Ron starts this episode talking about a recent report on HID and LED headlights, night blindness and problems with night vision driving. He wraps up the 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 driveshaft repair and talks about the 6, almost 7 week search to find the $2300. part. His next up is a call from a listener in Arizona with an 03 Buick Lesabre with questions on the Mass Airflow Sensor,. Ron answers the questions and also offers some quick easy tips to determine if your MAF sensor is failing BEFORE it sets a fault code and leaves you stranded. Then Ester calls in from VA; She has an 03 Corvette Anniversary Edition and is need of an AC Control Head, a part which is obsolete from GM. Ron steers her into the winners circle with multiple choices of where to look and what she can expect to find. He then talks about doing trans fluid service on a Toyota Venza and fluid changes in general masking a case for the value in maintenance. He then takes a call on a Volvo XC70 where the passenger side taillight goes out when the vehicle is placed in reverse. His final segment this week is answering a listeners question from The Car Doctor Facebook page about a 2023 Ford Maverick hybrid pickup asking if there is any risk to the hybrid battery when the car is stored long term. The answer and real concern is not what you suspect. A surprising but true answer from Ron!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Ron Anian, it's probably the difference as an educated guest
between spending three grand or five grand. But I'm sure
the after market would have something like that. I'm sure
Facebook could help fix that. I'm sure all the experts
out on Facebook could solve this for three dollars and
eighty three cents, because they're all geniuses. The Car Doctor.
(00:26):
I have a twenty twenty two four diade and in
the first eighteen thousand miles I put on three catalytic converters. Wow,
catalytic converters don't go bad. Something breaks them.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to the radio home of ron Ananian, the Car Doctor.
Since nineteen ninety one, this is where car owners the
world overturned to for their definitive opinion on automotive repair.
If your mechanics giving you a busy signal, pick up
the phone and call in the garage doors.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Are open, but I am here to take your call
at eighty five five five six, ninety nine hundred and now.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Running.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Do you have trouble driving at night? I think a
lot of us. Do you know? A recent article by
the American Optometric Association optometry optometric actually is what they
call themselves, reports that many drivers compare about glare due
to the HID and LED lights the vehicles now have now.
And I read the article and it's interesting they actually
(01:28):
talk about, Tom, do you have problems seeing at night?
To you, right, you're on the road a lot. You're
you're traveling all over creation in your in your weekday job.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Right. Well, you know it's funny.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I went to the eye doctor yesterday and she asked
that question.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I said, not really, I said, until I encounter those
led headlights coming right at.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Me, right, and then that's a problem. Now they're saying,
and where did it say it in this article? I
have it in front of me. They talk about that
we have problems with because there's strategies for improving night vision,
and they talk about dry eye if you have dry eyes,
and they talk about using drops to improve your night vision,
(02:03):
that if your eye is lubricated, it will affect how
the vision is distorted or how the light is perceived
by the eye and whether or not it's allowed to
be distorted and thereby help improve night vision. But this,
this is a real thing the article talks about, is
difficulty driving at night, the same as night blindness. And
it also says, no, there's there's actually two different versions
(02:25):
of this because it has to do with pupil dilation,
and you know that's that's difficulty driving at night. But
night blindness, which is and I'm gonna I'm going to
destroy this word is Niceetellopia n y C T A
l O p i A is a condition which someone
is extreme difficulty or loses the ability to see in
the darker, dimly lit areas. One of the more common
(02:46):
eye conditions that cause night blindness is called retinopus retinitis
pigmentosa or RP. You understand why I'm not a medical doctor, right,
And this affects the eye in a way that makes
the patient literally blind at night. According to sources, rettiness
ret to night as pig mendosa is a genetic disease
in which symptoms often manifest in childhood. So it's interesting, right,
(03:09):
all this time, I thought it was related to the
bright lights, because it seems like the lights on cars
it's just getting worse. You know, this is like a
battle of who's going to be the brightest winds. It
just seems like the manufacturers just keep on adding more
and more light output and more. I've got this crazy
idea I think if we wanted to improve it, let's
get rid of the street lights. Okay, let's just put
(03:31):
giant umbrellas under over the overall the cars, and then
we'll have lights shooting straight up against the umbrellas, and
everybody will be like their own little white bubble going
down the road. Then you'll be able to see what's
in front of you. It's it's uh, it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It's a. It's a.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It's definitely a. It's definitely a problem. So there's a
great article. Where was this, Oh, this is on Yahoo
News Research. Kathy sent this to me this week, and
you know they talk about it. They also had some suggestions.
The American Optametric Association a few nighttime driving tips to
include to improve your nighttime driving experience. When oncoming headlights
(04:06):
are bright, ease off the gas and maintain your position
on the road by monitoring the lanemarker until the vehicle passes.
You know, and I know someone she has a problem
with glare right with the lights coming up behind her.
So you have to be careful with the rear view
mirror too. You want to clean the windshield inside and out,
and that's true. I can't tell you how many cars
(04:26):
I get in for customers to go on a road test,
and you know, if I take it home at night
the next morning, when you're driving and it's dimly lit,
the amount of dirt on the inside of the windshield,
you just you wonder what they're doing in there. You
could try using fog lights instead of high beams during
a foggy night. I never really saw a value in
fog lights. I got to be honest. I've got a
couple of vehicles with fog lights. I don't think they
do anything. I think, you know, if it's an outside application,
(04:50):
if it's a jeep, then you're mounting fog lights up higher.
You're putting an aftermarket fog light on something, a vehicle
and suv whatever. I think, then you've got a chance.
But I think fog lights from manufacturers personally, I think
they've been newter to the point that it's just it's
there for show and to be able to say, hey,
we've got fog lights on the carts an extra five
(05:11):
hundred bucks. I don't think they do anything in real life.
I really don't. I don't. I just don't see it.
The article then continues. You can turn down dashboard lights
to reduce glare. Yeah, I agree with that. Sometimes we
have the dashboard lights up too bright. Wear prescription glasses
with an anti reflection coating. Now that I hadn't thought about,
you know, and I wear glasses. I wonder if I
have an anti reflection car. I probably do. Most glasses
(05:33):
probably are that way. Keep blinking while driving to wardoff
dry eye and aim dashboard vents away from the face
to keep the eyes from getting dried out. I never
realized that that your eyes could be dry enough that
it would, you know, cause nipe blindness like that, or
discomfort driving, and it is. I have to say. This
article talks about you know, in your twenties on up.
(05:54):
I you know. Now I'm a little older, a little
older than the twenties, And yeah, there's an uncomfortableness driving
at night. Sometimes it sure is dark out quick, you know, boy,
I'll tell you what it gets. It gets dark out fast,
it seems so just just something to be aware of,
you know. So if you if you suffer from that,
if you go to Yahoo and look up you know,
(06:16):
night driving, you'll get to read the whole article in
its entirety. But I thought that was I thought that
was a good piece, you know, I thought that was interesting.
I would share that with you. I want to tell
you about quick update the O eight Jeep, the OA
Jep Grand Cheroke SRT eight that we were waiting for.
The drive shift finally came in this week, six and
a half weeks to get a drive shift. That vehicle
(06:37):
has been sitting six and a half weeks for a
dry shift that we couldn't find anywhere else, and put
the drive shift in. The vehicle's gone. It's perfect. Down
the road, customers very happy, and it just made me think,
you know, is this a sign of the future. Is
this a sign of the times? Are we just going
to not be stuck but for lack of lack of parts?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
You know?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Is it those vehicles that we're hanging on to? And
I think it is if you know, you start to
think about the critical areas. You know, I've done it
with some of my older vehicles. I have purchased parts
and I have them stored in nice dry areas, you know,
just because I know the things that are going to
go away, and you know, six weeks to get a
drive shift just just terrible. By the way, the dry
(07:19):
shift was twenty three or twenty four hundred dollars at
a Chrysler. So yeah, that's the other problem. I think
that's how they're going to get us out of the
older cars. They're just going to, you know, make the
cost of using them so expensive that you'll be forced
to buy something new. And whether or not you like
it or not, that's that's a conversation for a whole
nother day. Anyway, Let's open up the phones before we
(07:40):
go to the break real quick. Let's talk to Tom
in Arizona because the list is long today and see
what's going on here. Tom. Welcome to back to the
car doctor, sir. What's going on with the buick today?
