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The Official Help-Me-Fix-My-Car-Age Thread
- Thread starter Flying_Phoenix
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BigJonsson
Member
Anyone have any ideas for my problem?
parrotbeak
Member
That was my first thought, but I looked and both front and back are still blinking. Sorry, should have mentioned that. Unless there are more bulbs than the 1 in front and back?mike23 said:
BigJonsson said:
Just something that came to mind - I don't know if it will help - but often you have one or more computers in your car that control various systems. In one of my old Honda Accords (1990) it was underneath the passenger side carpet where your feet might rest. By pulling down the carpet a bit you could see a panel with an LED that would flash various codes. You could then look up those codes in a service manual (or online probably) to see what the problem is. They may have done away with this mechanism in recent times and completely hidden the engine codes behind the ODB connector (i.e. require diagnostic equipment to read them), but it's worth looking in to.
Here's a page with info on how to get to your codes:
http://www.nissanforums.com/u13-1993-1997-altima/137639-how-get-93-altima-codes.html
Of course, maybe it's a simple vacuum leak or something.
parrotbeak
Member
Ok cool, thanks I'll keep checking to see which one goes.slick7rick said:
BigJonsson
Member
The engine light only comes on when its stalled, I guess that means I have to get it to stall in my driveway so I can see if a code pops up?
Oh, thats normal, its not an engine code thing
Oh, thats normal, its not an engine code thing
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
Should I get my top left battery cable replaced? The tip of it isn't covered.
Someone looked at it and said it could possibly cause the alternator to overheat.
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3 (top right)
Someone looked at it and said it could possibly cause the alternator to overheat.
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3 (top right)
Ok, CEL came on. got a P0420 obd-II code on a reader. Have a 96 camry. First mechanic i took it to says my catalytic converter is not working efficiently and I need to replace along with the upstream and downstream O2 sensors. A second mechanic confirmed it. Anyway the parts and replacement looks like it's going to cost me upwards of 1000 dollars (and my car is prop . worth a little over 2000).
What I am worries about is that is there a larger problem with the engine ? Does the on board computer store more than one obd code at a time ? My car engine seems to be running fine and there are no symptoms. It seems to be a a common problem with Camrys whic have lots of miles on them. Anybody else deal with a P0420 code ?
What I am worries about is that is there a larger problem with the engine ? Does the on board computer store more than one obd code at a time ? My car engine seems to be running fine and there are no symptoms. It seems to be a a common problem with Camrys whic have lots of miles on them. Anybody else deal with a P0420 code ?
PrivateWHudson
Member
Subscribed. I'm going to replace my rear rotors and pads on Wednesday, but I may need some advice leading up to it. I kinda twisted the arm of a guy at work to give me a hand, so I want to make sure I have all of my ducks in a row before heading over to his house.
I'll give the symptoms now, and then post pics and questions tomorrow when I'm not working.
2002 Hyundai Elantra 4 wheel disc brakes:
Car sat for about three months, and upon driving again, the rear brakes made a pulsing sound like they were rubbing once per rotation. The sound did get better, would come and go, but didn't go away. I have noticed that the rust on the rotors that normally cleans up during normal driving is still mostly there. It has been worn off here and there, but not the whole thickness of the pads. There are also grooves in the rotors around the outer part of the rotors, but not consistent with the wear/rust patterns on the bulk of the rotor.
Also, it "looks" like there is plenty of break pad. This is all pretty much the same for both the driver and passenger sides, but the pulsing sound sounds like it's coming from the passenger side.
Will new rotors and pads fix this?
I'll give the symptoms now, and then post pics and questions tomorrow when I'm not working.
2002 Hyundai Elantra 4 wheel disc brakes:
Car sat for about three months, and upon driving again, the rear brakes made a pulsing sound like they were rubbing once per rotation. The sound did get better, would come and go, but didn't go away. I have noticed that the rust on the rotors that normally cleans up during normal driving is still mostly there. It has been worn off here and there, but not the whole thickness of the pads. There are also grooves in the rotors around the outer part of the rotors, but not consistent with the wear/rust patterns on the bulk of the rotor.
Also, it "looks" like there is plenty of break pad. This is all pretty much the same for both the driver and passenger sides, but the pulsing sound sounds like it's coming from the passenger side.
Will new rotors and pads fix this?
2 minute job. the nut holding the metal spade in place looks to me to be an earth. just replace the POSITIVE battery terminal connector. i don't see how that would cause the terminal to overheat - i constructed my own terminal connector out of a steel road and welded the copper to it and haven't looked back since.Flying_Phoenix said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Repl..._Camper_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a6a323758
Poindexter
Member
You could always wrap the exposed cable in electrical tape and call it a day if you wanna be cheap about it. The person who suggested that it could cause your alternator to overheat, did they stand to make any money off you? Because it doesn't really make senseFlying_Phoenix said:
Poindexter
Member
From what you describe it should fix it. It sounds like buildup is just not allowing the brake to make contact with rotor properly and is wearing on it unevenly. Assuming the issue isn't bad enough to really stop you from stopping within a reasonable distance, you could try to wear it off. Try following the process for bedding new rotors/brakes.PrivateWHudson said:
From a site:
But this depends on how much damage has been done and how bad the buildup is.
