Following on the heels of the other "Ask a" threads, and with approval from EdSr, I figured what the hell, let's give it a try on the car side.  

A little background on myself - I primarily specialize in Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicles, with a strong emphasis in electrical and driveability, but I dabble with all brands.  I've been turning wrenches for about ten years, eight of those out in the trenches; I'm an ASE Certified Master Automotive Technician with an L1 Advanced Engine Performance certification.  I'm certified to diagnose and repair the hybrid Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner.  I hold a few Isuzu light duty truck/SUV certifications (6V-series gasoline engine, basic electrical diagnosis, supplimental restraint systems).  I have a diploma from Columbus Technical College in Automotive Technology.  I strive to avoid diesels like the plague, but I do know a bit about them.  

So, whatever questions you've got, I'll try to answer them.  Tech stuff - why is my check engine light on/what's this code mean?  Dealership/warranty procedures, war stories, whatever.  If I don't know the answer, I'll find someone who does.  Any partners in grime that also turn wrenches, professionally or not, don't hesitate to confirm or refute whatever I say or type.

This might be kinda an oddball question, but oh well.

I have a 72 Challenger with a rebuilt 360 topped with an Edelbrock performer 600.  Do you know of any cheap or reasonable O2 sensors that I could slip in the tailpipe for tuning?  

Quoted: This might be kinda an oddball question, but oh well. I have a 72 Challenger with a rebuilt 360 topped with an Edelbrock performer 600.  Do you know of any cheap or reasonable O2 sensors that I could slip in the tailpipe for tuning?

I'm comin over next time im down there.



got any pics?

Quoted: This might be kinda an oddball question, but oh well. I have a 72 Challenger with a rebuilt 360 topped with an Edelbrock performer 600.  Do you know of any cheap or reasonable O2 sensors that I could slip in the tailpipe for tuning?

In what little I've dealt with in tuning performance applications, I haven't seen any real cheap wideband O2 setups for tuning.  The "cheapest" one I know of is the PLX, and it's still like $350.  All those kits need a bung welded on the exhaust, usually close to the collector, for the most accurate results - just sticking it in the tailpipe won't do.  Someplace that has a 5 gas analyzer may be able to help you in determining how lean or rich you're running so you can adjust accordingly.

Quoted: Thank you for throwing yourself to the wolves Quintin!

Quoted: Quoted: This might be kinda an oddball question, but oh well. I have a 72 Challenger with a rebuilt 360 topped with an Edelbrock performer 600.  Do you know of any cheap or reasonable O2 sensors that I could slip in the tailpipe for tuning?   In what little I've dealt with in tuning performance applications, I haven't seen any real cheap wideband O2 setups for tuning.  The "cheapest" one I know of is the PLX, and it's still like $350.  All those kits need a bung welded on the exhaust, usually close to the collector, for the most accurate results - just sticking it in the tailpipe won't do.  Someplace that has a 5 gas analyzer may be able to help you in determining how lean or rich you're running so you can adjust accordingly.

I guess I will stick to reading the plugs.  Thanks though.  I really don't have any questions on any newer cars.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: This might be kinda an oddball question, but oh well. I have a 72 Challenger with a rebuilt 360 topped with an Edelbrock performer 600.  Do you know of any cheap or reasonable O2 sensors that I could slip in the tailpipe for tuning?   In what little I've dealt with in tuning performance applications, I haven't seen any real cheap wideband O2 setups for tuning.  The "cheapest" one I know of is the PLX, and it's still like $350.  All those kits need a bung welded on the exhaust, usually close to the collector, for the most accurate results - just sticking it in the tailpipe won't do.  Someplace that has a 5 gas analyzer may be able to help you in determining how lean or rich you're running so you can adjust accordingly. I guess I will stick to reading the plugs.  Thanks though.  I really don't have any questions on any newer cars.

Dang nabbit.  I'm new school - carbur-what?  Distribu-who?  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: This might be kinda an oddball question, but oh well. I have a 72 Challenger with a rebuilt 360 topped with an Edelbrock performer 600.  Do you know of any cheap or reasonable O2 sensors that I could slip in the tailpipe for tuning?   In what little I've dealt with in tuning performance applications, I haven't seen any real cheap wideband O2 setups for tuning.  The "cheapest" one I know of is the PLX, and it's still like $350.  All those kits need a bung welded on the exhaust, usually close to the collector, for the most accurate results - just sticking it in the tailpipe won't do.  Someplace that has a 5 gas analyzer may be able to help you in determining how lean or rich you're running so you can adjust accordingly. I guess I will stick to reading the plugs.  Thanks though.  I really don't have any questions on any newer cars.   Dang nabbit.  I'm new school - carbur-what?  Distribu-who?

