One hand warmed with coffee, and another hand cold with wrench, I did an experiment.  With just the meter attached to the window,  the airbox and several acres of plastic cover removed, I drove until the voltage disappeared again.  It hiccupped on a curb near a grassy knoll,  and I formed a conspiracy theory about Volkswagen engineers targeting me.  In the fog, sliding on the dewy morning grass next to the road, the car still running, I started yanking on wire harness.  This car has lots of wire.  One eye on where I was sticking my appendages, the other on the 4 zeros across the screen.  I worked my way from the TCM under the windshield, across the plenum, down the plastic channel, all the way to the plug.  Nothing but 4 zeros.  Humph.  On the other end of one of those wires, the output speed sensor is buried where I cannot see it, even with all the plastic off. To small a gap to even fit a finger.  I wiggled what I could get at, then a tiny voltage jumped.  Not the voltage across that wire, the voltage across the other sensor, the input speed sensor.
A light bulb exploded over my head. Was this kraut box was using the same supply across both sensors?

Posted on June 4th, 2009 by admin
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I pulled out my box of electronic connectors and my scope.  The trans harness wasn’t hard to get to, so I patched right into the circuit and watched the signals.  As the transmission went from normal shifting to “limp mode” the signal was clear and healthy.  No cause for concern.  Here is where I wished The Man wasn’t so stingy and we had some kind of interactive scan tool.   We ended up bidding on a chip for the Snap-Off wonder brick on e-bay.  I must press on until then.  I took a recordings of current, voltage and resistance of the speed sensor circuits for half of the day, finding everything fine.  As I analyzed the data, I notice something Spock would call “peculiar, but logical”.   A very tiny voltage DC was present across the speed sensors.  About .025 volt.  Just for gits and shigles I unhooked the speed sensor and measured just the voltage across the TCM directly.  It went up to .750 volt.  One eyebrow raised.  Could this be what the TCM is using to make an assumption of the condition of the circuit?  I turned the car into a Doc Brown special with meters and probes sticking out of it, and went for a drive.   When all was well, the trans shifted fine, and the little voltage that could stayed in place. At exactly beyond walking distance back to the shop, the fluke meter on the windshield  read 4 zeros strait across, and the trans jumped out of gear, then into limp mode.  Ahah!  Gotcha sucker.  This was filtered DC voltage.  The AC signal of the speed sensor was still clear.  My first thought was the TCM.  It was getting late.  I parked it inside and went home to my pipe, beer and wife.

Posted on June 2nd, 2009 by admin
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NASCAR has some serious shortcomings that seem to continue growing with every rule change. One of the oldest is summed up by this article

The above mysterious objects are called “rain tires”.  Im sure some concesions can be made to fit these on those mangled pipe frames you somehow still find a way to identify as “stock cars”.   Theres also a small rubber strip that can be atatched to an arm over the windshield.

Posted on June 2nd, 2009 by admin
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That day started out simple.  A 2000 Jetta comes in with the complaint “stuck in 3rd gear”  Ahh  Limp mode of course, this should be simple.   2 days later I’m putting an extensive number of plastic pieces back together with bandaged fingers.   What could have gone so wrong.

The codes were for circuit failures of both speed sensor circuits.  The likelihood of both of them failing simultaneously was doubtful, but id be willing to bet any other shop would have just grunted that both sensors should be replaced, and point them to the dealer.  The problem is that one of these speed sensors is under a motor mount, under a  wire harness, under a battery tray next to the main airbox.  Once you get to it, its just got one bold holding it down and it pops right out.   It would be like a contractor telling you that the garage must be removed in order to replace the light switch in the bathroom.

First thing I did was look for shorts  inside the trans.  Common problems here with the harness attached to the solenoids.  One of them read a little low, so I decided to go inside.  When I pulled the pan off, the trans fluid looked like it would stick to a magnet in one giant clump.   I asked The Man about this, and “Oh Ya.  It happened an hour outside of Vagas and she drove it home that way”.   Yeesh.  5 hours on the freeway in limp mode.  Car has 175,000 miles on it.  Almost gave up right then.  Both engine and trans shot, “Next RO please”.    This was a regular reliable customer, so I kept digging.  These cars are tougher than they look too.   Then things got worse.  With the new solenoid, the torque converter clutch stuck on.  After fussing with it I yanked it back out and found the new solenoid stuck on mechanically. I put the old one back in and threw the new one at The Man to send back defective.   That was day 1.   (to be continued)

Posted on May 30th, 2009 by admin
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Sometimes working on cars gives you feelings that cannot be portrayed with words.  I found some pictures that are worth more than the words.

Posted on May 20th, 2009 by admin
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And watch out when the little one wants to borrow the car…

I think it has a flat.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Posted on May 10th, 2009 by admin
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Almost all coupon deals are designed to get a car on the lift.  once they get your keys, and your signature, your hooked.   remember, you always have the right to say no to any additional sales

if your suspicious, pick a place where you are allowed to watch your car.  make sure they are doing what they say.

before buying any thing sold to you, do your research.   ex. make sure your car actually has a fuel filter before agreeing to have it replaced.

I have never seen any benefit of a “fuel injector cleaning” unless something happened to get it contaminated in the first place.  same with a trans flush machine.  even though many manufacturers do not schedule a trans service, it is good to do one every few years or so  (watch out for expensive fluids though, some are as much as 50 bucks a quart) but those flushing machines are only useful in cases of contamination.

