My favorite diagnostic tip or trick you’ve taught me so far is the forcing the system lean or rich by removing a large vacuum hose and letting the air leak or adding throttle cleaner. Just a great tip
Reminds me of a time when my boss asked me to tune up his Chrysler Imperial, it had ~100,000 miles on it. He had always had the dealer tune it up since new. I put in new points and condenser, this was a long time ago. Changed 7 spark plugs 1-7. Then went to change no 8, could not even see it. Jacked up the car, crawled underneath, and low and behold there it was with easy access, so I pulled it and there was no side electrode what so ever center was almost gone too. It was the original plug that came from the factory! The dealer mechs had never changed it ever. Car then ran like a top!
Had one of those spark plugs in my 95 jeep Cherokee never skipped a beat and car looked so well taken care of anyways first time i did the spark plugs i looked at it thought crack head or jack o lantern had jeep for @8 years and it finally has developed a misfire im thinking cause either a bad injector or wire to injector didn't til i went to replace them and a few other goodies
What happens is they just hire wash boys and go through them until they get one smart enough to learn. They start them off doing easy stuff and teach them to do the real grunt work, oil changes and the like. Pretty soon they're doing everything, including tune ups, and still getting a wash boy's wage, so what is the motivation on their part to crawl under there?
Most people can not do what you do. I cannot do what you. Nothing beats experience and having good high dollar equipment. I have watched a lot of mechanics or technicians on many different platforms, and i have never seen anyone as good as you. You are the best man hands down at everything you do.
I have watched hundreds of diagnosing videos, It seems and I have not came across anyone that has gone into that much depth and explanation. Not just saying "this is what I replaced" you actually gave reasons why, and showed the troubleshooting. Very informative video for Ram owners.
Great job as usual Eric,love how you film the faults people make so they can watch and see your so honest.Keep the great vids rollin buddy,God bless you and the family
These are the videos I love, mechanic experience is extremely important even more so than dealerships. Love seeing the no nonsense, true work and educated guessing because thats the reality of fixing these kinds of things.
You are a GENIUS with your skills! WhenI was a youngster I remember most shops had one of those huge Sun Scopes that I think were more to impress the customers that anything else. If a car had a miss in the engine it was one of just a few things it could be. It was a simpler time!
Awesome video. Something to take note of, in the first 10 minutes of the video when you are looking at the engine data stream you accidentally clicked the upstream O2 goal V’s instead of the actual V output. I would also like to tell you that I really appreciate your videos, you are very good at teaching diagnostics. I am learning how to diagnose my own vehicles without throwing parts at them like I did when I was a teenager. Thank you very much.
What I can say is this.. Whatever town you do live in is very lucky to have a person and a family working on their cars. You are a Gem... Happy Holidays...
covid 19 lockdown here in NZ makes the perfect time to watch these oldies but goodies and pass onto my techs sitting at home for refreshers! Sometimes you may get a little hiccup from the misfired sparkplug if it has been in that environment for some time. Great video Eric as always - nice to see a scan tool used as it should be, more than a code reader. 4-5 yrs on still churning out quality videos-Thank you! to you, and your family for allowing you to take the time to do them.
Hope you got through all the various variants unscathed. NZ is still the best place to be, you guys have it locked down perfectly. Here in the UK it is running rampant again. Stay Safe and Stay Well.
What do I think ? I think your one hell of a mechanic... Am 62 and Navy retired Diesel and auto mechanic old school and I think you could take me to school Subscribed Joe Navy veteran 🇺🇸
Another great Eric O. video on the simple repairs explained in detail! Yes, a visual inspection first really can give the beginning of repairs to start. From there, get into the electronics and use your gut feelings, Use the force Luke! Bravo Eric! This customer will be very happy.
I watched the entire vid start to end, perfect on a cold Delaware icy and rainy day like today. Dude the term you used "fish biting" was spot on. I never had a term to identify that issue, that slight hesitation while driving, perfect..... thumbs up once again to your vid
This is a great drivability video. I want to get my own pico, and I have a perfect little i5 win7 laptop that I just got for free. Took everything off of it and it runs smooth. Any suggestions would be great. One thing i recommend is attempting to swap wires with another cylinder, if your problem moves with you...... quick answers. But that's just things you do when ya dont has a scope. 😀
Excellent video, once again Eric. You haven't dissatisfied me once with any of your videos. Every time I watch your videos I learn something new and inspirational. You, sir, are an excellent teacher. I would prefer to learn by your side rather than those vocational college teachers. You make learning this stuff such a fun, enjoyable, and hopeful experience. And it makes us all coming back for more. You say your weak spot is ignition diagnosis but you were pretty sharp in this video, in my opinion. Keep it up. I strive to perform my work on autos more like how you do it.
Your assessment of a steady intermittent is actually a “constant variable “. Love your videos, if I lived closer, I would buy a Dodge just so that I could bring it in for repairs.
Totally awesome, Eric. I sit through some much shorter videos and they seem so long, but yours, an hour + went by so fast. I love watching the scope graphs as you explained the burn cycle. Brings back the physics electric class back to me after 30+ yrs ago. I just enjoy your videos so much. Thanks, so much for allowing us to ride along on your adventures. Kevin
Simply a master demonstrating his craft to the max!!! Very detailed electrical troubleshooting expertise from years of growing with the technology!! Thank you for sharing with us all!!
absolutely the best description i've ever heard. just what my truck is doing and sounding like. yes you can have a constant intermittent misfire. some days or weeks my truck runs great. and sometimes it wont even crank. when it dose, it does that missing thing you described. i've been suspecting a short in the harness or O2 sensor. it is the upstream and its is high voltage. and I have the miss thing going on also, erratic, spontaneous, and loss of power. up large hills it shifts into overdrive. I had the O2 sensors replaced. 75 miles they threw a light again. 9 months ago. I changed plugs and wires, twice in 14 days. had the intake and exhaust rebolted to the engine. all three cats replaced too. replaced the pcv valve. fixed a few vacuum hoses. done a spark test on the coil and plugs. cleaned the throttle body. replaced the breather filter. flushed the system and heater core. it has 241000 miles on it and its my daily driver. today I cleaned the crank case with a little sea foam and then changed the filter and oil. Boy it sounds much better. it still tries to stall, and there is a miss. cylinders 1, 3 and 5 all are coding out as a miss fire. the up stream bank one is the O2 on that side and the bank 2 downstream on the other side is throwing the same high voltage coed. Im trying to figure this out. also I have to replace the oil pan gasket. and the power steering pump.
Your videos are always educational and informative. It doesn't matter if you are in the trade or not, there is always something to pick up, as long as one wants to learn. After 6 years this video is still full of great info. You have only gotten better since! 👍🏻👌🏼
I can fully understand why you are who you are! My dad was born in Dalton, Pa., Lackawana county and raised in Binghamton, Pa! We moved here from N.Y! He was a Yonkers boy! Like you, a true mechanic!
