'99 Toyota Corolla running rough with check engine light

I got this customer car that he/she bought a couple days ago from our dealership. The complaint was the car runs rough sometimes and the check engine light is on.

The first thing I did was to check what was the codes that brought up the check engine light. I had a feeling it was a misfire code. I was right!! The codes were P0300 random misfire, P0302 cylinder#2 misfire and P0303 cylinder#3 misfire.

Next step I did was to remove #2 and 3 spark plug and check the plugs visibly if its good. Both spark plugs looked fine. Then I looked at the ignition coil pack that was connected with #2 and #3 spark plug wires. The casing looked fine. So I decided to remove the spark plug wires that was connected to it and look inside where it connects.

I found the problem. It was water inside the plug wires where it connects to the ignition coil pack. #2 and #3 cylinders share the same coil packs so obviously it caused the misfire and check engine light on.

You might be thinking, how did water get inside there? Well, when it's sold, before the car is given to the customer it gets detailed from top to bottom, inside and out. When the detailer cleaned the engine bay he used the pressure washer to get rid of all the dirt. While doing that the ignition coil pack got wet.

What I did to clean the coil pack and both plug wires is to spray it with contact circuit cleaner and then air hose it dry. Then I plugged it back and went for a 30 mile test drive to set the monitors on the car.

Came back to the dealership with the car with no check engine light and no rough idle.

I'm fucken good!

2005 Nissan-Datsun Truck Frontier 2WD V6-4.0L

Complaint from the customer was:

Engine turns slow, like the battery is out of juice.

First step was to test the battery. Battery tested at 11.47 volts and 14 cold cranking amps. For a good battery it should test at 12.60 volts and over 560 cca, the cca of the battery should be on the sticker on the battery.

Replaced the battery. Tested alternator with VAT-45 test machine, tested at 105 amps at 3000 rpm. Test drove car-good.

Technical Service Bulletins:

Emissions - DTC P0440/P0442/P0455/P0456/P1440/P1456Steering/Suspension - Vehicle Pulls/Drifts Left/Right
Interior - No/Erratic Seat Forward/Backward OperationTire Monitor System - TPMS Sensor Seal LeakInterior - Noise From Drivers Power Seat LifterFuel System - Erratic Fuel Gauge/DTC's P0461/P0462/P0463Fuel System - Fuel Pump Squeaking NoiseEngine - Buzzing/Whining Noise From Timing Chain AreaSuspension - Rear Leaf Spring Squeak On BumpsBody - Rear Door Glass Run Rubber Sticks OutInterior - Right Front Seat Back Rattles/Moves SidewaysEngine Controls - Engine Idle Speed 25RPM Too HighBody - Creaking Noise During Window OperationEngine - Rattling Noise at 2,200RPMEngine Controls - MIL ON/DTC's P1273/P1283/P1274/P1284

Recall:Recall R0807 - Front Air Bag Impact Sensor ReplacementRecall - Potential Door Latch DefectRecall - Fuel Cap Tether ReplacementRecall 06V092000: Fuel Cap Tether Pin Replacement

Campaign:Campaign - Body Control Module Repl./Sub Harness Install

My car is shaking at highway speeds!!

I had a Toyota Sienna van earlier today.

First, I set the tire pressures to all the tires to 35psi. If you do not know what to set you tire pressures. Look at the drivers side door jam. There should be a sticker there showing the size of the tires should be used and recommended tire pressures.

Then, I took it to the freeway. I started to feel the van shake at 65mph. Off the bat, I knew the tires needed to be balanced.

I tried to balance the tires on the machine and it indicated the tires were bad. Mind you we replaced it before. The tires were new and the brand was HANKOOK.

Even though they are new doesn't mean they are good.

So the next step was to replace them with different brand tires. That fixed the problem.

rear wiper washer inoperative.

On a GMC Envoy, it has a rear wiper that has a nozzle to spray water to the window. If there is no water coming out of it it is usually a kink in the hose on the wiper arm. I found out already on 2 GMC vehicles. You would have to straighten the hose out.

Why does my a/c fan work only on 4 and 5 setting??

This '03 Chevy Malibu got me stumped. First, I checked all the fuses and relays connected to the a/c controls and they were all good. Then I thought the resistors were bad in the a/c control assembly on the dash. So I replaced it and the problem was still there. That cost the used car department about $400!! OOPPSSS my fault!!

I found out that the blower motor resistors was located adjacent to the a/c blower on the passenger side underneath the glove box. The resistors controls the speed of the a/c fan. I made the assumption that the resistors were located in the controls like other makes have it. I found this out by going to our online system we have on looking at all the other car makes "how to" stuff and part replacements.