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Thank you?
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Master flow sensor failed. I saw it with my parents
and it fixed it. So I'm looking to buy another one.
What do you recommend? Original are after Mark market? They're
pretty expensive. They're over one hundred dollars. Uh, aftermarket with
the part stores have lifetime warranties. The other ones that
(08:11):
are OE are one your warranty?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And how how much is the OE?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Close to two hundred dollars?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Can you still get one?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah? You know?
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Are you you planning to keep the car?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Yeah? The heads up display.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Yeah, no, I get it. I'm just asking the questions. Brother, Listen,
I think it's I think it's a matter of obviously,
it's a matter of what's in the budget, all right,
I I think I think the other part of this
is is the aftermarket mass airflow sensor is it? Is
it remanufactured or is it manufactured as new?
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Nope? New, it says.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
New, And then I'd probably go for the aftermarket version
just to save the hundred bucks. Why not? All right?
It comes with a warranty. You're you're good that way.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah, lifetime warranty. Right, so, but I don't want to
take it back.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Every year, you know.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Well, no, I understand that too, you know. Just make
sure you know that whenever you put well, I always
think about this with mass any mass airflow car. Just
make sure you've got a good air filter in the car.
I'm sure you're aware of that. I always, you know,
the majority of mass airflow sensor failures occur as a
result of or can o car. I shouldn't say the majority,
(09:30):
but can occur as a result of either a poor
fitting air filter, an overloaded air filter, or a poor
quality air filter.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
All right, Yeah, I think this one's just the miles. Okay,
two hundred and sixty thousand.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, it's time, it's time. So, yeah, you knows. Mass
airflow censers operate. Here's a here's a useless piece of
trivia you'll never need to know. You're ready. Mass airflow
sensors operate on something called the Wheatstone Bridge and electronics.
Don't ask me, don't ask me how I remember this.
When I was in taking electronics classes, they started talking
about the wheatstone Bridge and wheatstone Bridge is a variable
(10:05):
resistor platform that they There are four resistors. They know
what three of the resistance values are. The fourth resistor
is the unknown that's calculated by the electronics in the sensor,
and that's how they know how much error is flowing
through it. I actually wrote a paper on it in
college that was more pages long than I care to remember.
(10:25):
And you know it's it's but that's that's also like
in Ford ignition modules, there's a remember the old four
distributors where you had the gray ignition module on the
side of the distributor way back when right there was
a wendel Meyer trigger with a Schmidt relay. I'll never
forget that in class too. Some of the names they
came up with for some of these things. It's just
(10:47):
you look at the electronics. But anyway, so that's the
deal Tom, all right.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Sir, So you don't you don't rebuild them then.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Now, no, we don't. We throw them away. We hope
for a good warranty and down the road. And if
you want to see how curate it is, you know
what you could do is if your parents your parents
have the same vehicle, I assume the one you borrow
the mass airflow off of. So just for giggles, you know,
take out your OBD two scan tool, go into mass
airflow grams per second. That's a three point eight leader
(11:19):
in that view of correct, right, see what your mass
airflow grams per second is at idle. Typically you will
see grahams per second airflow on a hot engine base
idol with all things being equal, pretty close to that
leader displacement size of the engine. So I would expect
anywhere from three and a half to four and a
(11:40):
half grams per second at idle. All right, Now, if
the vehicle runs fine at five, then that's what that's
the way yours works out. If you're getting optimal performance,
gas mileage. You know rough, the idol's not smooth, it's
are the idle smooth? It's not rough, you know what.
But that's the number you want to know because sometimes
you'll learn you'll sit as as the wheatstone bridge starts
(12:02):
to fail, all right, from age the resistance value changes
that you will see the grams per second change, and
it's just an easy enough thing to keep track of,
you know. We we have started a long time ago.
For regular customers. We will look at certain specific you know,
sensor values and record them in their file. It's sort
of like sort of like taking heart rate and blood
(12:23):
pressure when you go to the doctor. Same same thing,
different model, all right, kitto.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Yep, Hey, thanks for the great information document.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You're very welcome.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Tom.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
You'd be well, I'm running any in the car doctor.
I'll be back right after this.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
When you gain keep Rhyn's number handy eight five five
five six zero nine nine zero.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Zero for when you really need advice on your car.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Here's rock.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Hey, let's go over to Maryland. Talk to esther oh
three Corvette Estra. Welcome to the car doctor. How can
I help?
Speaker 5 (13:08):
Thank you?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
You're welcome.
Speaker 5 (13:09):
I'm looking for an HVAC control head and they're not
easy to come by.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Okay, yeah, your mechanics told you this is what you need,
and he's saying the parts obsolete?
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Yeah yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
So where where have you looked under? You know what?
You know, what sort of distribution have you? Have you
sourced yet?
Speaker 5 (13:35):
I've looked on the internet, but a lot of them
seem like they're they repair the display instead of the
control unit itself.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
What's what's wrong?
Speaker 5 (13:48):
And I was thinking that maybe I could go to
a junk yard and fine.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Well you find one, you could. The problem is you're
still you know, and I just got to bang the
drum here a second. This is this is the conversation
I always have with you guys, right about the electronics
or what's going to keep us from driving these cars
in the future, because how can they possibly keep up
with the electronics. It's just going to make it more
and more difficult. That that being said, Uh, you know,
(14:13):
I don't know that they will. You could look at Dormant,
take a look at Dorman Products dot com. Does Dorman
happen to remanufacture a control head for this vehicle? That's
one source. Go to Dorman. Yes, ma'am Dorman Products dot com. Uh,
you know, I was actually looking for a control head
for my four suburban and they had one. So I
was able to purchase a new, all right new, not recondition,
(14:35):
not remanufacturer, but a new control head from dormant from
my own oh for suburban and it works fine. So
you know that's one possibility. Now the other place, you know,
have you been out to eBay and looked at eBay
as a consideration, right, and everybody there saying it's refurbished,
And I agree with you. What's refurbished about it? All right?
(14:56):
The other thing you could try is up here in
North Jersey. There's a company by the name of Model Electronics.
Now I believe they're nationwide. I don't know that for
a fact, but if you Google searched Model Electronics, they
are the rebuild center for GM dealers. I've got to
think they're nationwide, all right. And you know you could
(15:17):
possibly make arrangements through your mechanic to have him send
the control head into them and have them go through
it electronically and refurbish it. If they say they can
rebuild it, they will rebuild it. For the example that
as matter of fact they did. My four suburban and
a lot of my generation suburbans are suburbans of my generation. Tahoes, Silverados,
(15:38):
et cetera. Had the problem with the instrument cluster where
the you know, the spinometer, the odometer would go out
or one of the control motors for the spinometer of
the tack would fail. Model Electronics was able to go
through and refurbish and rebuild the whole unit, So you know,
there's always that possibility. There are electronic rebuilders out there
(16:00):
of it like this. Once that vehicle is probably more
than three years old. I don't know too many car
companies that are still manufacturing new parts for them if
they're different than a current model. So you know there's
a there's a chain of or there's a they set
up rebuilders to rebuild what's out there per se, all right,
(16:20):
something as old as this, it's twenty years old. I'm
sure there are sources that will that have been set
up or that continue to be set up, you know,
to to refurbish this. Have you looked at Corvette Central?
Speaker 5 (16:36):
I did, okay what they have I'm want to say,
I did I have it written down? I don't. I've
got so many nits right now, right, but I had
that written down, Okay.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Yeah, Corvette Central, because they'll they'll you know, and then
where are they sourcing it from? Would be the question?