Hi, Eric, yours is one of the best channels on youtube. I love it. I actually feel much smarter every time I sit with you and watch the cool knowledge and tools you use to some mysteries inflicted on us by robot cars! As for the spark event seemingly happening on the #8 cylinder, I have a long long background in electrical and HV so let me propose a very plausible explanation. When High Voltage (HV) is introduced in a conductor, even one rated for well above its the possible voltage peak if resistance is encountered in the length of the wire that potential at 15-25KV will simply rise to whatever peak voltage the power supply can provide. When it reaches the peak threshold voltage of the power supply any flaw, even minor, in the wire will result in a spark over and a resultant ringing wave. Weirdly enough that ringing wave (much like the ripple in a lake immediately after tossing in a rock) will give the illusion of burn time in your scope indication! But like other things you and I both have encountered over the years, the spark is not going where we want it and is not producing a productive spark at the plug, but rather a Tesla (Nikoli) event like micro lightning. As your cable grew worse the spark dissipated was larger (more resistance) since the power supply, to use a term you love "has the beans" to pump out more voltage up to a maximum, the spark got larger but still did not do the job which manifested as a misfire! The spark flashover was happening either in the rotor cap (rotor to cap) or flashing to the block or valve cover! The moral of the story is the new wire created a uniform, even resistance, and total circuit path. resistance down, voltage down, current down spark gets the to the plug, plug fires, burn time is REAL now not an illusion caused by a peak flashover on all components that can flash when an excessive voltage occurs. Final analysis spark arrives, gas burns, misfire GONE!! We learned a lot 40 or more years ago when we started taking standard ignition (Point/Plug/Condenser) and integrating the new "spark booster" systems which were nothing more than an electronic booster (pre-electronic ignition days) to jump the spark up on the older systems for "better performance". Wow did we smoke some standard rotor caps and rotors? I think in mentioning that with the events we were seeing on your scope showing very high voltage peaks on that one cylinder dielectric breakdown of the rotor cap (if I understand correctly this is a transitional system that still has a cap and rotor) you might want to do a preemptive strike and replace the cap and rotor since the high voltage sparkover may have compromised the insulation (carbon buildup) around that tower where the high voltage sparking may have happened. All in all, I love your channel, you are crazy smart and sharp and funny as heck (I have to be careful to replay some segments after I lose it busting a gut laughing at your incredibly good sharp wit and humor) Keep up the good work. It's encouraging to an old-timer like me!
There isn’t another video on the Internet that I’ve learned more about my POS Trick than this one!!! I’m sure I’ve watched it five times now start to finish every word
Thanks for your time,first and foremost, your video was awesome and informative. I've done my share of wrench turning and never been so thorough in diagnosing/changing O2 sensors....way more involved than what i realized...your efforts are admired and appreciated in bringing your knowledge to the layman masses! Thanks so much
Hey Eric, excellent repair. Thanks for staying with us and recording the whole repair. It was cool to see the pico scope out testing the secondary wave form on that misfire..that's probably the first time I've seen you use it , I think. your repair videos help keep me out the dealership..cool 😎 thanks again..oh yeah did ever install a new hangar on the exhaust ?
Thanks Eric for video it helped me out bit more to my 5.9l dodge ram 2001 2500 pickup 4x4 seems my ing miss was coming from map sensor on front engine right at throttle body it was loose and needed good cleaning also the aluminum it was screwed to was oxidized and white dirty now it's cleaned up used WD40 contact cleaner on plug dried it put back on sprayed out vacum hole on manifold put it back together and it ran lot better miss going away and it smelled cleaner at exhaust I'll check the ohms at wires also for lazy wire
Great job! I really like these long videos in which the vehicle has more than one problem. I enjoy seeing how you decide where to start. Keep up the good work!
You definitely shouldn't worry about not clearly explaining stuff. You do a fantastic job of it. Trust me.....I get what you're saying and I'm an idiot when it comes to anything electrical and anything automotive newer than 1970.....lol. 1.314 ms, that's faster than a speeding bullet! Thanks for another great vid.
Anyone with a Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Jeep etc from 1996 1997 1998 1999 etc with the jtec style computer (the same ones in the '98 Dodge Dakota), there is a simple solution to the random rough idle and stalling issues. Remove the left torx screw on the PCM computer, add two washers and then replace the screw. Can do the same with the other side, but do them one at a time. The screw seems to be just long enough to eventually ground out a component inside the computer and cause the engine to stall out. Didn't believe it myself, but when I pressed on the screw there in the front the engine died and backing the screw out fixed the issue. On warm days or once the engine was warmed up, the thermal expansion must have been just enough to momentarily ground the component.
10100rsn I have a 2001dodge ram sport that looses power and bucks in od or going up hill when it gets warm will this trick help with that??? Thank you!
Just note, the photo in the link I posted is upside down. So for me it was the screw on the right in that photo, but if you look at the computer under the hood it would be on the left underneath the harness.
Yep. Ive fixed 2 jeeps by cutting the screws down and putting it all back together. Another issue with the 3 prong pcm plugs is they hang amd cause the lead solder to crack. A simple clamp to hold the plug tight have fixed another 2 jeeps ive worked on. $50 clamp is cheaper than a $500 pcm. Lol Although if your buying your own pcm. There $200 with a lifetime warranty on many different web sites.
He’s good because he’s been around it his whole life. I believe his dad used to have the business and now Eric and his brother do it. His brother, I believe owns a rig that tows the tractor - trailer style. I’m sure you know all this since you watch him. He Soaked up all that knowledge and has a great work ethic. Him and a few others do it right. Hard to trust most ships because they cut corners. He is a dying breed sadly.
I had a misfire on cylinder 1. Tried troubleshooting the coil, wiring leading away from the coil, etc but I wasn't doing the most basic check. Pulled the spark plug and found that someone had dropped it and the anode and cathode of the sparkplug were touching. Re gapped it and now no misfire. Probably why the original owner had wanted to get rid of the vehicle.
I've been watching the evolution of this master mechanic from the beginning it's inspiring wish I lived out there would be my first stop ! But great amount of knowledge for DIY
I don't know how I've stumbled on your videos. Youre vids have a lot of good info and your dry humor gets me every time. Glad I found your channel and actually learn something and actually want to do my own work on my own vehicles.
You sir are a master watched this vid had same issue with mine 2003 ram 1500 changed both o2 sensors and still nothing never thought fuse changed fuse bam works like new thanks merry christmas
I’ve been watching your channel for several weeks now and learned a lot! Awesome diagnostics. I use to be a medium duty diesel mechanic for quite some time. The only other thing I would have looked at is the number 8 spark plug to see if it was fouled a bit due to the open wire. But apparently it’s fine with the nice road test!👍
Eric; Please don't say if "I can do this so can you" is bull as I see all the tools you have(Autel Maxis, Snap-On and a Pico scope, etc.). One of those tools are more expensive than the money I'd save and hopefully would have as much dust on it or be outdated by the time I'd use it again. You do a great job of making it sound easy and you understand it really well. Thank You for your time and videos.
The amount of times I have had to diagnose cars that have had parts cannons fired at them by other shops and "so called mechanics" to get the vehicle in the air and find the most stupid things wrong with them almost instantly is unbelievable. Then when you call them almost laughing the excuses are hysterical. Great job diagnosing Eric, keep the dream alive!
since 1980 everyone in the industry specialized,eric knows this,but he repairs what's in front of him,i gave up drivability in 1984,i did so because of the price of test equipment and the fact it was going to get even more expensive the longer I stayed in it,no thanks,i went drivetrain,this man is meticulous and damn good at it ,he looks inside the box and without,this makes him a master tech,superwrench reminds me of someone
Norton salt company is also a defense industry and has a huge US congressional and states wide lobbying effort to sell it's products. States like North and South Dakota used to be areas that you could get relatively rust free cars because the land is flat. Good snow tires used to be enough. They use salt now as much as anybody now. Nice thorough video on how to trouble shoot a miss. After looking at that No. 8 miss I'd have gone straight to the spark plug and replace it. Then the wire. Nice catch on the O2 sensor. It would have taken me a while to find that one. 1.6 million views should tell you something about the quality of the vid. Thanks much-
That wave form and plug wire failure is somewhat common on Dodge v8s like this one. I'd see it more often in the extended vans, where those two rear cylinders are up and at the back of the engine over where the heat is really high. In later years they pressed aluminum heat shield tubes into the heads to try and protect the boots. When I encountered the broken/burned inner core, I'd cut back the outer and repair/recrimp the plug connector with good result, and also put a good amount of dielectric grease in there.so that future boot removals were easier.
