rear of the fuel rail.

There it is the end has broken off.

For test purposes, I connected a jumper lead to the wire and started the engine. It started with no problem but it would not idle properly and the “Reduced Power” message came up on the driver’s information center. Looks like there may be another problem. I checked codes and data and was coming up with what seemed like some pretty serious problems with the TAC system.

I finally decided that I better go ahead and fix this first problem before I got wrapped up in another one. As I stated earlier the wire is connected to the rear of the engine on the right side (passenger). I felt around and found it and determined I needed a 13 mm socket and ratchet with a 6″ extension.

The following picture shows where go through to find the bolt and gives you an idea of how far down it is.

The factory wire terminal and the end of the wire where it broke off at.

I stripped the end of the original wire and added about a 6″ extension to it with a new ring terminal.  Sealed the connections with heat shrink tubing and bolted it back into position.

The problem with the TAC system went away once the ground was properly secured. The one thing that really bothered me about this repair can be seen in the next picture. Someone had thought that the vehicle had a starter issue and changed it. Not a big deal, but in the process of doing that they disconnected the crank sensor and did not reconnect it.

How hard is it to remember to reinstall a crank sensor connector? Well I guess it really does not matter this one is done.

2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer, Bearing Noise Under The Hood

This 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer came in with a fairly loud roaring/whining noise coming from under the hood while the engine was running. I was pretty sure the idler pulley bearing was making the noise so I loosened the tensioner assembly and took the belt off. It took a 3/8 square drive adapter to connect to the tesioner assembly. A 3/8 ratchet would also work.

I reached down and spun the pulley by hand and it felt a little rough. The alternator and a/c pulleys seemed smooth, when turned.

I used a 3/8 drive ratchet and 15 mm socket to remove the attaching bolt for the idler pulley.

The pulley had a fair amount of rubber built up on the outside of it that it was collecting from the backside of the belt.

The pulley, bolt and dust shield.

With the bolt and dust shield removed it is pretty evident that the bearing is faulty visually.  The upper edge of the bearing is covered in cooked bearing grease. The grease boiled out of the bearing as it failed.

Be careful removing the pulley as there is a good chance you will cut yourself in the fan shroud’s sharp edges. Maybe some day the manufacturers will care enough to make working on a vehicle safe. I can dream can’t I?

The old and new pulleys side by side.  Note that the bearing sizes are the same for both pulleys. There are some replacement pulleys that have a smaller bearing.

I cannot see using a pulley with a smaller bearing in a situation where a bearing has already failed. You can see from the box that I used a quality name brand part.

All back together and quiet as when new.

I wish the customer would have sprung for  a new belt, but that was their decision.

I have replaced a few of these now and I guess the reason I am seeing them is because my customer’s think that the alternator or air conditioning compressor is making the noise. I won’t complain though it is a pretty easy repair.

2005 Chevrolet Malibu, Front Turn Signal Socket

If you have a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu or a similar vehicle, and the front turn signal and park light socket is burnt out you have two choices. Buy a replacement headlight assembly or install a new socket. The manufacturer considers the socket to be part of the headlight assembly and therefore does not list a replacement part. I have found one that works!

To start the repair the headlight assembly has to be removed.

There are two 10 mm headed bolts that hold the headlight assembly in place.

Then the assembly will lift off of the body panel.

Release the latch and separate the connector.

Once the light assembly is removed, the sealing cover has to be rotated and removed. Lefty loosey, righty tighty. It does take a fair amount of pressure to loosen the cover.

Now we are down to the front turn signal/park light socket assembly. Note that the wires are inside the housing. The harness is installed at the factory before the light is completely assembled. Once the light is assembled the entire harness cannot be changed. The manufacturer therefore considers it as part of the light assembly and only sells it that way.

Being used to this type of situation and having multiple parts at my disposal, I can usually find something that will work. Notice in the picture below that the two sockets look quite different form the back side. The overall size is good though as it will allow the sealing cover to go back into position.

Looking at the business side of the sockets, you should notice that the sockets have the same alignment tabs and the both accommodate the same style bulb. If you looked at a side view you would also see that they have the same focal length. Meaning that the bulb height from the sealing base to the top of the bulb is the same distance or length on both socket assemblies.

The proof that it fits, replacement socket installed in the light assembly. If you need to purchase this socket please click here.

Notice that the old socket had four wires and the new on has three. The original design uses the socket as a splice location for two ground wires (black). Those two wires will  be spliced into the one black wire on the new socket. This just moves the splice location to outside the socket rather than inside the socket.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box to fix problems economically.

2003 Pontiac Grand Am, Fuel Pump Test

I had already replaced the fuel pump in this 2003 Pontiac Grand Am and while I was letting it run, I decided to check the amperage draw of the new fuel pump. I had already installed a fused jumper wire so I had easy access to connect my low amp probe.

The picture above reads 6.36 amps while the one below reads 6.40 amps. I would conclude that a reading between 6 and 7 amps would indicate a good fuel pump. A lower reading would indicate worn brushes or an open fuel line (I think you would see or smell that though). A higher reading would indicate a dirty fuel filter, faulty pressure regulator (restricting fuel flow too much) or a faulty condition within the fuel pump itself.

I know this is not much of a post in comparison  to most that I do but I thought it might be interesting for some.

2003 Cadillac Deville, Blower Does Not Work

This 2003 Cadillac Deville DTS came in with the complaint that the blower motor does not work most of the time. Sometimes it will blow but it seems to blow slower than it should. Using a test light and a jumper wire, I connected one end of my test setup to the purple wire.

