Auto Repair Articles

1983 Ford Thunderbird 5.0 EFI turns over but will not fire it getting fuel not sure where I should start.

Answer:

First you need to determine if it has spark or not ( you you only said it has fuel. Next you need to make sure it has at least 30 psi of fuel pressure of the injectors will not fire. These engine do not have a prone issue. So I would, if you determine it is only missing spark, look at the distributor cap and rotor closely.

I have compiled the information that you need here: NO START DIAGNOSTICS 

My daughters 99 olds alero is shuttering when the brakes are applied. I have replaced rotors and pads and still shakes. It does have a broken wheel stud on one of the front wheels. Also has 147,000 miles. Would wheel hubs need replacing?

Answer:

There may be an issue witht he hub bearings. There are two ways to check a hub bearing. One is to swirve a bit left than right while driving about 15-25 mph and listen for a whiring noise and the noise will change pitch as you swirve. For hub bearings that are in worse shape, Simply jack up the front end and grab hold of the tire and try to wigggle it top to bottom, any play or movement at all is from a failed hub bearing.

Another thing that can cause this is a bad spot on a tire. Rotating the front tires to the back and test driving it should let you know if this is the case.

One missing wheel stud will not cause an issue.

97 ETC/ Service Steering Sysyem ??? Information Center on at Each startup, ?? Belts and fluid are okay. Code 127???

Answer:

C1227 - Left Rear Excessive Wheel Speed Variation
C1228 - Right Rear Excessive Wheel Speed Variation
C1248 - EBCM Turned the Red Brake Warning Indicator On
C1255 - EBCM Internal Malfunction
C1287 - Steering Sensor Rate Malfunction
More than likely the ABS Code is C1287 and having the steering wheel position sensor replaced at the local dealer is all that is needed. Part is about $85 and Labor around $100. This is a common failure part and most likely they have the part in stock.

2003 Ford Excursion 4×4 6.0 Diesel keeps eating voltage regulators/alternators. Two brand new batteries charge on the charger and hold a charge. (I do have a 350ma parasitic draw while the truck is “sleeping.”) I even purchased a 200 amper from DB Electrical and installed an additional 0-gauge wire from the alternator to the battery. Checked the two alternator leads and soldered extra wire to relieve stress on the connector. No changes. At idle, the regulator side of the wire shows 11.6V. The batteries are barely charging at 11.88V. at 1K-RPM the battery voltage goes up to ~12.5. At 1.5K-RPM and above I get 13.89V maximum, sustained unless the RPM drops. This is repeatable.

Answer:

Sounds to me like you have a large load occurring with the engine running.Possible glow plugs staying on or FICM not coming out of injector preheat stage.I would suggest getting the load tested while engine running with a shunt type charging system tester and see how many amps are being pulled.If it has over 20 - 30 amp consistent load then you will need to determine what is causing the excessive load.A ford ids scanner will be needed to determine if ficm and gpc is operating normally.

2004 Chevy Silverado 2500HD I just bought the truck and the radio isn’t working. Everything lights up like it’s on but no sound. The salesman that sold it said it was working at one time and thinks it has something to do with the Onstar button. The manual says the Onstar button will mute the radio when pushed and to push any button to restore the radio. But it doesn’t work. Any ideas?

Response:

does the radio go through all of it’s functions normally if the buttons are pressed?