I've worked on cars since the 50's. Mostly GM and Ford. Flathead 6's, 283's, 289's 302's, 327's, 350's and 390's. Mostly electric, ignition, and carbeurator work with the odd head replacement and complete engine job. Amateur only. But with a ticket in electronics and a professional background in high voltage accelerators I found ignition systems the easiest. I specialized in keeping old oil burners running well. This meant a lot of plug work. And I modified the rotors for less gap from the rotor to the receiving HV terminals inside the distributor caps. EVERY TIME I did a tuneup I removed the spark plug wires (one at a time), thoroughly cleaned them all over outside with WD40 including inside the boots, looked for cracks in the insulation in strong light, measured the end-to-end resistance of each wire (5 to 20 kOhms), sprayed the outside of the cables with HV waterproofing acrylic spray from Sears, silicon dielectric greased the inside of the boots before I slipped them over the new plugs. And I was neat and tidy while using external wire looms. The 283's had a very dirty runs underneath the bottom edges of the valve covers and needed real wire loons. I had a LOT of experience, for an amateur, with spark plug wires. A lot. So I say the wires on this Ram are way to thin and flimsy. That's what you get when you use crap wires. They should be made from thick HV resistant silicone. Part of the reason for the thickness is to create low capacitance to the outside world, part is for keeping the HV inside the wire, and part is for flexibility over a huge temperature range. That #8 thin spark plug wire on this Ram was just crap.
Whenever I had a misfire ,I would use my inductive timing light on each plug wire. If no misfire the strobe would be constant, if there was a misfire, the strobe light would be erratic,then I would look for a bad wire or bad plug, never failed me.
I use a simple non contact firing indicator, just touch the wire and it has a light in the handle thats indicates fire or not. Bought the tool maybe 35 years ago when I worked on lawnmowers, lol.......still works great......
@@leslake3698 misfiring fuel injector can usually be found with a test light from battery plus to the control side of the injector. Sticking valve can be seen with a vacuum gauge
Great video sir I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 reg cab having the same problem starts runs fine then when engine is warmed up car sputters no power foot to floor limping at 2-5 miles an hour. Only work done recently was new gas tank installed several weeks ago. I’m gonna trouble shoot o2 sensor and ignition coil
Watching this video reminded me of my early years of doing repairs. I use to keep lengths of Packard 440 plug wires. Back in the 60's I hated the carbon impregnated wires, they always seemed to go bad.
Just couple days ago I had similar problem with my Ford Ranger V6 220,000 miles. It started sputtering and I hardly got home. I use touch type spark tester and most of wires showed good brite spark but cyl 5 wire was dim. I connected $13 diagnostic tool and it showed cyl 5 misfired. It was cloudy so on visual inspection I found sparks flying to the break steel tubing and between cyl 4 wire too. On inspection wire was totally cracked open and coated with gray soot.Changing wires fixed it immediately, I also installed the plastic clips to keep wires in place. Love the videos and they keep me from watching TV
You can cut one wire shorter than the other, that way there is little chance of them touching and shorting and blowing your fuse when you're testing. Thought I'd give you a pro electrician's tip. :D Well I hope you find it useful in the future.
This video is helpful for anyone with a vehicle with a distributor that has a secondary ignition misfire. My 95 Camaro with the 5.7 LT1 and Optispark distributor on the front of the timing cover has had similar secondary misfires from a bad plug wire. The distributor sits behind the water pump and is a bear to get to! So, if the problem can be diagnosed without having to remove the distributor cap, all the better!! Great video!
Martin Borresen, Your clear descriptions have educated me. I have a 98 SST, that recently backfired on two occasions. I think the O-2 sensors, (upstream in particular is where I will suggest to my mechanic to look at.) Also remembering to check fuse after new sensors installed. You would be an excellent teacher at a tech school. Wish we could have a beer or two, thanks for a great explanation.
Nice diagnosis & fix. Customer will be happy it's running good. Satisfying job when a mechanic brings you a problem he's been working on and you fix it and give it back to him running great. I worked under snow dripping cars and squeegeeing bays in NY and I don't miss it one bit & enjoy not using the hot wrench or penetrating fluid and a 20 yr old vehicle has no rust on it. I respect you even more b/c a Northern mechanic has to go thru winters, corrosion, etc making it a lot harder to work on than Southern vehicles. I have flashbacks of snow dripping down my neck but what was worse was water in the eye which always seemed to happen when you have both hands doing something and you can't see anymore. I do miss deer hunting in the snow...so much easier to spot a deer on a white background and tracking is so much easier.
Ahhh the old salt in the eye, oh but it feels so good having your skin crack every time you squeeze your hand! Speaking of deer, heading out today... last weekend for muzzleloader :) Ended up with 8 so far including the trip to NC.
South Main Auto Repair HAHA it always dripped in my eye when I was looking up holding like a starter and trying to get the bolt in and BAM. Good luck deer hunting envy you...next year my shoulder will be ready for sure. Eight deer in the freezer should be full with lean venison...man venison is good!!
well 3 of them I gave to Vanessa's sister. They are city folk hipsters that won't buy meat so they depend on me to get them some haha. I think they have a good deal.
That is an inductive pickup that you attached to the plug wire or coil. It is measuring the electromotive force (EMF) in the wire that occurs when a voltage is applied (kv) and current flows (microamps) in the wire. Because V=IR, the voltage spikes with infinite resisitance. The inductive pickup is actually measuring the resistance to the change in current flow. The pickup is actually a part of the circuit. The emf induces a small current in the pickup coil that corresponds to the increase in voltage. The voltage is trying to push the current through the wire and will keep pushing until it reaches the break down voltage of the coil and spark plug wire. Hey 4 1/2 years of EEngineering has to count for something right?
Interesting summary, James! Can you explain the difference between a "capacitive" pickup and an "inductive" pickup for secondary ignition? I've seen both terms floating around and wondering if there's a difference?
gmctrk63 neat article. Looks like there is some internal circuitry involved in those probes. For secondary ignition, the clip-on type probe (capacitive?) that Eric used here I don't think contains any circuitry at all, unlike an inductive current clamp with a battery for example. I'm trying to understand how such a probe measures "the resistance to change of current flow" in a spark plug wire, since there is no pickup coil in the probe itself...
I have an 03 Dodge Ram that has the exact same symptoms I watched your video and today I put a couple new O2 sensors in it and now the truck runs beautiful thank you so much for the video it was a big help
Eyeballed and payed attention to Snowball doing his thing! This is why he gets payed the big bucks for having the test equipment and know how to make the repairs he does. Wish I lived closer to him, but do not want my truck to get salt and rust in it! Good job Snowball...