Gone are the days of “one size fits all” fluids.  every car has its own materials such as ceramics and alloys.  therefore, they each have their own fluids.  There is usually a warning on the hood, or on or near the bottle.  you cant just glug green 6 dollar coolant into your beamer.

You dont get a deal with coupons, you get a corner cut.  I pay between 2.50 and 10 wholesale for an oil filter.  I have heard rumors that some “loonylube” shops pay as little as 19 cents for one.  the cheapy oil filters can potentially damage an engine.  in the long run, they absolutely will. Also, the mechanic that gets your invoice with the “coupon” is most likely getting a lower labor rate for your car.  If he is getting paid less, he will do less.

I have cars in for regular maintenance that have nearly 300 thousand miles on them, that have had nothing but the maintenance called for in the owners manual.  (mostly Toyotas)  if its not in owners manual, do your research.

O BTW,  remember: The guy at the parts counter is not a mechanic.  He is most likely not qualified to diagnose your car. Never go by what he alone says.

Posted on May 3rd, 2009 by admin
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4 letter words:

Hope (wish): see previous post on “Investments”

Left:  1. state of what something used to be and is no longer.  2.  The heavier side of a car.  3. A description  of the bosses current location.   4. An amount of a substance or product remaining that is just short of useful.

Help:  The act of obstructing progress by providing unwanted assistance.

Mind:  See also “care”.  A state of thought in witch most people don’t .

Dirty phrases
“I don’t have any money”:  usually  following the demand of  “whatever it is, fix it”

“I think it’s the…”:   Insisting on your own diagnosis is a sure way to get your foot in the …  well not in the door, and not your foot.

“my boyfriend (or dad, or friend) fixed…”  actually, in some situations, this could mean your repair will give the mechanic ideas about buying a boat.   Unless it’s the afore mentioned person making the statement previous to this one.

“first thing in the morning” :  makes a mechanic cringe.  it is a sure sign that you will be hungry before the promise is kept the next day.

“Its at the warehouse” : signifies the worth and value of a part you don’t have.  When the computer says its in the warehouse, no one really know for sure.  The part is usually somewhere; on a truck, in a store, at another place, in transit, on a plane, in a box, somewhere in this store but  someone moved it…  its always somewhere, just never at hand.

Practice and proper use of these techniques will leave mechanics softly weeping in bars every night.

Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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For Those of you who have had a car into the dealership for repairs, You know that within a few weeks you find yourself on their mailing list, and are privileged with “special deals” that mostly consist of adjusting the content of your wallet. My professional advice:  Ignore them.

It cracks me up just to read them sometimes. Sure, many services are legitimate, but they aren’t a deal.  They just add wording to the description to make it sound like your getting more.  I got one for a Honda dealership recently that I still want to call up and ask about.  It says they will “adjust the idle and timing speed” as part of a service.  Since most cars now have a computer controlled throttle, i dont know how they would adjust idle.  But timing speed?  In all of the ASE tests ive taken, and service manuals i have read, Ive never seen an adjustment for “timing speed”

Here are some other things I’ve read, and my translation of them.

“Free (your favorite number) point inspection”.  Translation:  For free we will look at your car and find other problems to sell you repairs on”

“Free brake inspection”  Some guy will come out and shine a light through your hubcaps and tell you you need to spend money.

“fuel saver package”:  regular service interval, and you need new tires.

“free tire rotation”:  If you don’t need brakes, we will find something.

“fuel injector cleaning”:  we have a payment due on the injector cleaning machine

“transmission flush”:  we have a payment on that machine too.

“$20 (or less) oil change”:  a teenager will strip your drain plug, then paint it, install an oil filter that cost us less than a 2 oz bag of chips, and glug in 5 quarts when your car takes 4.

“tune-up”: we change the spark plugs and pretend we did all the adjustments the computer does automatically.

There is always something wrong with a car.  not something dangerous or neccesary at that instant, but if you bring a car in for service, it will need something.  Its not cruel, its not a scam, it is just reality.  The trick is to find the mechanic that will be honest and tell you. “ya, you could use this, but it can wait”  or honestly tell you when something needs to be done now, before its too late.  We are that kind of service center, but to keep my credibility as a bloger, i will never say where i work.

Posted on April 13th, 2009 by admin
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If you follow the news out here, my apologies, but your watching a bunch of real poor performers at their art.  this story is an example.  When this story first broke, a 12 ton  big rig had killed 2 people then went through a building at the end of a mountain highway northeast of LA.  The first report was that this was a continuing problem that no one was doing anything about and blame splattered everywhere.  6 months earlier, a similar accident happened, where that time the truck managed to plow a few parked cars around and not kill anyone. This time, a father and child were killed by a runaway car carier. Reporters made the city and the authorities look more guilty than the driver.  The truck itself almost had red horns painted on its forehead.   Oh, by the way, the driver was arrested.   Here are the facts.  The truck did not start off on the highway in question, it turned off of another highway. The other highway already had a sign banning trucks over 3 tons.  While even today, the media is still screaming for regulations, the fact remains:  If you drive a truck, you are responsible.  You know brakes will overheat on steep hills, you can read signs, and its not like there isnt an alternative route around here.  we dont need more regulations, we need responsible truck drivers.  The problem isnt the highway.  machines are run by people, not regulations.

Trucks dont kill people, people driving them do.  Stop trying to blame “stuff” and use people.  Your supposed to use stuff, and blame people.  Why is it 2 minutes on Wikepedia gets me more information than a half hour of news?

Posted on April 9th, 2009 by admin
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