Got a Quick, Technical Question?

bolivar

Look at the driver's door sill. There is a label there, for about the last 20 years, that indicates the original tire size on the car.

Mr_Shiftright

Should be okay. The car will sit a little lower (about .4 of an inch) and your speedo will run 2 mph fast or so.

colacar

My inside lights (on ceiling of car, the ones that are supposed to turn on when I open the door), are off. They have the sliding controls with 3 positions, on, off, and door. I find that if I push the sliding control up (towards the ceiling), the light turns on. I need to exert constant pressure. I'm guessing that something in the light isn't contacting.

Is there something I can do to fix it?

kiawah

Take it apart, and figure out what is bent (or broke), that it doesn't work correctly.

kiawah

Take it apart, and figure out what is bent (or broke), that it doesn't work correctly.
You've done the hard part, figuring out what the failing component is.

euphonium

First time I had your light problem - it was the switch that needed adjustment - on a '39 Chev 4 door. It would slide up and down to turn on and off. The contacts just needed adjustment, bending. Perhaps the more expensive "Bodies by Fisher" had a 3 way to include door openings.

Mr_Shiftright

You might be able to pop the lens off and clean the contacts. You'll see how the switch works when you open it up. Sometimes you can bend the contacts to make a firmer contact with the switch.

eric784254

1998 jeep grand cherokee, 4.0 litre inline 6 cylinder, automatic tranny, 160k miles. Hesitation when stepping on gas (go) pedal. Replaced aic motor & ran it @ 40mph @ a distance of 5 miles & greater for a few days to let the computer reset to factory settings. Also replaced the map sensor,checked for vacuum leaks, replaced the air charge sensor, cleaned throttle body-top to bottom, checked the pcv valve assembly, & egr valve assembly. Checked plugs & plug gap, wires , cap, & button. Looks like its in good condition. Bought a new set of wires, plugs, cap & button, not sure if that's the problem. It sounds like it backfires a little throgh the throttle body. Was looking @ my haynes manual & it states that you CANNOT adjust the timing through the distributer because of the camshaft position sensor. No check engine light on either. I don't hear any vacuum leaks @ all. HELP!!

euphonium

Is there a "20 Second Delay" valve between the vacuum advance and the carb port?

If so, delete it by installing a new hose without it.

euphonium

I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't driven more than a mile down the road when the engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbor's daughter. I am 41, my husband is 44, and the neighbor's daughter is 22.

We have been married for ten years. When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job eight months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him anymore.

Can you please help?

Sincerely,
Susan

Dear Susan:

A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the injectors.

I hope this helps

Sincerely,

toyotaman9

I have a 1995 Toyota Camry 3.0 V6 with auto transmission. I want to change the differential and transmission fluids but do not know if there is a separate reservoir and drain plug for the differential fluid . If i do a transmission fluid flush am I also flushing and refilling the differential?
Thank you

vcheng

I believe that the transmission and differential in that model of Camry have separate drains (10mm Allen) but the differential fills through the transmission, i.e. drain separately, and fill through the transmission dipstick for both until the level is correct.

If you drain or flush the transmission only, the differential oil does not get changed, since it remains full of the old oil and will not accept new oil from the transmission unless it has been drained prior.

pbrower

can you bypass the chip in the ignition switch in a 1996 monte carlo

imidazol97

There are several articles about VATS and bypassing.

Resistors are wired into the two wires at the bottom of the steering column connector that replace the circuit up to the steering wheel and lock cylinder. Resistors from RAdio Shack in series or alarm shops bypass this regularly and they get packages of resistors of the right values they use.

Why do you think there's a problem with your VATS?

dpalka

Why buy an automatic?

Because if god had intended for me to drive a stick shift, He would've given me three feet!

imidazol97

I thought I put a link in the previous post:

link title

Bypassing VATS.

The two thin wires go into a single larger tube that looks like a wire itself as they leave the connector at the base of the steering column.

ar1458

I AM REPLACING MY ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS ON MY 2002 CHEVY AVALANCHE 5.3 LITER 1500 SERIES 4WD Z71 AND I WAS ASK IF MY REAR CALIPERS WERE A DUAL PISTON OR SINGLE PISTON...SECOND QUESTION IS: IF CERAMIC BRAKE PADS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR THIS SAME VEHICLE....THANK YOU ,ANTHONY

kiawah

if you can't find an answer online, take the wheel off and look at the caliper. It will either have one piston or two...pushing the brake pad out from the caliper. It's a two minute inspection.