All right, because you're right sometimes and this is why
I'm not a fan of a junk yard part, per se.
I don't really want to call them junk yards. I
think they're salvage yards. Uh, you know, they're recyclers. You know,
junk yard is junk. It's not junk, it's a you know,
but then you know, where has it been stored? Has
(17:06):
it been sitting out in a you know, has it
been sitting out in an environment? Is it is it
been in a dry room? And then if you get
a salvage yard part, you know, what do the buttons
look like? Is display beat up? You know, there scratches
on it? You know, obviously you care about this vehicle.
Let's face it, it's a Corvette. It's a fiftieth anniversary edition.
You know, you're you're you're looking to you know, make
(17:29):
this into something more, uh than just a part replacement? Correct, Yeah, yeah,
so all right, but try that. You can also look
I think it's is it gmobsolete dot com or gmpartsobsolete
dot com. GM does have an obsolete obsolete parts line
or website. You can also look. I think it's Vintage
(17:51):
Auto Parts. Have your mechanic call his GM dealer and
ask them about the Vintage Auto Parts line, because GM
has a division in a company relationship with a place
called Vintage Auto Parts and they house all GM's obsolete parts,
and maybe they've got it there. But I don't think
this is an impossible fine. It's just a matter of
getting the best one for you and hopefully those those
(18:12):
put you on the right trail. Good luck, Esther. I'm
ronn Andy and the Car Doctor. We're back right after this.
Don't go away. Welcome back Nan the Car Doctor here
(18:45):
at eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero.
I'll say it again, eight five five five six zero
nine nine zero zero. Keep in mind that's the card
Doctor's twenty four to seven phone number. You can call
and leave a message and we will get back to you.
Put you in the next life Q. We're also doing
a we're building list. We're going to start doing contacts
on Wednesday evenings and do some callbacks and build some
(19:05):
shows in the queue. So if we decide to take
a weekend off, we will give you a fresh show.
And you know, good information has always that's what we're
trying to do here. I want to talk a little
bit about I want to talk about Gene. I'll start here.
Jean called the shop this week to make an appointment
for service on his daughter's Toyota Venza, and first words
out of his mouth were, Hey, you know, since you
change the trans fluid on my daughter's car, the trans
(19:27):
shifts better and the problem is gone. And I want
to comment on that because we've had a few calls
this weekend from listeners that have fluid, that have had
fluid changes or are thinking of fluid changes. I don't
think we talk enough about that that it's really important.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
You know.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
We tend to talk about how vehicles. We run vehicles
into the ground. That's what everybody says. I want to
drive it into the ground. I want to drive it
till it stops. Well, yeah, but you know how far
is the ground and where does the ground exist, and
where is that moment where it's going to fail? And
we don't want to get to that point of failure,
to get to the point where we can, you know,
(20:04):
continue to drive it safely and not wait until it fails.
In terms of you know, gee it blew up. Okay,
let's go buy a new car. How about we keep
it going even longer. Fluid changers are part of the
answer to that piece of the puzzle. And it's just
critical now, just you know, I just want to change
the transfluid. There is no something is just all right.
Everything is specific today. There is no universal fits all
(20:26):
transfluid all right. Everything has to have specific at it is.
It seems that the newer the vehicle, the more specific
they get, and the same can be said in the
majority of cases for drive line fluids, transfer case differentials
and so on. It's important, you know, I'm not going
to say it's anyone particular make or model. I see
(20:46):
it with Toyota, I see it with Ford, I see
it with GM, I see it across the board. If
you're changing fluid, make sure it's rated for the vehicle.
It's specific to the vehicle, all right. Doesn't have to
be OE because the Oees don't make their own fluids anymore. Anyway.
They're having for years and years. They're just summing it out.
The contractors that are you know, marketing under that manufacturer's
bottle or their own bottle. As long as the bottle
(21:08):
says meets manufacturerspect for your vehicle, you're good, all right.
But changing drive line fluids is important, and it's something
depending upon how you drive, you know, I think about
drive line fluids at the at the fifty thousand mile mark,
sixty thousand mile mark, in a lot of cases, you know,
depending upon what we're driving. I think it's a good
(21:31):
I think it's a good I think it's a good
way to go. I really do. I think it's something
to think about and something to be aware of. So
just think about drive line fluids. Welcome back to this
in a minute. Let's go over to Kurt in Pennsylvania,
Oh seven Volvo x C seventy and a bit of
a mystery. Kurt, Welcome to the car doctor, sir, How
can I help?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Yes, I'm good.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
What's going on?
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Well? I had a reverse light out that popped it
up at a new ball bin, and I know, I'm
just when I pulled the light bulb out of the socket,
the whole uh put it back in tail it came
back on. But if I put in reverse the hotel
it goes out again, and the and the bulb does
(22:12):
not go on.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Okay, so this started out as a Hey, the bull
was out, you went to put a new bull then
and now you put the new bullban and your phone
broke up? There, Kurt, what happened when you put the bull.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
beIN the nothing?
Speaker 3 (22:27):
I mean, it's still the same.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
If I put in a reverse, Well, it's always Kurt,
you there kind of dark. Yeah, you're on a I'm here. Yeah,
I think you're on a bad cell connection. Try it again, brother,
when you put it in, you put it in reverse,
what happens.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
The whole tail? It goes out?
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Okay, So somewhere we've somewhere we've got a voltage drop.
We're we've got a bad we've got a bad connection,
or we've got an easier path for voltage to take
than to go across the the the element of the bull,
the filament of the b. So is there resistance in
the socket? So my first thought is, you know, do
(23:06):
you own a test light? Do you have any sort
of testing equipment where we could pin.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Up I'm not real good or electrical?
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Okay, Okay, then you.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Know my friend's thing is a bad ground.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Maybe well, yeah, it could be absolutely absolutely, it could
be a bad ground I would I would go through
a wiring diagram and look to see, how is that
How is that socket? Uh, you know grounded? All right?
What I would what I would actually do is I
would take the tail light out or find that tail
light is going to have a body plug all right,
where it's connected to the rest of the wiring harness,
(23:40):
and I would go across the contacts of that body plug.
There's going to be a hot coming back to the
bulb and a ground I would put my meter across
that and put it in reverse. Do I see.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Voltage original tailight too? Right?
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Well yeah, but you know the question is is their
corrosion inside the socket? Is their coron inside the connector?
All right? So I would start there, does the other
side work correctly?
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Okay? Then I would also sit down with a wiring
diagram and a couple of different colored markers and I
would I would map everything out how does this circuit work?
All right? This is that you always hear me talk
about I always you know, I'll take anywhere from twenty
minutes to an hour to research a problem before I
attack it. And this is that twenty minutes and a
(24:29):
cup of coffee, cup of tea for me.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
But you know, take hold out and see take a
battery and do the tests.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Well that and I would also I also want to
look at a wiring diagram. I have that luxury all right,
where you know, how does the circuit work if if
it's a For example, if it's a common hot back
from the printle switch that feeds the reverse lights, and
then the connector splits off at the back of the trunk,
then I know the feed coming out of the switch
(24:58):
the prindle the harness come back is all good because
if it's affecting one it's not affecting the other, then
it has to be where it splits off and the
harness becomes separate legs. But if it's a if it's
two separate shots coming back from the switch, then I
might have to trace it all the way back up
to where the connection is made at the switch when
you move the shifter if you make If you understand
(25:20):
what I'm saying, So here's the advantage of where a
wiring diagram, would you know, break it out? How does
the circuit split?
Speaker 3 (25:27):
You know?
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Or does the circuit split? So and I think it does.
I think it's a straight shot coming back if I
remember correctly. And then it becomes it becomes two connectors,
one going to the left, one going to the right
type of a thing. So, but yeah, you sounds like
you've got a classic case of a bad ground, you know,
a voltage drop problem. And I'm gonna just say it,
even though I don't think so. Do you have the
(25:47):
right bulb? All right?