Gotta love the headlights on a second gen dodge. I put relays on mine and made sure they were getting full voltage, made a big difference along with better bulbs.
I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 liter hemi. Mileage is 251253. Last week it started revving up and down while driving, with this flashing lightning bolt in the corner. When I pulled over, shut it off and waited a few minutes and started it back up it was fine. As the days went, it got worse. I looked up what that meant and I replaced the electronic throttle bottle, the purge valve, the actuator, the egr valve, the IAT sensor and the map sensor. I did a diagnostic on it and no codes, just the flashing bolt and rough idle. I called the dodge dealership and asked if the electronic throttle body assembly needed to be relearned and they said no, because the new ones come preprogrammed. I watched your video on doing hard reset with the cables disconnected and left it over night. Reconnected everything and it went back to the flashing bolt and limp after 15 minutes. Can you help please?
I love it, the owner is a mechanic, he threw a bunch of new parts at it, ( Obviously an A.S.C. certified Master Mechanic Because that's how they roll. ), instead of really knowing how to trouble shoot a problem like you do.
You provided a pretty good analysis of the secondary ignition; makes a lot of sense. I would have suggested swapping #8 and #7 coils to see if the misfires follows the coil. Also, make sure all of the primaries are putting out the same voltage.
Once I recover from shoulder replacement surgery, I am going to jump on this job. I thought I would save your video for later, but once I started watching it, it was so good and your method and mannerisms were so great, I stayed up late watching it all the way through. I never comment on videos. Please consider this a high compliment from another semi-mechanic. Very nice!
I think my 2005 dodge Ram 1500 4.7 is having the same problem. I had the P0308 engine code. replaced the coil and all 8 spark plugs, then a day later received the same error. To eliminate the coil being the issue again, i took the coil from cylinder 8, and did a swap with cylinder 6. Cleared the error, and received the P0308 back again. So this tells me that there was nothing wrong with coil on cylinder 8 originally. I was kinda of suspecting that the way it was running it was a O2 sensor. I cant wait to get home and crawl under truck to investigate the issue. This video help clear up some confusion i was having. Thanks for posting this video. Just fyi, i had a compression test done on the truck at the shop and found no issues.
Eric, I feel like that rear o2 reading was being compromised by that exhaust pipe connection just ahead of it. If that pipe can flex like that then air can be pulled in and dilute the reading.
Yep it was a bad # plug wire. It had two .5 mm burn marks up closer to the Distributor. Replaced the plug and wire and misfire was gone. Today I finished up and changed the cap and rotor with the other wires and plugs and she runs great. Thanks for the videos.
As an emissions tech, I love the fact the you talk about drive cycle, although you could explain more about it as many people don't have a clue what a drive cycle is. I can't count how many times a customer has brought the vehicle in for an emissions test straight from the shop where they had it repaired. They get upset when I inform them their vehicle has failed again after being repaired only because a drive cycle wasn't completed and my equipment shows a "not ready" status. Not a single shop here in Boise (that I have had experience with) completes a drive cycle after repairs or tells their customer to complete one before testing again.
I'll bet tthis guy knew all the prob before he even tested (experience) With my own time from years back, I sensed all that from the symptoms. Experience is the best learning!
YOU ARE A FREAKIN GENIUS! Please consider doing a episode about the tools ya use, why, their features, their costs? We would really appreciate that. REALLY good channel here!!
The late 1990 Rams with the 360 engine have a VERY specific routing for the plug wires and coil wire. I believe it was in a TSB. I found it years ago in ALLDATA and printed it out for future reference. The wires MUST also be in wire looms if called for, and secured in all the factory clips. Even the direction they exit the distributor cap is specific. Improperly routed new wires will be condemned after just a few thousand miles of wear when they begin crossfiring. Thanks again for taking the time to produce another thorough video.
Can you give me the TSB number? I've got a 96 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 5.2l engine. I changed the sparkplugs and wires not that many miles ago, and am now getting number 4 and 8 cylinder misfires. I'm wondering if I'm getting arcing between wires. Today I found the 4 wire was popped out of the plastic holder at corner and was resting against the valve cover but it was not worn where it was touching. The routing seemed odd after following it...when I replaced them, I just tried to reroute the way I found it, which may have been done wrong by the PO.
@@mrau92me The TSB is 18-48-98. The TSB covers the 3.9L, 5.2L, and 5.9. It's critical that you get a high quality wire set that matches in length toe OEM set, follow the routing pictures, and use all the wire separators and looms. On a dark night, with old/ bad/crossed wires you can see spark jumping from the wires w/ the engine running.
If I lived in your area - you would be the only mechanic I would ever allow to touch my vehicles. You are the MAN ..
@@nrich5127 I was just thinking that
My favorite diagnostic tip or trick you’ve taught me so far is the forcing the system lean or rich by removing a large vacuum hose and letting the air leak or adding throttle cleaner. Just a great tip
Sea foam is the best. My dodge was running bad. Sea foam clear itouy
Reminds me of a time when my boss asked me to tune up his Chrysler Imperial, it had ~100,000 miles on it. He had always had the dealer tune it up since new. I put in new points and condenser, this was a long time ago. Changed 7 spark plugs 1-7. Then went to change no 8, could not even see it. Jacked up the car, crawled underneath, and low and behold there it was with easy access, so I pulled it and there was no side electrode what so ever center was almost gone too. It was the original plug that came from the factory! The dealer mechs had never changed it ever. Car then ran like a top!
Too many short cutting mechanics out there.
them ain't mechanics. they should be unemployed
Yeah - it would have killed their flag time. Dealerships in general --- suck. Bottom feeders. Blood sucking leeches.
Had one of those spark plugs in my 95 jeep Cherokee never skipped a beat and car looked so well taken care of anyways first time i did the spark plugs i looked at it thought crack head or jack o lantern had jeep for @8 years and it finally has developed a misfire im thinking cause either a bad injector or wire to injector didn't til i went to replace them and a few other goodies
What happens is they just hire wash boys and go through them until they get one smart enough to learn. They start them off doing easy stuff and teach them to do the real grunt work, oil changes and the like. Pretty soon they're doing everything, including tune ups, and still getting a wash boy's wage, so what is the motivation on their part to crawl under there?
Most people can not do what you do. I cannot do what you. Nothing beats experience and having good high dollar equipment. I have watched a lot of mechanics or technicians on many different platforms, and i have never seen anyone as good as you. You are the best man hands down at everything you do.
That was the most comprehensive diagnostic of a bad plug wire I've ever seen!
It's good to see an O-scope in use on modern vehicles. It's a tool largely forgotten but still very valuable.
I have watched hundreds of diagnosing videos, It seems and I have not came across anyone that has gone into that much depth and explanation. Not just saying "this is what I replaced" you actually gave reasons why, and showed the troubleshooting. Very informative video for Ram owners.
Great job as usual Eric,love how you film the faults people make so they can watch and see your so honest.Keep the great vids rollin buddy,God bless you and the family
These are the videos I love, mechanic experience is extremely important even more so than dealerships. Love seeing the no nonsense, true work and educated guessing because thats the reality of fixing these kinds of things.
You are a GENIUS with your skills! WhenI was a youngster I remember most shops had one of those huge Sun Scopes that I think were more to impress the customers that anything else. If a car had a miss in the engine it was one of just a few things it could be. It was a simpler time!
