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When you are tracing an electrical circuit using an automotive repair diagram you always want to work from the load back to the battery.
Find the load component first for example light, horn, coil, solenoid or actuator, then find its ground, and then find the battery.
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A dead car battery is one of the most common problems facing the automotive public. I'm sure at one point you have gone out to your vehicle and found a no start condition due to a dead battery. The question is, what to do next.
The first thing to address is how long will a car battery last. On average, a car battery will last for about three to five years. In most cases you will find that the battery will last towards the shorter end of this scale and need to be replaced at the three-year mark.
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When your car battery goes completely dead, there are a few factors that will determine your next step. If the battery is more than three years old, you're best bet would be to replace the battery. If you're not sure how old the battery is your next step should be to charge and test the battery.
Battery chargers and battery testers have come down in price in recent years. These are good tools to have around. This way you will have what you need when faced with the dead battery problem.
The testers and chargers are easy to use and have simple indicators of green and red. That will take the guessing out of diagnosing your car battery.
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If you take care of your battery, it will take care of you. Regular battery maintenance is a good habit to get into. If you want your battery to last to the five-year mark, you're going to have to take care of it. This is very easy to do.
The stuff to use is called battery terminal protector spray. If you apply this protectant to a new or clean battery terminal, it will greatly reduce the amount of corrosion that builds up. Corrosion can prevent the proper automatic charging of the battery from the vehicles alternator. If you follow this procedure once every six months. Your battery will last longer. This is one of those situations where an ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure.
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One of the most common problems with cars is the failure of the water pump, on higher mileage vehicles. The replacement of the water pump provides a few challenges for the do-it-yourself auto repair mechanic.
One of the most common car problems that you will run across on a high mileage vehicle is the leaky water pump. Vehicle manufacturers are making the same quality water pumps that they did many years ago. The problem with this is that vehicles today are used well over 100,000 miles. Even the best water pump will need to be replaced at around this mileage.
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What I would like to talk about today is what happens after the successful replacement of the water pump. Again this will differ on many models, but one of the problems with cars is the refilling of the cooling system and removing the air from the system so that it flows properly. One of the most common complaints that I receive is that after the water pump has been replaced that the car is overheating. |
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Again make sure the vehicle is completely cool before you remove that radiator cap and take it off very slow! The problems with cars are that some vehicles are very stubborn about removing air from the cooling system. |
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Many specialty shops have opened up realizing the pure profit involved in repairing automotive air conditioning systems. Auto air conditioning repair is also one of the largest overcharged repairs on automobiles today. It is very common for repair bills to reach well over $1000. Many air-conditioning repair shops wind up overcharging the automotive consumer for simple a/c repairs.
Many times the a/c repair shop will replace additional parts in the air conditioning system that may not need to be replaced. When you're auto air conditioning stops blowing cold air, the most common cause of this is that the freon has leaked out. This is where the do-it-yourself mechanic can jump into action, and actually locate where the refrigerant leak is.
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The perfect time to spring into action and diagnose the air conditioning yourself is when you feel that the air is not as cold as it used to be. This may be combined with a compresor cycling on and off frequently.
When the auto air conditioning system is still cooling, but not blowing the ice-cold air that it used to and the compresor is clicking on and off.
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This is a special device that sniffs for refrigerant leakage on car air conditioning systems. The instructions for usage of the freon leak detector are usually included with the tool. But I will give you a quick how-to use a freon leak detector. |
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