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Just to be sure I do, because it came out
of another bubble tailate, Well, it doesn't.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
That doesn't. That doesn't make it right unless it's the
one from the other side. Was it the one from
the other side.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
No, it was from a fair tale light that I had.
It was a new bulb. I had replaced the other light,
and I put the new bulbs. It had came with bulbs,
so I put all the new bulbs in the other one.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
You know, never never assume if it came out of
a car that it's the right part. Someday I'll tell you,
guys the story. I'll tell you the story.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Now.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
We had a FOURD pickup truck a couple of weeks
ago where the customer had to ask for a battery
replacement and we couldn't determine whether it was supposed to
be an a GM battery or a conventional battery. And
we looked at it and it had an AGM battery
in it, but it was right on the fuzzy edge
of where Ford started putting a GM batteries in their
(26:38):
pickup trucks, and we had to actually trace it down
by then that vehicle actually called for a conventional battery,
and we put a conventional battery back in. That's what
the customer wanted. They wanted it as it came out
of the factory, and that's what we gave them. But
you can't look at the car and say, you know,
it's it works, it's right.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
You know.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
I'm not saying the AGM or the conventional ones better
than the other, you know, but I just I never
assume that's why my back bristles anytime somebody says that.
So I'm not picking on your current.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Well, I tried to put in one of the LED
kits for the interior lights, right that really screwed everything up. Well,
I had to put the old bubbles back in.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
You're you're pretty gutsy for a guy who's not good
with electrical.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
But just replacing a ball.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
How hard could it be? Famous famous last words, how
hard could I?
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Because when I put the LEDs up, like the lower
feet panels wouldn't light up because I guess the whole
circuitry revolves in voltage feedback. And since you're not only
using partial the voltage, Yeah, it just screw screwed everything up.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Well, and wait till you find out with all the LEDs.
And it's also based on it's looking at if it's
coming out of the body computer, it's looking at voltage
drop or current draw and to decide what circuits to
turn on and off and the electronics. That's why they
have us put resistors in with led kits to get
the b cms or the one computers to do certain things.
So LEDs versus conventional lighting is a whole nother story.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Go ahead, I left a message on your thing. I
was watching it. There's a twenty nineteen Dodge Ram, but
only drive thirty three miles and shut down and have
all these alarms go off. Go to the dealer immediately
pull over and if you put it in park then
it would be locked in the park and they push
a button to stop the engine. It wouldn't stop, and
(28:27):
then after about ten minutes it would shut down automatically.
You could start to think, back up, no alarms, drive
thirty three miles, then you do it all over again.
Do you ever see that video.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
I haven't seen that video, but I would have to
think that's a computer fall, because if it's that precise
that it's happening like clockwork, I don't think it's the
thirty three miles. I think it's the timeframe, and I
would sit there. I would sit there in time. I'll
tell you what. Let me pull over, take a pause.
Don't go anywhere, Kurt, because we're runningup against the clock.
We'll be back to talk about it right after this.
Don't go away. Hey, welcome back. Let's finish up with Kurt. Kurt,
(29:11):
you're still there, sir, Yes, sir, I have not seen
that video of the nineteen RAM that goes thirty three
miles and then dies, you know.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
To address yeah, thirty minute video. It took him to
explain it all right.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
I would be thinking about which part of the computer
network is shutting down, because to me it sounds more
computer and in terms of failure that it's so specific
to a mile at a time fence.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
It was a failure. It was a wire of three
point five vault something on a block where all the
modulars are plugged into. Okay, he goes, they section the
modulars because there's just so many of them, so they
take them down to like a ten modular per block.
So then he had to pull the blocks out that
(29:55):
he had a list of errors, probably as long as
your armed, but they they were all canceled when the
cars start back up again.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Right well, And and and to explain it from a
different perspective, what what you're talking about and what you
were seeing was when you hear me talk about how
computer networks go down and pull the whole componentry down,
that's what you're seeing. So they were they were breaking
it down into section by section trying to figure out
where the fault was. And that's why I said it
sounded computer in nature or electrical in nature, that it's
(30:24):
so specific. It only runs, well, you know, it only
runs up to a certain point where there's a default value.
You know. The issue is all the vehicles today have specific,
shall we say, fail safe modes, and when they reach
that specific fail safe mode, that's when it you know
that's when it it will allow it to you know,
(30:44):
go into that mode and then it resets when you
when you cycle the key. So but yeah, wiring right,
it's it's your strong point, Kurt. We could send you
out to fix that next.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Now narrowed it down to one block. Yeah, and the
unplugged the whole block and all the codes cleared right now.
He checked everything on that block. He checked a wire
going to the block and here he checked the block.
But I guess this one diode if he checked it
over and over and over or whatever it's called, the
(31:15):
voltage kept climbing up. It was three point five, three
point six, you know, and he's figuring because of all
at idle it will cool down and be fine. But
when you're driving fifty five and all this information is
going through these things, it would go over four volts
and then shut it down, right, And he just changed
that block out and the guy never had a problem.
(31:36):
He couldn't totally prove it, but it never happened again.
So it was in that. It was it was interesting
as far as you know, not knowing electrical hardly at all,
and how you know it took it took him quite
a while to figure it out.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Oh sure, listen, I the amount of electronics. I read
an article the other day that they were talking about
circuit boards. It was it was return. It was referring
to a circuit board. I see twelve, and now how there?
I see thirteen and it started talking in depth. It
was an in depth electronics conversation that, frankly, was over
my pay grade to some level. That tells me that
(32:11):
the vehicles were fortunate they run as good as they
do for as long as they do because the amount
of electronics for depending on is is slight overkill in
my opinion. But they're accomplishing the job. I guess, Kurt,
I got to go them up against the clock. Good
to hear from you, man, I make out with your vote.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Thank you too, sir.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Be well, I'm running any In The Card Doctor. We're
back right after this. Don't go away. It's second Welcome
(32:48):
back Running the Card Doctor. The list segment of this week.
Keep in mind for the future if you want us
eight five five, five six zero nine nine zero zero,
and look for the classic Card Doctor posts coming up midweek,
as well as podcast today's show. We'll get those up
right after the show today in a couple hours. Let's
segment I want to talk about it. I've just got
a question up on Facebook from Bob in the Bronx
(33:08):
New York ron I've got a twenty three Ford Maverick
hybrid pickup. My plans are to relocate the truck from
New York to Fort Myers, Florida, where the truck will
only be used four months of continuous followed by a
period of seven to eight months sitting in my garage
without any usage. Is there any risk of the hybrid
battery due to non use for many months? I usually
disconnect the twelve old battery when I store vehicles for
long periods, But what can you do to save the
(33:30):
hybrid battery? Thanks Bob. Bob, First of all, look at
the owner's manual. I know this question has been posed
to a lot of hybrid owners, and I'm almost certain
that Ford's got a section in the Owner's manual dedicated
to long term storage and concerns. I don't know of
a hybrid concern a hybrid battery concern that they have there.
Of course, letting it sit like that might cause it
(33:50):
to discharge over a long period of time, and then
obviously running the vehicle. We'll obviously charge it back up.
My biggest concern, quite honestly, is the quality of the gasoline,
because you know, we've seen issues where even on hybrids
that are used on a regular basis, certain vehicles driven
as a hybrid, it can go thirty days. I've seen
(34:10):
cases of this where they can go thirty days before
they switch and they run on the gas engine on
a regular basis, so much so that the gasoline is older.
And you know, how often do you fill up that hybrid?
Is it a I know people that tell me, hey,
I go thirty days forty days between phillips because they
don't go anywhere. They're going three to six miles a day,
and you know the longevity, the quality of the fuel.