Then used the tip of the test light to gently probe the black wire. With the key on and the blower set to high speed, the test light lit up. Indicating that power and ground were both preset. At least in an unloaded condition. Since worn out brushes are common on these motors. I gently reconnected the harness and flexed the motor connector back and forth. The motor would work under these conditions so the diagnosis is a faulty blower motor assembly.

The blower motor is pretty easy to change. Just three screws hold it on place. I think they were 6 mm.

There are two different blower motor part numbers listed for this car. One  has a foam gasket and the other has a rubber gasket as shown below.

This car has  more problems, in that this was just laying on the inside of the hush panel when I removed it. It is the passenger side temperature door actuator.

It mounts the the end of the heater-a/c case behind the glove box area. the glove box has to be removed to install it.

As the customer is currently financially challenged, I do not have anymore picture or information at this time.

2004 Nissan Altima, P0507 Surging / High Idle

This 2004 Nissan Altima 2.5S came in with a high cold idle followed by a high and surging warm idle. A few of the things I noticed right away was a fairly new battery.

And a new starter assembly.

I wanted to take a look at the throttle body, so I removed the intake tube by loosening the clamp at the Mass Air Flow sensor.

Then the clamp at the throttle body.

I had to disconnect the vent tube to the valve cover and this hose that is the transmission vent hose.  It is very important that this hose be put back in place when the intake tube is reinstalled.

I did not really want to see this. Notice the run marks left by throttle body cleaner being sprayed into the air horn. Also pay attention to the fact that some of the electronics are below the throttle plate. I do not have a Nissan Consult II scan tool so I needed to perform a manual relearn procedure for Idle Air Volume.

After many hours of trying every conceivable variation of the relearn procedure I decided the throttle body had to be replaced.  I wanted to document the relearn procedure step by step so I started again with the factory procedure as given by Mitchell. It did not work, so I modified it, to what did work for me. Along with some general clarification. This is quite lengthy so please bear with me.

First of all, IF the battery, ECM or throttle body has been disconnected these conditions may all have to be performed to stabilize the idle and remove the code P0507. If any other codes are present this procedure may not work. If other codes are present diagnose and repair those problems first. Then perform this procedure to clear out the single P0507 code.

Accelerator Pedal Released Position Learning Procedure

This procedure allows the ECM to learn the fully released position of the APP sensor (Accelerator Pedal Position). It must be performed if the APP sensor or the ECM harnesses have been disconnected.

1. Ensure the accelerator pedal is fully released.
2. Turn the ignition on and wait at least 2 seconds.
3. Turn the ignition off and wait at least 10 seconds.
4. Turn the ignition on and wait at least 2 seconds.
5. Turn the ignition off and wait at least 10 seconds.

There is nothing else stated, so my assumption was to start the engine.

Throttle Valve Closed Position Learning

This procedure allow the ECM to learn the throttle plate closed position by monitoring the TPS output signal. It must be performed after either the throttle body or ECM harness has been disconnected.

1. Ensure that the accelerator pedal is fully released.
2. Turn the ignition switch on.
3. Turn the ignition off and wait at least 10 seconds. Confirm that the
throttle body plate moves by either observing or listening for the
movement during the 10 second wait period.

Again my assumption is to start the engine at this point.

Idle Air Volume Learning Procedure

1.  Perform Accelerator Pedal Released Position and Throttle Valve
Closed Position relearning
2.  Start and warm the engine to normal operating temperature (193
     degrees F recommended).
3.  The above relearning needs to be completed. The engine and 
      transmission need to be fully warmed up. There must not be any
problems with the APP sensor. It is best to use a clock with a
second function for timing.
4.  Turn the ignition off and wait at least 10 seconds.
5.  Make sure the accelerator pedal is fully released.
6.  Turn the ignition on and wait 3 seconds.
7.  Fully depress and fully release the accelerator 5 times within 5
seconds. Leaving the pedal in the released position.
8.  Wait 7 seconds, then fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep
it held down for about 20 seconds. During this time the SES light
will start blinking.
9.  Within 3 seconds of the light turning back on steady, fully release
the accelerator pedal. The factory information states that the next
step will be for the SES light to turn off. My findings were that the
light would not turn off and that the engine also needs to be started
within that 3 second window at the beginning of step 9.
10.With the engine running at 1000 rpm or less allow the engine to run
for at least 20 seconds. This is when the actual relearn is
happening. After the 20 second wait period, rev the engine to 3000
rpm two or three times and allow the engine to settle back down to
idle. Clear the code with a scan tool if needed and confirm that it
does not return. Idle and timing should now both be within
specifications. If not repeat the process.
11.If all criteria are not met the relearn will not work.
12.Here is the big issue, if the throttle body is not working properly or if
it has been cleaned and the engine will not idle below 1000 rpm, you
must create a condition under which the rpm will drop to 1000 or
less.

If your warm idle speed is above 1000 rpm and it needs to be dropped to perform the Idle Air Volume Relearn, you must disconnect the wiring harness to no more than two fuel injectors. I disconnected the wiring to the number 1 and 4 injectors. I used long needle nosed pliers to do this. Number 1 in the next picture.

Now number four injector is disconnected. I fully warmed the engine and transmission before disconnecting the injectors. To my surprise the engine ran fairly well and dropped to about 800 rpm. I performed the IAVR procedure and it dropped even further. I then reconnected the injector harnesses and performed the IAVR again. Finally all is well again with this Nissan.

I used these pliers to release the injector connectors.

I had to switch to these to reconnect them. Yes, this is a medical tool but you can pick them up from flea markets.