Glove box contributed to my problem, thenks for being so thorough. I also liked the K Frame part of the video - I sold my car for junk after getting sideswiped a few years ago when my son could have helped me do repairs. I hope you keep this video in your collection!
Matt, I stumbled across your channel while looking for some help with my 3800 L67 engine (I'm in Australia btw) and I've just spent the last few days watching all your videos (I admit I have trouble keeping up with some of the theory sessions, but I'm slowly improving). I just wanted to say thanks for the work you put into your series of videos, I really appreciate it and it's giving me more of an understanding of how and why things work/don't work, rather than 'this is broken - this is how to fix it'. I'd also like to acknowledge and commend all the in-kind labour that you do for people. Thanks again.
I especially love your disdain for the Haynes manual-type mechanics in your extreme budget rebuild series. There are so many guys like that over here, I just had to laugh at how dead-on your quotes were!
Mathew Wood Hahaha, yeah it was people like that which inspired me to make this channel. I am so sick of armchair mechanics out there who think they know anything at all because they flipped through a book or have seen every scotty kilmer video. Before I started this hobby, I was often the "victim" of people like that in chat rooms and forums all the time before I finally took matters into my own hands.
wysetech2000 Yeah me too- now that I have the oscilloscope I have actually invented some much better and more accurate methods for intermittent parasitic draw detection which hopefully I'll show in future videos.
The headlight trick? Invaluable. Testing alternator by voltage to the battery while engine running? NO DUH! Why have I not been doing this? Great video, Schrodinger!
Sometimes my internet is a bit slow, but by 1:17 the car came sharply into focus. Ugh! Loving watching you on my flat screen. So big. Such good sound. So much better than my laptop. :)
Loved the reflection of the shop on the paint on this side. Guess that side gets the benefit of being covered from the sun. It's silly how obsessed Hollywood is with keeping the camera out of the shot...well, I guess it just makes it cool to see everywhere else. :)
DE Nichols Hahaha I noticed that too. Sometimes during editing I go back and re-film things that I missed earlier... can't promise I always wear clothes when I do that but if I don't I make sure there is no reflection lol
There was actually a recall on those subframes, however they were sneaky and made it only as a "warranty extension" type of thing with a limited amount of miles to which they would repair it too.
Dan.vaku Is that right? Not surprised. Whenever I see the same part always missing from salvage yard vehicles, it tells me there is a consistent problem with it.
Liked the video and camera work with very good lighting especially in hard to reach areas.The load test is home brew but it works.Intermittents are a nightmare to locate as a lot of modules take a while to go to sleep.The ignition fault is a newbie.Great comments below.
Tom OConnor Thanks Tom- my production quality has definitely improved with practice- it's not easy!! Man I look back at my early videos and I can't believe I've made it this far lol. Thanks for noticing- there's a lot more effort behind it than it would appear!!
I have 2002 suzuki esteem it has a 260k miles on the same engine ,I drove it for 20 years and still runs great The only problem with this car is the stupid name the american marketing team gave it, why would on earth would you name an economical box esteem? I call it the name it originally had "baleno"
Mr. Schrodinger (Matthew); I know it's not what your channel is all about, but I'll bet a lot of us would enjoy hearing (seeing) you talk about your Trans-Am in depth, and what you do with it. Only in the last week or so have I heard you talking about taking it to the "track" (strip). Previously I did not know you did that. I think a lot of us would love to hear about the performance mods you've made over the years, and what has given you the most power per dollar spent/hours of time invested. Also, not sure of the year of your car, but I think we'd enjoy hearing about any changes or mods or "removes" you've done to the engine electronics. So many of todays cars (even going back 15 years or more, including my '99 Sebring) have so much engine management that about all you can do to the dang thing is open the airbox and put a better muffle in the car.
douglas lee Yes many have mentioned that. Performance videos are in consideration but the problem is whenever you do performance stuff- you will get ALLLLL the chatroom/forum types on the channel and it turns into a mess with ricers vs tuners vs real performance and everyone is gonna be "slapping cams and superchargers" and it's just ridiculous.
A number of relays (cooling fans in particular) are hot all the time. If relay contact sticks, the fan will run and discharge battery. Great video! Congrats
Texas Pipeliner Ah yes- great point. The possibilities are virtually endless but a train of thought like that will ultimately prevail. Actually, even with that correct train of thought- how important is it to understand circuit design so that such ideas come up in the brainstorming in the first place? There is no way around it- study of component operation is necessary to really get good at this. You will never diagnose an electrical gremlin with just a wrench!
you should have scoped the alternator waveform for your viewers. i know they are familiar with sine and square waveforms but they probably never seen the generator's "teeth" or "picket fence" waveform. and the scope does a pretty good job at id'ing shorts/opens on diodes. you know what, i forgot which video it was, but you stated you were refraining from using the scope on troubleshooting for your videos. i think that is a mistake. you are an educator on automotive diagnosis and gaining popularity now. more of your viewers will probably be purchasing scopes. it will be helpful if they can see what a normal injector's or ignition's waveform looks like. what is spark line, what does short spark line mean, how does plug gap effect it, etc? your viewers will appreciate it. and you do a pretty darn good job of explaining it in ways where anyone can understand it.
nijoel Yeah there is definitely a split more than I thought there would be. Even a lot of viewers without the scope still like to see it in action because it does help explain things better and make things more visual. It's a tough call- I'll have to experiment a little using it in videos and see what happens but I just don 't want to be another "scannerdanner" using a scope all the time. My niche is using basic tools whenever possible and I think it best to stick with that and let Paul take the lead with scope material.
Schrodingers Box i understand. i did like your 2 minute battery load test. many don't have a load tester, let alone a vat-40, lol. well, continue the great work.
hi matt, good diagnostic and approach as always I, been using your way how to diagnose and approach any issues I see and it really work beautifully and accurately every time so I would like to say thank you and really respect you for helping those how need ur help cheeeers to ya my friend.
j georges Thanks man, always good to hear from you. And yes this approach does always work... it HAS to work. If using a scientific approach starts to not work, the universe will end.
This is awesome! I tell people stuff like this all the time. Yes, you shouldn't work on your car if you have no idea what your doing, but most of the time its just something simple like you just showed. Think first, spend money later...There is no reason to have a mechanic diagnose and replace those components other then time, and lack of confidence.
I usually stare in awe at your videos, but this one actually infuriated me. Why is it that some idiots just bring bad luck on their sorry asses and have busy, talented people waste their time on a helpless cause just out of sheer pity??? I would ditch that imbecile and drive that Trans Am down a quiet road with my babe on the side. Great job, though, and great videos too. Keep it up Matt! I'm learning a lot.
Suzuki Esteem/Baleno is known for rusting subframes in the front. Mine had been replaced last year you can find it on Ebay for 170 euro's or 180 dollars or so. The 1.6 gearbox of the Esteem is a weak one, after 100.000 miles you have to get a new gearbox, the 1.8 has a better gearbox and is therefore a better choice to buy. Otherwise a good car that won't let you down, I have a station and it's amazing how much you can load in it. Rust is also an issue on Esteem, look for it under the carpet and the trunk,remove the carpet and look forit if you one to buy one or have one that you want to keep for a longer time.Definately a good car, mine is a 2001 and I drive it since 2008.
Thanks for the tip ,this car is indeed a good reliable car mine is 20 years old and runs great But have a stupid name though ,from its stupid marketing team
Hi Matt, another nice video! But there´s another way to find out which circuit is draining current, beside pulling fuses: by measuring the voltage drop over a fuse. For if it is some kind of electronical issue, like a radio, navigation system or tv-systems, which causes the power-drain by an internal program being stuck, the pulling of the fuse will cause the program to restart and the power-drop will not occur again. When I´m back at work, I will provide you with a list of fuses and the quantity of power-loss with certain current. Greetings Michael
Hi Matt well done in my city is very tipical drain battery for wires of the doors (we have very much humidity in the nort of the Spain). And congratulations for you 25k sub jejeje.
Yes, of course¡¡ Your channel for my is the best in DIY in automotive,diagnostic advanced, experiments, good teacher and always finding the explanation correct and that's more important. Greetings =)
K-frame is an issue with Suzuki Esteem/Baleno, this year I did repairs myself, handbrake cable had to be renewed, and changed the serpentine belt, was very easy to do. I also installed reversecamera on it, it was a pain in the butt to do the cables nicely through te interior and into the trunk. I also repaired the Bi-Xenon had a problem, first I thought it were the wiring but it turned out to be the module, replaced it and works fine. Reliable car, Not many issues but the K frame is, and if you happen to own a 1.6 the manual transmission is also a big issue, at about 100.000 miles it's start to give problems
A common intermittent battery drain on some European Ford Fiestas was the tail wiper. The wiper motor was grounded to the tailgate but the hinges are a poor electrical connection to the main body. The wiper park circuit is live at all times so that the wipers will always park if you remove the key with them mid-stroke. Due to the high resistance connection, the motor could not draw enough current to properly park and break the circuit, but would draw about 5A with the motor stalled. Adding a ground wire between tailgate and body cured the problem. My friend has a problem on his GM Astra, on those the accessories stay on with the key at the off position, but them go off when the key is removed - the ignition lock barrel pops out a little at this time. Only his doesn't always pop out, so he has learned to always try the electric windows when leaving the car, if they still work he re-inserts and removes the key to avoid a flat battery!