(34:31):
And I would be more concerned with long term storage
effects on the gasoline than I would be on the
hybrid battery. As far as disconnecting the twelve vault battery,
Bob and for everybody else, I'd put a battery tender
on it. I wouldn't disconnect it. I'd be that battery
connected because I'd like the vehicle to maintain its memory.
I think the learning curve is going to be too
tedious when you get back to it. They have to
(34:53):
do that every time. Ug I don't want to do that.
I want to try a battery tender, but I think
I'd be more concerned the long term storage effects of
the gasoline, not the other two batteries. I'm not an
ay and the car doctor reminding you till the next time.
Good mechanics are inexpensive, they're priceless. See you
Ron Anian, it's probably the difference as an educated guest
between spending three grand or five grand. But I'm sure
the after market would have something like that. I'm sure
Facebook could help fix that. I'm sure all the experts
out on Facebook could solve this for three dollars and
eighty three cents, because they're all geniuses. The Car Doctor.
(00:26):
I have a twenty twenty two four diade and in
the first eighteen thousand miles I put on three catalytic converters. Wow,
catalytic converters don't go bad. Something breaks them.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to the radio home of ron Ananian, the Car Doctor.
Since nineteen ninety one, this is where car owners the
world overturned to for their definitive opinion on automotive repair.
If your mechanics giving you a busy signal, pick up
the phone and call in the garage doors.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Are open, but I am here to take your call
at eighty five five five six, ninety nine hundred and now.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Running.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Do you have trouble driving at night? I think a
lot of us. Do you know? A recent article by
the American Optometric Association optometry optometric actually is what they
call themselves, reports that many drivers compare about glare due
to the HID and LED lights the vehicles now have now.
And I read the article and it's interesting they actually
(01:28):
talk about, Tom, do you have problems seeing at night?
To you, right, you're on the road a lot. You're
you're traveling all over creation in your in your weekday job.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Right. Well, you know it's funny.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I went to the eye doctor yesterday and she asked
that question.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I said, not really, I said, until I encounter those
led headlights coming right at.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Me, right, and then that's a problem. Now they're saying,
and where did it say it in this article? I
have it in front of me. They talk about that
we have problems with because there's strategies for improving night vision,
and they talk about dry eye if you have dry eyes,
and they talk about using drops to improve your night vision,
(02:03):
that if your eye is lubricated, it will affect how
the vision is distorted or how the light is perceived
by the eye and whether or not it's allowed to
be distorted and thereby help improve night vision. But this,
this is a real thing the article talks about, is
difficulty driving at night, the same as night blindness. And
it also says, no, there's there's actually two different versions
(02:25):
of this because it has to do with pupil dilation,
and you know that's that's difficulty driving at night. But
night blindness, which is and I'm gonna I'm going to
destroy this word is Niceetellopia n y C T A
l O p i A is a condition which someone
is extreme difficulty or loses the ability to see in
the darker, dimly lit areas. One of the more common
(02:46):
eye conditions that cause night blindness is called retinopus retinitis
pigmentosa or RP. You understand why I'm not a medical doctor, right,
And this affects the eye in a way that makes
the patient literally blind at night. According to sources, rettiness
ret to night as pig mendosa is a genetic disease
in which symptoms often manifest in childhood. So it's interesting, right,
(03:09):
all this time, I thought it was related to the
bright lights, because it seems like the lights on cars
it's just getting worse. You know, this is like a
battle of who's going to be the brightest winds. It
just seems like the manufacturers just keep on adding more
and more light output and more. I've got this crazy
idea I think if we wanted to improve it, let's
get rid of the street lights. Okay, let's just put
(03:31):
giant umbrellas under over the overall the cars, and then
we'll have lights shooting straight up against the umbrellas, and
everybody will be like their own little white bubble going
down the road. Then you'll be able to see what's
in front of you. It's it's uh, it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It's a. It's a.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It's definitely a. It's definitely a problem. So there's a
great article. Where was this, Oh, this is on Yahoo
News Research. Kathy sent this to me this week, and
you know they talk about it. They also had some suggestions.
The American Optametric Association a few nighttime driving tips to
include to improve your nighttime driving experience. When oncoming headlights
(04:06):
are bright, ease off the gas and maintain your position
on the road by monitoring the lanemarker until the vehicle passes.
You know, and I know someone she has a problem
with glare right with the lights coming up behind her.
So you have to be careful with the rear view
mirror too. You want to clean the windshield inside and out,
and that's true. I can't tell you how many cars
(04:26):
I get in for customers to go on a road test,
and you know, if I take it home at night
the next morning, when you're driving and it's dimly lit,
the amount of dirt on the inside of the windshield,
you just you wonder what they're doing in there. You
could try using fog lights instead of high beams during
a foggy night. I never really saw a value in
fog lights. I got to be honest. I've got a
couple of vehicles with fog lights. I don't think they
do anything. I think, you know, if it's an outside application,
(04:50):
if it's a jeep, then you're mounting fog lights up higher.
You're putting an aftermarket fog light on something, a vehicle
and suv whatever. I think, then you've got a chance.
But I think fog lights from manufacturers personally, I think
they've been newter to the point that it's just it's
there for show and to be able to say, hey,
we've got fog lights on the carts an extra five
(05:11):
hundred bucks. I don't think they do anything in real life.
I really don't. I don't. I just don't see it.
The article then continues. You can turn down dashboard lights
to reduce glare. Yeah, I agree with that. Sometimes we
have the dashboard lights up too bright. Wear prescription glasses
with an anti reflection coating. Now that I hadn't thought about,
you know, and I wear glasses. I wonder if I
have an anti reflection car. I probably do. Most glasses
(05:33):
probably are that way. Keep blinking while driving to wardoff
dry eye and aim dashboard vents away from the face
to keep the eyes from getting dried out. I never
realized that that your eyes could be dry enough that
it would, you know, cause nipe blindness like that, or
discomfort driving, and it is. I have to say. This
article talks about you know, in your twenties on up.
(05:54):
I you know. Now I'm a little older, a little
older than the twenties, And yeah, there's an uncomfortableness driving
at night. Sometimes it sure is dark out quick, you know, boy,
I'll tell you what it gets. It gets dark out fast,
it seems so just just something to be aware of,
you know. So if you if you suffer from that,
if you go to Yahoo and look up you know,
(06:16):
night driving, you'll get to read the whole article in
its entirety. But I thought that was I thought that
was a good piece, you know, I thought that was interesting.
I would share that with you. I want to tell
you about quick update the O eight Jeep, the OA
Jep Grand Cheroke SRT eight that we were waiting for.
The drive shift finally came in this week, six and
a half weeks to get a drive shift. That vehicle
(06:37):
has been sitting six and a half weeks for a
dry shift that we couldn't find anywhere else, and put
the drive shift in. The vehicle's gone. It's perfect. Down
the road, customers very happy, and it just made me think,
you know, is this a sign of the future. Is
this a sign of the times? Are we just going
to not be stuck but for lack of lack of parts?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
You know?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Is it those vehicles that we're hanging on to? And
I think it is if you know, you start to
think about the critical areas. You know, I've done it
with some of my older vehicles. I have purchased parts
and I have them stored in nice dry areas, you know,
just because I know the things that are going to
go away, and you know, six weeks to get a
drive shift just just terrible. By the way, the dry
(07:19):
shift was twenty three or twenty four hundred dollars at
a Chrysler. So yeah, that's the other problem. I think
that's how they're going to get us out of the
older cars. They're just going to, you know, make the
cost of using them so expensive that you'll be forced
to buy something new. And whether or not you like
it or not, that's that's a conversation for a whole
nother day. Anyway, Let's open up the phones before we
(07:40):
go to the break real quick. Let's talk to Tom
in Arizona because the list is long today and see
what's going on here. Tom. Welcome to back to the
car doctor, sir. What's going on with the buick today?
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Thank you?
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Master flow sensor failed. I saw it with my parents
and it fixed it. So I'm looking to buy another one.