I don't know how you do it.  Wires goin every-which-way, computers all over creation, fuck me.  The wiring harness on the 72 was bad enough.

\It's not so bad if you don't think about it too hard - regardless of how many wires and modules there are, there's always gonna be a power, always gonna be a ground, circuit protection, a switch and a load.  Everything else is just following the wiring schematic.  Seeing those zillions of wires everywhere scares the hell out of people that don't know better.

For instance - About a year into my time at the dealership, I got an '01 Town Car.  On the repair order, it says "Customer states that they saw smoke coming from driver's door, check and advise."  I pull the car in, and there's burn marks all over this door panel, that can't be good.  Pull the panel and start looking, and the power feed from the keyless entry keypad had chafed against the door lock rod and took off like a cannon fuse, burning and eventually stopping about half way behind the instrument panel.  I had to install a new body wiring harness in that car, which is literally just that: it runs from the engine compartment to the trunk.  I had the car apart in two stalls, all the interior, door panels, headliner, seats, instrument panel, carpet, everything, all in one stall, and the shell of the car in the other stall.  It took me about two weeks, working on it on and off, from start to finish to get everything right.

About three days in, just as I'm stripping the last bits of the car down, the customer shows up to get some of their stuff out of the glove box.  The look on her face was as if she walked in on two midgets and a blow up doll having a three some in her backseat.  

20 minutes or so later, the service advisor comes to me and says, "Take your time.  She's trading it in."

Quoted:I had the car apart in two stalls, all the interior, door panels, headliner, seats, instrument panel, carpet, everything, all in one stall, and the shell of the car in the other stall.  It took me about two weeks, working on it on and off, from start to finish to get everything right.

I feel your pain... I'm in sales at a Land Rover dealer.  We just had an '06 Range Rover Supercharged in our service department... probably $80k worth of truck that somebody had bought used from an independent dealership.  The previous owner, for some reason, decided to go cheap on a truck that wasn't... and added an aftermarket dvd system instead of getting the factory option.

So, naturally, the system shorts out and takes out a big pile of wires with it.  We won't warranty it, because it's not a Land Rover authorized accessory.  The dealer that the guy bought it from won't warranty anything, because they sold the car as-is with only the factory warranty.  And the customer had no receipts saying who put the DVD system in.

By the time the smoke cleared (literally and figuratively), it would up being about an $8k job that the customer ate.  

The funniest part was that all of this was being done in the stall closest to the showroom, clearly visible through glass at the vending machines and cashier's window.  Whenever someone asked "wow, what happened to that one?", the standard response was "that's why you buy from us instead of that place down the street."

And that is my thread hijack for the day.

Name a good ODBII scanner I can get from ebay for under $50.

OK I got one for you.  I have a 97 F150 w/4.6 V8.  I changed my front 2 O2 sensors a while back, had about 120,000 miles at the time.  Not long after changing the sensors my check engine light came on.  I have a Superchips programmer that allows me to read the codes.  This is what keeps coming up P1000, P0135, P0155.  I clear them but they keep coming up.  I used Bosch O2 sensors when I did the swap.  Any idea as to what the problem is?

Quoted: OK I got one for you.  I have a 97 F150 w/4.6 V8.  I changed my front 2 O2 sensors a while back, had about 120,000 miles at the time.  Not long after changing the sensors my check engine light came on.  I have a Superchips programmer that allows me to read the codes.  This is what keeps coming up P1000, P0135, P0155.  I clear them but they keep coming up.  I used Bosch O2 sensors when I did the swap.  Any idea as to what the problem is?

Did ya check the points?  

Quoted: OK I got one for you.  I have a 97 F150 w/4.6 V8.  I changed my front 2 O2 sensors a while back, had about 120,000 miles at the time.  Not long after changing the sensors my check engine light came on.  I have a Superchips programmer that allows me to read the codes.  This is what keeps coming up P1000, P0135, P0155.  I clear them but they keep coming up.  I used Bosch O2 sensors when I did the swap.  Any idea as to what the problem is?

P1000 Check of all OBDII Systems Not Complete

P0135 Heated O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1, Sensor 1)

P0155 Heated O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 2, Sensor 1)


Are you sure you got the right sensor?

Quoted: Name a good ODBII scanner I can get from ebay for under $50.