Simon Parkinson Yeah I have seen all kinds of wacky things- a power window switch that was constantly stuck in closed position, brake pedal switch always closed... a really good one was a guy with a Subaru that swore his battery drain problem started after getting a interior/exterior car detail. Turns out the detailer accidentally hit the parking light switch on the steering column so the parking lights were always on lol.
We used to have one of these cars (a '97), and once, the headlights came on by themselves, and would NOT turn off. It had been sitting untouched for a day or two, no key, nothing. It only ever happened once, and the problem went away after the car had sat with the battery disconnected for about a day. Just reconnecting the battery would not fix it. It still haunts me to this day.
+FFcossag One of my viewers once said "98% of people are thrilled when an intermittent problem goes away on its own... for the rest of us though, nothing is more frustrating".
For those wondering why the meter showed up as -12.96 when checking battery voltage it's simply because the probes were reversed. It's fine to do that when checking battery charge it will simply show up as a negative value. The value will still be correct because it's running directly through the meter.
Schrodingers Box Yeah doesn't matter at all in this case. Figured I'd point that out to those viewers who might not know what the negative symbol means. It might only really matter to a super cheap chinese POS meter that doesn't have diode over voltage protection. It's a good habit to get into, can never hurt to always ensure polarity is correct through the meter right?
Papio G Agreed. My thought is always if an issues goes away on it's own it's just a matter of time before it happens again. There is no such thing as "it fixed itself".
Thank you for the video on the esteem. it was the first car I bought second hand. I can't get rid of it and will keep it going as long as I can. is it more costly to weld it back or melt and add metal to fix it . excellent video . thanks
Sandbag1300 ROTF- yeah I really can't stand people who just want to see what it looks like to do something they will or could never actually do and yet they give you advice on how to do it better lol. Poor Eric The Car Guy- he has about half a million such people.
Schrodingers Box To be fair, I also watch ETCG, ChrisFx, and Eric at South Main Auto to demystify how the vehicle is assembled so that I feel more comfortable doing the work myself. Other than a High School auto shop class in 1978 I have no formal training. In the past year I have replaced shocks and struts, an oil pan, intake manifold gaskets, exhaust manifolds and gaskets, fuel pump, front hubs and bearing assemblies, bled brakes, changed out power steering fluid, replaced window struts, a window regulator, 32 instrument panel lights on a circuit board, and a host of other small electrical items. I watch SB to understand how the vehicle works and how to diagnose a problem with Autoenginuity and a multi-meter.
Sandbag1300 I am willing to argue that at this point, you would do just as well with R&R without watching those videos. And in fact, surely you have- there can't possibly be videos on every one of those makes and models you did this stuff on.
Schrodingers Box At this point, yes I feel comfortable doing R&R on almost anything on a car. Not so prior to watching those videos and getting a comfort level with the different parts and how they fit together. In the past year I have saved thousands of dollars in Dealer Labor fees and have gotten a real good comfort level working with gasoline powered vehicles.
Somebody below mentioned EEVblog. You would probably like some of his videos, but the last thing you need in life is another great channel to watch all the time. He is an electrical engineer in Australia and he is VERY funny and entertaining. He does do some DMM "shootouts", that are pretty good. If you want to know just how entertaining he can be, watch the test video about the Extech meter---and I quote: "This damn thing tried to KILL ME".
douglas lee Someone else brought that guy up.. I really don't have time to watch too many channels but I will certainly give him a try since you specifically mentioned it.
Just getting into the video, that right front definitely looks like it hit a speed bump at 50mph woah. Did the drive there? I am always amazed at people luck when it comes to serious damage. My luck is no matter how insignificant the damage is, I will be seeing a flatbed. Thanks for the videos!
mhn3773 Lol funny you mention that- I have customers that get towed in so frequently the tow truck driver even comments on it "you gonna fix it right this time?" but it's always something different... and usually alcohol related at that lol.
Nice find. Thats a first for me on a zero amp draw. KAM and the clock on the radio if it had one would draw currant. I suspect it's your DMM , even for a early 2000's car I think it's impossible to have a zero draw. Might be time for a new meter Matt , may I suggest a fluke 88V :) 👍
Matt if your interested in reading low currant readings this is what I use with a dmm or scope. Interesting just to read about how it works for your own knowledge. eevblog.myshopify.com/products/ucurrent
Joseph Tucci Lol, yeah it is obvious that as I get further involved in higher level diagnostics, my low end equipment I have had from my "plugs and wires" days only goes so far now. The Vantage Pro had no problem detecting the clock voltage actually but how convenient to just have a really good DVOM. I agree- a worthy investment for sure.
Schrodingers Box There is a reason why most meters have a mA and an Ampere range. The amperes range simply does not show very low currents at all with most cheap DMMs.
Matt great job my friend But I do not understand why you do not use the vantage pro as a DMM if nothing else. But that is me. Best of luck my friend! PS I do not use a amp clamp on a draw test they wander to much.
Joseph Tucci There are two reasons I don't use the Vantage pro on the videos (I do use it constantly in "real life though"). The first reason is a lot of people don't see that I may be using it as just a simple DVOM and may get put off / confused by it. The target audience for this channel tends to identify far more with a $20 DVOM. Which leads to my second reason- even using the vantage pro as just a DVOM, it creates a disconnect with the intended audience if I start using high end equipment that most DIY's wouldn't have. For this reason I wouldn't use a Fluke meter for example. There is actually some educational value in this approach too. For example, my $20 DVOM didn't have the sensitivity to pick up the clock's amp draw for example. I knew there HAD to be at least some amp draw so when I didn't see it, my first response was to validate that my cheapo meter was working. This is something that helps the DIY crowd who would experience similar. Had I used the Vantage which showed 18ma draw, a DIY would not have known how to handle the zero amperage on the cheap meter. I haven't found the Amp clamp to be unreliable on draw tests. I was a little skeptical at first but it consistently showed to be as accurate as an in-series measurement so I no longer doubt it.
NIce work. I had a break light switch at the pedal go bad on me on a European Ford Fiesta once that had me scratching my head for a while until I found it.
12vgs8606 I don't know where Schrodinger is, but in my state there is no state inspection. After many years of having the state insp, Oklahoma legislature voted it out because fewer and fewer automotive shops were willing to do it. Yay.
Steve Allen I am in colorado- probably the second most stringent for emissions behind California, but oddly, no safety inspections whatsoever. While I see the argument that safety inspections negatively affect the poor, I also don't like the idea of people driving deathtraps and putting others at risk. A car like this, arguably, shouldn't have been on the road BEFORE the speedbump mishap with the subframe that rusted out!
This car is definitely one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned I have a 2002 one since almost 2005 with 260k miles on the original engine with minimum repairs, it do have a stupid name tho just like any other suzuki But that customer you have is defiantly really careless to leave his car falling apart like that and putting people's life in danger with such a deathtrap. What the hell!
Did you removed the fuel pump fuse before the parasitic drop test? Or is this car's fuel pump not working until cranking the engine like in some Toyotas? I'm asking this question because of the fuel pump get current around 7A i think and your Dvom is hold 10A. Great video by the way thanks👍
toolman talal Good point- no need to disable the pump because it would stop running in a few seconds anyway and in fact it reflected in the drop in parasitic draw.
I know man. This guy brings me a LOT of customers though. But indeed I have "dropped" people I have tried to help because they keep making their own bad luck.
Schrodingers Box If it isn't obvious I as re-living a moment where I stopped working for free for a friend. Still really appreciate the friend...but if I can't ever fix my car for always fixing his, it's going to cost...lol
Why did he ask to diagnose this parasitic draw if he didn't want to go ahead with repair? Ignition switch doesn't cost more than gallon or two of fuel. And he has money to put gas in his car;) I used to help other a lot and ended up being on the phone 24/7 and usually it was other peoples ignorance and laziness... Like my uncle with sizes rear caliper. He knew about it for months and called me when it failed one sunny Sunday afternoon. That was it! So I said I'm not willing to work on Sunday afternoon. I wonder why he is not popping in for a cup of coffee anymore?! ;)
Gregory May To be honest- the only reason I do some of the "pointless charity" is if I can make a video from it, so in that way, I am actually compensated. But you're right- some people I do this for and it changes their life... and for other it only ever changes mine, and for the worse. When I detect the latter is happening, I sever the relationship- and have done so many times in fact. It may sound funny but if this car didn't have the electrical mystery, I would have surely passed on fixing it. But I will actually pay for getting a good case study lol!!
i would really apreciate if you could use the powerprobe 4 to do some diagnostics, of course differentiating to the the DVOM. But I think they should support that
TheEdudo I actually only have powerprobe 3 but as far as differentiation from a DVOM, the "peak detect" feature is really the only difference. It is often helpful when you can't see the meter to know if there was a drop or spike in the measurement and the powerprobe will memorize the change in case you missed it. But now that I have the scope, I really pretty much only use my PP as a jumper wire to send power or ground where I want to- I really don't use it for anything other than that.
