The owner of an Olds Aurora stated his check engine light was on. Another shop had diagnosed and replaced the crank sensor – TWICE, and the light was still on. Having seen this problem in the past, Dan knew immediately where to go. This engine uses two crank sensors; the easily visible one was the one that had been replaced, not the second one which is the one that had actually failed.

A customer dropped off his Honda Odyssey van and stated that below 40 degrees the power steering made a lot of noise. Two previous attempts at another shop had been made to correct it by replacing the pump and the steering gear. Kyle went to work testing the pressures and fluid flow. In his research he found a service bulletin showing a new design fluid reservoir to correct such a noise. An hour later the updated part was installed and the Honda is now quiet.

A plumbing company scheduled in one of their service vans for a check engine light on. Shaun tested the system and found the code was related to a leak in the fuel vapor system. He also noticed what appeared to be brand new shelving installed in the back. The end result was that the person who installed the shelving had used screws that were too long and one of them had penetrated the gas tank, causing a leak. A shorter screw and a new gas tank later and all was well.

The owner of an Acura RL stated the battery would go dead if the car was not driven for two days. He had replaced the battery himself and the issue was still there. Paul located a problem in the electrical system causing a drain on the battery once the key was turned off. This car was fully loaded and had a LOT of electronic systems to be tested and isolated. Four hours later and much disassembly of the interior Paul had the answer. A short in the fuse block. The following day a new fuse block arrived and was installed. Now the RL starts every time.

Our customer’s Cadillac would lose use of the cruise control after driving it for a while. Rob tested the computer and controls only to find no failure. Three road tests of 20 miles each and we could not duplicate the concern. Jeff, one of our advisors, questioned the customer on how often and when it occurred. Turns out it happened every day on her way to work at the exact same place, driving over a bridge. We then duplicated her route and sure enough, as soon as we started across the bridge, the cruise quit working. What was it? Turns out that the combination of the bump coming onto the bridge and the heat from voltage going through the brake sensor made the computer think the brake was applied and it would turn off the cruise control. After a new brake sensor was installed, all was well.