Mr_Shiftright

Mo book shows a dual piston.

Here's info on ceramic pads:

Ceramic Brake Pads, pros and cons

And also

HERE

ar1458

thanks I will look...also when I take off the rear brake caliper should the rotor come right off with a slight tap of a hammer ????

Mr_Shiftright

Yes with a large rubber mallet. Be SURE to support the caliper with wire BEFORE you disconnect it. Don't let it just hang there.

ar1458

ok I will ..thanks for all the help...great site

burdawg

I use stiff wire, hook one end to a coil on the coil spring, the other end through one of the mounting bores on the caliper. A cut wire coat hanger works well.

carstryke

2005 chevrolet impala

it rained and i was amazed to find a puddle of water right in front of my front passenger seat. could there be something wrong with my ventalation or windshield? i am parked on a incline and it appears to have come in somewhere in the front hence me assuming windshield or air vents.

isabella

Looking at buying this tester that says it works on non-DIS systems. Anybody know what this term means? Thanks

Mr_Shiftright

A clogged drain in the air vent basin beneath the windshield wipers is a common occurrence. Leaves and airborne debris are broken down by rain into organic goop and eventually accumulate through the vent screen and clog the drain. As you develop a little "fish tank" in there, eventually through rising water level, or sloshing around turns, or parking on an incline, the basin gets so full that water finds its way past grommets and other areas where cabling or wiring or hoses go through to the passenger compartment. You'll have to remove the cowl and dig in there and unclog that drain.

You can tell if this is your problem by pouring a cupful of water into the vent. It should drain immediately to the ground, if you bend down and look.

carstryke

no luck there, the water drained well right to the ground. looking at it more closely in the daylight helps, the leaks appear to have come from the front right corner (the floor vent are more towards the center. it appears to be behind the dashboard, well more so in that area. The thing that confuses me is this is the 1st time this has ever happened and it has been pretty wet the last 3 weeks even though yesterday it rained harder than usual. any other suggestions?

imidazol97

You didn't mention if you have a sunroof?

Was the car aimed downhill or uphill when you were parked?

carstryke

its parked uphill and no sunroof its a 2005 base chevrolet impala

imidazol97

Sunroofs have drains toward the front that sometimes leak on the H-bodies (Bonneville, LeSabre).

Also the doors have a plastic liner sheet that is caulked around the bottom so that water getting into the doors goes down the liner, hits the caulk which is shaped so water is directed toward the drain holes back into the internals of the doors and then out the drain holes on the bottom of the doors. On some cars, after work done on doors or the caulk aging, the water goes on down the plastic and onto the door sill and inside the car from there. People will find the drips on the metal of the door under the interior door panel that you see.

Another possibility is the drain for the AC water. Is it draining freely when the AC is running leaving puddles of water on the street below the car when you shut it off, e.g.? The AC water might have leaked because of the uphill slope.

carstryke

thank you guys for your responses how would you go about checking the drain for the ac water because i did have it on at the time it seems like a good possibility

smogs

check vehicle light comes on in "D",almost immediately but not in "I". When I switch from "I" to "D" when driving, light comes on almost immediately. Thoughts?

imidazol97

When it's humid and you've been running the AC, park the car and watch underneath for the puddle of draining water from the AC. If you park and run the blower without the AC compressor running ( vent setting?), you'll see the puddle quickly. Notice under the hood where that water drains from. There is a little rubber tube with the end closed together that opens when water collects in it and drains.

If you don't see water, then the AC water is going somewhere else when it builds up inside the heater--it can go inside under the carpet and under the rubber insulator stuff under the carpet.

carstryke

The a/c drains fine .....it turns out it was loose/worn out sealing strip in the upper right hand corner of the window now pray for sunshine for my sake before i can book a service appointment for a windshield. Once again i thank you guys for your help/suggestions learning new things about cars is something that interests me

jrolf

I have a 97 gmc jimmy when i turn the key to the on pos. none of my "warning lights" come on, it will not start, and you cannot move it out of park. the battery is fully charged. Does anyone have any ideas?? :confuse: :sick:

kiawah

Bad electrical key switch?

Might also try a different key, just to eliminate the security chip.

