Car Battery Cleaning and Safety
Car Battery Safety Label
Car battery cleaning and safety are two important issues to address for car owners that like to get involved in the maintenance of their own automobile. When I say involved this does not mean you have to be a full-fledged driveway mechanic.
Performing some of the easier tasks yourself can increase the reliability of your vehicle as well as reduce trips to the auto repair shop. A few weeks ago I provided a post about car battery facts. You can visit the post to get all of the details but basically it discussed why batteries go dead and how long you can expect them to last.
Since these are issues that affect many drivers I thought I would take it a step further by providing links to the needed tools (below) as well as discuss how to prolong the life of your battery by cleaning it.
But also more importantly to identify the Dangers of working with batteries and provide some safety tips. Note: When in doubt let a professional do it! Ask them to show you how, so you can do the next battery service. Read more
Free Auto Repair Manuals
Paid for auto repair manual
Is there such a thing as free auto repair manuals? I receive several e-mails a day asking me to send free car repair manuals for specific vehicles. Of course I do not have any or the right to send copyrighted material for free (And I don’t) but it is a good question.
My mother always told me that nothing in life is free. But since I have seen advertisements for free car repair manuals around the net I decided to check into it and see if my mother was wrong.
There are several websites that state they have free repair manuals for your individual vehicle. I went to a couple of these websites to check it out for myself. I spent a couple of hours visiting several different locations with mixed results.
At one of these locations I typed in the year make and model of the vehicle I was looking for service procedures and diagnostic tree charts for. It brought me to a page that said click here to download. When I clicked on the button a pop-up was generated.
The box that opened up stated that I would have to jump through some hoops to get what I wanted. There were six necessary steps that needed to be completed before I would receive my free download. The first step was to join an Internet movie database that had some type of contract. The other five steps also included signing up for scary long-term agreements.
Is there any free auto repair manuals?
The next site I went too seemed a little better. Read more
Facts About Car Batteries
Car Batteries look inside
Interesting facts about car batteries and what makes them go dead before there projected lifespan expires. If you keep your vehicle the average 5 to 7 years that most people do chances are you will need to learn something about batteries along the way.
With the average car battery only lasting 3 to 5 years and some not even that long due to harsh conditions, you may have to deal with the battery issue more than once.
Side note: A car battery can be dangerous! You should always wear safety glasses. You should always work in a well ventilated area. It is rare that it will explode but it can happen! The invisible gasses floating above can be triggered by sparks, flames or even cigarette ashes.
What shortens a batteries life?
An overcharging condition can cause a boiling condition inside the battery that eventually will reduce the amount of water and electrolyte in the cells. Read more
Common OBD Two Codes
Locking gas cap
One of the most common OBD two codes would be for the evaporative emissions system. These codes were designed by the manufacturer and mandated by clean air laws.
Basically this is that the fuel system on every automobile must be completely sealed. No longer are you allowed to vent fuel vapor into the atmosphere.
This means that a storage and burning system is necessary to properly handle the naturally occurring fuel vaporization process.
Depending on the year make and model of the vehicle the codes set will usually be in the P0400 range. These codes when set will help you determine what the problem with the system may be.
When the fuel vapor system is determined to be leaking the severity of the leak is measured. Individual codes may set for a small leak, a medium-sized leak, or even a large fuel vapor leak.
Also in the P0400 range of codes will be specific codes for the canister and purge valve functions of the evaporation emissions system. All of the failures in the P0400 range could be considered common OBD codes. Again depending on the year make and model of the vehicle. But I have seen failures in all parts of the evap at one time or another.
OBD two evap systems leaks
OBD two monitors the evaporative system by testing the ability of the fuel tank to hold pressure as well as purging the system to vent petroleum fumes from the charcoal canister storage device. The most common way that this pressure test is deployed is with a small pump. Read more
Car AC Diagnostics
AC Manifold Guages
It may seem crazy to talk about car AC diagnostics in the middle of a snow storm. But by the time this page gets indexed and ranked you should be ready to turn on your vehicles air conditioning for the first time after a long winter of not using it.
On a previous post about air conditioning auto repairs I discussed how to test your system using manifold gauges. We also discussed how important the total charge of the system is to air-conditioning performance.
On this page will be some tips on how to deal with pressure readings that are out of specifications. Also included will be some best practices for Car AC diagnostics as well as running system AC performance testing properly. And don’t forget to wear safety equipment because freon is dangerous.
