Vehicle Electrical/Electronics Trouble Shooting Newsletter
Veejar Enterprises
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What would you do?
Part 2 - The
Fix
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Welcome to all those
who have recently signed up for our
free email newsletter!
What
Would You Do? Part 2 - The Fix
The
Story . . . .
A customer brought in
his minivan with about 70,000 miles and the transmission would not
shift and was stuck in limp mode. The transmission repair shop did
their initial diagnosis (I assume) and then removed the transmission to
be rebuilt. After the rebuild was complete and the transmission
reinstalled it still would not shift. The shop owner decided to take
the vehicle to another transmission repair shop for their help since
there was a technician at that shop who had a "fix it"
reputation. It seems both shop owners were good friends and helped each
other out from time to time. The make and model of the vehicle does not
have any particular bearing on this story and the ultimate fix. Let's
consider this a family (generic) minivan with a transmission that fails
to shift problem.
The owner of the
second shop told the R&R tech to pull the transmission and take it
to "Mr. Fix-it" in the back, by the name of Larry (not his
real name but I want to keep him humble). Larry took charge of the
situation and moved the vehicle to the back area and told the group in
the waiting room to hold on a few minutes. If you were Larry, a great
tranny rebuilder by the way, what would you do?
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The Fix . . . . . .
Larry
had been using the electrical flip-chart FIRST THINGS FIRST on a few
vehicles so he had confidence in doing these simple electrical checks first which
only takes a few minutes. When he got to Test Step 7, measuring the
voltage drop of the voltage side of the charging system (between B+
terminal on the generator and battery positive post at the right time)
he was looking for normal reading of no more than 0.20V. He found this
vehicle was reading 0.60V and that was too much.
He visually inspected the cable and connections. He noticed the
connection at the generator's B+ terminal was not assembled correctly.
He turned the ignition key off and disassembled the B+ terminal wire,
washer and lock nut and properly reconnected the cable and hardware to
ensure a good electrical connection. Then he checked the voltage drop
again and got a correct reading of 0.20V.
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He
decided to test drive the vehicle and found the transmission now
shifted normally. He had been working on the vehicle less than 15
minutes. He said the look on everyone's faces when he brought the
vehicle around to the front and dropped the keys on the front counter
with a short "it's fixed" comment was a hoot to behold.
Without another word Larry returned to the back where he was rebuilding
a tranny.
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The Real Satisfaction Comes Later . . . . . .
Larry
told me a few days later the owner of the vehicle stopped by and wanted
to shake his hand. The other shop had told the owner they took his car
to another shop where Larry worked. The owner told Larry that he had
bought the vehicle brand new. During the warranty period he had taken
the vehicle back to the dealership on three different occasions
complaining that the vehicle just didn't seem right. He said it just
didn't run like a new car. The engine did not run smooth and shift
gears easily. When turning on electrical accessories it always seemed
to create more performance issues. As the mileage increased the
problems got worse. Each time he took it to the dealership they told
him there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and he would leave the dealership
frustrated. With 65,000 miles the transmission stopped shifting and now
the car was out of warranty so he took his car to a local transmission
shop.
The owner told Larry: "I don't know what you did to fix my car but
it has never run so good and everything works like a new car. I just
want to shake your hand and personally thank you."
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How You Can Too!
Because we work in
an industry that changes so dramatically every model year with the all
new innovations presenting new service issues we may not have
encountered before, we tend to become so focused on the new technology
we forget the vehicle's essential electrical system that ensures the
vehicle performs properly. If a problem develops in the essential
electrical system, what do I check and how do I check it? What readings
should I get with the DMM and what do I do if a DMM reading is too high
or too low? How long will it take to run the tests?
 FIRST THINGS FIRST shows you what
circuit to test - what order to test each circuit - what condition the vehicle
should be in to perform each test step - what the correct DMM reading
should be - and what to do if a DMM reading is too high or too low.
There are 14 test steps that most techs can complete in less than 5
minutes with a little practice.
This is why you need a copy of FIRST THINGS FIRST. It shows
you how to quickly discover electrical problems most techs overlook. A
technician in this picture is testing the voltage drop of the voltage
side of the charging system where "Larry" found the problem. FIRST THINGS FIRST is
printed as a flip-chart on laminated cardboard pages so it will last a
long time in heavy shop use.
Read our web page describing FIRST
THINGS FIRST
HERE.
There are two versions.
FIRST THINGS FIRST Pro
covers a 14V electrical system with a single battery for $79.00 per
copy plus shipping $7.00 to US Zip codes. (Price increases May 1st) Buy The Single Battery Version
FIRST THINGS
FIRST-2 covers a 14V electrical system with two
batteries because there are 4 additional steps for the second battery
circuit. Priced at $99.00 per copy plus shipping $7.00 to US Zip codes.
(Price increases May 1st)
Buy The Dual Battery Version
Watch for "What Would You Do - Part 3" It's a doozie!!!
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