Great job on the diagnosis. I love watching someone who has a good diagnostic procedure.
Awesome video. Something to take note of, in the first 10 minutes of the video when you are looking at the engine data stream you accidentally clicked the upstream O2 goal V’s instead of the actual V output. I would also like to tell you that I really appreciate your videos, you are very good at teaching diagnostics. I am learning how to diagnose my own vehicles without throwing parts at them like I did when I was a teenager. Thank you very much.
What software do I run what would be a good set up to start doing this myself
What I can say is this.. Whatever town you do live in is very lucky to have a person and a family working on their cars. You are a Gem... Happy Holidays...
Avoca NY state
covid 19 lockdown here in NZ makes the perfect time to watch these oldies but goodies and pass onto my techs sitting at home for refreshers!
Sometimes you may get a little hiccup from the misfired sparkplug if it has been in that environment for some time.
Great video Eric as always - nice to see a scan tool used as it should be, more than a code reader. 4-5 yrs on still churning out quality videos-Thank you! to you, and your family for allowing you to take the time to do them.
Peter datechmen same here in the Philippines.
Hope you got through all the various variants unscathed. NZ is still the best place to be, you guys have it locked down perfectly. Here in the UK it is running rampant again. Stay Safe and Stay Well.
Dr. O saves another patient. Once again patience prevails and gets the job done. That customer should be very happy. Great video. Thanks Eric.
Your an awesome troubleshooter. You have a great balance of expertise, common sense with customers budget in mind.
yes a rare breed, my approach also.
I agree
What do I think ?
I think your one hell of a mechanic...
Am 62 and Navy retired Diesel and auto mechanic old school and I think you could take me to school
Subscribed
Joe Navy veteran 🇺🇸
I will also say Eric at 62 I now approach issues on my cars differently than the way I did , I try to mirror your reasoning approach
Another great Eric O. video on the simple repairs explained in detail! Yes, a visual inspection first really can give the beginning of repairs to start. From there, get into the electronics and use your gut feelings, Use the force Luke! Bravo Eric! This customer will be very happy.
I watched the entire vid start to end, perfect on a cold Delaware icy and rainy day like today. Dude the term you used "fish biting" was spot on. I never had a term to identify that issue, that slight hesitation while driving, perfect..... thumbs up once again to your vid
Ozzstar o
B KM M. 🇹🇬🇸🇷🇸🇭🇸🇭🇸🇭🇸🇩🇸🇱🇸🇩🇲🇿🇫🇲🇮🇩🇮🇶..:l
This is a great drivability video. I want to get my own pico, and I have a perfect little i5 win7 laptop that I just got for free. Took everything off of it and it runs smooth. Any suggestions would be great. One thing i recommend is attempting to swap wires with another cylinder, if your problem moves with you...... quick answers. But that's just things you do when ya dont has a scope. 😀
Excellent video, once again Eric. You haven't dissatisfied me once with any of your videos. Every time I watch your videos I learn something new and inspirational. You, sir, are an excellent teacher. I would prefer to learn by your side rather than those vocational college teachers. You make learning this stuff such a fun, enjoyable, and hopeful experience. And it makes us all coming back for more. You say your weak spot is ignition diagnosis but you were pretty sharp in this video, in my opinion.
Keep it up. I strive to perform my work on autos more like how you do it.
There isn't anything Mr. Eric O' cant figure out. Simply the Best!
Your assessment of a steady intermittent is actually a “constant variable “. Love your videos, if I lived closer, I would buy a Dodge just so that I could bring it in for repairs.
If I were younger I would apply for even minimum pay to work with you.
If you lived there and had a Dodge, it would pay more to make friends with a tow company.
Totally awesome, Eric. I sit through some much shorter videos and they seem so long, but yours, an hour + went by so fast. I love watching the scope graphs as you explained the burn cycle. Brings back the physics electric class back to me after 30+ yrs ago. I just enjoy your videos so much. Thanks, so much for allowing us to ride along on your adventures. Kevin
Simply a master demonstrating his craft to the max!!! Very detailed electrical troubleshooting expertise from years of growing with the technology!! Thank you for sharing with us all!!
“There’s your problem lady” great line!!!
Great troubleshooting and thanks for sharing!!!
absolutely the best description i've ever heard. just what my truck is doing and sounding like. yes you can have a constant intermittent misfire. some days or weeks my truck runs great. and sometimes it wont even crank. when it dose, it does that missing thing you described. i've been suspecting a short in the harness or O2 sensor. it is the upstream and its is high voltage. and I have the miss thing going on also, erratic, spontaneous, and loss of power. up large hills it shifts into overdrive. I had the O2 sensors replaced. 75 miles they threw a light again. 9 months ago. I changed plugs and wires, twice in 14 days. had the intake and exhaust rebolted to the engine. all three cats replaced too. replaced the pcv valve. fixed a few vacuum hoses. done a spark test on the coil and plugs. cleaned the throttle body. replaced the breather filter. flushed the system and heater core. it has 241000 miles on it and its my daily driver. today I cleaned the crank case with a little sea foam and then changed the filter and oil. Boy it sounds much better. it still tries to stall, and there is a miss. cylinders 1, 3 and 5 all are coding out as a miss fire. the up stream bank one is the O2 on that side and the bank 2 downstream on the other side is throwing the same high voltage coed. Im trying to figure this out. also I have to replace the oil pan gasket. and the power steering pump.
Your videos are always educational and informative. It doesn't matter if you are in the trade or not, there is always something to pick up, as long as one wants to learn. After 6 years this video is still full of great info. You have only gotten better since! 👍🏻👌🏼
I can fully understand why you are who you are! My dad was born in Dalton, Pa., Lackawana county and raised in Binghamton, Pa! We moved here from N.Y! He was a Yonkers boy! Like you, a true mechanic!
Hi, Eric, yours is one of the best channels on youtube. I love it. I actually feel much smarter every time I sit with you and watch the cool knowledge and tools you use to some mysteries inflicted on us by robot cars! As for the spark event seemingly happening on the #8 cylinder,
I have a long long background in electrical and HV so let me propose a very plausible explanation. When High Voltage (HV) is introduced in a conductor, even one rated for well above its the possible voltage peak if resistance is encountered in the length of the wire that potential at 15-25KV will simply rise to whatever peak voltage the power supply can provide. When it reaches the peak threshold voltage of the power supply any flaw, even minor, in the wire will result in a spark over and a resultant ringing wave. Weirdly enough that ringing wave (much like the ripple in a lake immediately after tossing in a rock) will give the illusion of burn time in your scope indication!
But like other things you and I both have encountered over the years, the spark is not going where we want it and is not producing a productive spark at the plug, but rather a Tesla (Nikoli) event like micro lightning. As your cable grew worse the spark dissipated was larger (more resistance) since the power supply, to use a term you love "has the beans" to pump out more voltage up to a maximum, the spark got larger but still did not do the job which manifested as a misfire! The spark flashover was happening either in the rotor cap (rotor to cap) or flashing to the block or valve cover! The moral of the story is the new wire created a uniform, even resistance, and total circuit path. resistance down, voltage down, current down spark gets the to the plug, plug fires, burn time is REAL now not an illusion caused by a peak flashover on all components that can flash when an excessive voltage occurs. Final analysis spark arrives, gas burns, misfire GONE!!