Then get a set of electrical schematics to see what relays get turned on by the key switch, and verify that they are switching. That will also give you the main fuses to check.

imidazol97

Bad electrical contact at the battery or the other ends of the cables. Could be corrosion? Does it have the double cables on the terminal that's positive at the battery? Check for corrosion between them even if you have to cut into the plastic covering. Check for some of the copper cable corroded away by battery acid.

Do headlights and interior lights work?

Could be bad ignition swtich--the switch that actually makes the contacts, not the lock cylinder itself. I suspect the ignition switch would be operated by a rod from the lock cylinder and the switch itself is on the top of the steering column down near the floor.

jrolf

yes interior lights, headlights, radio, windows all work. there is no corrosion I am going to change the ingnition switch though I will let ya'll know. thank you for your help.

kiawah

Personally, I wouldn't be replacing things until you isolate and/or prove that is the failing component. That could get very expensive and labor intensive, as there are usually always a number of parts that a problem 'could' be.

If you suspect ignition switch and want to prove or disprove, then you need to hang a wire with a voltmeter probe on the ignition switch output. You can watch the voltage as you work the switch. If that works okay, then you move downstream. You may very well then have a relay in the circuit, which allows higher current flows. A set of electrical schematics for your vehicle are important to troubleshoot.

This circuit would also most likely be fused, either before or after the ignition switch.

jonathann

We just purchased a Kia Soul Exclaim (called 4u in Canada). We are very happy with the vehicle and wondered if the Soul comes with door locks that automatically lock at 10 mph?

My wife has a Hyundai Santa Fe that has this feature but it was not activated at delivery. The dealer knew nothing about it. I found out about the feature on the Edmunds Santa Fe discussion and we had the dealer activate the feature.

I thought maybe the Soul also has this feature available, but the dealer is unaware of it.

I even had this feature on my 2000 Dodge Caravan.

Does anyone know if the Kia Soul has it?

colin_l

DIS is Distributorless Ignition System. Modern cars have been this way a long time, they use ignition coils are fired by the ECU.

I'm mildly confused by the 'non'-DIS though. I guess that means it works only if you have a distributor? Two negatives make a positive, right?

kiawah

Don't know the answer, but you have a better chance of getting an answer over in one of the Kia forums.

jonathann

Kiawah:

Thank you.

You would think so, but I posted 10 days ago on the Kia Soul forum and no action. The Soul is so new that there are not too many owners out there.

I thought maybe the technically inclined would have some information.

Regards,

Jonathan N.

bolivar

Read your owner's manual?

colin_l

Security system options probably will not be covered in the owner's manual. You'll just have to ask the dealer, or drop an email to Kia themselves, or ask another owner who already knows (which is what is being tried now ).

For example, some cars may support a proximity sensor or trunk pins. Original equipment alarm systems generally are made by large security-specific companies like DEI and not built by the car manufacturers themselves.

jonathann

bolivar:

I have read the owner's manual and it does not mention the ability to have the doors lock automatically at a preset speed.

However, neither did the Hyundai Santa Fe manual mention this feature and it was introduce on the 2007 model that we purchased. I found out the feature on the Edmunds Santa Fe forum. The default setting from the factory is off. The dealer is supposed to ask if you want it activated but the Hyundai dealer was not even aware of the feature.

I was hoping to get information from the Soul forum but it is not very active. The Soul is a new model and there are not many owners out there.

jonathann

colin_l:

Thanks for the suggestions. I am not sure I see this as part of the security system, but rather part of the keyless entry system.

As I mentioned, even my 2000 Dodge Caravan had the locks automatically engage at 10 mph. I think this is a fairly common feature for keyless entry lock systems.

For some reason Hyundai (and I am hoping Kia) sets the default off at the factory and the dealer is supposed to ask if you want the feature activated at no charge on delivery. Good theory but the dealers seem to gloss over the predelivery inspection and do not seem knowledgeable about the vehicle features.

I will take your advice and go to the manufacturer instead. Hopefully they will be able to provide an answer.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Jonathan N.

kiawah

Jonathan,

Have you called the dealership and talked to the service manager? Surely they would know.

colin_l

Glad to help! Generally, keyless entry systems are actually a security system with limited features, or in some cases features disabled by default that are actually supported like the automatic locking that you're looking for.

jonathann

kiawah:

I did ask to have this function activated before delivery but the service manager knew nothing about it.

He might be correct and the function might not exist.

However, from my experience with the Santa Fe, I am not willing to trust this information without digging deeper.