PrivateWHudson
Member
Good to know. I think I'm still going to replace the rotors and pads just since there are some serious groves around the outside of the rotors. But this process will come in handy to break in the new stuff.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
Poindexter said:
He helped push my car out of the road when it died. He looked at it and gave his expertise on it.
He actually offered to GIVE me money for the repair.
In case you were wondering it was just a bad battery cable. The place charged me $119 for it...never going there again.
Update on my situation my CEL went off on its own. I was planning to replace the cat converter and the 2 o2 sensors this week. I don't know if should I go ahead and do this or was it just a case of bad fuel.
Do OBD code readers display multiple codes for a 96 camry if something is wrong? I don't want P0420 code masking a bigger problem.
Do OBD code readers display multiple codes for a 96 camry if something is wrong? I don't want P0420 code masking a bigger problem.
Really need some help with this. I own a 2000 Honda Civic LX. This morning when I got in the car and turned it on, my car had a weird glitch where when I turned my lights on, the radio turned off and on. When I got to work, I had noticed my power door locks had stopped working. I didn't think about it too much and when I got back in the car later, the locks worked. Well I noticed my radio settings had been reset, clock and presets. I go to leave and when I come to a stop I notice that my car starts to vibrate for about 3 or 4 seconds while idling. When I finally get home and stop, I notice that there is also a clicking noise so when I open up the hood, I find that it sounds like my belt is clicking and my engine was also shaking. There are so many things at work here I have no clue. Part of me wants to say some sort of battery issue, but I am not sure why the belt would be clicking as well as the engine shaking. I can take it somewhere today, but time is limited and I can't really afford to be stuck somewhere.
Four_Chamber
Member
Sounds battery related.
I checked it again before I left and the battery had some corrosion on it so I cleaned it off. I started the car up and the clicking sound persisted, but the engine wasn't shaking any longer, and my idling issue stopped. I need to drive it some more to see if I can recreate it.
parrotbeak
Member
Ok, so back in August I noticed my driver side blinker was blinking faster than normal. Advised that it probably meant that my blinker was about to go out. It's now 4 months later and my blinkers are still working but also still blinking fast.
In July my driver side front head lamp had gone out and I replaced it.
Now the same lamp I replaced is dead.
Should I assume it was a shitty lamp that just died after 5 months? Or is this potentially a more complicated electrical problem?
parrotbeak
Member
Bump for the new week.
I took a look at my fuses yesterday but it was storming so I didn't do much else. One of the headlamp fuses was bent; noticeably not in line with the others in the panel, but it didn't look burnt out. I guess the cheapest thing would be to try replacing the fuses and see if that doesn't fix it. If that doesn't work, I'm not sure. The bulbs for my car aren't cheap; it was like $30-40. So I don't want to just go buy a new one and have it burn out again.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
Well its been more than half a year since something was wrong with my car and I gues something had to give.
I have an oil leak. The thing is though is that its not from the oil pan. It seems to be gathering from above the pan. Any idea what it could be?
I have an oil leak. The thing is though is that its not from the oil pan. It seems to be gathering from above the pan. Any idea what it could be?
Possibly a rear main seal? A complete bitch to change and I wouldn't even attempt it personally.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
Well I used UV Oil Dye and poured that into my engine's oil. I got a detection light, jacked my car up, let it run, and checked for oil leaks. It turns out that the oil pressure switch (the plug right above the oil filter) is leaking very heavily. So that is (and hopefully is the only) problem.
I looked up how to change it and it seems like a fairly standard job. Disconnect the battery cable, take it off, reverse, done.
I looked up how to change it and it seems like a fairly standard job. Disconnect the battery cable, take it off, reverse, done.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
Yeah, that was it. Not a single leak at all now.
parrotbeak
Member
Car had momentary sluggishness on the freeway driving home. Was going about 60-70 with the flow of traffic and every so often it would drop a bit even with my foot on gas. Then I hit heavy traffic on a steep hill and it stalled as soon as I came to a stop. It started fine again. I cut over to left lane, and it stalled again. Started again and got it to shoulder. Luckily the federal freeway tow service showed up a minute later so I got towed off the freeway right away. What did people do before cell phones?
I tried letting it idle for a bit and it was idling ok most of the time, but occasionally made some inconsistent noises. No engine warning light and no problem starting it, but just couldn't keep it running. I started to smell gas while sitting there and I did just fill up gas before getting onto the freeway. Thinking it is fuel pump or line.