Question; The radio and ciggerette lighter do not work; so checked all fuses under hood all check out with continuity/volt meter as good, so going in the car under the dash CAN NOT find a fuse box anywhere??? where would be the fuse for the radio? or ciggerette lighter? Everything else seems to work good
So what was the problem really? A) The ignition stayed ON even when it was turned to OFF? B) The key could be removed in any position (including ACC or ON)? Because IMHO pulling the key out without first turning the ignition to OFF is basically just a user error. Of course the fact that the key can be removed in any (?) position, is an issue on its own and should be investigated and fixed, but that's often caused by just a worn key.
great video matt, I thought you might be there pulling fuses until the darkness came, am thinking your buddy was lucky nobody pinched his car if he got out with the key in his pocket and the car was still in the ignition on position...............lol
Not related to the video. How to diagnose a dirty fuel injector ( not failed, but not providing enough to fuel for one or more cylinders ) Do you have any fuel injector cleaning videos? Throw a can of cleaner in the tank, take them out and clean them, send the off for cleaning or just replace them.
I do have a few vids that show a balance test which is how you would diagnose it but I have never seen a clogged injector and never seen evidence that you can flush one. If anything I would believe you need to reverse flush it if it was actually clogged.
***** Lol yeah what the hell man- I will never eat wheaties again that's for sure! Just to be clear though- the four points I made are for ALL intermittent problems, not just parasitic drain. Anytime I hear "intermittent" those four variables immediately pop into mind, and in that order.
Sometimes I will isolate the battery from the vehicle(don't ask me how you do this because if you don't know how, you should NOT be working on vehicles) and see if battery voltage is dropping rapidly(shorted cell/s) Remember, the battery itself can become an amperage load. If voltage is declining, you know 100% is has to be the battery because it is isolated from the vehicle. I actually did this a couple of months ago on a Grand Marquis with a DieHard battery.
Schrodingers Box Nice dude...It is actually pretty common, especially if the battery is not secured properly.Matt, I've seen you use those almost useless Allen keys(we all have them) Why not cut about an inch or so off of them and insert the freshly cut end into its corresponding socket....?now you have your own Allen Bit driver sockets. I have done it is the past, it works well....
Hmm wouldn't the car just keep running if you pulled the key out in the "ON" position? Intermittent issues are always fun. Sometimes if I can't duplicate the problem I'll tell the customer to drive it until it acts up and call me the second it happens so I can come to them and catch it live :)
motoYam82 Great point on the on position- I didn't try starting the car and see if that would happen. But what happens is if you just slightly move the key forwards when removing it the cylinder moves to on position and still released key. I could not duplicate the problem without key in the cylinder though.
+motoYam82 I've got a Bronco II that does something like this. If the key is bumped when removing it--you'll faintly hear the reminder chime going off that you left the keys in the ignition with the engine off. It just takes maybe a mm or fraction of an inch and it'll ding away until the battery is dead. Of course the key is out and sitting on my lap..so I have to crank it back just slightly and it shuts up.
I agree with previous comments that you need to upgrade your DMM. But instead of the eye watering cost of a Fluke, can I suggest you take a look at the Brymen Range. Particularly the BM869. It`s an absolute power house of a meter, for around 200 of your bucks. is very well rated. 50000 count, 10 refreshes a second, dual display, all the usual goodies (min-max etc) and built like a tank. If you want real reviews and comparisons on DMM`s UA-cam user mjlorton is the man, or EEVblog, hosted by Steve the Aussie , who doesn`t censor his views or language. I think you`d enjoy watching him, even if you had no interest in electronic engineering. I remember an Audi I had years ago, with an intermittent battery drain. It had me buggered, and had taken to carrying a battery pack around. I only figured it out one frosty mornng, 6 months later, when I noticed a patch about 12" in diameter at the base of the rear window/bootlid area, that was free of frost. I opened the boot, to discover the aftermarket amplifier that I had fitted was warm, and the led was lit. Mounted, as it was under the rear parcel shelf. After some experimentation, turns out that my habit of occasionally flipping the front off the stereo to take it with me, before switching the ignition off, left the automatic antenna wire live. I was using that wire to trigger the Amp. My point is, it would have been almost impossible to relate one with the other, without being aware that I was doing it. That kind of started my interest in the electrical side of things. Also, would have been interesting to see what your low amp clamp, plugged into your DVOM would have read. Good vid . Carry on.. ps. I also drive an Esteem. `cept we call it the Baleno here. 3 door hatchback, and a lot tidier. Should love it, but I don`t
Had an intermittent charging issue in my Ranger, usually on hot days. Turned out to be a battery connection that was OK until the engine compartment got hot.
***** Yep- temperature always a factor to consider. I have at least 2 videos where a hard start/rough idle is direct result of a vacuum leak on only a cold intake manifold. When engine is at temp- runs like a dream. Condition was even verified with a smoke test in one video!
At least he now knows how to remove his key. Most of my hard to find parasitic draw problems have been due to alarms. One alarm motion sensor would wake up the car if there was a cover on the car! Even if the car alarm was off. (BMW)
Schrodingers Box I was wondering if one could use an infrared camera detect heat from a rogue control module. Some cars have most modules connected to term 30 and rely on sleep modes. It is only going to get harder to find problems.
Andrew Thompson That's a pretty good idea!! Not too familiar with the sensitivity of those cameras on small components (they are used often in laboratories to monitor if refrigerators or freezers are failing) but the concept is similar- activity=warmup=camera identifies it. I like it!
Liz Rodriguez Btw what was the data you had that indicated the IAC was bad and needed to be replaced? That would be a great starting point to diagnose what's wrong.
Hey plz if u can help me, same car I m getting engine check lights of MAP AND TP SENSOR in cold start in every morning only ....this problem comes only in cold start only not when I start in bit warm temperature or in afternoon, light automatically gets off after 10 15 km or few restarts,
Schrodingers Box First sorry for late reply. I m very much confused that where to start. Problem is 1. Getting Engine Check Light of MAP sensor and TP sensor Faulty only in cold start in every morning like only when I start this car in cold weather. Engine Check lights automatically gets off after driving 20 30 kms...switch off the engine for at least 30 minutes then start again it won't come. Also noticed that it doesn't come in warm weather or in afternoon or so, it only comes in cold start. To resolve that I have changed the ECM with another same car, changed both shown faulty sensors TP and MAP but nothing resolved. Hav doubt on ECM wiring. How should I check this? Symptoms when I drive car Poor acceleration, Lots of jerks in initial RPMS. It takes time to start in morning cold weather, doesn't even crank for 7-8 seconds only small continuos beep comes.(pattern of cold morning start is I turn the key on ..on position, for first 7 - 8 seconds only continuos beep will come then engine will start cranking and in 1 or 2 seconds of cranking engine starts...RPM goes suddenly up n then falls down and Engine shuts off... then again have to start then it normally start. its happening Daily) And one thing also noticed RPM falling down too much whenever I change the gears to shift up rpm falls down, so it starts stalling, RPMS on idle are stable but not on driving, it is falling down below the default mark. Even I have changed FUEL PUMP too nothing resolved. Help me if you can give any hint or idea Same car SUZUKI ESTEEM G16B ENGINE.
I need data to help. Why did you change the fuel pump for example- what there low static or loaded pressure? What was the pressure curved against load? Also why did you change ECM- did you verify there was no output from the ECM however bypass tests indicated functionality of the components? I need data to help.
Schrodingers Box I have changed ECM and other sensors coz I hav same car nxt to my building to find the main fault which I m unable to find, just tried to swap things from same ok machine car. Changed fuel pump to solved the issues of jerks thought it might be due to low pressure of fuel when engine demands. Rest what Kind of data I should give here I have only OBD2 scanner which only gives live values of components and scan code very basic tool. N THANKS IN ADVANCE UR VIDEOS ARE VERY HELPFUL.
Schrodingers Box I know its hard to tell without inspecting the car I hav few doubts , Symptoms of bad ECT sensor on this car, should I also change this to check? And How to check BAD ECM WIRING, I hav doubt on this in my car, if u can make general video on BAD ECM WIRING .?
Louis Pasnik ROTF- The owner of this car also owns the car I did the engine replacement video on (1990 corolla). The guy has a thing for cars with terrible paint and horrific problems.
GRowe1978 Hahahaha remember the Suzuki Samurai?? They were very well known for their terribly unstable center of gravity. True story- I saw one with a personalized plate that read "TPS-OVR" hahaha!!!
