The Garage

[Prom]

 

My sister's been having trouble with her car lately. Whenever she tries to start it, the fuse box apparently makes an odd ticking noise and the car refuses to start. All of the fuses have been replaced fairly recently.

 

The car itself is a '96 Hyundai Elantra. Any ideas?

 

By "refusing to start", do you mean that it's turning over but won't fire, or that the starter motor is not operating at all? Is there an audible click coming from the starter when attempting to start it?

 

If you could elaborate on the ticking sound....Is it repetitive/rhythmic? Happens all the time, or only when the key is turned to start? There are relays that disable certain accessories during the start-cycle to conserve power for the battery as well as to protect them from the starter. A faint click can be normal in this case. Repetitive ticking however could mean a circuit-breaker tripping over and over because of a short. A warm circuit breaker is okay, a hot one is not.

 

Did you replace the fuses trying to solve this problem, or were they replaced for some other reason? Fuses don't "go out from time-to-time", they indicate a problem (they are made of clear plastic so you can visually check them). If all the fuses are good, the starter is something to check if it's not functioning, along with the battery (is it charged?), and the connections to it (are they clean and free of corrosion?). If you can twist the battery cables on the battery by hand, you don't have a good connection, and that is the first thing to fix before you can go any further.

 

Try to start the car with the headlights on. If they dim somewhat when you turn the key, the problem is likely the starter motor is damaged/jammed. If not and it clicks, then the starter is not drawing power because of a bad start-solenoid or worn-out motor. If the headlights nearly go out, then it's probably your battery/connections. If there is no audible click from the starter when the key is turned, then either the solenoid could be bad, or it's not getting any power at all because of a bad connection at the starter.

 

One last thing is to check the "inhibitor switch" if turning the key does nothing. This disables the starting circuit if the car is not in "park" or "neutral". A maladjusted shift-linkage can cause this problem as well, so keep that thought in your back pocket while you try to suss this out. This is less-likely, but I've seen it enough to warrant it's mention.

 

That's about all I can think of right now without more details...Maybe if you have a Checkers/Shucks/Kragen around you, and they aren't too busy, they can test your battery for you, usually for free (at least where I am). If so, it doesn't hurt to test it so you can eliminate it as a probable cause, especially when the battery is older.

[Pat]

There's an audible, repetitive click. To be honest, it probably just needs a new battery and I overreacted. I haven't gotten out there to really take a look at it. Thank you for the information, though.

Edited March 16, 2010 by Pat

[stretch.]

Repetitive clicking is systematic of a low battery, feel the battery, if it's bulging there's dead cells in it and it needs to be replaced.

 

Otherwise, jump start it/put it on charge and check the alternator is outputting correctly.

[Gundog]

Sorry if I interrupted anything... But, OK, here's a dumb question. I'm a total plonker when it comes to 4-stroke engines, or mainly, car engines.

 

Is it possible to replace carburators with fuel injectors? How? I know the ECU also needs replacing then. Does it necessarily need to be from a car of the same brand?

 

Also, if you have a car with an OHV engine (pushrods), can you put an over head camshaft to get rid of the bloody pushrods, and modernize the car?

Edited April 9, 2010 by Gundog

[Lurch]

 

Sorry if I interrupted anything...  But, OK, here's a dumb question. I'm a total plonker when it comes to 4-stroke engines, or mainly, car engines.

 

Is it possible to replace carburators with fuel injectors? How? I know the ECU also needs replacing then. Does it necessarily need to be from a car of the same brand?

 

Also, if you have a car with an OHV engine (pushrods), can you put an over head camshaft to get rid of the bloody pushrods, and modernize the car?

You can retrofit efi systems from any number of different vehicles/engines onto a carbed engine. You just more or less need something that meets the fuel needs of the engine you're building.

 

And it's possible to fit SOHC and DOHC heads to a block that was originally an ohv pushrod engine but you can bet it's gonna be quite costly and requires a ton of machine work. A few manufactures have done it in the past. MG and Lotus to name a few.

Edited April 9, 2010 by Lurch

[Gundog]

Thanks mate. So, if you're on a budget, that's a no-no.

 

It's for a friend, he just got this Renault 5 1.1 with a busted engine as a project car, and since I intend to buy the same car, only 1.4, I thought it would be a useful piece of info.

Yes, my friend likes ricers, so I can't blame him for having such high hopes. I'll just tell him to get another carb a make a dual-carb, and get new/ish pushrods.

 

Yeah, I know this seems like a sh*t excuse for asking retarded questions, but it's not. It really is for a friend.

 

EDIT: Um, Theo is a thick bloke, and I'll have to explain lots, so just tell me, would that sort of mod, even though it's not nearly worth doing it for a 1.1, worth it? What would the benefits be?

Edited April 9, 2010 by Gundog

[Lurch]

I''m not really familiar with too many engines that small, much less fuel injected ones. Really any system off of an engine with similar dimensions could work. He'll either need a new intake manifold made or an adapter made for his current one or drill and tap the one off of the other car and all that to work on his.. He'll need to find a way to mount the fuel rail(s) too if it's a multi-port system. He'll also need an electric fuel pump. And of course the ECU off of whatever vehicle the contraption is being removed from.