What do you recommend? Original are after Mark market? They're
pretty expensive. They're over one hundred dollars. Uh, aftermarket with
the part stores have lifetime warranties. The other ones that
(08:11):
are OE are one your warranty?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And how how much is the OE?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Close to two hundred dollars?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Can you still get one?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah? You know?
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Are you you planning to keep the car?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Yeah? The heads up display.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Yeah, no, I get it. I'm just asking the questions. Brother, Listen,
I think it's I think it's a matter of obviously,
it's a matter of what's in the budget, all right,
I I think I think the other part of this
is is the aftermarket mass airflow sensor is it? Is
it remanufactured or is it manufactured as new?
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Nope? New, it says.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
New, And then I'd probably go for the aftermarket version
just to save the hundred bucks. Why not? All right?
It comes with a warranty. You're you're good that way.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah, lifetime warranty. Right, so, but I don't want to
take it back.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Every year, you know.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Well, no, I understand that too, you know. Just make
sure you know that whenever you put well, I always
think about this with mass any mass airflow car. Just
make sure you've got a good air filter in the car.
I'm sure you're aware of that. I always, you know,
the majority of mass airflow sensor failures occur as a
result of or can o car. I shouldn't say the majority,
(09:30):
but can occur as a result of either a poor
fitting air filter, an overloaded air filter, or a poor
quality air filter.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
All right, Yeah, I think this one's just the miles. Okay,
two hundred and sixty thousand.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, it's time, it's time. So, yeah, you knows. Mass
airflow censers operate. Here's a here's a useless piece of
trivia you'll never need to know. You're ready. Mass airflow
sensors operate on something called the Wheatstone Bridge and electronics.
Don't ask me, don't ask me how I remember this.
When I was in taking electronics classes, they started talking
about the wheatstone Bridge and wheatstone Bridge is a variable
(10:05):
resistor platform that they There are four resistors. They know
what three of the resistance values are. The fourth resistor
is the unknown that's calculated by the electronics in the sensor,
and that's how they know how much error is flowing
through it. I actually wrote a paper on it in
college that was more pages long than I care to remember.
(10:25):
And you know it's it's but that's that's also like
in Ford ignition modules, there's a remember the old four
distributors where you had the gray ignition module on the
side of the distributor way back when right there was
a wendel Meyer trigger with a Schmidt relay. I'll never
forget that in class too. Some of the names they
came up with for some of these things. It's just
(10:47):
you look at the electronics. But anyway, so that's the
deal Tom, all right.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Sir, So you don't you don't rebuild them then.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Now, no, we don't. We throw them away. We hope
for a good warranty and down the road. And if
you want to see how curate it is, you know
what you could do is if your parents your parents
have the same vehicle, I assume the one you borrow
the mass airflow off of. So just for giggles, you know,
take out your OBD two scan tool, go into mass
airflow grams per second. That's a three point eight leader
(11:19):
in that view of correct, right, see what your mass
airflow grams per second is at idle. Typically you will
see grahams per second airflow on a hot engine base
idol with all things being equal, pretty close to that
leader displacement size of the engine. So I would expect
anywhere from three and a half to four and a
(11:40):
half grams per second at idle. All right, Now, if
the vehicle runs fine at five, then that's what that's
the way yours works out. If you're getting optimal performance,
gas mileage. You know rough, the idol's not smooth, it's
are the idle smooth? It's not rough, you know what.
But that's the number you want to know because sometimes
you'll learn you'll sit as as the wheatstone bridge starts
(12:02):
to fail, all right, from age the resistance value changes
that you will see the grams per second change, and
it's just an easy enough thing to keep track of,
you know. We we have started a long time ago.
For regular customers. We will look at certain specific you know,
sensor values and record them in their file. It's sort
of like sort of like taking heart rate and blood
(12:23):
pressure when you go to the doctor. Same same thing,
different model, all right, kitto.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Yep, Hey, thanks for the great information document.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You're very welcome.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Tom.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
You'd be well, I'm running any in the car doctor.
I'll be back right after this.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
When you gain keep Rhyn's number handy eight five five
five six zero nine nine zero.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Zero for when you really need advice on your car.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Here's rock.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Hey, let's go over to Maryland. Talk to esther oh
three Corvette Estra. Welcome to the car doctor. How can
I help?
Speaker 5 (13:08):
Thank you?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
You're welcome.
Speaker 5 (13:09):
I'm looking for an HVAC control head and they're not
easy to come by.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Okay, yeah, your mechanics told you this is what you need,
and he's saying the parts obsolete?
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Yeah yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
So where where have you looked under? You know what?
You know, what sort of distribution have you? Have you
sourced yet?
Speaker 5 (13:35):
I've looked on the internet, but a lot of them
seem like they're they repair the display instead of the
control unit itself.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
What's what's wrong?
Speaker 5 (13:48):
And I was thinking that maybe I could go to
a junk yard and fine.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Well you find one, you could. The problem is you're
still you know, and I just got to bang the
drum here a second. This is this is the conversation
I always have with you guys, right about the electronics
or what's going to keep us from driving these cars
in the future, because how can they possibly keep up
with the electronics. It's just going to make it more
and more difficult. That that being said, Uh, you know,
(14:13):
I don't know that they will. You could look at Dormant,
take a look at Dorman Products dot com. Does Dorman
happen to remanufacture a control head for this vehicle? That's
one source. Go to Dorman. Yes, ma'am Dorman Products dot com. Uh,
you know, I was actually looking for a control head
for my four suburban and they had one. So I
was able to purchase a new, all right new, not recondition,
(14:35):
not remanufacturer, but a new control head from dormant from
my own oh for suburban and it works fine. So
you know that's one possibility. Now the other place, you know,
have you been out to eBay and looked at eBay
as a consideration, right, and everybody there saying it's refurbished,
And I agree with you. What's refurbished about it? All right?
(14:56):
The other thing you could try is up here in
North Jersey. There's a company by the name of Model Electronics.
Now I believe they're nationwide. I don't know that for
a fact, but if you Google searched Model Electronics, they
are the rebuild center for GM dealers. I've got to
think they're nationwide, all right. And you know you could
(15:17):
possibly make arrangements through your mechanic to have him send
the control head into them and have them go through
it electronically and refurbish it. If they say they can
rebuild it, they will rebuild it. For the example that
as matter of fact they did. My four suburban and
a lot of my generation suburbans are suburbans of my generation. Tahoes, Silverados,
(15:38):
et cetera. Had the problem with the instrument cluster where
the you know, the spinometer, the odometer would go out
or one of the control motors for the spinometer of
the tack would fail. Model Electronics was able to go
through and refurbish and rebuild the whole unit, So you know,
there's always that possibility. There are electronic rebuilders out there
(16:00):
of it like this. Once that vehicle is probably more
than three years old. I don't know too many car
companies that are still manufacturing new parts for them if
they're different than a current model. So you know there's
a there's a chain of or there's a they set
up rebuilders to rebuild what's out there per se, all right,
(16:20):
something as old as this, it's twenty years old. I'm
sure there are sources that will that have been set
up or that continue to be set up, you know,
to to refurbish this. Have you looked at Corvette Central?
Speaker 5 (16:36):
I did, okay what they have I'm want to say,
I did I have it written down? I don't. I've
got so many nits right now, right, but I had
that written down, Okay.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Yeah, Corvette Central, because they'll they'll you know, and then
where are they sourcing it from? Would be the question?
All right, because you're right sometimes and this is why
I'm not a fan of a junk yard part, per se.
I don't really want to call them junk yards. I
think they're salvage yards. Uh, you know, they're recyclers. You know,
junk yard is junk. It's not junk, it's a you know,
but then you know, where has it been stored? Has
(17:06):
it been sitting out in a you know, has it
been sitting out in an environment? Is it is it
been in a dry room? And then if you get
a salvage yard part, you know, what do the buttons
look like? Is display beat up? You know, there scratches
on it? You know, obviously you care about this vehicle.