You're saying that it's easy replacing?Maybe before mounting it using an anti rust agent? I did it for mine which I bought new .When I asked they wanted to charge me about 500 euro's for replacing the subframe !A lot of labour and blabla, shame you did not show it, I also asked a neighbor who's is a freetime mechanic and he said engine will squash you :(( . Pfff I would love to doe it my self of course in the future, but I have not the stuff to lift the car thar high in the air. I have a carjack a big one and so on.
You neighbor obviously has no idea what he is talking about. This is a simple job that I did with basic jackstands. Just looking at it you can see this crossmember does not serve as the engine cradle. Like most freetime mechanics, they tend to dismiss things they do not comprehend.
If I need to show how to remove 6 bolts then I am going to suggest going to a beginner channel. I am not about to show advanced DIY's a vide on how to replace basic parts consisting of just 6 bolts of this channel, sorry.
Fact of life if you work on other peoples cars and you have to take the rough with even rougher. On this car to test the battery without any specialist tools would have done one thing differently and carried out a cranking voltage drop test on the battery after it had been charged and then left to rest for at least 10 hours, as this would stand a better chance of showing up a dead or gassing cell in the battery. In my own tool drawer I have a high load proper volts drop tester as (these are pretty cheap to buy) and have recently bought one of the fancy digital ones that estimate the cold cranking amps and % of life left in the battery.
This comment has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of this video. However, some of the "less experienced" out there might benefit from knowing this NOW, before they go off and start spending hundreds of dollars (or more) on trying to do "performance mod's". That's why I was curious to here what Matt had done with his Trans Am. I apologize to the majority of viewers who already know this, I'm just trying to help those that don't already know.................... Regarding making "engine performance mods" to computer controlled engines.........basically............you can't. Now, DON'T START YELLING AT ME..........Yet......... For one thing, I am talking only about engine performance mods. I'm not talking about suspension modifications, or all the gazillions of other things people can do to "customize" a car. Lighting, Accents, paint, body mods, "ground effects", exhaust, tires, suspension, etc. I won't comment one way or the other on that stuff except to say it's really easy to make a car look (or sound) stupid. If you want to make your car look like a pimp car, go ahead. But truly classy appearance mods cost a lot and have to be done with a lot of expertise (and taste). Koni adjustable shocks, anybody? Ok, on to the main point...... Since 1996, when OBD2 came in, nearly every aspect of the engine in virtually every single car sold in the US is controlled by at least one engine computer. Call it the ECU, ECP, ECM, PCM, whatever. It's the computer that controls ignition timing, fuel injector control, ignition coil firing, and many other aspects of what the engine is doing, and how it works. The "short block" of the engine is still virtually identical to what it was for the 50 years before that. But the manifold and fuel delivery and ignition are all totally different. All of these sensors that scannerdanner and Schrodinger talk about are all INPUTS to the Computer, and the Computer runs all kinds of "Actuators", or other OUTPUTS. MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE SENSOR, MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR, COOLANT TEMP SENSOR, CRANK POSITION SENSOR, CAM POSITION SENSOR, INTAKE AIR TEMP SENSOR, AIR CONDITIONER CONTROL SETTINGS, OXYGEN SENSOR SIGNALS, and LOTS of other sensors and signals go IN to the Computer, and the Computer in turn sends out ALL KINDS of control signals to a lot of different Actuators, Controls, Solenoids, etc. This includes the ignition coil primary circuits, the fuel injector timing and sequencing, the ignition timing advance, and dozens of other control signals and voltages. When a car is well engineered and manufactured, these designs work well, and are remarkably reliable. There are some damn good reasons why cars evolved into what they are now, and most of those reason are pretty good. Reliability, fuel economy, engine performance, cold weather starting, hot weather running, minimal emissions, etc. The old days of carbs and chokes and points sound romantic, and they were, but very few people would want to go back to those days. That kind of equipment is still available for those who want it. Buy a early to late 1970's or early 1980's car and build the heck out of it with performance parts. Holley, Edelbrock, Accel, Mallory, just those words turn people on. And with good reason. I put a SuperCoil in my 1976 Ford 460 interceptor and the difference was AMAZING. I had a Mallory Distributor Rotor that was a piece of art. Really. Probably could have handled 100,000 volts without breaking down. It was the last rotor I ever needed. Back to the original subject. The problem with trying to "modify" the performance of any modern or semi-modern car (lets say anything that is OBD2 for sure, and most of the OBD1 cars) is that nearly anything you do to the engine systems is immediately counteracted by all the systems already on the car. Put bigger injectors on? The O2 sensors are going to tell the computer the car is too rich and compensate by shortening injector on time. I could give a thousand examples. Just know, that most of the time, you are going to be FIGHTING the computer program and the entire way the engines systems are engineered. I'm not an expert in this area at all, but I do know that there just is not a lot you can do with these modern cars unless you have HUGE expertise and HUGE money AND huge TIME to spend. You can buy those computer based "retuning programs" and those 600 dollar oversize throttle bodies and mass air flow sensors, but you might well spend the next two years trying to fix what you screw up in the first month. -end
+douglas «The flame is dead» lee It basically boils down to if the engine is supercharged or not. If it is, there is usually a significant performance gain that can be achieved just by reprogramming and even more if turbos and injectors etc. are upgraded as well. If not, it will require a lot of effort for little gain.
Ah nothing like kicking the feet up, sucking down some Snapple and watching one of my fellow nerds correctly and accurately diagnose broken junk. Well hey there, apparently the number sign # is called an octothorpe....who knew? LOL Good job princess...
See it all the time. Ironically the more financially strapped people seem to be, the more likely they are to disregard maintenance and prevent catastrophic expense for repair.
Marcel Timmers Man you did it again!!! Yes a friend in need is a friend indeed, and indeed a lot of friends need car repair don't they! You should write a book on car wisdom lol- or at least make bumper stickers!
Glove box contributed to my problem, thenks for being so thorough. I also liked the K Frame part of the video - I sold my car for junk after getting sideswiped a few years ago when my son could have helped me do repairs. I hope you keep this video in your collection!
Matt, I stumbled across your channel while looking for some help with my 3800 L67 engine (I'm in Australia btw) and I've just spent the last few days watching all your videos (I admit I have trouble keeping up with some of the theory sessions, but I'm slowly improving). I just wanted to say thanks for the work you put into your series of videos, I really appreciate it and it's giving me more of an understanding of how and why things work/don't work, rather than 'this is broken - this is how to fix it'.
I'd also like to acknowledge and commend all the in-kind labour that you do for people. Thanks again.
Mathew Wood Thanks Mathew, your comment is very inspiring!!
I especially love your disdain for the Haynes manual-type mechanics in your extreme budget rebuild series. There are so many guys like that over here, I just had to laugh at how dead-on your quotes were!
Mathew Wood Hahaha, yeah it was people like that which inspired me to make this channel. I am so sick of armchair mechanics out there who think they know anything at all because they flipped through a book or have seen every scotty kilmer video. Before I started this hobby, I was often the "victim" of people like that in chat rooms and forums all the time before I finally took matters into my own hands.
Nice job as usual, Matt. You lucked out finding the draw so quickly. I have spent hours if not days finding parasitic battery draws.
wysetech2000 Yeah me too- now that I have the oscilloscope I have actually invented some much better and more accurate methods for intermittent parasitic draw detection which hopefully I'll show in future videos.
The headlight trick? Invaluable. Testing alternator by voltage to the battery while engine running? NO DUH! Why have I not been doing this? Great video, Schrodinger!
love your approach for reasoning, deductions, inductions. you articulate well. thanks for your videos
scooter12368 Thanks!
Sometimes my internet is a bit slow, but by 1:17 the car came sharply into focus. Ugh! Loving watching you on my flat screen. So big. Such good sound. So much better than my laptop. :)
Loved the reflection of the shop on the paint on this side. Guess that side gets the benefit of being covered from the sun. It's silly how obsessed Hollywood is with keeping the camera out of the shot...well, I guess it just makes it cool to see everywhere else. :)
Just finished the video...I really focus on parts that wear out tires fast. Tires are usually more expensive!
DE Nichols Hahaha I noticed that too. Sometimes during editing I go back and re-film things that I missed earlier... can't promise I always wear clothes when I do that but if I don't I make sure there is no reflection lol
Schrodingers Box
LOL. Goofball.
2 minutes in, it sounds already like a great video!
There was actually a recall on those subframes, however they were sneaky and made it only as a "warranty extension" type of thing with a limited amount of miles to which they would repair it too.
Dan.vaku Is that right? Not surprised. Whenever I see the same part always missing from salvage yard vehicles, it tells me there is a consistent problem with it.
Liked the video and camera work with very good lighting especially in hard to reach areas.The load test is home brew but it works.Intermittents are a nightmare to locate as a lot of modules take a while to go to sleep.The ignition fault is a newbie.Great comments below.
Tom OConnor Thanks Tom- my production quality has definitely improved with practice- it's not easy!! Man I look back at my early videos and I can't believe I've made it this far lol.
Thanks for noticing- there's a lot more effort behind it than it would appear!!