We learned a lot 40 or more years ago when we started taking standard ignition (Point/Plug/Condenser) and integrating the new "spark booster" systems which were nothing more than an electronic booster (pre-electronic ignition days) to jump the spark up on the older systems for "better performance". Wow did we smoke some standard rotor caps and rotors? I think in mentioning that with the events we were seeing on your scope showing very high voltage peaks on that one cylinder dielectric breakdown of the rotor cap (if I understand correctly this is a transitional system that still has a cap and rotor) you might want to do a preemptive strike and replace the cap and rotor since the high voltage sparkover may have compromised the insulation (carbon buildup) around that tower where the high voltage sparking may have happened.
All in all, I love your channel, you are crazy smart and sharp and funny as heck (I have to be careful to replay some segments after I lose it busting a gut laughing at your incredibly good sharp wit and humor) Keep up the good work. It's encouraging to an old-timer like me!
There isn’t another video on the Internet that I’ve learned more about my POS Trick than this one!!! I’m sure I’ve watched it five times now start to finish every word
Thanks for your time,first and foremost, your video was awesome and informative. I've done my share of wrench turning and never been so thorough in diagnosing/changing O2 sensors....way more involved than what i realized...your efforts are admired and appreciated in bringing your knowledge to the layman masses! Thanks so much
You are a great mechanic and a thorough mechanic and not a bad instructor to boot
Hey Eric, excellent repair. Thanks for staying with us and recording the whole repair. It was cool to see the pico scope out testing the secondary wave form on that misfire..that's probably the first time I've seen you use it , I think. your repair videos help keep me out the dealership..cool 😎 thanks again..oh yeah did ever install a new hangar on the exhaust ?
Thanks Eric for video it helped me out bit more to my 5.9l dodge ram 2001 2500 pickup 4x4 seems my ing miss was coming from map sensor on front engine right at throttle body it was loose and needed good cleaning also the aluminum it was screwed to was oxidized and white dirty now it's cleaned up used WD40 contact cleaner on plug dried it put back on sprayed out vacum hole on manifold put it back together and it ran lot better miss going away and it smelled cleaner at exhaust I'll check the ohms at wires also for lazy wire
Great job! I really like these long videos in which the vehicle has more than one problem. I enjoy seeing how you decide where to start. Keep up the good work!
One of your best diagnostics! You’re a sharp young man! We need more out there who can use some smarts and can diagnose .
You definitely shouldn't worry about not clearly explaining stuff. You do a fantastic job of it. Trust me.....I get what you're saying and I'm an idiot when it comes to anything electrical and anything automotive newer than 1970.....lol. 1.314 ms, that's faster than a speeding bullet! Thanks for another great vid.
I really liked it when you showed the oscilloscope pattern. It’s been probably 30 years since I’ve seen it.
Anyone with a Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Jeep etc from 1996 1997 1998 1999 etc with the jtec style computer (the same ones in the '98 Dodge Dakota), there is a simple solution to the random rough idle and stalling issues. Remove the left torx screw on the PCM computer, add two washers and then replace the screw. Can do the same with the other side, but do them one at a time. The screw seems to be just long enough to eventually ground out a component inside the computer and cause the engine to stall out. Didn't believe it myself, but when I pressed on the screw there in the front the engine died and backing the screw out fixed the issue. On warm days or once the engine was warmed up, the thermal expansion must have been just enough to momentarily ground the component.
10100rsn I have a 2001dodge ram sport that looses power and bucks in od or going up hill when it gets warm will this trick help with that??? Thank you!
Just note, the photo in the link I posted is upside down. So for me it was the screw on the right in that photo, but if you look at the computer under the hood it would be on the left underneath the harness.
@@forrestshelley9775 the trick is to get a Chevy..
Yep. Ive fixed 2 jeeps by cutting the screws down and putting it all back together. Another issue with the 3 prong pcm plugs is they hang amd cause the lead solder to crack. A simple clamp to hold the plug tight have fixed another 2 jeeps ive worked on. $50 clamp is cheaper than a $500 pcm. Lol
Although if your buying your own pcm. There $200 with a lifetime warranty on many different web sites.
I have a 97 ram 1500 and I’ll def have to try this. Thank you.
Old video, but very interesting. Good troubleshooter and very humble as well. Eric admits to what areas he is not real strong. Thanks for making.
Dam good job very impressive . not only are you good at what you do but you have a way of explaining your self and not making excuses .
He’s good because he’s been around it his whole life. I believe his dad used to have the business and now Eric and his brother do it. His brother, I believe owns a rig that tows the tractor - trailer style. I’m sure you know all this since you watch him. He Soaked up all that knowledge and has a great work ethic. Him and a few others do it right. Hard to trust most ships because they cut corners. He is a dying breed sadly.
Jk was alright busy so I have mysteriously phone calls but its himself me lol but really I am the best
I had a misfire on cylinder 1. Tried troubleshooting the coil, wiring leading away from the coil, etc but I wasn't doing the most basic check. Pulled the spark plug and found that someone had dropped it and the anode and cathode of the sparkplug were touching. Re gapped it and now no misfire. Probably why the original owner had wanted to get rid of the vehicle.
Beautiful Eric O .. your workability is getting better and better. Trying to learn things from You.
Im a DIYer and this is by far the best channel I enjoy watching. You. Sir are very intelligent and very interesting to learn from. Keep teaching Sir.
I've been watching the evolution of this master mechanic from the beginning it's inspiring wish I lived out there would be my first stop ! But great amount of knowledge for DIY
I don't know how I've stumbled on your videos. Youre vids have a lot of good info and your dry humor gets me every time. Glad I found your channel and actually learn something and actually want to do my own work on my own vehicles.
You have one of the best channels out on UA-cam, and you worked hard for it. Love the video :-)
Thanks
The best mechanic I've seen on UA-cam
You sir are a master watched this vid had same issue with mine 2003 ram 1500 changed both o2 sensors and still nothing never thought fuse changed fuse bam works like new thanks merry christmas
Awsome video with great explanation of your diagnosis!!! People in your neck of the woods are lucky to have such an experienced mechanic!!
I’ve been watching your channel for several weeks now and learned a lot! Awesome diagnostics. I use to be a medium duty diesel mechanic for quite some time. The only other thing I would have looked at is the number 8 spark plug to see if it was fouled a bit due to the open wire. But apparently it’s fine with the nice road test!👍
Eric; Please don't say if "I can do this so can you" is bull as I see all the tools you have(Autel Maxis, Snap-On and a Pico scope, etc.). One of those tools are more expensive than the money I'd save and hopefully would have as much dust on it or be outdated by the time I'd use it again. You do a great job of making it sound easy and you understand it really well. Thank You for your time and videos.
By far the best youtuber out there love your videos..
The amount of times I have had to diagnose cars that have had parts cannons fired at them by other shops and "so called mechanics" to get the vehicle in the air and find the most stupid things wrong with them almost instantly is unbelievable. Then when you call them almost laughing the excuses are hysterical. Great job diagnosing Eric, keep the dream alive!
The only auto channel I turn to now. Love you Scotty, but your videos are too short! Another great SMA video!
since 1980 everyone in the industry specialized,eric knows this,but he repairs what's in front of him,i gave up drivability in 1984,i did so because of the price of test equipment and the fact it was going to get even more expensive the longer I stayed in it,no thanks,i went drivetrain,this man is meticulous and damn good at it ,he looks inside the box and without,this makes him a master tech,superwrench reminds me of someone
Great vid as usual and one hour of SMA just before Xmas is certainly a great present for all your viewers. Thank you Eric.