Gotta call around tomorrow and see if anyone will take me. I wonder if it is a fuel line problem what the time to fix might be. I'm super busy at work and can't afford to not have a car on Monday. Friends have already offered to lend me their second cars, but I hate to inconvenience anyone.
If it is the pump I would think it would take longer, since it would need to be ordered?
I dunno, never had a major car problem that I actually cared about fixing. Last time my car broke I just junked it cuz it was so old. This car never had problems and is only 7 years old.
I tried letting it idle for a bit and it was idling ok most of the time, but occasionally made some inconsistent noises. No engine warning light and no problem starting it, but just couldn't keep it running. I started to smell gas while sitting there and I did just fill up gas before getting onto the freeway. Thinking it is fuel pump or line.
Gotta call around tomorrow and see if anyone will take me. I wonder if it is a fuel line problem what the time to fix might be. I'm super busy at work and can't afford to not have a car on Monday. Friends have already offered to lend me their second cars, but I hate to inconvenience anyone.
If it is the pump I would think it would take longer, since it would need to be ordered?
I dunno, never had a major car problem that I actually cared about fixing. Last time my car broke I just junked it cuz it was so old. This car never had problems and is only 7 years old.
parrotbeak
Member
Just for future reference, my car apparently needed a new camshaft sensor. My mechanic wasn't sure what was wrong because the engine seemed fine until it would stall and the stall would happen without warning. But he'd done a lot of cars before like this and the camshaft sensor is usually it.
That worked but the sluggishness is still there. He said that would be the crankshaft sensor and they are usually replaced at the same time, but it is fine to drive for now and it shouldn't stall again. I'll change it out soon anyway, but right now I'm just happy to have a car that doesn't stall constantly. Busy week at work without a car is really stressful.
Also for mystery engine problems, I need to just wait for my regular mechanic and not try to get a chain maintenance place to look at it over the weekend. Thankfully they didn't even try to fix it and didn't charge me anything.
That worked but the sluggishness is still there. He said that would be the crankshaft sensor and they are usually replaced at the same time, but it is fine to drive for now and it shouldn't stall again. I'll change it out soon anyway, but right now I'm just happy to have a car that doesn't stall constantly. Busy week at work without a car is really stressful.
Also for mystery engine problems, I need to just wait for my regular mechanic and not try to get a chain maintenance place to look at it over the weekend. Thankfully they didn't even try to fix it and didn't charge me anything.
parrotbeak
Member
Too optimistic, it is still stalling when idling but just not as frequently as before. Yesterday morning it couldn't idle for more than 30 seconds without stalling, but later in the day it wasn't stalling any more.
youngwerther
Banned
Anyone ever replaced the starter motor on a 01-02 Ford Taurus?
Mine went bad and I'm trying to get that bitch off and it won't budge.
I disconnected the battery, removed the nuts connecting the wires to the solenoid, and then removed the two bolts connecting the starter to the car. From what I can tell there is nothing left I need to disconnect, but I can't get the thing to budge. I tug on it and the whole car shakes. It's COVERED with grease because the starter is located right beneath the oil filter, so oil and grime has been dripping and building up on the starter for about 120K miles. I'm thinking this may be why it's stuck so I'm not sure how to get it off. I know this is a long shot but anyone know what to do?
Mine went bad and I'm trying to get that bitch off and it won't budge.
I disconnected the battery, removed the nuts connecting the wires to the solenoid, and then removed the two bolts connecting the starter to the car. From what I can tell there is nothing left I need to disconnect, but I can't get the thing to budge. I tug on it and the whole car shakes. It's COVERED with grease because the starter is located right beneath the oil filter, so oil and grime has been dripping and building up on the starter for about 120K miles. I'm thinking this may be why it's stuck so I'm not sure how to get it off. I know this is a long shot but anyone know what to do?
Anton668
Member
just looked in the Haynes manual and didnt see anything special cept "On 2000 and later models, remove the push-pins and the splash shield below the radiator". So as long as you have all the bolts and wires removed and it still wont come off, yeah, maybe hit it with some PB, also, speaking of hitting it, take a hammer and try tapping it loose.
youngwerther
Banned
I've tried hammer.
I also tried wedging in between the metal with a screwdriver.
The result? The metal literally tore right down the middle.
By push-pin do you mean the alignment pin? Everything I read said that there is no need to take it out, that it just comes off with the starter.
How would I remove it?
edit: Apparently the alignment pin does not have to be removed at all in order to get the starter out.
I also tried wedging in between the metal with a screwdriver.
The result? The metal literally tore right down the middle.
By push-pin do you mean the alignment pin? Everything I read said that there is no need to take it out, that it just comes off with the starter.
How would I remove it?
edit: Apparently the alignment pin does not have to be removed at all in order to get the starter out.
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