The one I personally use is a Matco MC100.  Unfortunately, it doesn't fit your price criteria at about $100, but it works well for me.  It also supports CAN networked vehicles, something some of those budget Autozone scanners usually don't.  A guy I work with has an Actron unit, and it works pretty well too, but I'm not sure how much those cost.

Quoted: OK I got one for you.  I have a 97 F150 w/4.6 V8.  I changed my front 2 O2 sensors a while back, had about 120,000 miles at the time.  Not long after changing the sensors my check engine light came on.  I have a Superchips programmer that allows me to read the codes.  This is what keeps coming up P1000, P0135, P0155.  I clear them but they keep coming up.  I used Bosch O2 sensors when I did the swap.  Any idea as to what the problem is?

P0135/0155 are heater circuit fault codes.  P1000 is only being set because of those heater codes, since the PCM has detected a fault, it won't let the heater monitor complete until the fault is fixed - and if you live somewhere where emissions isn't a concern, don't lose too much sleep over P1000.  The first thing to do would be to check for battery voltage at the O2 sensor connector heater circuits.  On the harness side of the vehicle at your O2 sensor connectors, with the locking tab facing up and the connector facing towards you, you'll want to check voltage between the two terminals on the right side of the connector with the key on and the engine off.  Do this on both upstream O2s, they should be around 12ishVDC.  

One thing I have seen when chasing multiple O2 heater faults are faulty PCMs.  The PCM won't recognize that the O2 sensors are generating voltage and that the heaters are hot.  You can test this and eliminate all the wiring between the O2s and the PCM like this:  get the engine warmed up, enough to where the O2s start switching, shouldn't take no more than about ten minutes.  Shut the engine off, then disconnect the PCM (it'll be on the right rear corner of the engine compartment, behind the battery box, big fat connector with a single 10mm bolt holding it in place).  Set your multimeter to DC amps, then with the key on, put your meter between pins 93 and 60 to check bank 1, and 94 and 87 for bank 2 (don't worry, the pins on the ends of the PCM connector are numbered, just count inwards as necessary to find the pins you need).  With the sensors hot, they should be generating around 20-30mA (I'll recheck this for sure Monday, memory's kinda fuzzy).  If you're getting somewhere around that for both banks, you know the sensors are good, you know all the wiring between the PCM and sensors are good - otherwise you wouldn't be getting any current - so that leaves one thing.  The PCM isn't recognizing the voltage/current from the O2s.  

Quoted: OK I got one for you.  I have a 97 F150 w/4.6 V8.  I changed my front 2 O2 sensors a while back, had about 120,000 miles at the time.  Not long after changing the sensors my check engine light came on.  I have a Superchips programmer that allows me to read the codes.  This is what keeps coming up P1000, P0135, P0155.  I clear them but they keep coming up.  I used Bosch O2 sensors when I did the swap.  Any idea as to what the problem is?

We had a customer with something very similar recently in her Jeep Liberty, it had been in to another dealer multiple times for 02 codes, had multiple sensor replacements, and the flow chart on the problem was pointing to a new PCM. Doing one final test, our tech noticed that the wiring connectors between the 2 sensors had been switched. It was telling the left bank that it was on the right, and so forth. Switched the connectors back, and she's not had any trouble with it since. Of course, this was on a Jeep, so YMMV, but worth a quick lookie before your go more drastic.

Quoted: Quoted: OK I got one for you.  I have a 97 F150 w/4.6 V8.  I changed my front 2 O2 sensors a while back, had about 120,000 miles at the time.  Not long after changing the sensors my check engine light came on.  I have a Superchips programmer that allows me to read the codes.  This is what keeps coming up P1000, P0135, P0155.  I clear them but they keep coming up.  I used Bosch O2 sensors when I did the swap.  Any idea as to what the problem is? We had a customer with something very similar recently in her Jeep Liberty, it had been in to another dealer multiple times for 02 codes, had multiple sensor replacements, and the flow chart on the problem was pointing to a new PCM. Doing one final test, our tech noticed that the wiring connectors between the 2 sensors had been switched. It was telling the left bank that it was on the right, and so forth. Switched the connectors back, and she's not had any trouble with it since. Of course, this was on a Jeep, so YMMV, but worth a quick lookie before your go more drastic.

The harnesses are kinda short on an F150, but that's a definite possibility too I hadn't thought about.  Happens commonly whenever someone else has done something like pull the transmission or the exhaust for whatever reason.

I have a 99 Cavalier with a 2.2L engine and about 120K miles on it. It runs/drive OK and has normal fuel consumption. The symptom is hard starting when the engine is hot. When cool it starts fine. Any troubleshooting suggestions?

Thanks for offering your services!

