Having trouble starting your car? Don’t replace your battery just yet. Older cars often have corroded battery terminals. Corrosion resists the flow of electricity, and can make a good battery act like it needs replacement. Here’s how to turn a $200 fix into one that’s nearly free. Identifying Battery Corrosion When your terminals are corroded, … Read more
Knowing the temperature is very helpful. If you are going outside, you look and see that it’s 28 degrees and you should grab a warm hat. While your car doesn’t wear cozy hats, it’s crucial that it constantly monitors the temperature of the engine while it’s on. That’s the job of the engine coolant temperature … Read more
Modern internal combustion engines operate with a precisely tuned balance of air and fuel. Fuel is delivered into the combustion chamber in very specific quantities through components known as fuel injectors. What is a Fuel Injector? A fuel injector is an electronically controlled device which sprays a fine mist of fuel under high pressure. The … Read more
When an engine starts running, it produces a great deal of voltage which enters the ignition coils. For older vehicles that have traditional distributors (not modern day ignition systems), this electricity is sent into an electrode of the distributor rotor. This causes the rotor to rotate and transfer electrical power to separate electrodes which are … Read more
You go out to your car in the morning to leave for work and see that your door is slightly ajar, which means that the dome light was on all night. You try valiantly to start the car, but when you turn the key nothing happens – the battery is dead. If you’ve ever experienced … Read more
Spark plugs have one very important purpose: to ignite the air/fuel mixture within the combustion chamber to start a car and keep it running. A secondary purpose is to transfer heat away from the combustion chamber to prevent pre-ignition. Making sure the spark plugs in your car are in good condition is crucial for it … Read more
To start a diesel engine successfully, it will need a special heating component called a diesel glow plug. A diesel engine cannot start and operate properly without the heat generated from this plug. If you normally drive your diesel-powered vehicle in colder environments, your engine will rely on the diesel glow plug to generate the … Read more
Picture this: you’re sitting at a stop light on a hot day, getting ready to merge onto the highway. As you pull out and step on the gas, you hear an awful noise that sounds like shaking a bunch of marbles in a can. The car hesitates, stumbles, then proceeds to accelerate slower than normal. … Read more
Does your car fire right up and immediately die? Perhaps it won’t stay running unless your foot is on the gas? Don’t fret. There are several simple things you can try that may fix the issue. Diagnosing a no start or sudden stall condition is often difficult, as there could be many possible causes. This … Read more
All modern vehicles on the road today have a 12-volt battery that is also rechargeable. This battery provides energy to virtually every electrical component of the vehicle, such as its ignition system, engine control unit, headlights, radio, interior lights, and so on. If the battery fails to recharge or dies altogether, then your vehicle will … Read more