Norton salt company is also a defense industry and has a huge US congressional and states wide lobbying effort to sell it's products. States like North and South Dakota used to be areas that you could get relatively rust free cars because the land is flat. Good snow tires used to be enough. They use salt now as much as anybody now. Nice thorough video on how to trouble shoot a miss. After looking at that No. 8 miss I'd have gone straight to the spark plug and replace it. Then the wire. Nice catch on the O2 sensor. It would have taken me a while to find that one. 1.6 million views should tell you something about the quality of the vid. Thanks much-
That wave form and plug wire failure is somewhat common on Dodge v8s like this one. I'd see it more often in the extended vans, where those two rear cylinders are up and at the back of the engine over where the heat is really high. In later years they pressed aluminum heat shield tubes into the heads to try and protect the boots. When I encountered the broken/burned inner core, I'd cut back the outer and repair/recrimp the plug connector with good result, and also put a good amount of dielectric grease in there.so that future boot removals were easier.
I've worked on cars since the 50's. Mostly GM and Ford. Flathead 6's, 283's, 289's 302's, 327's, 350's and 390's. Mostly electric, ignition, and carbeurator work with the odd head replacement and complete engine job. Amateur only. But with a ticket in electronics and a professional background in high voltage accelerators I found ignition systems the easiest. I specialized in keeping old oil burners running well. This meant a lot of plug work. And I modified the rotors for less gap from the rotor to the receiving HV terminals inside the distributor caps. EVERY TIME I did a tuneup I removed the spark plug wires (one at a time), thoroughly cleaned them all over outside with WD40 including inside the boots, looked for cracks in the insulation in strong light, measured the end-to-end resistance of each wire (5 to 20 kOhms), sprayed the outside of the cables with HV waterproofing acrylic spray from Sears, silicon dielectric greased the inside of the boots before I slipped them over the new plugs. And I was neat and tidy while using external wire looms. The 283's had a very dirty runs underneath the bottom edges of the valve covers and needed real wire loons. I had a LOT of experience, for an amateur, with spark plug wires. A lot. So I say the wires on this Ram are way to thin and flimsy. That's what you get when you use crap wires. They should be made from thick HV resistant silicone. Part of the reason for the thickness is to create low capacitance to the outside world, part is for keeping the HV inside the wire, and part is for flexibility over a huge temperature range. That #8 thin spark plug wire on this Ram was just crap.
Whenever I had a misfire ,I would use my inductive timing light on each plug wire. If no misfire the strobe would be constant, if there was a misfire, the strobe light would be erratic,then I would look for a bad wire or bad plug, never failed me.
Kids and their computers lol
I use a simple non contact firing indicator, just touch the wire and it has a light in the handle thats indicates fire or not. Bought the tool maybe 35 years ago when I worked on lawnmowers, lol.......still works great......
How about a misfiring fuel injector or sticking valve? Wont the timing light still fire?
@@leslake3698 misfiring fuel injector can usually be found with a test light from battery plus to the control side of the injector.
Sticking valve can be seen with a vacuum gauge
The Snap-On DIS MT2700 is a lot easier to use - but it's basically the same concept.
I have been watching Mr. O for some toime now and rate him among the BEST.
That was an excellent diagnosis. Great work on the ignition system!
Great video sir I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 reg cab having the same problem starts runs fine then when engine is warmed up car sputters no power foot to floor limping at 2-5 miles an hour. Only work done recently was new gas tank installed several weeks ago. I’m gonna trouble shoot o2 sensor and ignition coil
I love the long intense video's and on a Friday, WOW!!! what a treat.
You watched it and made a comment,what does that make you? To busy?
@@kennethhedden1846 too**
Watching this video reminded me of my early years of doing repairs. I use to keep lengths of Packard 440 plug wires. Back in the 60's I hated the carbon impregnated wires, they always seemed to go bad.
This one looked like the conductor had been pulled back out of the terminal. That made a bigger gap for the HV to jump.
I remember those days. I often wondered why they did t fail more often.
Nice diagnosis, thanks for bringing us along.
Enjoy the videos
Just couple days ago I had similar problem with my Ford Ranger V6 220,000 miles. It started sputtering and I hardly got home. I use touch type spark tester and most of wires showed good brite spark but cyl 5 wire was dim. I connected $13 diagnostic tool and it showed cyl 5 misfired. It was cloudy so on visual inspection I found sparks flying to the break steel tubing and between cyl 4 wire too. On inspection wire was totally cracked open and coated with gray soot.Changing wires fixed it immediately, I also installed the plastic clips to keep wires in place. Love the videos and they keep me from watching TV
You can cut one wire shorter than the other, that way there is little chance of them touching and shorting and blowing your fuse when you're testing. Thought I'd give you a pro electrician's tip. :D Well I hope you find it useful in the future.
This video is helpful for anyone with a vehicle with a distributor that has a secondary ignition misfire. My 95 Camaro with the 5.7 LT1 and Optispark distributor on the front of the timing cover has had similar secondary misfires from a bad plug wire. The distributor sits behind the water pump and is a bear to get to! So, if the problem can be diagnosed without having to remove the distributor cap, all the better!! Great video!
Explanation was good, thanks for bringing us along, always learing from your experience! Great vid Eric O. Thanks!
Martin Borresen, Your clear descriptions have educated me. I have a 98 SST, that recently backfired on two occasions. I think
the O-2 sensors, (upstream in particular is where I will suggest to my mechanic to look at.) Also remembering to check fuse
after new sensors installed. You would be an excellent teacher at a tech school. Wish we could have a beer or two, thanks
for a great explanation.
Nice diagnosis & fix. Customer will be happy it's running good. Satisfying job when a mechanic brings you a problem he's been working on and you fix it and give it back to him running great. I worked under snow dripping cars and squeegeeing bays in NY and I don't miss it one bit & enjoy not using the hot wrench or penetrating fluid and a 20 yr old vehicle has no rust on it. I respect you even more b/c a Northern mechanic has to go thru winters, corrosion, etc making it a lot harder to work on than Southern vehicles. I have flashbacks of snow dripping down my neck but what was worse was water in the eye which always seemed to happen when you have both hands doing something and you can't see anymore. I do miss deer hunting in the snow...so much easier to spot a deer on a white background and tracking is so much easier.
Ahhh the old salt in the eye, oh but it feels so good having your skin crack every time you squeeze your hand! Speaking of deer, heading out today... last weekend for muzzleloader :) Ended up with 8 so far including the trip to NC.
South Main Auto Repair HAHA it always dripped in my eye when I was looking up holding like a starter and trying to get the bolt in and BAM. Good luck deer hunting envy you...next year my shoulder will be ready for sure. Eight deer in the freezer should be full with lean venison...man venison is good!!
well 3 of them I gave to Vanessa's sister. They are city folk hipsters that won't buy meat so they depend on me to get them some haha. I think they have a good deal.
South Main Auto Repair Yea I'd say so!
I hope they "compensate" you some how !
