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Comments
You've been working in the area of spark.
Try making sure you have fuel deliver, correct flow and pressure, as suggested.
Should also do a compression test on each cylinder, to make sure your base mechanicals are okay.
Low humidity does not allow a static charge to be siphoned off into the atmosphere. It stays on your body.
You said you have cloth interior. This is the major problem. Whatever the cloth, it seems to be a great generator of static. And just sliding into the car seems to build up enough to make your hair stand up.
Getting into a delicate area, but one thing you haven't tried is changing your clothing. I'm not sure, but I think 100% cotton would have a smaller capabiity to generate static. And, your 'undies' are most probably not cotton. (There, I said it.) The interior is probably some kind of nylon or polyester, and your clothing is polyester or nylon. Silk would be even worse, I think. Sliding these materials aganist one another, in a low humidity situation, guarantees a static build up. Leather interior would probably reduce it, but I would think it would cost thousands to put an all leather interior in the car. And leather also generates some static - not nearly as much at the synthetic cloth materials, but still some.
I think olden high school science teachers would use a silk or nylon cloth rubbed aganist a hard rubber ball to generate sparks off his fingers to demo static electrity in a classroom. You are basically doing the same thing.
Look for something metal that is tied into the frame of the car. Maybe the sunshade hinge is metal. Handbrake. And touch this as you are sliding out of the car. This should move the charge into the car and off your body. But finding an actual metal item in a modern car that ties back to the frame (ground) could be tough.
When it warms up in the summer and you have those 90% humidity days, your problem will vanish.
Think the seller knew? Did you pay to have the vehicle inspected before purchasing 'as-is'?
- all lights replaced
- i wonder if the starter could handle 12 volt? Only for brief starts if so...very brief
- coil?
- is there a volt gauge? - obviously it will go - amp ga should be fine
- generator? again not sure but i think windings would be more aggressive for 12 volt
- voltage regulator
- other gauges, temp - don't forget all the light bulbs everywhere, ga backlighting, turn signal indicators if it has them..
- I wonder if a porcelain resistor pack could handle the heater blower motor?
Should get you started..You'll enjoy having brighter bulbs and fast starts. Are those the only two reasons to do it? I guess you want to add a stereo and charge cell phones but there are other less complicated options if that was your only reason.
I think you'll end up effectively ripping everything out and custom building new.
So much for "all original"
How's the cosmetic portion of the car? Paint, body, interior? If the car looks great and runs badly, it'll sell a lot faster than the other way around.
If it's rough around the edges, I'd consider donating and taking a tax write-off and be done with it.
Ballpark figure? If someone offered you $3000 today, I'd take it--and that's for a pretty decent looking car.
Can you please let me know what could cause these problems at such a low mileage and what kind of unusual problems we should expect in the future? I appreciate your help very much!
But, having said that, unless a car were either very rare or priced very competitively, there's no reason to start out with a car that burped a lot when it was born.
I found mentioned problems from carfax report. Therefore, I went to the dealership in the morning and met used car dept. service manager (Not service dept. manager) for further explanation. (The car was serviced at the very dealership that we are purchasing from.) According to him, in terms of front brake issue, it was actually rotor defect, not the brake itself, so it was replaced. In terms of emission inspection failure, it was not actually emission problem but the battery caused it like it was emission issue so the battery was replaced. This is 2008 model and the mileage is below 12000.
The price of the car is pretty good and we do not really want to shop around any more. There are a few months of original warranty left but we do not have budget to have it certified for more warranty.
I am sorry for asking this one more time! With extra information that I provided and manager's explanation, do you think the problems maybe less severe and would you change your mind and buy this car? I appreciate your feedback in advance!
You seem intent on wanting to buy this vehicle. How are you reconciling to this previous post of yours?
Problems with engine oil cooler lines, would imply they may have been crimped and clogged, or leaking. Oil problems could cause engine bearing problems, which would be extremely expensive to repair.
A reflash of the computer might not concern me too much, if I knew it was for a legitimate reason and explainable. The problem is, you don't know what the original reported problem was, which would have caused the solution of a computer reflash to be done. They may have reflashed the computer in an attempt to resolve some problem, but may not have actually solved the problem.
A rotor issue at that low mileage, would suggest to me that someone has done some very hard braking with the vehicle, causing the brakes to overheat and the rotor to warp. A little suspect to me, and if it was the ONLY suspect thing, I might overlook it since I could put all new rotors/calipers/brakes on the vehicle if had to.
A vehicle with that low mileage, to me is suspect. Why would an owner turn in a vehicle with that low mileage, taking such a big financial hit? I suspect it might be that they're fed up with trying to resolve some series of problems, or it could be that the vehicle is fine and the owner lost job and fell on hard times and had to unload it. You don't know.
To me, it just has an odor about it (something just doesn't smell right about this deal), and why take a chance? There are so many other vehicles out there, no reason to put myself at financial risk and inconvenience that I'd have to spend a number of visits back to the dealership and checkbook withdrawals to try and fix problems.
Go visit one of the legal forums, and read those that talk about buying used vehicles 'as-is', and wishing there were some lemon laws, finding problems that they are stuck with and absolutely fed up.
If you want to still pursue this vehicle, pay to take it to an independent repair/inspection facility, and have them check it over for you. If the dealership isn't willing to let you do that BEFORE signing and purchasing, definitely RUN. Never buy ANY used vehicle, without an independent 3rd party professional inspection.
Someone told me it was the torque converter. I think it is the solinoid shifting in and out of gear???