I have a 1995 Suzuki Esteem and it's a great car! I'm buying a new car but keeping the Esteem! it never fails!
I have 2002 suzuki esteem it has a 260k miles on the same engine ,I drove it for 20 years and still runs great
The only problem with this car is the stupid name the american marketing team gave it, why would on earth would you name an economical box esteem?
I call it the name it originally had "baleno"
Mr. Schrodinger (Matthew);
I know it's not what your channel is all about, but I'll bet a lot of us would enjoy hearing (seeing) you talk about your Trans-Am in depth, and what you do with it. Only in the last week or so have I heard you talking about taking it to the "track" (strip). Previously I did not know you did that.
I think a lot of us would love to hear about the performance mods you've made over the years, and what has given you the most power per dollar spent/hours of time invested. Also, not sure of the year of your car, but I think we'd enjoy hearing about any changes or mods or "removes" you've done to the engine electronics. So many of todays cars (even going back 15 years or more, including my '99 Sebring) have so much engine management that about all you can do to the dang thing is open the airbox and put a better muffle in the car.
douglas lee Yes many have mentioned that. Performance videos are in consideration but the problem is whenever you do performance stuff- you will get ALLLLL the chatroom/forum types on the channel and it turns into a mess with ricers vs tuners vs real performance and everyone is gonna be "slapping cams and superchargers" and it's just ridiculous.
Schrodingers Box OK, I understand. I am going to make another comment post in a minute on the subject.
A number of relays (cooling fans in particular) are hot all the time. If relay contact sticks, the fan will run and discharge battery.
Great video! Congrats
Texas Pipeliner Ah yes- great point. The possibilities are virtually endless but a train of thought like that will ultimately prevail.
Actually, even with that correct train of thought- how important is it to understand circuit design so that such ideas come up in the brainstorming in the first place? There is no way around it- study of component operation is necessary to really get good at this. You will never diagnose an electrical gremlin with just a wrench!
you should have scoped the alternator waveform for your viewers. i know they are familiar with sine and square waveforms but they probably never seen the generator's "teeth" or "picket fence" waveform. and the scope does a pretty good job at id'ing shorts/opens on diodes. you know what, i forgot which video it was, but you stated you were refraining from using the scope on troubleshooting for your videos. i think that is a mistake. you are an educator on automotive diagnosis and gaining popularity now. more of your viewers will probably be purchasing scopes. it will be helpful if they can see what a normal injector's or ignition's waveform looks like. what is spark line, what does short spark line mean, how does plug gap effect it, etc? your viewers will appreciate it. and you do a pretty darn good job of explaining it in ways where anyone can understand it.
nijoel Yeah there is definitely a split more than I thought there would be. Even a lot of viewers without the scope still like to see it in action because it does help explain things better and make things more visual.
It's a tough call- I'll have to experiment a little using it in videos and see what happens but I just don 't want to be another "scannerdanner" using a scope all the time. My niche is using basic tools whenever possible and I think it best to stick with that and let Paul take the lead with scope material.
Schrodingers Box i understand. i did like your 2 minute battery load test. many don't have a load tester, let alone a vat-40, lol. well, continue the great work.
hi matt, good diagnostic and approach as always I, been using your way how to diagnose and approach any issues I see and it really work beautifully and accurately every time so I would like to say thank you and really respect you for helping those how need ur help cheeeers to ya my friend.
j georges Thanks man, always good to hear from you. And yes this approach does always work... it HAS to work. If using a scientific approach starts to not work, the universe will end.
This is awesome! I tell people stuff like this all the time. Yes, you shouldn't work on your car if you have no idea what your doing, but most of the time its just something simple like you just showed. Think first, spend money later...There is no reason to have a mechanic diagnose and replace those components other then time, and lack of confidence.
+Quadrunner B Agreed!
“There’s never been more than 50 bucks in an Esteem in the history of Esteems”
I usually stare in awe at your videos, but this one actually infuriated me. Why is it that some idiots just bring bad luck on their sorry asses and have busy, talented people waste their time on a helpless cause just out of sheer pity??? I would ditch that imbecile and drive that Trans Am down a quiet road with my babe on the side. Great job, though, and great videos too. Keep it up Matt! I'm learning a lot.
Suzuki Esteem/Baleno is known for rusting subframes in the front. Mine had been replaced last year you can find it on Ebay for 170 euro's or 180 dollars or so. The 1.6 gearbox of the Esteem is a weak one, after 100.000 miles you have to get a new gearbox, the 1.8 has a better gearbox and is therefore a better choice to buy. Otherwise a good car that won't let you down, I have a station and it's amazing how much you can load in it. Rust is also an issue on Esteem, look for it under the carpet and the trunk,remove the carpet and look forit if you one to buy one or have one that you want to keep for a longer time.Definately a good car, mine is a 2001 and I drive it since 2008.
Thanks for the tip ,this car is indeed a good reliable car mine is 20 years old and runs great
But have a stupid name though ,from its stupid marketing team
Hi Matt, another nice video! But there´s another way to find out which circuit is draining current, beside pulling fuses: by measuring the voltage drop over a fuse. For if it is some kind of electronical issue, like a radio, navigation system or tv-systems, which causes the power-drain by an internal program being stuck, the pulling of the fuse will cause the program to restart and the power-drop will not occur again. When I´m back at work, I will provide you with a list of fuses and the quantity of power-loss with certain current.
Greetings Michael
Great video man. Please stay that nice and friendly all the time :)
Best cupholders in the business.
Saul Goodman owns one.
Great diagnostic work as always.
Hi Matt well done in my city is very tipical drain battery for wires of the doors (we have very much humidity in the nort of the Spain).
And congratulations for you 25k sub jejeje.
Pablo A Thanks Pablo! It's been and still is quite a ride eh?
Yes, of course¡¡
Your channel for my is the best in DIY in automotive,diagnostic advanced, experiments, good teacher and always finding the explanation correct and that's more important.
Greetings =)
Thank you very much for this vid Matt. If you could post more video about this car I appreciete it because I've got one
Antegas Hindoyan It doesn't matter the car- concepts are concepts. Understand the concepts and it applies to all cars.
K-frame is an issue with Suzuki Esteem/Baleno, this year I did repairs myself, handbrake cable had to be renewed, and changed the serpentine belt, was very easy to do. I also installed reversecamera on it, it was a pain in the butt to do the cables nicely through te interior and into the trunk. I also repaired the Bi-Xenon had a problem, first I thought it were the wiring but it turned out to be the module, replaced it and works fine. Reliable car, Not many issues but the K frame is, and if you happen to own a 1.6 the manual transmission is also a big issue, at about 100.000 miles it's start to give problems
A common intermittent battery drain on some European Ford Fiestas was the tail wiper. The wiper motor was grounded to the tailgate but the hinges are a poor electrical connection to the main body.
The wiper park circuit is live at all times so that the wipers will always park if you remove the key with them mid-stroke.
Due to the high resistance connection, the motor could not draw enough current to properly park and break the circuit, but would draw about 5A with the motor stalled.
Adding a ground wire between tailgate and body cured the problem.
My friend has a problem on his GM Astra, on those the accessories stay on with the key at the off position, but them go off when the key is removed - the ignition lock barrel pops out a little at this time.
Only his doesn't always pop out, so he has learned to always try the electric windows when leaving the car, if they still work he re-inserts and removes the key to avoid a flat battery!
Simon Parkinson Yeah I have seen all kinds of wacky things- a power window switch that was constantly stuck in closed position, brake pedal switch always closed... a really good one was a guy with a Subaru that swore his battery drain problem started after getting a interior/exterior car detail. Turns out the detailer accidentally hit the parking light switch on the steering column so the parking lights were always on lol.
We used to have one of these cars (a '97), and once, the headlights came on by themselves, and would NOT turn off. It had been sitting untouched for a day or two, no key, nothing. It only ever happened once, and the problem went away after the car had sat with the battery disconnected for about a day. Just reconnecting the battery would not fix it. It still haunts me to this day.
+FFcossag One of my viewers once said "98% of people are thrilled when an intermittent problem goes away on its own... for the rest of us though, nothing is more frustrating".
For those wondering why the meter showed up as -12.96 when checking battery voltage it's simply because the probes were reversed. It's fine to do that when checking battery charge it will simply show up as a negative value. The value will still be correct because it's running directly through the meter.
Yeah I don't even pay attention to polarity unless it's significant to the analysis. I didn't even notice the leads were reversed lol!!
Schrodingers Box Yeah doesn't matter at all in this case. Figured I'd point that out to those viewers who might not know what the negative symbol means. It might only really matter to a super cheap chinese POS meter that doesn't have diode over voltage protection. It's a good habit to get into, can never hurt to always ensure polarity is correct through the meter right?
Schrodingers Box My saying is "if it can go away on it's own, it can come back on it's own."
Papio G Agreed. My thought is always if an issues goes away on it's own it's just a matter of time before it happens again. There is no such thing as "it fixed itself".