Eric:you are not just a good mechanic. You are a darn good one,keep up the good work
That is an inductive pickup that you attached to the plug wire or coil. It is measuring the electromotive force (EMF) in the wire that occurs when a voltage is applied (kv) and current flows (microamps) in the wire. Because V=IR, the voltage spikes with infinite resisitance. The inductive pickup is actually measuring the resistance to the change in current flow. The pickup is actually a part of the circuit. The emf induces a small current in the pickup coil that corresponds to the increase in voltage. The voltage is trying to push the current through the wire and will keep pushing until it reaches the break down voltage of the coil and spark plug wire. Hey 4 1/2 years of EEngineering has to count for something right?
Interesting summary, James! Can you explain the difference between a "capacitive" pickup and an "inductive" pickup for secondary ignition? I've seen both terms floating around and wondering if there's a difference?
Hey Ivan, This might explain the difference. Not 100% sure myself. www.sportdevices.co.uk/rpm_readings/
gmctrk63
neat article. Looks like there is some internal circuitry involved in those probes. For secondary ignition, the clip-on type probe (capacitive?) that Eric used here I don't think contains any circuitry at all, unlike an inductive current clamp with a battery for example. I'm trying to understand how such a probe measures "the resistance to change of current flow" in a spark plug wire, since there is no pickup coil in the probe itself...
Yes higher the resistance lower the current flow, higher the current flow lower the resistance.
Yes that is how the inductive pickup measures the current flow on the ignition system.
I have an 03 Dodge Ram that has the exact same symptoms I watched your video and today I put a couple new O2 sensors in it and now the truck runs beautiful thank you so much for the video it was a big help
Outstanding! My favorite kind of video. I always learn so much from watching you diagnose things. Thanks for sharing this!
Crank sensor??
Eyeballed and payed attention to Snowball doing his thing! This is why he gets payed the big bucks for having the test equipment and know how to make the repairs he does. Wish I lived closer to him, but do not want my truck to get salt and rust in it! Good job Snowball...
The best part is when you say "There's your problem lady!" You try to cover all the bases. In doing so you show us the problem. Thx
Gotta love the headlights on a second gen dodge. I put relays on mine and made sure they were getting full voltage, made a big difference along with better bulbs.
"I'll be jiggered."
I heard my grandpa say this a hundred times. He's been gone 30+ years now, but I can still hear him say it.
I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 liter hemi. Mileage is 251253. Last week it started revving up and down while driving, with this flashing lightning bolt in the corner. When I pulled over, shut it off and waited a few minutes and started it back up it was fine. As the days went, it got worse. I looked up what that meant and I replaced the electronic throttle bottle, the purge valve, the actuator, the egr valve, the IAT sensor and the map sensor. I did a diagnostic on it and no codes, just the flashing bolt and rough idle. I called the dodge dealership and asked if the electronic throttle body assembly needed to be relearned and they said no, because the new ones come preprogrammed. I watched your video on doing hard reset with the cables disconnected and left it over night. Reconnected everything and it went back to the flashing bolt and limp after 15 minutes. Can you help please?
0:20 Burning Water? There's a Nobel Prize if you can fix that one!
I love it, the owner is a mechanic, he threw a bunch of new parts at it, ( Obviously an A.S.C. certified Master Mechanic Because that's how they roll. ), instead of really knowing how to trouble shoot a problem like you do.
Just a great way to spend an evening, thanks Eric for these long vids, I really enjoy the 'hunt' and the fix.
Merry Christmas to you and the family.
Merry Christmas!
You provided a pretty good analysis of the secondary ignition; makes a lot of sense. I would have suggested swapping #8 and #7 coils to see if the misfires follows the coil. Also, make sure all of the primaries are putting out the same voltage.
Fascinating, Eric. Thank you for posting such a thorough diagnostic video. Really enjoyed it, and I learned a few things too.
Once I recover from shoulder replacement surgery, I am going to jump on this job. I thought I would save your video for later, but once I started watching it, it was so good and your method and mannerisms were so great, I stayed up late watching it all the way through. I never comment on videos. Please consider this a high compliment from another semi-mechanic. Very nice!
Outstanding driveability diagnosis vid. You are an excellent teacher brother. Thank you very much sir and Happy Holidays to you and Yours!
I think my 2005 dodge Ram 1500 4.7 is having the same problem. I had the P0308 engine code. replaced the coil and all 8 spark plugs, then a day later received the same error. To eliminate the coil being the issue again, i took the coil from cylinder 8, and did a swap with cylinder 6. Cleared the error, and received the P0308 back again. So this tells me that there was nothing wrong with coil on cylinder 8 originally. I was kinda of suspecting that the way it was running it was a O2 sensor. I cant wait to get home and crawl under truck to investigate the issue. This video help clear up some confusion i was having. Thanks for posting this video. Just fyi, i had a compression test done on the truck at the shop and found no issues.
Eric, I feel like that rear o2 reading was being compromised by that exhaust pipe connection just ahead of it. If that pipe can flex like that then air can be pulled in and dilute the reading.
Yep it was a bad # plug wire. It had two .5 mm burn marks up closer to the Distributor. Replaced the plug and wire and misfire was gone. Today I finished up and changed the cap and rotor with the other wires and plugs and she runs great. Thanks for the videos.
It's a fun video to watch, thanks for posting. I own a 98 5.9 Ram, so the territory was familiar. That engine has had a lot of work.
Hey good to see you here man. Hope it may help you some day with yours.
Can i call you??
South Main Auto Repair can i call you
As an emissions tech, I love the fact the you talk about drive cycle, although you could explain more about it as many people don't have a clue what a drive cycle is. I can't count how many times a customer has brought the vehicle in for an emissions test straight from the shop where they had it repaired. They get upset when I inform them their vehicle has failed again after being repaired only because a drive cycle wasn't completed and my equipment shows a "not ready" status. Not a single shop here in Boise (that I have had experience with) completes a drive cycle after repairs or tells their customer to complete one before testing again.
Explain?
I'll bet tthis guy knew all the prob before he even tested (experience) With my own time from years back, I sensed
all that from the symptoms. Experience is the best learning!
YOU ARE A FREAKIN GENIUS! Please consider doing a episode about the tools ya use, why, their features, their costs? We would really appreciate that. REALLY good channel here!!
Excellent video glad you made it and you even used an actual wrench.
The late 1990 Rams with the 360 engine have a VERY specific routing for the plug wires and coil wire. I believe it was in a TSB. I found it years ago in ALLDATA and printed it out for future reference. The wires MUST also be in wire looms if called for, and secured in all the factory clips. Even the direction they exit the distributor cap is specific. Improperly routed new wires will be condemned after just a few thousand miles of wear when they begin crossfiring. Thanks again for taking the time to produce another thorough video.
Can you give me the TSB number? I've got a 96 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 5.2l engine. I changed the sparkplugs and wires not that many miles ago, and am now getting number 4 and 8 cylinder misfires. I'm wondering if I'm getting arcing between wires. Today I found the 4 wire was popped out of the plastic holder at corner and was resting against the valve cover but it was not worn where it was touching. The routing seemed odd after following it...when I replaced them, I just tried to reroute the way I found it, which may have been done wrong by the PO.
@@mrau92me The TSB is 18-48-98. The TSB covers the 3.9L, 5.2L, and 5.9. It's critical that you get a high quality wire set that matches in length toe OEM set, follow the routing pictures, and use all the wire separators and looms. On a dark night, with old/ bad/crossed wires you can see spark jumping from the wires w/ the engine running.
Pico making waves baby!! Proper thorough diag. Nice one Eric
yes I agree
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"Fish bite misfire", never heard that one before but its an accurate description.