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Comments
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
thanks.
I've never found a cite to that law posted here over the years I've been reading posts at Edmunds. What people have said is that the manufacturer has to keep parts around so that they can handle any claims made under warranty.
It's surprising to me how often odd little parts for low volume off-brand cars turn up for sale on the internet though.
Please Help my email is anaswarbrick@hotmail.com
I have a 1997 drawing, it shows power coming from a 30 amp maxie fuse, then it goes through a black/white wire to the Accessory Delay Relay, then it goes through a light blue/black wire to the main control switch. I would trouble shoot and trace the power in the circuit with a 12v test light. Wiring diagrams are available online from some automotive subscription services.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
consumer. As American car companies market share continued to plummet, I
continued to feel that it is my patriotic duty to buy American.
Well, I finally woke up and realized that everyone else is right, and that I
was naive.
Last week the O/D light came on in my Ford Explorer. I drove it right home
and got the manual out to see what the problem was. "Transmission problem"
was what the manual indicated, as well as several websites I reviewed.
I didn't worry at first, since I figured this would be covered under
warranty. My Explorer is just under 5 years old and just under 60K miles.
Surely there would at least be a 60K power train warranty. No one would buy
a vehicle if they knew the transmission would only last 59K miles.
Well, the dealer told me a new transmission was needed (5th and 2nd gears
were worn down), that it would cost $3500, and that it is not covered by
warranty. And to add insult to injury he charged me $90 to tell me the
transmission was bad (something I obviously knew) - isn't this similar to
stealing?
I then asked him what trade in value I could get (not that I really would
buy another poor quality Ford, but I wanted to explore all options). $5500
is the most they could give. I laughed - since I had taken very good care of
the vehicle. It told me that they didn't want the vehicle either - so much
for them really standing behind their product. They know the quality is
poor.
Obviously I was quite irritated. I asked what caused this. None of the
possibilities applied since I took good care of the vehicle and had it
serviced according to the maintenance manual. In fact, the dealer (Cover
Ford in Austin) did the 30K checkup. I spent $1K on that (and probably got
ripped off).
I took it to a transmission specialist and had it fixed for under $2500. He
informed me that he sees a lot of issues like this with Explorers - probably
a poor design and poor quality. Also, judging by various websites there are
indeed lots of complains like this.
I wouldn't be surprised if Ford knew of the poor design - since the warranty
that came with the vehicle was only 3 yr/36K even for powertrain. If Ford
had good quality, why couldn't they step up to the plate and offer 60K or
even 100K power train warranty. They must have known the poor quality. In my
mind, this is deceptive practice - and I kick myself for not recognizing
this as a red flag.
Well, for the 2008 Explorer I see Ford is offering 60K powertrain warranty.
So they must have made some improvements (which further underscores their
recognition of the poor quality in earlier years). But it's still a far cry
from 100K that some vehicles come with. You also have to wonder what other
quality issues are lurking.
I think the choice is now clear to me. In the future I will be considering
something like a Honda Pilot. Ford deserves the trend of lower market share.
Consumers are very wise, and the quality the provide is reflected in their
declining sales and marketshare.
Please don't make the same mistake I made. The foreign competition provides
much better quality and customer service.
I too used to be a staunch "buy american" advocate. I've owned 4 Explorers in a row (1990, 1993, 1997, 2000). But seeing how the market has changed so much through the 1990's and 2000's, my next buy will definitely not be an American brand. I'll probably be looking at a Honda Element or Toyota Highlander very soon.
Do you mean that when you turn your "Night Lights" on, your headlights go off? If you turn the headlights on by themselves, do they work OK?
Does anything stay on when you turn of the lights and remove the keys?
If you battery is being drained, and you can't easily find what the cause is, you may need to do a "parasitic battery drain test". There should be no more than 25 milliamps of current being drained from the battery when everything is off. That is .025 amp, a tiny amount of current. .050 amp could drain the battery over night. If you need info on how do do this I can post it here.