Let's face it, it's a Corvette. It's a fiftieth anniversary edition.
You know, you're you're you're looking to you know, make
(17:29):
this into something more, uh than just a part replacement? Correct, Yeah, yeah,
so all right, but try that. You can also look
I think it's is it gmobsolete dot com or gmpartsobsolete
dot com. GM does have an obsolete obsolete parts line
or website. You can also look. I think it's Vintage
(17:51):
Auto Parts. Have your mechanic call his GM dealer and
ask them about the Vintage Auto Parts line, because GM
has a division in a company relationship with a place
called Vintage Auto Parts and they house all GM's obsolete parts,
and maybe they've got it there. But I don't think
this is an impossible fine. It's just a matter of
getting the best one for you and hopefully those those
(18:12):
put you on the right trail. Good luck, Esther. I'm
ronn Andy and the Car Doctor. We're back right after this.
Don't go away. Welcome back Nan the Car Doctor here
(18:45):
at eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero.
I'll say it again, eight five five five six zero
nine nine zero zero. Keep in mind that's the card
Doctor's twenty four to seven phone number. You can call
and leave a message and we will get back to you.
Put you in the next life Q. We're also doing
a we're building list. We're going to start doing contacts
on Wednesday evenings and do some callbacks and build some
(19:05):
shows in the queue. So if we decide to take
a weekend off, we will give you a fresh show.
And you know, good information has always that's what we're
trying to do here. I want to talk a little
bit about I want to talk about Gene. I'll start here.
Jean called the shop this week to make an appointment
for service on his daughter's Toyota Venza, and first words
out of his mouth were, Hey, you know, since you
change the trans fluid on my daughter's car, the trans
(19:27):
shifts better and the problem is gone. And I want
to comment on that because we've had a few calls
this weekend from listeners that have fluid, that have had
fluid changes or are thinking of fluid changes. I don't
think we talk enough about that that it's really important.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
You know.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
We tend to talk about how vehicles. We run vehicles
into the ground. That's what everybody says. I want to
drive it into the ground. I want to drive it
till it stops. Well, yeah, but you know how far
is the ground and where does the ground exist, and
where is that moment where it's going to fail? And
we don't want to get to that point of failure,
to get to the point where we can, you know,
(20:04):
continue to drive it safely and not wait until it fails.
In terms of you know, gee it blew up. Okay,
let's go buy a new car. How about we keep
it going even longer. Fluid changers are part of the
answer to that piece of the puzzle. And it's just
critical now, just you know, I just want to change
the transfluid. There is no something is just all right.
Everything is specific today. There is no universal fits all
(20:26):
transfluid all right. Everything has to have specific at it is.
It seems that the newer the vehicle, the more specific
they get, and the same can be said in the
majority of cases for drive line fluids, transfer case differentials
and so on. It's important, you know, I'm not going
to say it's anyone particular make or model. I see
(20:46):
it with Toyota, I see it with Ford, I see
it with GM, I see it across the board. If
you're changing fluid, make sure it's rated for the vehicle.
It's specific to the vehicle, all right. Doesn't have to
be OE because the Oees don't make their own fluids anymore. Anyway.
They're having for years and years. They're just summing it out.
The contractors that are you know, marketing under that manufacturer's
bottle or their own bottle. As long as the bottle
(21:08):
says meets manufacturerspect for your vehicle, you're good, all right.
But changing drive line fluids is important, and it's something
depending upon how you drive, you know, I think about
drive line fluids at the at the fifty thousand mile mark,
sixty thousand mile mark, in a lot of cases, you know,
depending upon what we're driving. I think it's a good
(21:31):
I think it's a good I think it's a good
way to go. I really do. I think it's something
to think about and something to be aware of. So
just think about drive line fluids. Welcome back to this
in a minute. Let's go over to Kurt in Pennsylvania,
Oh seven Volvo x C seventy and a bit of
a mystery. Kurt, Welcome to the car doctor, sir, How
can I help?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Yes, I'm good.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
What's going on?
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Well? I had a reverse light out that popped it
up at a new ball bin, and I know, I'm
just when I pulled the light bulb out of the socket,
the whole uh put it back in tail it came
back on. But if I put in reverse the hotel
it goes out again, and the and the bulb does
(22:12):
not go on.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Okay, so this started out as a Hey, the bull
was out, you went to put a new bull then
and now you put the new bullban and your phone
broke up? There, Kurt, what happened when you put the bull.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
beIN the nothing?
Speaker 3 (22:27):
I mean, it's still the same.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
If I put in a reverse, Well, it's always Kurt,
you there kind of dark. Yeah, you're on a I'm here. Yeah,
I think you're on a bad cell connection. Try it again, brother,
when you put it in, you put it in reverse,
what happens.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
The whole tail? It goes out?
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Okay, So somewhere we've somewhere we've got a voltage drop.
We're we've got a bad we've got a bad connection,
or we've got an easier path for voltage to take
than to go across the the the element of the bull,
the filament of the b. So is there resistance in
the socket? So my first thought is, you know, do
(23:06):
you own a test light? Do you have any sort
of testing equipment where we could pin.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Up I'm not real good or electrical?
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Okay, Okay, then you.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Know my friend's thing is a bad ground.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Maybe well, yeah, it could be absolutely absolutely, it could
be a bad ground I would I would go through
a wiring diagram and look to see, how is that
How is that socket? Uh, you know grounded? All right?
What I would what I would actually do is I
would take the tail light out or find that tail
light is going to have a body plug all right,
where it's connected to the rest of the wiring harness,
(23:40):
and I would go across the contacts of that body plug.
There's going to be a hot coming back to the
bulb and a ground I would put my meter across
that and put it in reverse. Do I see.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Voltage original tailight too? Right?
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Well yeah, but you know the question is is their
corrosion inside the socket? Is their coron inside the connector?
All right? So I would start there, does the other
side work correctly?
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Okay? Then I would also sit down with a wiring
diagram and a couple of different colored markers and I
would I would map everything out how does this circuit work?
All right? This is that you always hear me talk
about I always you know, I'll take anywhere from twenty
minutes to an hour to research a problem before I
attack it. And this is that twenty minutes and a
(24:29):
cup of coffee, cup of tea for me.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
But you know, take hold out and see take a
battery and do the tests.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Well that and I would also I also want to
look at a wiring diagram. I have that luxury all right,
where you know, how does the circuit work if if
it's a For example, if it's a common hot back
from the printle switch that feeds the reverse lights, and
then the connector splits off at the back of the trunk,
then I know the feed coming out of the switch
(24:58):
the prindle the harness come back is all good because
if it's affecting one it's not affecting the other, then
it has to be where it splits off and the
harness becomes separate legs. But if it's a if it's
two separate shots coming back from the switch, then I
might have to trace it all the way back up
to where the connection is made at the switch when
you move the shifter if you make If you understand
(25:20):
what I'm saying, So here's the advantage of where a
wiring diagram, would you know, break it out? How does
the circuit split?
Speaker 3 (25:27):
You know?
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Or does the circuit split? So and I think it does.
I think it's a straight shot coming back if I
remember correctly. And then it becomes it becomes two connectors,
one going to the left, one going to the right
type of a thing. So, but yeah, you sounds like
you've got a classic case of a bad ground, you know,
a voltage drop problem. And I'm gonna just say it,
even though I don't think so. Do you have the
(25:47):
right bulb? All right?
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Just to be sure I do, because it came out
of another bubble tailate, Well, it doesn't.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
That doesn't. That doesn't make it right unless it's the
one from the other side. Was it the one from
the other side.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
No, it was from a fair tale light that I had.