So I got the part and replaced it. And yippy it worked!! Got paid for only and hour but spent about two on it. Lesson learned. Always check the online site to save time and money. Oh, and the blower motor resistor cost below $40. I could have saved the used car sales department $400 for the control unit but the got the benjamins. You herr'e meeee!!

Got NO START or NO CRANK??

Today, I got an employees car with a no start, no crank when the key is turned in 'ON' position. It's an '01 Saturn, SL2, 1.9, 4 banger. I was going to call a couple of my fellow co-workers to push it in my bay but decided to look at it in the Las Vegas hot sun first. Maybe I can diagnose it quick.

Well, here is what I did. I got my jump box( basically a small battery in a plastic box with cables) and connected it to the car battery and tried to start it. To see if the battery needed extra cranks for the engine to turn. But it didn't, it's obvious already because the wipers and light work just fine. But it didn't hurt to try. So the battery was good. Hint: If your car cranks slow, check the battery by turning your lights and wipers on. If the light looks dim or the wipers works slow. Your battery is dead. Ask someone to jump it.

So I got my test light and tested all the fuses in the car and in the engine bay. All fuses tested OK. Also I switched some relays to see what will happen. Then I went back into the car and played around with the key in the ignition to see if the ignition was a problem. While I was turning the key in the 'ON' position I can here the relays inand out of the car switching on/off. That gave me a hint that the key ignition was working right.

The next thing I did was I got my breaker bar(it's a long heavy rod looking tool) and went back to the car and started look for the starter. AAHHH!!, there you are in the bottom of the intake manifold and close to the firewall. So what I did next is I slid my breaker bar down on top of the starter and gave it one hard hit. It was funny because I was doing this in the employees parking lot. Some of the salesman looking at me as if I was a sweaty gorilla breaking the car.

After that I went back in the car, turned the ignition and it just started right up. To diagnose this took me about 30 minutes. Not bad...at least I did not have to ask some techs to push it in. Drove it in the shop and racked it up. Go the price for a new starter.

Told the service advisor it's the starter that's bad. He said are you sure and said "HELL YES!!" Do you think I don't know what I'm doing?? He smirked.
The employee is going shit in his pants because the starter is going to cost about $300 and labor is not included.
Now I'm just waiting fo approval.

Pacifica died while driving

Sometimes I wonder why service advisors get paid for being so vague on the problem of the customer car. They just right up whatever the customer says. It would help if the advisor asks some questions regarding the car when it stopped running while driving. Note: If you tow in your car to the dealership please tell whatever happened in steps how the problem began with your car. This will help the auto tech get a faster diagnosis of the problem.

Well here is what happened to me. Got a '05 Chrysler Pacifica, V6 3.8L towed in with 53k miles. Got the work order printed on it DIED WHILE DRIVING. Yeah...And?? And that was it. I should have asked the advisor for more questions about the car. But I didn't cause he is a nut.

So I went to the car and the keys was still in it so I turned the key and it just fired right up! I was thinking already there is no problem with this car.

I pulled it on my bay and started the procedure I always take when diagnosing a car.

1st step: Check with MotorAlldata.com to see if it has any TSB'S(Technical Service Bulletins) about that specific problem. Found out there was none.

2nd step: Used my scanner to see if there are any saved DTC'S(Diagnostic Trouble Codes). There was none.

3rd step: Tested the battery with the Vat 45. Tested OK.

4th step: Did an alternator test. Passed.

5th step: Checked if any fuses were blown. All were good.

6th step: Checked the gas gauge. It was reading half full. So it got plenty of fuel.

7th step: Checked in the engine bay for any loose, cut, disconnected or burnt wires. All looked good.

8th step. Looked at the fluids. The radiator reservoir was empty. So I filled it up with water. Note: If you are going to fill up the reservoir on the vehicle when the engine is hot you would have to put a rag on the cap and turn slowly or you will get burned. This reservoir holds pressure!!

I started the car and started to fill it with water and heard bubbling in the block. Then water started to splash out the reservoir like a volcano. Water went about 3 feet in the air.
The top radiator hose was hot so I knew the thermostat is working. Note: If the top radiator hose is cold on a motor that has been running for 10-15 minutes then most likely the thermostat is not working properly.

To my conclusion the customer drove the car without enough coolant or no coolant in the radiator. That is why the engine just shut off because it was too hot. And because of this the car
has either a blown head or head gasket. A major problem!! Well it wasn't my problem. The car was sent to Chrysler for futher diagnosis. I think the advisor said it has a warranty but not for sure.

Note: Always check your fluids under the hood at a minimum of 2-3 times a month.