Archive for July, 2008

Jul 17 2008

1991 Jeep Cherokee Laredo – A/C, Heater Fan, Turn Signals …

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Question:

1991 Jeep Cherokee Laredo – A/C, Heater Fan, Turn Signals and radio went out at same time – No 12 vdc to fuses. Is this a fuseable link problem? Where would it be located.

Answer;

Voltage to the fuse box comes from the ignition switch. The ignition switch has only one voltage “in” wire and 5 voltage “out” wires. If the vehicle starts and runs then it is not a fusible link. The problem is either the ignition switch contacts for the violet wire or a break in the violet wire from the ignition switch to the fuse block. If voltage is present in the violet wire then check the back of the fuse block for a burned or corroded terminal.

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Jul 16 2008

No air coming from air conditioning vents

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  1. Check the air conditioner fuse and replace as necessary.
  2. Air conditioner system discharged. Have the system evacuated, charged and leak tested by an MVAC certified technician, utilizing approved recovery/recycling equipment. Repair as necessary.
  3. Air conditioner low pressure switch defective. Replace switch.
  4. Air conditioner fan resistor pack defective. Replace resistor pack.
  5. Loose connection, broken wiring or defective air conditioner relay in air conditioning electrical circuit. Repair wiring or replace relay as necessary.

 

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Jul 14 2008

What can be done to get better fuel mileage on my 1993 Foed E-150 V8?

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Unfortunately flash reprogramming used until 1996 and later-so the tricky tunes that can be done on flash chip ECM’s won’t work for the 1993. What you can do though is install a supplemental hydrogen unit, convert to E85, inflate your tires with nitrogen, use synthetic oil, and use a nano technology engine treatment.

HHO enrichment really does work-you can easily turn your van into a hybrid-there are many products available but I recommend you read the Official Guide to Supplemental Hydrogen first-this is a very good resource to introduce the technology and give you the ability to make an informed decision. Here is a link to the Guide and there is also a free e-course that you can sign up for.

http://savefuel.infusionsoft.com/go/DGTSH/flexfuel/

While flash tuning is not available for your model year, the computer controls of older vehicles like yours are very easily manipulated with simple electronics and you actually have much greater potential for substantial fuel mileage gains than a newer vehicle. If you are interested I can give you more information about the best products out there and where you can purchase them.

Any fuel injected vehicle can be easily converted to run on E85, unleaded or a combination of the two. There is alot of disinformation out there about E85 and its detrimentors have a variety of agendas. The truth however, is that E85 burns cooler, cleaner, emits less harmful emissions, increases horsepower, and will extend the life of your new motor because it does not create carbon deposits and buildup like unleaded does. Most all unleaded fuel sold today has an ethanol content of 7-10%, so any propaganda about it doing engine damage or being incomaptible with fuel injection system components is false. The price of E85 is expected to stay lower than the unleaded price, and should actually continue to decrease as cellulosic ethanol becomes more available and the infrastructure is developed. Generally, it takes about a third more E85 than unleaded to run the engine, but when combined with supplemental hydrogen and sensor signal adjustment products, you will end up with a net gain in mileage and a substantial fuel savings within the first year. Utilization of E85, and Supplemental Hydrogen also qualifies you for Tax Credits and clean fuel deductions, and frees up all the carbon credits that you would normally expend each year on the driving of your vehicle.

Nitrogen tire inflation is becoming available across the country. Many dealerships offer the service, as do some tire stores, and Costco offers it in all tires bought there. Nitrogen does not escape through the rubber tire, and provides a much more consistent pressure that is not affected by vehicle weight or temperature and will maintain the correct pressure over long periods of time-unlike aire inflation, which gradually decreases over time as air molecules escape and condensation inside the tire develops. The results of nitrogen inflation are immediately evident in the smoothness of the ride and handling, and will provide modest fuel savings which increase with vehicle weight and load due to the reduced friction of the tire to the pavement.

Synthetic lubricants provide better lubrication than petroleum based oils and the brand new molecular technology of nano treatments greatly reduce friction and also add to the mileage equation.

Proper alignment, clean air filters, reduced cargo weight, driving habits and many other factors affect fuel efficiency. I can refer you to specific resources that have detailed information on these factors and techniques you can use to boost your mileage. From your posts I gathered that you were looking for actual products and procedures for your new engine rather than advice on driving habits.

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Jul 13 2008

does my ford f-150 have grease fittings

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Question:

I have a 1997 Ford f-150 4×4 4.6l V8,  does my ford f-150 have grease fittings on the suspension to service with a grease gun ?

Answer:

No. This vehicle has sealed units that do not require them to be greased, nor can they be greased as they are sealed. After-market replacements come with the ability to grease them, so if they have been replaced then they do have grease fittings in most cases.

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Jul 11 2008

2000 Echo – car wants to stall

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Question:
I have a 2000 Toyota Echo, it has been in the garage for 2 weeks now, the engine is running properly at idle but as soon as you accelerate the car wants to stall. the mechanic cannot find what it is. he has verified the fuel pressure, the valves and most basic things and still does not know what it is. he tried blaming it on my timing chain which was loose but after putting a new chain and tensioners on it still has the same issue. Anyone have any ideas??