Any advise other than a tranny rebuild?
Uncle Hank
Thanks for your help, UncleHank
It is unfortunate that so many owners neglect to have their transmission serviced. Yes, the manufacturers tend to NOT suggest changing it in their service schedule, but it is not a good idea, IMHO.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
If that's true, then wouldn't an engine that's stopped and restarted hundreds or thousands of extra times each year incur excessive wear? If not, why not?
Recently bad leakage of water into overhead light switch box and down onto central shift console. Has been leaking for years but maybe there is now a short? Past years have had transmission trouble which includes electrical problem (I think) I run out of gas all the time
now because I can only buy a gallon at a time, car has been famous for starting immediately every time.
I have no money to get it towed or worked on, please help me trouble shoot as much as I can so that I can save $. How can I tell if a fuse is blown? What wires should I check visually?
what tests can I do with a voltage meter? I have a new VOLTECTOR model V-11A that I don't feel comfortable using without instruction.
I know there are a million sensors and safety stops on this car that I couldn't possibly anticipate, so there's no sense in my going at it blind. I used yo work on my 60's VW and MBZ
so I should be able to fwllow what you tell me.
Thanks so much!!!
kreid
http://www.webanswers.com/post-images/0/09/5BFFA304-16D6-F396-A1EBEABF218989B9.p- - ng see #3
Red lead goes to VµmA socket.
Then click it to DCV area, usually to the left of OFF at about 10:00 hours. Choose the 20 v position. At your battery simply touch red lead to pos terminal on battery, also red connector area and is the biggest dia compared to the neg terminal. Then put black lead on neg terminal, black connector area, smaller post, and then read voltage. A properly charged 12 v battery should read between 12.3 to 12.7 volts. The battery could act like your symptoms (as if everything is totally dead, if it were to be around 10.5 volts or less.
The leak could certainly cause resistance between any two terminals (pos and neg) that are powered when the key is off and drain the battery the longer the car has been shut off or if the resistance (short) got bad could drain the battery very fast.
There are other tests we could have you do checking for amperage draw, but is more complicated, but still not difficult (just a lot of typing). Let's first see what your voltage findings are. If it is low, then pull the fuse for the roof leak, but keep in mind it may also/or be at the shifter (or somewhere else entirely and hence an amp draw test would reveal) which may or may not affect car drivability.
Sam
Follow the red, positive cable to its first connection and see if this is also tight. Be careful, the red cable is 'hot' and if you short this to the frame, you will get sparks. (Unless you pull the negative cable, this kills the entire system.) Putting your meter's red cable here and the black cable to the frame will show you the voltage at any point.
Thanks,
Sam
DO NOT USE HEAT or you'll be sorry.
Once out, you can use a never-seize compound when re-inserting these parts.
The tapping is a good idea however I find that the 'shock' vibration seems to lost or camouflaged by the extension on your best 6 point socket. The longer the extension the less vibration gets to the plug I find. And as you know, some of them are way down in there. I try to use the largest diameter, shortest extension I can get away with.
Do you use a hot or cold engine? Have you ever experimented with cold aerosol electronics toolbox gas to super chill the area if you can get in there at all? (possible on a VW diesel if replacing glowplugs, but not so possible on most sparkplugs).
Sam
I prefer to do everything on a cold engine of course.
I have a friend who was quite diligent when he replaced his glowplugs on a VW diesel. Yet still, one of them came out with the threads. He had a bad feeling about it right away of course, but if the plug is dead and you need to replace it, what can you do at that point? I suggested to him that another time, that as soon as you get any movement, try to dab the penetrating oil to it while tapping and do that over the course of a few days if you have that option, before continuing to remove it any more. Then it gives the oil a chance to work and get in there and increase your odds of a successful removal. That scenario is usually not the case in most shops of course.
I might be faced with this myself next month, not sure yet, so thought I would put it out there.
Thanks,
Sam
You can't "strip" any bolt or plug on the way out--it has to have been put in wrong...but when steel is threaded into aluminum, it can "grab" some of the aluminum on the way out, that's true.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I replaced the throttle position sensor, and when that didnt work I replaced the pigtail connector to the TPS because it was in bad shape....
but I'm still getting the code, even after I clear it out of memory.
Where should I go from here?
The C-1 chart is available from ALL DATA using the following sequence when you log onto and punch in '88 Eldo:
Powertrain Management > Computers and Control Systems> Engine Control Module > Testing and Inspection > Component Tests and General Diagnostics > Chart C-1 ECM Replacement Check
If you don't want to do that, e-mail me (click on my name) and I'll send you the chart. It's too long to post here.
I'm shopping for a new car, and am completely lost. Based on what is available at dealerships in my area, the top contenders are:
1. 2007 Ford Fusion sedan- 27,476 miles- list price $11,995
2. 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5 S sedan- 62,163 miles- $11,973
3. 2008 Ford Focus SE sedan- 75,255 miles- $10,500
4. 2007 Nissan Versa SL Hatchback- 62,906 miles- $10,189
5. 2008 Kia Optima LX sedan- 37,117- $10,995
6. 2007 Ford Focus SES Hatchback (manual)- 62,285- $10,779
I don't want to make a bad decision, and would LOVE input on what car I should buy. The main things I am looking for are reliability, safety, fuel economy, and cost (my budget is $11,000).
Also, what is a reasonable price for me to offer on each car when I start the negotiations?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I don't like Kia Optima's, but that would be my 2nd choice of these also. The rest are on the heavy side for mileage.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S