Quoted: I have a 99 Cavalier with a 2.2L engine and about 120K miles on it. It runs/drive OK and has normal fuel consumption. The symptom is hard starting when the engine is hot. When cool it starts fine. Any troubleshooting suggestions? Thanks for offering your services!

The first thing I'd do is put a fuel pressure gauge on it, get the engine hot, then shut it off and see if you're bleeding off fuel pressure.  I seem to remember some GM fuel pressure regulators being kinda iffy - you could try taking the vacuum hose off the regulator (should be near/on the fuel rail somewhere) and seeing if there's any liquid fuel in the vacuum line or coming out of the regulator (granted, this should make the engine run pretty horrible, but it's worth a shot).  Or maybe the check valve in the fuel pump is allowing pressure to bleed back to the fuel tank.  The fuel system is where I'd start on this one.  Might wanna tote it down to your local Autozone and get it checked for codes, too - just 'cause the check engine light isn't on doesn't mean that there aren't any codes stored in history.

I have a GM question.

My wife has 99 Malibu that has been having some transmission problems for the last 3 years.  Whenever it gets below 30 degrees or so, the transmission slips and is slow to engage.  This goes away after a mile or so of gental driving, then it shifts fine, nice and tight.  If we let it warm up for 5-10 minutes before driving it doesnt do it.  We had the transmission flushed when it first started happening, but that did not help at all.  I've also tried additives that are supposed to clean stuck valve bodies, also no help.  The fluid does not smell burned.

Any suggestions?

Quoted: I have a GM question. My wife has 99 Malibu that has been having some transmission problems for the last 3 years.  Whenever it gets below 30 degrees or so, the transmission slips and is slow to engage.  This goes away after a mile or so of gental driving, then it shifts fine, nice and tight.  If we let it warm up for 5-10 minutes before driving it doesnt do it.  We had the transmission flushed when it first started happening, but that did not help at all.  I've also tried additives that are supposed to clean stuck valve bodies, also no help.  The fluid does not smell burned. Any suggestions?

What engine is in it?

I talked to my trans guy, and he's pretty sure you've got some kinda internal failure.  Forward clutch/drum problems specifically with the 4T60/65 trans.  He said the input drum has two clutch stacks, forward and 3rd gear, and a piston in the drum begins to develop a ridge that hangs the forward piston up, causing slippage/delayed engagements.  I think the way he put it, since your problem allevates itself somewhat as the trans warms up, it's because the forward piston seal softens as the trans warms up, and the piston passes across it easier.

There's a remote possibility that it could be something hanging up in the valve body, or the torque converter, if the car has a 4 cylinder, it may have a 4T60 trans that still uses a vacuum modulator that could be the problem, if it's a V6 and/or it has a 4T65E trans, there may be valve body problems, the EPC solenoid could be sticking, but we're/he's strongly suspecting an internal problem with the forward clutch assembly.  You're probably looking at an overhaul/replacement.  How many miles are on it?

It has a 3.1 V6.  It has 120k on it now, it had around 90 when it first started hapening.  

Thanks

Quoted: It has a 3.1 V6.  It has 120k on it now, it had around 90 when it first started hapening.   Thanks

If you wanted to try something yourself, I'd haul it down to Autozone and see if there's any trans codes in the PCM - remember, just 'cause the light ain't on doesn't mean that there aren't any codes pending or stored in history.

If you have a mechanical oil pressure gauge and some fittings, I can look up some pressure specs for you on what trans fluid pressures you should have in what gear.  Finding that you've got the incorrect pressure in whatever gear can help isolate what your problem is.

If not, I'd start with pulling the trans pan and seeing if there's any excessive amounts of clutch material or metal in the pan or stuck to the magnet.

One of my friends has a code reader, I'll try to get over there this week and check it out.  I can borrow a pressure gage from work, but I'm off for the next week.  As far as pulling the pan, the tranny splits down the middle and there is no pan.  It has to be pulled in order to change the filter.  

Quoted: One of my friends has a code reader, I'll try to get over there this week and check it out.  I can borrow a pressure gage from work, but I'm off for the next week.  As far as pulling the pan, the tranny splits down the middle and there is no pan.  It has to be pulled in order to change the filter.

Huh?  No way, it has a pan on the underside of it, and a valve body pan on the driver's side of the engine compartment.

You sure about that?  

Quoted: Quoted: One of my friends has a code reader, I'll try to get over there this week and check it out.  I can borrow a pressure gage from work, but I'm off for the next week.  As far as pulling the pan, the tranny splits down the middle and there is no pan.  It has to be pulled in order to change the filter.   Huh?  No way, it has a pan on the underside of it, and a valve body pan on the driver's side of the engine compartment. You sure about that?