Edited April 9, 2010 by Lurch

[dog_day_sunrise]

EDIT: Um, Theo is a thick bloke, and I'll have to explain lots, so just tell me, would that sort of mod, even though it's not nearly worth doing it for a 1.1, worth it? What would the benefits be?

There's literally no point in this case. With old-school carbed big motors it can be worth upgrading to EFI but it's never a small job. You will not see any improvement in anything from swapping a carb setup to a proper EFI throttle bodied setup unless you were swapping the entire engine- which incidently would probably be cheaper.

[Gundog]

OK, thanks guys. Um, now, I've seen that you can buy dual carbs, but can you make one out of two ordinary carbs?

 

Can you explain the procedure? I never combined two carbs, I always traded them for larger capacity ones.

[dog_day_sunrise]

OK, thanks guys. Um, now, I've seen that you can buy dual carbs, but can you make one out of two ordinary carbs?

 

Can you explain the procedure? I never combined two carbs, I always traded them for larger capacity ones.

You could, but you'd need to fabricate a manifold for it and they'd probably be too big.

[leik oh em jeez!]

I was wondering if anyone knows if Toyota 6-lug wheels (Like the black TRD wheels on the FJ-Cruiser) would fit on a 1/2 ton GM Truck.

[kevin2006rhs]

The FJ Cruiser uses the 6x5.5" bolt pattern as does the GM 6 lugs.

 

So yes.

[Lurch]

It will fit 4wd 1/2 ton GM's and older (72 and below?) 2wd half tons. 73 and up 2wd's use the 5x5 pattern.

[Black-hawk]

Welp, the Jeep threw a P0700 code the other day. The internets tell me that it's got something to do with the transmission.

 

Funnily enough it appeared after my dad drove the car for like 20 minutes with overdrive switched off. Got damn. I can't feel anything wrong with the car. Should I have the dealer take a look at it or not?

 

Also, bonus question. I bought an OBDII USB cable, but can't seem to find the right software for it. I've tried two different programs, both failed at detecting my car. Any help? The car is a 2004 Grand Cherokee.

[Rocketkiller]

Welp, the Jeep threw a P0700 code the other day. The internets tell me that it's got something to do with the transmission.

 

Funnily enough it appeared after my dad drove the car for like 20 minutes with overdrive switched off. Got damn. I can't feel anything wrong with the car. Should I have the dealer take a look at it or not?

 

Also, bonus question. I bought an OBDII USB cable, but can't seem to find the right software for it. I've tried two different programs, both failed at detecting my car. Any help? The car is a 2004 Grand Cherokee.

What cable? I have an ELM323 and out of all the programs I tried only Scantool.net and Digimoto worked. Scantool is really barebones but free, it doesn't do anything fancy like digital gauges but it works for checking codes. Do you have the right drivers?

[Black-hawk]

It didn't come with any drivers, just a cable identical to this one; Click

 

The guys at the shop told me that I won't need any drivers, just download the OBDII software and I should be good. Did I just get screwed over?

 

EDIT: Seems so! It says VAG COM OBD2 on it, which means it's only for VW's and Audis. Dang, gotta take it back. Good thing I kept the receipt. What a bunch of retards, I specifically told them I need one for OBDII era Chryslers.

 

EDIT2: Some websites say that it works with any OBD2 vehicle. Huh. Welp, can't test it out until I get back home now.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Black-hawk

[Rocketkiller]

It should work with any OBDII cars, it just has the extra VAG-COM functions. Google VAG-COM drivers and you should be able to find something.

[Kaj.]

Can anybody give me some info on replacing brake lines? How difficult is it (1 or 2 person job), and what kind of tools would I need? I'm good with mechanical tasks, and I don't imagine it's much more than following the old lines with new ones, and making sure the connections are good, then bleeding the lines and such.

 

Or is this something most people would have a shop do? I just don't feel like throwing a couple hundred dollars at something I could do myself.

 

The car is a '99 Hyundai Accent GSi

Edited August 8, 2010 by -Kajun-

[Lurch]

hard lines or rubber? You'll need a flare kit if it's for hard line (you buy hard line by the foot at parts stores. Rubber ones you buy ready to use and usually just have hard ends and can be replaced with a wrench/socket.

[Kaj.]

I've got no idea right now. The car in question is about 10 miles from my house at the moment and the brakes are toast (pads and rotors are fine, there's no pressure in the pedal though), which is why I'm asking if it's an easy job.

 

Looks like I'll just get it towed to my place then, rather than a garage.

[Kaj.]

So I've got a bit of an issue ATM. This morning when I was going to work I tried to get the 1/4" of snow off my windshield by using my wipers. What I didn't know was that there was a small amount of ice that had the tip of the driver's side wiper stuck to the glass.

 

So now my driver's side wiper won't engage, the passenger side works fine, and I'm at work right now so I can't really work on it or poke around.

 

Any idea what my issue is and how difficult it may be to repair?

 

Fixed it. When I was tightening the nut that holds the wiper on at work, I wasn't tightening it enough.

Edited February 22, 2011 by -Kajun-