It was a new bulb. I had replaced the other light,
and I put the new bulbs. It had came with bulbs,
so I put all the new bulbs in the other one.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
You know, never never assume if it came out of
a car that it's the right part. Someday I'll tell you,
guys the story. I'll tell you the story.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Now.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
We had a FOURD pickup truck a couple of weeks
ago where the customer had to ask for a battery
replacement and we couldn't determine whether it was supposed to
be an a GM battery or a conventional battery. And
we looked at it and it had an AGM battery
in it, but it was right on the fuzzy edge
of where Ford started putting a GM batteries in their
(26:38):
pickup trucks, and we had to actually trace it down
by then that vehicle actually called for a conventional battery,
and we put a conventional battery back in. That's what
the customer wanted. They wanted it as it came out
of the factory, and that's what we gave them. But
you can't look at the car and say, you know,
it's it works, it's right.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
You know.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
I'm not saying the AGM or the conventional ones better
than the other, you know, but I just I never
assume that's why my back bristles anytime somebody says that.
So I'm not picking on your current.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Well, I tried to put in one of the LED
kits for the interior lights, right that really screwed everything up. Well,
I had to put the old bubbles back in.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
You're you're pretty gutsy for a guy who's not good
with electrical.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
But just replacing a ball.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
How hard could it be? Famous famous last words, how
hard could I?
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Because when I put the LEDs up, like the lower
feet panels wouldn't light up because I guess the whole
circuitry revolves in voltage feedback. And since you're not only
using partial the voltage, Yeah, it just screw screwed everything up.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Well, and wait till you find out with all the LEDs.
And it's also based on it's looking at if it's
coming out of the body computer, it's looking at voltage
drop or current draw and to decide what circuits to
turn on and off and the electronics. That's why they
have us put resistors in with led kits to get
the b cms or the one computers to do certain things.
So LEDs versus conventional lighting is a whole nother story.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Go ahead, I left a message on your thing. I
was watching it. There's a twenty nineteen Dodge Ram, but
only drive thirty three miles and shut down and have
all these alarms go off. Go to the dealer immediately
pull over and if you put it in park then
it would be locked in the park and they push
a button to stop the engine. It wouldn't stop, and
(28:27):
then after about ten minutes it would shut down automatically.
You could start to think, back up, no alarms, drive
thirty three miles, then you do it all over again.
Do you ever see that video.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
I haven't seen that video, but I would have to
think that's a computer fall, because if it's that precise
that it's happening like clockwork, I don't think it's the
thirty three miles. I think it's the timeframe, and I
would sit there. I would sit there in time. I'll
tell you what. Let me pull over, take a pause.
Don't go anywhere, Kurt, because we're runningup against the clock.
We'll be back to talk about it right after this.
Don't go away. Hey, welcome back. Let's finish up with Kurt. Kurt,
(29:11):
you're still there, sir, Yes, sir, I have not seen
that video of the nineteen RAM that goes thirty three
miles and then dies, you know.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
To address yeah, thirty minute video. It took him to
explain it all right.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
I would be thinking about which part of the computer
network is shutting down, because to me it sounds more
computer and in terms of failure that it's so specific
to a mile at a time fence.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
It was a failure. It was a wire of three
point five vault something on a block where all the
modulars are plugged into. Okay, he goes, they section the
modulars because there's just so many of them, so they
take them down to like a ten modular per block.
So then he had to pull the blocks out that
(29:55):
he had a list of errors, probably as long as
your armed, but they they were all canceled when the
cars start back up again.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Right well, And and and to explain it from a
different perspective, what what you're talking about and what you
were seeing was when you hear me talk about how
computer networks go down and pull the whole componentry down,
that's what you're seeing. So they were they were breaking
it down into section by section trying to figure out
where the fault was. And that's why I said it
sounded computer in nature or electrical in nature, that it's
(30:24):
so specific. It only runs, well, you know, it only
runs up to a certain point where there's a default value.
You know. The issue is all the vehicles today have specific,
shall we say, fail safe modes, and when they reach
that specific fail safe mode, that's when it you know
that's when it it will allow it to you know,
(30:44):
go into that mode and then it resets when you
when you cycle the key. So but yeah, wiring right,
it's it's your strong point, Kurt. We could send you
out to fix that next.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Now narrowed it down to one block. Yeah, and the
unplugged the whole block and all the codes cleared right now.
He checked everything on that block. He checked a wire
going to the block and here he checked the block.
But I guess this one diode if he checked it
over and over and over or whatever it's called, the
(31:15):
voltage kept climbing up. It was three point five, three
point six, you know, and he's figuring because of all
at idle it will cool down and be fine. But
when you're driving fifty five and all this information is
going through these things, it would go over four volts
and then shut it down, right, And he just changed
that block out and the guy never had a problem.
(31:36):
He couldn't totally prove it, but it never happened again.
So it was in that. It was it was interesting
as far as you know, not knowing electrical hardly at all,
and how you know it took it took him quite
a while to figure it out.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Oh sure, listen, I the amount of electronics. I read
an article the other day that they were talking about
circuit boards. It was it was return. It was referring
to a circuit board. I see twelve, and now how there?
I see thirteen and it started talking in depth. It
was an in depth electronics conversation that, frankly, was over
my pay grade to some level. That tells me that
(32:11):
the vehicles were fortunate they run as good as they
do for as long as they do because the amount
of electronics for depending on is is slight overkill in
my opinion. But they're accomplishing the job. I guess, Kurt,
I got to go them up against the clock. Good
to hear from you, man, I make out with your vote.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Thank you too, sir.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Be well, I'm running any In The Card Doctor. We're
back right after this. Don't go away. It's second Welcome
(32:48):
back Running the Card Doctor. The list segment of this week.
Keep in mind for the future if you want us
eight five five, five six zero nine nine zero zero,
and look for the classic Card Doctor posts coming up midweek,
as well as podcast today's show. We'll get those up
right after the show today in a couple hours. Let's
segment I want to talk about it. I've just got
a question up on Facebook from Bob in the Bronx
(33:08):
New York ron I've got a twenty three Ford Maverick
hybrid pickup. My plans are to relocate the truck from
New York to Fort Myers, Florida, where the truck will
only be used four months of continuous followed by a
period of seven to eight months sitting in my garage
without any usage. Is there any risk of the hybrid
battery due to non use for many months? I usually
disconnect the twelve old battery when I store vehicles for
long periods, But what can you do to save the
(33:30):
hybrid battery? Thanks Bob. Bob, First of all, look at
the owner's manual. I know this question has been posed
to a lot of hybrid owners, and I'm almost certain
that Ford's got a section in the Owner's manual dedicated
to long term storage and concerns. I don't know of
a hybrid concern a hybrid battery concern that they have there.
Of course, letting it sit like that might cause it
(33:50):
to discharge over a long period of time, and then
obviously running the vehicle. We'll obviously charge it back up.
My biggest concern, quite honestly, is the quality of the gasoline,
because you know, we've seen issues where even on hybrids
that are used on a regular basis, certain vehicles driven
as a hybrid, it can go thirty days. I've seen
(34:10):
cases of this where they can go thirty days before
they switch and they run on the gas engine on
a regular basis, so much so that the gasoline is older.
And you know, how often do you fill up that hybrid?
Is it a I know people that tell me, hey,
I go thirty days forty days between phillips because they
don't go anywhere. They're going three to six miles a day,
and you know the longevity, the quality of the fuel.
(34:31):
And I would be more concerned with long term storage
effects on the gasoline than I would be on the
hybrid battery. As far as disconnecting the twelve vault battery,
Bob and for everybody else, I'd put a battery tender
on it. I wouldn't disconnect it. I'd be that battery
connected because I'd like the vehicle to maintain its memory.
I think the learning curve is going to be too
tedious when you get back to it. They have to
(34:53):
do that every time. Ug I don't want to do that.
I want to try a battery tender, but I think
I'd be more concerned the long term storage effects of
the gasoline, not the other two batteries. I'm not an
ay and the car doctor reminding you till the next time.
Good mechanics are inexpensive, they're priceless. See you
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