No, thats just what I was told.  I've never paid attention while under it changing the engine oil

It should have a regular ol' trans pan underneath it.

It's a slow day at work, so I'll probably be near the computer for most of the day.

Don't be shy, y'all...any and everything goes.  

You could ask me "Why do stealerships rip people off" and I can explain why some suck ass and some don't.

Recommendations on tools or equipment?  Christ, I've probably put at least one of each tool dealers' kids through college with what I've bought, if it's out there, I've probably owned it and/or used it.

Setting cars on fire?  Done that.  Wrecked 'em?  Check.  Other acts of stupidity and hilarity, I could write a book.

Quoted: Quoted: Name a good ODBII scanner I can get from ebay for under $50. The one I personally use is a Matco MC100.  Unfortunately, it doesn't fit your price criteria at about $100, but it works well for me.  It also supports CAN networked vehicles, something some of those budget Autozone scanners usually don't.  A guy I work with has an Actron unit, and it works pretty well too, but I'm not sure how much those cost.

I saw an Actron unit at Sears this weekend for about $60.  I use one at my  shop to quickley retrieve a code, or to reset the system if I forget to plug something back in!

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Name a good ODBII scanner I can get from ebay for under $50. The one I personally use is a Matco MC100.  Unfortunately, it doesn't fit your price criteria at about $100, but it works well for me.  It also supports CAN networked vehicles, something some of those budget Autozone scanners usually don't.  A guy I work with has an Actron unit, and it works pretty well too, but I'm not sure how much those cost. I saw an Actron unit at Sears this weekend for about $60.  I use one at my  shop to quickley retrieve a code, or to reset the system if I forget to plug something back in!

I got a Actron CP9175 for $60 off ebay last night. MSRP is $100+

Quintin,

If you ever feel like relocating, gimme a hollar. I could use someone whose got a level head and good FORD sense.

do you post on the fmcdealer forums?


Gary

Quoted: Quintin, If you ever feel like relocating, gimme a hollar. I could use someone whose got a level head and good FORD sense. do you post on the fmcdealer forums? Gary

Gary, I appreciate the offer and will keep it filed away.

I've been kicked off the FMCdealer forums a time or two, does that count?    Our area rep came down and told me to "tone it down" for some posts I made on there.

Quoted: This might be kinda an oddball question, but oh well. I have a 72 Challenger with a rebuilt 360 topped with an Edelbrock performer 600.  Do you know of any cheap or reasonable O2 sensors that I could slip in the tailpipe for tuning?

Or you could "lean drop" the carb.....crank in the idle/air screws one at a time till the idle starts to break..back out 1/4 turn....that'll be your best lean idle.

Quoted: It's a slow day at work, so I'll probably be near the computer for most of the day. Don't be shy, y'all...any and everything goes.   You could ask me "Why do stealerships rip people off" and I can explain why some suck ass and some don't. Recommendations on tools or equipment?  Christ, I've probably put at least one of each tool dealers' kids through college with what I've bought, if it's out there, I've probably owned it and/or used it. Setting cars on fire?  Done that.  Wrecked 'em?  Check.  Other acts of stupidity and hilarity, I could write a book.

lmao.....I picked up the shop nickname of Hit and Ron  Oops!
Had a car-b-que in the shop once...not mine though.
"where the hell did that damn washer go?"  "tink-a-tink-a-tink....aww shit!

Quoted: It's a slow day at work, so I'll probably be near the computer for most of the day. Don't be shy, y'all...any and everything goes.   You could ask me "Why do stealerships rip people off" and I can explain why some suck ass and some don't. Recommendations on tools or equipment?  Christ, I've probably put at least one of each tool dealers' kids through college with what I've bought, if it's out there, I've probably owned it and/or used it. Setting cars on fire?  Done that.  Wrecked 'em?  Check.  Other acts of stupidity and hilarity, I could write a book.

I once killed a neon which pulled out in front of me on a test drive with a Delivery midrange truck, does that count? I destroyed the car, the driver was uninjured and all I damaged was the bumper on the truck. his shit was destroyed.......

Quoted: lmao.....I picked up the shop nickname of Hit and Ron  Oops! Had a car-b-que in the shop once...not mine though. "where the hell did that damn washer go?"  "tink-a-tink-a-tink....aww shit!

