Fab1 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 I learnt not to never assume anything today.The mrs drove my car today and the check engine light came on and the power mirrors and windows wouldn't work.I thought this is all I need in this weather. My gut told me it would be something simple like a fuse,relay or the power window motor itself that had failed. Any way because my engine is obd 1 I can only get flashed codes and code 3,5 and 86 came up. Code 3 and 5 point to a bad map sensor and code 87 is a eeprom error which means the computer is losing short term memory or it could be the ECM which is basically the computer that has failed. So I though I have to approach this systematically testing as I go as I don't like playing the guessing game and throwing parts at it. First thing was to test the map sensor before replacing as they cost $100 for my car and as it now has 350k on the odometer and has never been replaced it wouldn't surprise me if it had failed. So out with the vacuum pump and multimeter for some testing. Results came back positive after testing the entire circuit,that's odd I thought. I thought I'd go and have a look at the power window fuse,all good.The Relay,all good too. Time to remove the power window control panel from the door trim to check for power with the ignition switched on,no power,that's odd too. When playing with the multimeter and the cars ignition I noticed that power would come off and on to the cars heater which I had switched on and the lights on the control panel would illuminate off and on as I played with the ignition.And then it dawned on me the ignition switch is worn and intermittently making contact as I wiggled the key back and forth. So off with the steering wheel,column shroud and out with the ignition barrel for open heart surgery to replace worn components and problem solved no more trouble codes and power windows working again. This was one of those jobs that had me stumped for a while and could off gotten costly real quick not to mention the inconvenience of it all. I Gave myself a reminder why I like to test everything and will never give up no matter how hard it sometimes gets as that's what makes you better at what you do. I see it quite a lot these days when things get hard people give up too easily. All those faults were caused by something as simple as a worn ignition barrel. All good now. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Fabulous....pardon the pun Jim... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Interesting read fab 1 working through the fault. I'm guessing most guys would throw plenty of parts at that before solving it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Fabian, you obviously have skills there that many people (myself included) lack. This allowed you to methodically work towards a solution to your vehicle's problem. From what I know of you, you are a better than average angler and this could be because you apply the same determination to fishing as to other problem solving issues. Alas not everyone is blessed with such capabilities. Cheers, Big Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooker435 Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Thats pretty impressive Fabian goes to show with persistence and a bit of patience you can solve issues like this. lucky for you it wasnt the ecu itself as that would have got very expensive as always love your work!! Regards, Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted May 29, 2016 Author Share Posted May 29, 2016 Fabulous....pardon the pun Jim... Interesting read fab 1 working through the fault. I'm guessing most guys would throw plenty of parts at that before solving it. Fabian, you obviously have skills there that many people (myself included) lack. This allowed you to methodically work towards a solution to your vehicle's problem. From what I know of you, you are a better than average angler and this could be because you apply the same determination to fishing as to other problem solving issues. Alas not everyone is blessed with such capabilities. Cheers, Big Neil. Thats pretty impressive Fabian goes to show with persistence and a bit of patience you can solve issues like this. lucky for you it wasnt the ecu itself as that would have got very expensive as always love your work!! Regards, Nathan Thanks to all for your kind words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathewW Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Sometimes a new cut key helps when locks and ignition barrel are wearing too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harold Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 I must have a Code 87 because I am also losing my memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam bros Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Well that is one way to solve a problem great thinking If only we all had that kind of skills I'd just take it to the mechanic and hope it doesn't cost too much lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsy91 Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 Good read, You are absolutely right about most of us giving up! When I took apart my first reel and serviced it down to each individual piece and put it back together it did not work. I repeated the process and enetually gave up. It happened again with a high end reel with new technology but I calmed myself this time before giving up and actually left it for a complete 24hours before re-attempting. Turned out one of the pieces which would seem to be directionless was in fact not and I had it in upside down...would never have known if I hadn't individually removed and flipped the parts that could be flipped one by one to see if it fixed the problem. Fantastic feeling of accomplishment when it's all said and done. Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Good read, You are absolutely right about most of us giving up! When I took apart my first reel and serviced it down to each individual piece and put it back together it did not work. I repeated the process and enetually gave up. It happened again with a high end reel with new technology but I calmed myself this time before giving up and actually left it for a complete 24hours before re-attempting. Turned out one of the pieces which would seem to be directionless was in fact not and I had it in upside down...would never have known if I hadn't individually removed and flipped the parts that could be flipped one by one to see if it fixed the problem. Fantastic feeling of accomplishment when it's all said and done. Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk What is a good idea is to take photos as you dis-assemble. Has saved me a few times and not just with reels eg engines, brake assemblies etc etc Jim... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsy91 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 What is a good idea is to take photos as you dis-assemble. Has saved me a few times and not just with reels eg engines, brake assemblies etc etc Jim... I have tried this before but it turned a 2 hour job into a 4 hour slog leaving me tired and making mistakes, i simply use the schematics and remove + place each piece out in order the way it came out (direction is important). I'm sure it does work for others as one of the better reel repairers I know does this but mainly to provide proof to customers of the process.Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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