Comments for Auto Repair Information Blog

Comment on Air Conditioning Auto Repairs by Mark

Mark — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:51:35 +0000

Stephen: The way you started to describe your ac problem “at first” it sounded like a classic case of an evaporator freezing up. This is often caused by a defective expansion valve. But now that the condition has changed its hard to say. I would begin diagnosis with getting some low and high side pressure readings. I wrote about 10 articles on my other website about Diy auto ac repair http://www.youfixcars.com/auto-AC-repair.html

Comment on Air Conditioning Auto Repairs by Stephen Goode

Stephen Goode — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:36:46 +0000

Hello Mark,
At one point my a/c was working fine but over a period of a few months I noticed that whenever I would run the a/c, it would blow cool air for about an hour before it would eventually get warmer. I would then turn the a/c off for a short time and then turn it back on. It would cool again but eventually get warmer. Now the air does not cool at all. How would you diagnose this?

Comment on Power Mirror Problems and Parts by George Grimes

George Grimes — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:00:34 +0000

I am building a Porsche 356 convertible D. I have the GT style mirrors that are adjustable by hand (if one has an 8 foot arm) I am interested in the switch, wiring harness, and motors ( approximately 2.5″x 3.5″). Any clues as to availability?

Thanks,GG

Comment on What About Diesel Fuel by Automotive Tools

Automotive Tools — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:40:04 +0000

I’m not convinced with bio fuels, I can remember about 3 years ago the price of food was rising due to land being turned over to growing crops for bio fuels. Don’t get me wrong we need to find a way to power cars but not at the cost food supply the poorer nations. In the UK all diesel now has to have a 5% blend but saying that if we went for electric cars there would still be a big carbon footprint for power stations. My opinion is we should work towards hydrogen cars.

Comment on Need for Good Mechanics by Transmission Repair Orlando

Transmission Repair Orlando — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:02:44 +0000

As long as their are cars, their will be a need for qualified hard working mechanics.
Dedication has paid off for you and you are truly someone to look up to for aspiring techs.

-Mike

Comment on Replacing Spark Plugs by chris S

chris S — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:19:59 +0000

what if i accidentally didn’t follow rule # 1. I had a misfire, swapped plugs and coils and the misfire is more apparent now in the same cylinder. I wouldn’t say the engine was hot…but it was warm. Plug slid right in fine… but now the misfire occurs right when I start the engine. Did i make an egg shape and ruin the head?

Comment on Car AC Compressor Replacement by Auto Repair - Des Moines Iowa

Auto Repair - Des Moines Iowa — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:47:47 +0000

Great information. So many “technicians” bolt a compressor on and go only to wounder why it fails again. Proper flushing is so important.

Comment on Manual Transmission Diagnosis by brian

brian — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:52:07 +0000

Hi Mark got another question for you. would a set of heavy duty jump leads do to wire my van battery to my leisure battery and also my 500w inverter to my leisure battery. the price of battery cable is a rip off.
my inverter comes with 50w cables so if i got some heavy duty leads do you think they would do the job?

Comment on Air Conditioning Auto Repairs by Chris

Chris — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:04:18 +0000

OK, checked everything out and I think I have determined that it is the field coil. It measures 1.6 ohms from the positive side to the outer casing of the compressor.

Comment on Air Conditioning Auto Repairs by Chris

Chris — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:09:23 +0000

Thanks, I think I’ll take these steps (as soon as it stops raining here). I’ll unplug the compressor and try to turn on ac and see if the fuse blows at that point. I think that would rule out a grounding out problem and then measure from the hot wire on the compressor to the outer casing of it to ohm it out. Thanks for the reply. I read that depending on the manufacturer of my particular compressor it should ohm out to 3~4 ohms. I hope it’s something simple, because I don’t want to take that compressor out. It’s in there pretty good. Worst case though, KIA does sell the individual components for the compressor. The clutch disc, pully and coil all have separate part numbers.

Comment on Air Conditioning Auto Repairs by Mark

Mark — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:05:45 +0000

Chris: A common cause of blowing a compressor fuse after a short run time is high resistance in the ac clutch coil. This is the device that when energized creates a magnetic field that pulls the ac clutch into the engaged position. You should be able to use your meter to get a resistance reading (HOT or after the fuse blows) and then compare that to the specifications in your manual. Note that other things can cause the fuse to blow. Just something you can check.

Comment on Air Conditioning Auto Repairs by Chris

Chris — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:50:55 +0000

Hello, I am trying to troubleshoot a sudden A/C failure on a 2006.5 Kia Optima EX V6 with auto climate control. I took it to a trusted shop and the tech said that he found two things. One: The fuse for the compressor clutch circuit (10A) was blown. Two: The pressures seemed a little high, however they were even on both sides. He replaced the fuse and did an evac and recharge and the system was working, however two miles down the road it failed again. The fuse had blown again. I replaced with a 15A spare and it worked just long enough to start blowing cold air before the fuse failed again. I have a basic knowledge of electrical circuits and own and know how to use a multimeter. I did measure with power off each leg of the fuse recepticle against the negative cable on the power distribution box under the hood and one leg is open and the other leg is reading short. I know that the open side most likely goes to the A/C relay so that should be normal. I’m just wondering if the other leg should read some resistance or straight short to ground. Luckily, I do have access to all wireing schematics and TSBs due to Kia making everything available online to anyone who wants to register. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Comment on Manual Transmission Diagnosis by brian

brian — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:51:56 +0000

Mark I had an auto guy look at it to day. He took it for a test drive and it sounded fine. in the end he put it down to thw way i was driving it. He told me that driving a van is not the same as a car and that I needed to give it a tini little bit more revs. Rigth enough, it did sound ok when he was driving. Better safe than sorry. so at the end of the day what I think he was saying was, I have to stop driving like a girl (grin) thanks for your reply.
Brian.

Comment on Auto Repair Guide by Mark

Mark — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:00:05 +0000

Ultra: I appreciate you taking the time to read the book and commenting about it. For the record it is just my opinion. You also have to remember that I am a mechanic and not a writer. In fact the book was written in 2006 and I give it away for free because it is far from perfect! I would like to rewrite it someday but right now I am to busy wrenching.

Comment on Manual Transmission Diagnosis by Mark

Mark — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:45:19 +0000

Hi Brian: Its hard to say exactly what your problem is with out an actual road-test. But from the way you describe your symptoms it would seem an inspection of the drive-line would be in order. Checking for any play from the out put shaft of the transmission would be a good place to start. Also sometimes when you get a shutter in only one gear range it can be an indication of an internal problem inside the transmission.