We had a guy doing a head gasket job on a 3.8 liter Taurus.  He got it all back together, drove it, came back and there was oil all over the engine 'cause he left the engine oil filler cap.  So, what does our brain surgeon do?  He leaves the engine running and proceeds to spray the excess oil down with brake cleaner.

Of course, all good ARFCOM'ers know that brake cleaner is very flammable.

He gets a little too close to the plug wires and whoosh.  Hilarity ensues.  I'm all the way on the other end of the shop, and I hear/feel the concussion, the rafters in the building rattled.  He comes flying out from under the hood of this car, smoke trailing from his head like in the cartoons.  The guy that works next to him grabs the fire extinguisher and puts the car out.

Fast forward a couple weeks later.  Like all good places to work, we're a bunch of pranksters around here.  One of the guys in parts has a friend in the fire department, so we formulate a plan to get his fire department buddy down here during one of our daily morning meetings to pull flame boy's chain a bit.

So, we're all assembled for the morning meeting, and the firefighter comes in, just off his shift still in uniform with a clipboard, looking all official and stuff.  He asks, "Is John Smith here?"  (names changed to protect the stupid), John goes "Yeah, I'm right here."  Then Ricky, our firefighter, starts going off citing him on various codes and violations which I'm not really sure were real or not.  All the rest of us are about to die laughing, trying to hold it in, when John looks at Ricky and says, "This is a joke, right?"

Ricky, dead face, no shit, serious as ever, not cracking a smile or anything, goes: "Do I look like a joke to you?"  John goes pale as if he'd seen a ghost.

The service manager, Ricky and John all go in the office and Ricky gives this guy an ass chewing that'd make R. Lee Ermey proud, we're just outside the door, I was in the floor laughing so hard, and Ricky finally says to John, "I need you to sign this form, approving of your coworkers fucking with you.  Try not to set anymore cars on fire," or something like that.

That was over three years ago, and flame boy still hasn't lived that one down.  

Dropping bolts/nuts/etc.?  One of our driveability guys dropped a nut down the intake port of a 3.0 liter LS before, on accident - someone else had been in this thing before, and when he pulled the intake, a loose nut went "tink, tink" and that was all she wrote.  He spent the next couple hours looking for it, worried that it fell down into the engine but he couldn't find it.  Shrugged it off and put the car back together.

The engine guy found what was left of the nut smashed flat in cylinder #3.  

Quoted: I once killed a neon which pulled out in front of me on a test drive with a Delivery midrange truck, does that count? I destroyed the car, the driver was uninjured and all I damaged was the bumper on the truck. his shit was destroyed.......

I rear ended a Dodge pickup before in an F150.  "Fortunately," the guy in the Dodge had his drawbar in the receiver, so I didn't do any damage to him, but I fucked the bumper all up in this F150 I was driving, looked like I hit a tree.  

Another guy who went to work for another Ford store before coming back to work for us ran a Taurus over in a Mark LT.  I mean "ran over," as in the LT was at speed, 40-50 mph or so, and the Taurus made an illegal U-turn in front of the LT.  Both vehicles totalled.

We had one guy get points against his license because he drove a Trooper out the door and some guy on a bicycle ran into the Trooper.  The police cited him, the police report said that "the vehicle struck the pedestrian on the bicycle," even though the Trooper had just passed through the threshold of the door and was stopped, waiting on traffic.  

The owner of the Trooper was a cop, and didn't want any damages or claims going against his insurance.  

Hey Quintin!
Alright here it goes.  I have a '99 Lincoln Continental and am having problems with the heater.  It has been working intermittently since I got it.  It turns on fine, the fan control works, but it doesn't always get warm.  It usually works for a week or two, then stops for a week or two.  Also, when I turn the heat on from the off position, the first setting I go to will start out at full blast.  Any Ideas?  
Thanks

Quoted: Hey Quintin! Alright here it goes.  I have a '99 Lincoln Continental and am having problems with the heater.  It has been working intermittently since I got it.  It turns on fine, the fan control works, but it doesn't always get warm.  It usually works for a week or two, then stops for a week or two.  Also, when I turn the heat on from the off position, the first setting I go to will start out at full blast.  Any Ideas?   Thanks

There's a couple of possibilities here, but one that stands out is the temperature stratification door.  This is a little plastic flapper door in the heater case that moves via an electronic motor to block airflow to the evaporator for hot air, or to block airflow to the heater core for cool air.  

What happens is as the heater case cools and heats up, this door can warp and get stuck, restricting the flow of hot or cold air depending on where it gets stuck.  You can usually tell when it gets stuck, by fiddling with the temperature control, moving it from hot to cold rapidly.  When the door is really bent, when it finally comes unstuck it'll do so with a pretty loud "THUNK!"