***** Haven't you ever wanted to believe? lol
Thank you for the video on the esteem. it was the first car I bought second hand. I can't get rid of it and will keep it going as long as I can.
is it more costly to weld it back or melt and add metal to fix it .
excellent video . thanks
You are what makes this channel interesting. Epitome of Matt in 3, 2, 1... 6:20. Awesome.
Sandbag1300 ROTF- yeah I really can't stand people who just want to see what it looks like to do something they will or could never actually do and yet they give you advice on how to do it better lol. Poor Eric The Car Guy- he has about half a million such people.
Schrodingers Box To be fair, I also watch ETCG, ChrisFx, and Eric at South Main Auto to demystify how the vehicle is assembled so that I feel more comfortable doing the work myself.
Other than a High School auto shop class in 1978 I have no formal training. In the past year I have replaced shocks and struts, an oil pan, intake manifold gaskets, exhaust manifolds and gaskets, fuel pump, front hubs and bearing assemblies, bled brakes, changed out power steering fluid, replaced window struts, a window regulator, 32 instrument panel lights on a circuit board, and a host of other small electrical items.
I watch SB to understand how the vehicle works and how to diagnose a problem with Autoenginuity and a multi-meter.
Sandbag1300 I am willing to argue that at this point, you would do just as well with R&R without watching those videos. And in fact, surely you have- there can't possibly be videos on every one of those makes and models you did this stuff on.
Schrodingers Box At this point, yes I feel comfortable doing R&R on almost anything on a car. Not so prior to watching those videos and getting a comfort level with the different parts and how they fit together.
In the past year I have saved thousands of dollars in Dealer Labor fees and have gotten a real good comfort level working with gasoline powered vehicles.
Sandbag1300 I just discovered Chrisfix a few days ago. Good site!
Somebody below mentioned EEVblog. You would probably like some of his videos, but the last thing you need in life is another great channel to watch all the time.
He is an electrical engineer in Australia and he is VERY funny and entertaining.
He does do some DMM "shootouts", that are pretty good. If you want to know just how entertaining he can be, watch the test video about the Extech meter---and I quote: "This damn thing tried to KILL ME".
douglas lee Someone else brought that guy up.. I really don't have time to watch too many channels but I will certainly give him a try since you specifically mentioned it.
Just getting into the video, that right front definitely looks like it hit a speed bump at 50mph woah. Did the drive there? I am always amazed at people luck when it comes to serious damage. My luck is no matter how insignificant the damage is, I will be seeing a flatbed. Thanks for the videos!
mhn3773 Lol funny you mention that- I have customers that get towed in so frequently the tow truck driver even comments on it "you gonna fix it right this time?" but it's always something different... and usually alcohol related at that lol.
Haha. Next time he says that tell him about the channel.
"Cares about alignment about as much as Bruce Jenner does..." Excellent.
Nice find. Thats a first for me on a zero amp draw. KAM and the clock on the radio if it had one would draw currant. I suspect it's your DMM , even for a early 2000's car I think it's impossible to have a zero draw. Might be time for a new meter Matt , may I suggest a fluke 88V :) 👍
Yeah I used my scope to verify off camera and it read 18ma so apparently just a DVOM sensitivity issue.
Matt if your interested in reading low currant readings this is what I use with a dmm or scope. Interesting just to read about how it works for your own knowledge.
eevblog.myshopify.com/products/ucurrent
Steve Rob Steve I have a fluke 88V THE BEST auto meter around!! I can not believe How long I waited to get one. Matt one is calling you name.
Joseph Tucci Lol, yeah it is obvious that as I get further involved in higher level diagnostics, my low end equipment I have had from my "plugs and wires" days only goes so far now.
The Vantage Pro had no problem detecting the clock voltage actually but how convenient to just have a really good DVOM. I agree- a worthy investment for sure.
Schrodingers Box There is a reason why most meters have a mA and an Ampere range. The amperes range simply does not show very low currents at all with most cheap DMMs.
Matt great job my friend But I do not understand why you do not use the vantage pro as a DMM if nothing else. But that is me. Best of luck my friend!
PS I do not use a amp clamp on a draw test they wander to much.
Joseph Tucci There are two reasons I don't use the Vantage pro on the videos (I do use it constantly in "real life though"). The first reason is a lot of people don't see that I may be using it as just a simple DVOM and may get put off / confused by it. The target audience for this channel tends to identify far more with a $20 DVOM. Which leads to my second reason- even using the vantage pro as just a DVOM, it creates a disconnect with the intended audience if I start using high end equipment that most DIY's wouldn't have. For this reason I wouldn't use a Fluke meter for example. There is actually some educational value in this approach too. For example, my $20 DVOM didn't have the sensitivity to pick up the clock's amp draw for example. I knew there HAD to be at least some amp draw so when I didn't see it, my first response was to validate that my cheapo meter was working. This is something that helps the DIY crowd who would experience similar. Had I used the Vantage which showed 18ma draw, a DIY would not have known how to handle the zero amperage on the cheap meter.
I haven't found the Amp clamp to be unreliable on draw tests. I was a little skeptical at first but it consistently showed to be as accurate as an in-series measurement so I no longer doubt it.
NIce work. I had a break light switch at the pedal go bad on me on a European Ford Fiesta once that had me scratching my head for a while until I found it.
. 150 bux? This guy owes you a huge favor. Did I see a crack in the engine support?
Wow Good eye!!! Yes the engine mount was bad too lol. This car had a lot of issues!!!!
Steve Allen Don't you guys have any state safety inspection? The windshield was priceless!
12vgs8606 I don't know where Schrodinger is, but in my state there is no state inspection. After many years of having the state insp, Oklahoma legislature voted it out because fewer and fewer automotive shops were willing to do it. Yay.
Steve Allen I am in colorado- probably the second most stringent for emissions behind California, but oddly, no safety inspections whatsoever.
While I see the argument that safety inspections negatively affect the poor, I also don't like the idea of people driving deathtraps and putting others at risk. A car like this, arguably, shouldn't have been on the road BEFORE the speedbump mishap with the subframe that rusted out!
What kind of jackstands do you use ? Brand and model number ? They look sturdy and the pin design is nice . . .
Thank you great channel
Ed Kurt I have no idea- I have had them for 7 years. I believe they are 6000lb capacity if I remember but no idea the brand
This car is definitely one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned I have a 2002 one since almost 2005 with 260k miles on the original engine with minimum repairs, it do have a stupid name tho just like any other suzuki
But that customer you have is defiantly really careless to leave his car falling apart like that and putting people's life in danger with such a deathtrap. What the hell!
Did you removed the fuel pump fuse before the parasitic drop test? Or is this car's fuel pump not working until cranking the engine like in some Toyotas?
I'm asking this question because of the fuel pump get current around 7A i think and your Dvom is hold 10A.
Great video by the way thanks👍
toolman talal Good point- no need to disable the pump because it would stop running in a few seconds anyway and in fact it reflected in the drop in parasitic draw.
Schrodingers Box
thanks
I wouldn't fix a car for free for someone who doesn't give a shit... You are too good for people;)
I know man. This guy brings me a LOT of customers though. But indeed I have "dropped" people I have tried to help because they keep making their own bad luck.
Schrodingers Box Sigh. So...you make lots of money but are blowing it all...sorry man, you gotta pay for this one.
Schrodingers Box If it isn't obvious I as re-living a moment where I stopped working for free for a friend. Still really appreciate the friend...but if I can't ever fix my car for always fixing his, it's going to cost...lol
Why did he ask to diagnose this parasitic draw if he didn't want to go ahead with repair? Ignition switch doesn't cost more than gallon or two of fuel. And he has money to put gas in his car;) I used to help other a lot and ended up being on the phone 24/7 and usually it was other peoples ignorance and laziness... Like my uncle with sizes rear caliper. He knew about it for months and called me when it failed one sunny Sunday afternoon. That was it! So I said I'm not willing to work on Sunday afternoon. I wonder why he is not popping in for a cup of coffee anymore?! ;)
Gregory May To be honest- the only reason I do some of the "pointless charity" is if I can make a video from it, so in that way, I am actually compensated. But you're right- some people I do this for and it changes their life... and for other it only ever changes mine, and for the worse. When I detect the latter is happening, I sever the relationship- and have done so many times in fact.
It may sound funny but if this car didn't have the electrical mystery, I would have surely passed on fixing it. But I will actually pay for getting a good case study lol!!
i would really apreciate if you could use the powerprobe 4 to do some diagnostics, of course differentiating to the the DVOM. But I think they should support that
TheEdudo I actually only have powerprobe 3 but as far as differentiation from a DVOM, the "peak detect" feature is really the only difference. It is often helpful when you can't see the meter to know if there was a drop or spike in the measurement and the powerprobe will memorize the change in case you missed it. But now that I have the scope, I really pretty much only use my PP as a jumper wire to send power or ground where I want to- I really don't use it for anything other than that.