Good Luck
E.D. ISF
You need to find what is draining your battery by checking "PARASITIC CURRENT DRAW" from your battery. Your car has ELECTRONIC MODULES that draw current when they are first connected. After they "settle down", usually in about 2 to 5 minutes, the parasitic current drain on you battery should be down to about 25 ma (milliamps) (.025 Amp). Do the following test procedure, and if you find your draw is too high, pull fuses one at a time to see if you can isolate the source of the excessive current draw. If your Parasitic Current Draw is still high after pulling all fuses, try disconnecting the Alternator, and other electrical equipment until the source of the excessive current draw is found.
PARASITIC CURRENT DRAW TEST:
Start with a fully charged Battery. Turn everything in the car OFF, close the door, remove the light bulb from under the hood, glove compartment, trunk, etc, so that nothing you know of is on. Remove the negative cable. Place a 5 amp fuse & a 1 ohm/10watt resistor in series with the negative cable, then wait a few minutes to allow the modules to settle down, then proceed. Connect a Digital Volt/Ohm Meter across the resistor and do a simple voltage drop test. Results = for example, a .022v draw = a 22mA draw. When you have minimal computers/radios/etc a maximum of 25mA is optimal. If you have multiple computers/cell phones/alarms/etc expect a higher number to be normal, though the cell phones/alarms should be OFF for this test. Over 30ma should be investigated and over 50ma should be corrected. Check manufacturers specs to be sure of what it should be for your particular vehicle.
For your headlight problem, you will need a wiring diagram to figure that out.
About the distilled water, yes, you should always add only distilled water to the battery. This also applies to the radiator, if you premix the antifreeze with water, use only distilled water. I always keep at least 6 gallons of distilled water in my garage.
Good Luck,
E.D. In Sunny Florida">
Good Luck,
E,D. ISF
Also the Price they gave was close to 600....
Can anyone clear this up for a non mechanic?
It sounds like it may be a case of faulty workmanship. The rear parking brakes are usually seldom used and really don't usually incure any wear, unless someone drives around with his parking brake applied, or if something is causing them to stick or not release properly. Take it back to the first guy and have him explain why the new brakes that HE put on 7K ago are tore up, and ask him to make it right.
Thanks
Mike
It sounds like you may have a hydraulic clutch chatter when changing gears, try to see if you can tell when it does it. It may be the 4th gear clutch or the Torque Converter Lock Up Clutch. If it is not too bad, flushing and changing the transmission fluid will make probably it go away. You need to be sure you do the transmision flushes and changes every 30,000 by the book. 30K, 60K, 90K, 120K, 150K, 180K, 210K, etc.
I change my trans fluid every 30k, and about 10K before I'm due for the next flush, I sometimes notice a slight clutch chatter when my torque converter lock up clutch engages. After I do the flush, it is always smooth and quite again. I've got a 2000 XLT 5.0L V8 Auto 148K miles.
Good Luck,
E.D. in Sunny Florida
Thanks
Check for hot water flow through the heater core. With the heater turned on, feel the heater hoses where they enter the fire wall. Are they hot or cold? If not hot, there is not hot water flow. Check the hot water valve to see if it is working. Yours may by operated by a small vacuum line, it could be loose, fell off, leaking or broken. Some heater valves work by a cable. If you can get the heater valve to open, the hot coolant should flow through the heater core. If you know the heater valve is open, you might have a clog in the heater core. Then take the Heater valve off the hoses and check to be sure it's open, blow water from a hose through it. Take the heater hoses off there they go through the fiewall to the heater core, and try to blow water through the heater core with a water hose, in both directions. If everything is open, it should work when connected back and coolant filled properly and heater turned on, unless for some reason the coolant is not coming out of the engine or their is some kind of coolant air bubble or air lock. Bleed all air out of the cooling system.
Good Luck
E.D. ISF
Good Luck,
E.D. in Sunny Florida
Good Luck,
E.D. in Sunny Florida