In the meantime, whenever it acts up or you can do it right now, try running the EATC self test to see if there's any DTCs - with the key on and the engine off, press the OFF and FLOOR buttons on the control head together at the same time, release then press the AUTO button.  This will put the system into it's self test mode, where it tries moving all the various actuators and motors to see what's going on.  Sometimes when the door is stuck, the system will set a DTC 022, 024, and/or 025, all indicating blend door faults.  

If it is this door, the good news is the temperature door itself is only like $15, p/n 3F1Z-19D842-AA; the bad news is that the dash must be removed to replace it.

I read in Chilton's to try moving the temp control from hot to cold a few times and it never did anything.  I tried the EATC self test and it said 12, then 49.  Any idea what that means?  

One other thing.  This is unrelated and I feel REALLY stupid asking this, but where is the driver's side door switch that activates the lights, etc?  Is it in one of the hinges or something?  I can't find it for the life of me.  

Thanks

Quoted: I read in Chilton's to try moving the temp control from hot to cold a few times and it never did anything.  I tried the EATC self test and it said 12, then 49.  Any idea what that means?   One other thing.  This is unrelated and I feel REALLY stupid asking this, but where is the driver's side door switch that activates the lights, etc?  Is it in one of the hinges or something?  I can't find it for the life of me.   Thanks

12 then 49 stands for DTC B1249 - Blend door circuit failure.  I think the temperature stratification door is stuck.

The door ajar switches are in the door latches themselves, little single pole, two pin switches that twist into place into the latch.

Any way to know for sure without ripping apart my dash?

And do I have to rip apart my door to get at the switch?

Thanx

Quoted: Any way to know for sure without ripping apart my dash? And do I have to rip apart my door to get at the switch? Thanx

There's no real way to be 100% sure without taking the door out and inspecting it.  The current door in there is made out of a soft, bendable type plastic that warps easily.  The service replacement is a harder type of plastic.

And yes, you have to remove the door panel to get to the ajar switch.  If you think the switch is hanging up, before removing anything, try a good shot of brake cleaner in the door latch, sometimes this helps free the contacts up.  I recommend chlorinated brake cleaner, since it evaporates on contact and leaves little or no residue.

Thanks a lot.  I appreciate your help.  
   

Aaah fun times.....I disassembled the dash of a Geo Storm to remove the heater core, The core was 3 days out..and I needed the bay the car was in...so I pushed it out back of the shop against a curb....pulled in a Dodge Raider and did a quick check...hopped into the Dodge and threw it into reverse.....you can see this one coming....yup...creamed the side of the Storm

Did a bone yard moter on a Chrysler Minivan a couple months ago...seems the yard monkeys left me a little present....a nut that blew the number 6 piston into the oil pan.
New piston..set of rings...ain't seen it since.

Quoted: Quoted: OK I got one for you.  I have a 97 F150 w/4.6 V8.  I changed my front 2 O2 sensors a while back, had about 120,000 miles at the time.  Not long after changing the sensors my check engine light came on.  I have a Superchips programmer that allows me to read the codes.  This is what keeps coming up P1000, P0135, P0155.  I clear them but they keep coming up.  I used Bosch O2 sensors when I did the swap.  Any idea as to what the problem is? P0135/0155 are heater circuit fault codes.  P1000 is only being set because of those heater codes, since the PCM has detected a fault, it won't let the heater monitor complete until the fault is fixed - and if you live somewhere where emissions isn't a concern, don't lose too much sleep over P1000.  The first thing to do would be to check for battery voltage at the O2 sensor connector heater circuits.  On the harness side of the vehicle at your O2 sensor connectors, with the locking tab facing up and the connector facing towards you, you'll want to check voltage between the two terminals on the right side of the connector with the key on and the engine off.  Do this on both upstream O2s, they should be around 12ishVDC.   One thing I have seen when chasing multiple O2 heater faults are faulty PCMs.  The PCM won't recognize that the O2 sensors are generating voltage and that the heaters are hot.  You can test this and eliminate all the wiring between the O2s and the PCM like this:  get the engine warmed up, enough to where the O2s start switching, shouldn't take no more than about ten minutes.  Shut the engine off, then disconnect the PCM (it'll be on the right rear corner of the engine compartment, behind the battery box, big fat connector with a single 10mm bolt holding it in place).  Set your multimeter to DC amps, then with the key on, put your meter between pins 93 and 60 to check bank 1, and 94 and 87 for bank 2 (don't worry, the pins on the ends of the PCM connector are numbered, just count inwards as necessary to find the pins you need).  With the sensors hot, they should be generating around 20-30mA (I'll recheck this for sure Monday, memory's kinda fuzzy).  If you're getting somewhere around that for both banks, you know the sensors are good, you know all the wiring between the PCM and sensors are good - otherwise you wouldn't be getting any current - so that leaves one thing.  The PCM isn't recognizing the voltage/current from the O2s.