Answer:
Take the mass airflow sensor out and clean the resistor wires with some electrical contact cleaner or carb cleaner blow it dry with compressed air and try that. If you look down in the sensor you will probably find that the sensor wires are all fuzzy. Normally this sets a P0171 lean code but not always. It will make the car hesitate and run very sluggish on acceleration.

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Jul 09 2008

air conditioner has a small leak and did not have cold air for a year

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Question:

I own a Mazda 1992 929. Tha air conditioner has a small leak and did not have cold air for a year and a half. My question is can I use 134 freon instead of the 112. What will happen if I just put in the134 freon. I am only interested in getting cold for a few months. 

Answer:

You won’t ruin anything by running R-12 freon in your system. You will have to perform a A/C retrofit to be able to charge it with the R-134, though, as the fittings are different.

To perform the retrofit, you need to replace the service port fittings, flush the system out (the old oil is not compatible with R-134 oil), replace the filter drier if the system has been open for a long time, add the new oil, and charge with R-134.

I would highly recommend finding and fixing the small leak you describe, as freon is expensive, and is harmful for the environment.

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Jul 08 2008

Since last week the Check Engine light has stayed on

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Question:
I have a 1999 Ford Ranger with 105,000 miles on it. It runs really well. Since last week the Check Engine light has stayed on. I have checked all the fluids which all appear fine except for the Radiator coolant. In the coolant reservoir the coolant is very low and a brownish transparent color. In the radiator? at the front of the truck the fluid is transparent green (sort of neon) and full. Are they supposed to be different and would this cause my Check Engine light to stay on?

Answer:
The check engine soon light comes on when the on-board computer detects a fault in either engine drive-ability or performance, transmission control or transmission, or emissions control system. There are literally hundreds of reasons that the check engine light can be set- ranging from a vacuum hose leak, engine misfire, loss of engine compression, on of dozens of engine sensors, transmission solenoid or control module, internal transmission failure, emissions leak, or main computer malfunction.

The only way to find out what the problem is, is to have a diagnostic scanner hooked up to the computer and read for stored trouble codes. You can either take it into a shop and pay for this test. They will perform the diagnostic scan, and then do the necessary diagnostic troubleshooting to isolate problem. Or, you can take it by an Autozone, or most other parts stores, and they will do the diagnostic scan for FREE. they will tell you what the trouble code number is and what it generally refers to. BUT, they cannot do the diagnostic troubleshooting necessary to determine what part, if any, has failed, or whether it is an open/short in wiring, or other cause of problem.

If you choose to have Autozone do the scan, you can re-open this question and post the trouble code number here(the post will come directly to me), and i will give you the steps for troubleshooting and repairing the problem, or advise that this is something that can only be dealt with at a repair shop. i will do this for no additional charge(once original Accept is made) and continue to help until problem resolved.

Because there are so many possibilities of what is setting the light, it would be irresponsible of me to speculate as to the cause. Any guess on my part at this point would be a waste of your money and time on replacing parts that are most likely OK.

As far as the coolant color, although it is possible that it is related to the check engine light, it is most likely that the coolant in the overflow tank has some rust or sediment in it causing the color difference, a lot of times the sediment or rust in a cooling system will settle in the overflow tank over time.. To make sure though, you can have a coolant pressure test done to make sure that there are no internal leaks such as leaking head gasket or intake manifold gasket. Also have the coolant properties tested to make sure that it has broken down over time(it may just be time for a good coolant flush).

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Jul 06 2008

Air-Powered Car: Zero Emissions

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 Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) confirmed to PopularMechanics.com on Thursday that it expects to produce the world’s first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the U.S. licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car as a compression-based alternative to the internal combustion engine, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country, at a clip of up to 10,000 Air Cars per year.

And while ZPM is also licensed to build MDI’s two-seater OneCAT economy model (the one headed for India) and three-seat MiniCAT (like a SmartForTwo without the gas), the New Paltz, N.Y., startup is aiming bigger: Company officials want to make the first air-powered car to hit U.S. roads a $17,800, 75-hp equivalent, six-seat modified version of MDI’s CityCAT (pictured above) that, thanks to an even more radical engine, is said to travel as far as 1000 miles at up to 96 mph with each tiny fill-up.

We’ll believe that when we drive it, but MDI’s new dual-energy engine—currently being installed in models at MDI facilities overseas—is still pretty damn cool in concept. After using compressed air fed from the same Airbus-built tanks in earlier models to run its pistons, the next-gen Air Car has a supplemental energy source to kick in north of 35 mph, ZPM says. A custom heating chamber heats the air in a process officials refused to elaborate upon, though they insisted it would increase volume and thus the car’s range and speed.

“I want to stress that these are estimates, and that we’ll know soon more precisely from our engineers,” ZPM spokesman Kevin Haydon told PM, “but a vehicle with one tank of air and, say, 8 gal. of either conventional petrol, ethanol or biofuel could hit between 800 and 1000 miles.”

Those figures would make the Air Car, along with Aptera’s Typ-1 and Tesla’s Roadster, a favorite among early entrants for the Automotive X Prize, for which MDI and ZPM have already signed up. But with the family-size, four-door CityCAT undergoing standard safety tests in Europe, then side-impact tests once it arrives in the States, could it be the first 100-mpg, nonelectric car you can actually buy?

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