Good, thank you for your honest opinion
Excellent video tutorial
Question; The radio and ciggerette lighter do not work; so checked all fuses under hood all check out with continuity/volt meter as good, so going in the car under the dash CAN NOT find a fuse box anywhere??? where would be the fuse for the radio? or ciggerette lighter? Everything else seems to work good
Maybe along the dashboard between dashboard and door?
I was just wondering if can tell me where the crank position sensor is located on the 1.8 suzuki steem engine
So what was the problem really?
A) The ignition stayed ON even when it was turned to OFF?
B) The key could be removed in any position (including ACC or ON)?
Because IMHO pulling the key out without first turning the ignition to OFF is basically just a user error.
Of course the fact that the key can be removed in any (?) position, is an issue on its own and should be investigated and fixed, but that's often caused by just a worn key.
great video matt, I thought you might be there pulling fuses until the darkness came, am thinking your buddy was lucky nobody pinched his car if he got out with the key in his pocket and the car was still in the ignition on position...............lol
casperthespottydog Lol- if it were my car I would purposely leave the key in the ignition, windows down, doors unlocked!!
Not related to the video. How to diagnose a dirty fuel injector ( not failed, but not providing enough to fuel for one or more cylinders ) Do you have any fuel injector cleaning videos? Throw a can of cleaner in the tank, take them out and clean them, send the off for cleaning or just replace them.
I do have a few vids that show a balance test which is how you would diagnose it but I have never seen a clogged injector and never seen evidence that you can flush one. If anything I would believe you need to reverse flush it if it was actually clogged.
Good stuff. How was the track?
Lol haven't gone yet- this piece of crap car ruined my Saturday lol.
Matt loved the four different things possible for causing a parasited drain. And the fricken comment bout Bruce. Hilarious
***** Lol yeah what the hell man- I will never eat wheaties again that's for sure! Just to be clear though- the four points I made are for ALL intermittent problems, not just parasitic drain. Anytime I hear "intermittent" those four variables immediately pop into mind, and in that order.
Sometimes I will isolate the battery from the vehicle(don't ask me how you do this because if you don't know how, you should NOT be working on vehicles) and see if battery voltage is dropping rapidly(shorted cell/s) Remember, the battery itself can become an amperage load. If voltage is declining, you know 100% is has to be the battery because it is isolated from the vehicle. I actually did this a couple of months ago on a Grand Marquis with a DieHard battery.
jarin wilson I actually just did a video on this!! I'll upload it soon!
Schrodingers Box Nice dude...It is actually pretty common, especially if the battery is not secured properly.Matt, I've seen you use those almost useless Allen keys(we all have them) Why not cut about an inch or so off of them and insert the freshly cut end into its corresponding socket....?now you have your own Allen Bit driver sockets. I have done it is the past, it works well....
Wow. Cant believe it i actually got this one right the 1st time; usually it would take me 2 to 3 hours or even days to find the problem
Hmm wouldn't the car just keep running if you pulled the key out in the "ON" position? Intermittent issues are always fun. Sometimes if I can't duplicate the problem I'll tell the customer to drive it until it acts up and call me the second it happens so I can come to them and catch it live :)
motoYam82 Great point on the on position- I didn't try starting the car and see if that would happen. But what happens is if you just slightly move the key forwards when removing it the cylinder moves to on position and still released key. I could not duplicate the problem without key in the cylinder though.
+motoYam82 I've got a Bronco II that does something like this. If the key is bumped when removing it--you'll faintly hear the reminder chime going off that you left the keys in the ignition with the engine off. It just takes maybe a mm or fraction of an inch and it'll ding away until the battery is dead. Of course the key is out and sitting on my lap..so I have to crank it back just slightly and it shuts up.
I agree with previous comments that you need to upgrade your DMM. But instead of the eye watering cost of a Fluke, can I suggest you take a look at the Brymen Range. Particularly the BM869. It`s an absolute power house of a meter, for around 200 of your bucks. is very well rated. 50000 count, 10 refreshes a second, dual display, all the usual goodies (min-max etc) and built like a tank. If you want real reviews and comparisons on DMM`s UA-cam user mjlorton is the man, or EEVblog, hosted by Steve the Aussie , who doesn`t censor his views or language. I think you`d enjoy watching him, even if you had no interest in electronic engineering.
I remember an Audi I had years ago, with an intermittent battery drain. It had me buggered, and had taken to carrying a battery pack around. I only figured it out one frosty mornng, 6 months later, when I noticed a patch about 12" in diameter at the base of the rear window/bootlid area, that was free of frost. I opened the boot, to discover the aftermarket amplifier that I had fitted was warm, and the led was lit. Mounted, as it was under the rear parcel shelf. After some experimentation, turns out that my habit of occasionally flipping the front off the stereo to take it with me, before switching the ignition off, left the automatic antenna wire live. I was using that wire to trigger the Amp.
My point is, it would have been almost impossible to relate one with the other, without being aware that I was doing it. That kind of started my interest in the electrical side of things.
Also, would have been interesting to see what your low amp clamp, plugged into your DVOM would have read.
Good vid . Carry on..
ps. I also drive an Esteem. `cept we call it the Baleno here. 3 door hatchback, and a lot tidier. Should love it, but I don`t
Simon Crane I'll check out that meter- BM869. I agree- time to upgrade!
Schrodingers Box
Check out the Uni-T range low cost and very decent quality.
Had an intermittent charging issue in my Ranger, usually on hot days. Turned out to be a battery connection that was OK until the engine compartment got hot.
***** Yep- temperature always a factor to consider. I have at least 2 videos where a hard start/rough idle is direct result of a vacuum leak on only a cold intake manifold. When engine is at temp- runs like a dream. Condition was even verified with a smoke test in one video!
At least he now knows how to remove his key. Most of my hard to find parasitic draw problems have been due to alarms. One alarm motion sensor would wake up the car if there was a cover on the car! Even if the car alarm was off. (BMW)
oh hell yeah man. Anytime I see ANY aftermarket accessory that's the first place I look for sure!!!
Schrodingers Box I was wondering if one could use an infrared camera detect heat from a rogue control module. Some cars have most modules connected to term 30 and rely on sleep modes. It is only going to get harder to find problems.
Andrew Thompson That's a pretty good idea!! Not too familiar with the sensitivity of those cameras on small components (they are used often in laboratories to monitor if refrigerators or freezers are failing) but the concept is similar- activity=warmup=camera identifies it. I like it!
A 2%er toolbox sticker would be awesome👍
I do sell stickers with the 2% think outside the box wrench slogan! Click my merchandise shelf.
Hi I have a Suzuki esteem wagon 1998 and it stalles at stop lights and stops and the only way to save it is to put it in neutral, why is this?
also scanners don't detect anything
+Liz Rodriguez What data do you have for IAC voltage, TPS voltage, and EGR position?
You have nothing to go on here
+Schrodingers Box iac is replaced and tps its like 300 I think. it's registering on the computer, when I'm not doing anything it says 11% the throttle
Liz Rodriguez Clean the throttle body.
Liz Rodriguez Btw what was the data you had that indicated the IAC was bad and needed to be replaced? That would be a great starting point to diagnose what's wrong.
Can you possibly email me? I'm looking to see if you have information already or if you plan on doing a piece on some specific issues.
Shanna Frazier Feel free to PM me. Go to my home page, choose "about" tab and "send message".
Hey plz if u can help me, same car I m getting engine check lights of MAP AND TP SENSOR in cold start in every morning only ....this problem comes only in cold start only not when I start in bit warm temperature or in afternoon, light automatically gets off after 10 15 km or few restarts,
Sure I can help. What data do you have?
Schrodingers Box
First sorry for late reply.
I m very much confused that where to start.
Problem is
1. Getting Engine Check Light of MAP sensor and TP sensor Faulty only in cold start in every morning like only when I start this car in cold weather.
Engine Check lights automatically gets off after driving 20 30 kms...switch off the engine for at least 30 minutes then start again it won't come. Also noticed that it doesn't come in warm weather or in afternoon or so, it only comes in cold start.
To resolve that I have changed the ECM with another same car, changed both shown faulty sensors TP and MAP but nothing resolved. Hav doubt on ECM wiring. How should I check this?
Symptoms when I drive car
Poor acceleration, Lots of jerks in initial RPMS.
It takes time to start in morning cold weather, doesn't even crank for 7-8 seconds only small continuos beep comes.(pattern of cold morning start is I turn the key on ..on position, for first 7 - 8 seconds only continuos beep will come then engine will start cranking and in 1 or 2 seconds of cranking engine starts...RPM goes suddenly up n then falls down and Engine shuts off... then again have to start then it normally start. its happening Daily)
And one thing also noticed RPM falling down too much whenever I change the gears to shift up rpm falls down, so it starts stalling, RPMS on idle are stable but not on driving, it is falling down below the default mark.
Even I have changed FUEL PUMP too nothing resolved.
Help me if you can give any hint or idea
Same car SUZUKI ESTEEM G16B ENGINE.