OK, Thanks, I'll look into trying this out when I get back from this job.

In reference to moparman's thought about the wiring connections being crossed, I know it's not that as I did one side at a time, good idea though.

Here's my issue:

I've got a 1994 F-150 w/ a 5.0L and about 224K miles.  An amature mechanic buddy of mine says that my idle air control sensor is bad.  The problem I have is that some times after running the engine for a while and especially after driving on freeways, if I turn off the engine and attempt to start it again soon, the engine cranks and then dies.  It won't stay running until it sits for about 30 mins to an hour.  Is my bud right about the sensor and if so, how much to repair/replace?

Another problem is my horn doesn't work.  He checked the relay and said it wasn't that.  The airbag light is also lit.  Are these things related?  Any suggestions?

Quoted: Here's my issue: I've got a 1994 F-150 w/ a 5.0L and about 224K miles.  An amature mechanic buddy of mine says that my idle air control sensor is bad.  The problem I have is that some times after running the engine for a while and especially after driving on freeways, if I turn off the engine and attempt to start it again soon, the engine cranks and then dies.  It won't stay running until it sits for about 30 mins to an hour.  Is my bud right about the sensor and if so, how much to repair/replace? Another problem is my horn doesn't work.  He checked the relay and said it wasn't that.  The airbag light is also lit.  Are these things related?  Any suggestions?

Ok...drawing blank right now on the first prob...second prob no horn and airbag light lit are related to each other..behind the airbag is a part called the "clockspring" it handles all the electrical switching [horn, airbag, cruse control..etc] that is in the steering wheel.
The clock springs have been known to go bad.....I would rec seeing someone experienced with airbag systems to have it repaired.

Quoted: Here's my issue: I've got a 1994 F-150 w/ a 5.0L and about 224K miles.  An amature mechanic buddy of mine says that my idle air control sensor is bad.  The problem I have is that some times after running the engine for a while and especially after driving on freeways, if I turn off the engine and attempt to start it again soon, the engine cranks and then dies.  It won't stay running until it sits for about 30 mins to an hour.  Is my bud right about the sensor and if so, how much to repair/replace? Another problem is my horn doesn't work.  He checked the relay and said it wasn't that.  The airbag light is also lit.  Are these things related?  Any suggestions?

IAC problems usually show themselves on cold start.  The IAC is mounted near the throttle body, has two bolts holding it on, with a little cylindrical section that houses the wiring for it and a two wire connector.  If you suspect the IAC, next time it acts up, try tapping on it a bit with a hammer (lightly, we're not driving nails) and seeing if it'll run.  I've seen more leaking fuel pressure regulators and leaking fuel tank check valves cause hard start problems on those trucks than anything else.  Try pulling the hose off the fuel pressure regulator when the engine is hot and see if there's any liquid fuel in the hose and/or coming out of the port on the regulator.  If so, the regulator's toast.  If you have a fuel pressure gauge, you can check to see if fuel pressure is bleeding off back into the tank - install the gauge, run/drive it 'till it's hot and shut it off.  See what happens to your fuel pressure.  It shouldn't lose no more than about 5-10 psi over 15 minutes.

And gwitness is dead on for your airbag light problem, the clockspring is broken.  To replace the clockspring, first center the steering wheel.  Then you'll need to remove the airbag (4 - 10mm nuts), the steering wheel (1 - T55 Torx) and the steering column lower shroud (3 Phillips head screws from underneath the column and the upper shroud (you'll need to remove the key lock cylinder to get this shroud off - look under the cylinder, you'll see a little hole with a pin.  Turn the key to the on position and depress this pin and pull the lock cylinder out).  It helps too to remove the knee bolster panel under the column (2 - 7mm bolts on the bottom of the panel, and pushpins holding it in the rest of the way) so you can get to the wiring for the clockspring.  There should be two or three connectors (depending on whether your truck has cruise control or not) under the dash, one connector should be brown, one white, and one yellow I think.  Disconnect all of those, feed the wiring along the right side of the column, disconnect the wiring for the key chime switch at the column and unbolt the clockspring (3 - T20 Torx).  The new clockspring from Ford is already centered, line it up and install it just as the old one came off.