High side pressure readings
When you’re basing your diagnostics off of system pressure it is very important to refer to the pressure charts in your online auto repair manuals. These pressure readings will vary greatly with humidity and outside temperature.
Improper diagnosis is often caused by expecting an unrealistic reading on a hot humid day. With that said if you have determined that your pressure readings are truly off here are some tips on what they could actually mean. Read more
Slipping Automatic Transmission
96 GMC K1500 4WD
A slipping automatic transmission is the first sign of serious internal troubles heading your way. More often then not this condition will lead to a complete transmission overhaul. Here is an email question about this common condition as well as a good example of the likely symptoms.
A visitor writes, Thank you for your website. You have pushed me to further educate myself about the mechanical side of cars. Here is some information about my trucks problem before I take it to a transmission shop or general car repair place.
I have a 96 GMC K1500 4WD. I am having slipping automatic transmission problems. If I drive like grandma and ease up to Highway speeds I can feel all gears engage and pull, 1, 2, 3, and 4. If I take off fast From a stop or if I’m driving 6Omph and stomp it for passing gear I can see the Rpm gauge surge to 3500-4000 and hear the engine running great but no power at The wheels.
I have to let off the gas for the transmission to begin to pull again as it falls back to the higher gear. My auto scan tool from Actron says I have no codes set in the computer. I have purchased the all data online auto repair manuals for my trucks. I have gone through the related info to become familiar as possible with this problem. After a physical inspection, my fluid level is correct and no burnt odor. I have no leaks, the wiring harnesses and connectors look fine. Read more
Automatic Transmission Fluid Service
Automatic Transmission Fluid
This post is about checking and changing automatic transmission fluid. At the bottom ( Click the read more Link ) is my personal story about the 4L60E transmission in my Chevy Blazer.
First I wanted to make it clear that I am still undecided on whether changing the fluid in your automatic transmission is the right thing to do.
I have seen studies that support both sides of the question. I work for a large fleet company that tested several hundred vehicles and monitored the performance and failures of the automatic transmissions.
The private study conducted by the fleet showed that there were just as many failures in the vehicles that had regular transmission services as the ones that received no transmission services.
With that being said I generally recommend them. For myself I follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for transmission fluid and filter changes.
Just from experience in talking with customers it would seem that most drivers put this service on the back burner. Checking the transmission fluid before service begins is always a good idea.
Checking automatic transmission fluid
Make sure your vehicle is on a level surface. Not all transmissions will have a dipstick but most still do. If your transmission does have a dipstick make sure you wipe the dirt off around the cover of the dipstick handle before you pull it out of the tube. This is to prevent dirt from falling down the tube and into the transmission oil. Read more
Engine Runs Rough
Rough Running Engine
Let us not forget that the engine runs rough condition can be caused by basic car problems. Many times professional and do it yourself auto mechanics start searching for answers in the vehicles high tech areas.
In many cases, the car problem is located in the most basic principles of engine operation.
Not all engine performance problems are directly related to on-board computers, throttle position sensors, fuel injectors or other fancy electronic systems.
This is the reason that all types of mechanics will still need to understand basic engine operation, as well as time tested engine testing procedures.
These basic tests are an important part of modern day engine troubleshooting and this will not change for some time. Well at least not until the electric vehicle is the only car on the roadways. Read more
Automotive Front-end Alignments
Wheel Alignment Rack
This page is about front-end alignments and why it is so hard to get a good one. Even though this is not a do it yourself auto repair, it’s good to know what you’re up against to actually receive a quality wheel alignment.
Many DIY car mechanics (myself included) will replace the front-end parts that are required, and then take the vehicle in for the alignment.
This is a good plan, but you want to make sure the auto repair shop follows through by setting all adjustable angles.
On my short list of things to ask for when you pay for a wheel alignment is to get before and after printouts. All modern day alignment racks have vehicle specifications and printers built into the equipment.
The print out will have the specifications or the factory wheel alignment settings that the vehicle should have. Also on the print out will be the before readings for Castor, camber, and toe in settings. And last but not least, the final readings after all the adjustments are done and locked.
Even if you do not have experience with alignment settings, you should still ask for these before and after prints. When you begin to study the final settings you can compare them to the factory specifications to be assured they are within tolerances.
More often than not, when this request is made, you will find that the technician will go the extra mile to make sure his educated customer is satisfied with the alignment.