I need data to help. Why did you change the fuel pump for example- what there low static or loaded pressure? What was the pressure curved against load? Also why did you change ECM- did you verify there was no output from the ECM however bypass tests indicated functionality of the components?
I need data to help.
Schrodingers Box I have changed ECM and other sensors coz I hav same car nxt to my building to find the main fault which I m unable to find, just tried to swap things from same ok machine car.
Changed fuel pump to solved the issues of jerks thought it might be due to low pressure of fuel when engine demands.
Rest what Kind of data I should give here I have only OBD2 scanner which only gives live values of components and scan code very basic tool.
N THANKS IN ADVANCE UR VIDEOS ARE VERY HELPFUL.
Schrodingers Box I know its hard to tell without inspecting the car I hav few doubts
, Symptoms of bad ECT sensor on this car, should I also change this to check?
And How to check BAD ECM WIRING, I hav doubt on this in my car, if u can make general video on BAD ECM WIRING .?
That is my dream car! Do you think the owner is willing to sell? I have a 150 dollar bill with iit's name on it.
Louis Pasnik ROTF- The owner of this car also owns the car I did the engine replacement video on (1990 corolla). The guy has a thing for cars with terrible paint and horrific problems.
Suzuki Esteem! LOL
I also like the Suzuki "Swift" which is anything BUT!
GRowe1978 Hahahaha remember the Suzuki Samurai?? They were very well known for their terribly unstable center of gravity. True story- I saw one with a personalized plate that read "TPS-OVR" hahaha!!!
Schrodingers Box Suzuki seems to be confused about the product they're selling.
They are really bad at picking names😂
You're saying that it's easy replacing?Maybe before mounting it using an anti rust agent? I did it for mine which I bought new .When I asked they wanted to charge me about 500 euro's for replacing the subframe !A lot of labour and blabla, shame you did not show it, I also asked a neighbor who's is a freetime mechanic and he said engine will squash you :(( . Pfff I would love to doe it my self of course in the future, but I have not the stuff to lift the car thar high in the air. I have a carjack a big one and so on.
You neighbor obviously has no idea what he is talking about. This is a simple job that I did with basic jackstands. Just looking at it you can see this crossmember does not serve as the engine cradle. Like most freetime mechanics, they tend to dismiss things they do not comprehend.
If I need to show how to remove 6 bolts then I am going to suggest going to a beginner channel. I am not about to show advanced DIY's a vide on how to replace basic parts consisting of just 6 bolts of this channel, sorry.
Fact of life if you work on other peoples cars and you have to take the rough with even rougher.
On this car to test the battery without any specialist tools would have done one thing differently and carried out a cranking voltage drop test on the battery after it had been charged and then left to rest for at least 10 hours, as this would stand a better chance of showing up a dead or gassing cell in the battery.
In my own tool drawer I have a high load proper volts drop tester as (these are pretty cheap to buy) and have recently bought one of the fancy digital ones that estimate the cold cranking amps and % of life left in the battery.
I have an intermittent claudication problem.
Me too- turned out it was because my dick wrapped around my thigh causing blood flow restriction.
+Schrodingers Box Hey, we can all dream.
isnt this the car saul goodman drives in better call saul? altho his in better condition than this one.
Lol ,true
can someone sell me a front driverside fender for a 2002 suzuki esteem???
well; i;ll give it a try both sides, but does not look like anything exist there at all
see if car has a battery saver relay , also
because the engine is different from the others suzuki esteem 1999
This comment has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of this video. However, some of the "less experienced" out there might benefit from knowing this NOW, before they go off and start spending hundreds of dollars (or more) on trying to do "performance mod's".
That's why I was curious to here what Matt had done with his Trans Am.
I apologize to the majority of viewers who already know this, I'm just trying to help those that don't already know....................
Regarding making "engine performance mods" to computer controlled engines.........basically............you can't. Now, DON'T START YELLING AT ME..........Yet.........
For one thing, I am talking only about engine performance mods. I'm not talking about suspension modifications, or all the gazillions of other things people can do to "customize" a car. Lighting, Accents, paint, body mods, "ground effects", exhaust, tires, suspension, etc. I won't comment one way or the other on that stuff except to say it's really easy to make a car look (or sound) stupid. If you want to make your car look like a pimp car, go ahead. But truly classy appearance mods cost a lot and have to be done with a lot of expertise (and taste). Koni adjustable shocks, anybody?
Ok, on to the main point......
Since 1996, when OBD2 came in, nearly every aspect of the engine in virtually every single car sold in the US is controlled by at least one engine computer. Call it the ECU, ECP, ECM, PCM, whatever. It's the computer that controls ignition timing, fuel injector control, ignition coil firing, and many other aspects of what the engine is doing, and how it works.
The "short block" of the engine is still virtually identical to what it was for the 50 years before that. But the manifold and fuel delivery and ignition are all totally different.
All of these sensors that scannerdanner and Schrodinger talk about are all INPUTS to the Computer, and the Computer runs all kinds of "Actuators", or other OUTPUTS.
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE SENSOR, MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR, COOLANT TEMP SENSOR, CRANK POSITION SENSOR, CAM POSITION SENSOR, INTAKE AIR TEMP SENSOR, AIR CONDITIONER CONTROL SETTINGS, OXYGEN SENSOR SIGNALS, and LOTS of other sensors and signals go IN to the Computer, and the Computer in turn sends out ALL KINDS of control signals to a lot of different Actuators, Controls, Solenoids, etc. This includes the ignition coil primary circuits, the fuel injector timing and sequencing, the ignition timing advance, and dozens of other control signals and voltages.
When a car is well engineered and manufactured, these designs work well, and are remarkably reliable. There are some damn good reasons why cars evolved into what they are now, and most of those reason are pretty good. Reliability, fuel economy, engine performance, cold weather starting, hot weather running, minimal emissions, etc.
The old days of carbs and chokes and points sound romantic, and they were, but very few people would want to go back to those days. That kind of equipment is still available for those who want it. Buy a early to late 1970's or early 1980's car and build the heck out of it with performance parts. Holley, Edelbrock, Accel, Mallory, just those words turn people on. And with good reason. I put a SuperCoil in my 1976 Ford 460 interceptor and the difference was AMAZING. I had a Mallory Distributor Rotor that was a piece of art. Really. Probably could have handled 100,000 volts without breaking down. It was the last rotor I ever needed.
Back to the original subject. The problem with trying to "modify" the performance of any modern or semi-modern car (lets say anything that is OBD2 for sure, and most of the OBD1 cars) is that nearly anything you do to the engine systems is immediately counteracted by all the systems already on the car. Put bigger injectors on? The O2 sensors are going to tell the computer the car is too rich and compensate by shortening injector on time. I could give a thousand examples. Just know, that most of the time, you are going to be FIGHTING the computer program and the entire way the engines systems are engineered.
I'm not an expert in this area at all, but I do know that there just is not a lot you can do with these modern cars unless you have HUGE expertise and HUGE money AND huge TIME to spend. You can buy those computer based "retuning programs" and those 600 dollar oversize throttle bodies and mass air flow sensors, but you might well spend the next two years trying to fix what you screw up in the first month.
-end
+douglas «The flame is dead» lee It basically boils down to if the engine is supercharged or not. If it is, there is usually a significant performance gain that can be achieved just by reprogramming and even more if turbos and injectors etc. are upgraded as well. If not, it will require a lot of effort for little gain.
Ah nothing like kicking the feet up, sucking down some Snapple and watching one of my fellow nerds correctly and accurately diagnose broken junk. Well hey there, apparently the number sign # is called an octothorpe....who knew? LOL Good job princess...
lol never thought of it that way but I think you nailed it lol
Matt!!! Her name is Caitlyn!
GRowe1978 I don't care what anyone says, right now that is Bruce in a goddam dress as far as I'm concerned!!
Schrodingers Box LMFAO!!!!
Schrodingers Box Isn't she gorgeous!
Actually, it's HE and NO!
this is a common problem with this type of car
You mean the k-frame Or the ignetion key lock?
I am surprised that people could be so horrible to their car and not maintain it, wtf!
See it all the time. Ironically the more financially strapped people seem to be, the more likely they are to disregard maintenance and prevent catastrophic expense for repair.
I dont think you will see that car again. I think it will end up in a junkyard before you ever see it again. He should just put it out of its misery.
Hi mate.
You will see this car again, if you don't charge the bloke.
Marcel.
Marcel Timmers HAHAHA, You're a very wise man my friend!!! I cannot argue that!!!
Schrodingers Box I have never been called that, but I'll take it. It's strange how many friends you have, when you can fix their car.
Marcel Timmers Man you did it again!!! Yes a friend in need is a friend indeed, and indeed a lot of friends need car repair don't they!
You should write a book on car wisdom lol- or at least make bumper stickers!
man, just like me.....you really need an elevator, for jobs like the frame change and other suspension work.
Oros Criss I have my eye on a Bendpak scissor lift but I really need a 3 car garage otherwise it will be in the way more than it helps.