November-December 2009 identifix.
com 1-800-288-6210
Bill Sau
Founde
er
r or two? Some shops we know address this
Jeff Sweet
President
Who doesn’t like to feel appreciated?
Whether it is having your customers
appreciate the work you do or having your
boss give you an ‘atta-boy’ or ‘atta-girl,’
we all like to be appreciated.
And by the way, there is a definite
link between employee appreciation
and customer appreciation. There is a
saying that “people like to shop where
people like to work.” We can all think of
businesses we have stopped frequenting
because of the negative attitudes of the
employees, which, in many cases, were
brought on by the negative attitude
of management.
It is just our opinion, but we wonder if the
automotive service business is one of the
least appreciated in the economy. It starts
with the work we perform. How many
people will wake up tomorrow and say,
“What a great day—I’m finally taking my
car in for repair!” Among the most favored
activities, getting your car worked on has
to rank near the bottom.
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
Feeling
Appreciated
Let’s put ourselves in the customer’s
driver’s seat. First, there is the
inconvenience. If the service or repair
will only take a few hours the car owner
might choose to wait. Most shops can’t
compete for the comfort and amenities of
the lounges and coffee bars available at
most dealerships. Have you tried sitting in
the chairs in your waiting area for an hour
problem by providing a $5 gift certificate
to a nearby fast food outlet—in effect,
borrowing someone else’s waiting area.
Second, there is the cost. Vehicles are
more complex and there may be the need
for dealer-only parts. A repair bill in excess
of $500 is not uncommon, even when you
have done a lot of extra work to find the
lowest cost part. So now you’re asking the
car owner to write the largest check of the
month (after their mortgage or rent), and
for what? Just to get back to where they
were before the problem or to prevent a
future problem? It is not as if they get to
go home with a flat-screen TV that they
can now enjoy more than the old one they
replaced. Yes, a necessary expense, but
not very rewarding. It doesn’t put them
in a mind to say ‘thank you,’ regardless of
how hard you worked to get the job done
right for the lowest possible cost.
Finally, when the customer shows up at
the end of the day, along with everyone
else, it limits the amount of time you can
spend explaining what you did, and even
less time to convey your appreciation for
their business.
Many technicians are in a hurry as well,
so the customer may be left to try to
decipher automotive short-hand (R&R)
contained on the repair order as their
only explanation. And here you are, an
expert in your field, trying to explain a
complex procedure to someone who
never even took the time to read the
quick guide to the owner’s manual. The
knowledge gap between an automotive
repair professional and a car owner is
probably larger than any other profession,
including the doctor/patient relationship.
So car owners expect the experience of
repairing or maintaining their vehicle will
be inconvenient, costly and mysterious.
And most of the time, we meet those
expectations!
But our hope is that there are times when
you do receive the acknowledgement you
deserve for the good work you do. Today a
lot of that acknowledgement shows up on
the Internet. Many sites, such as Google
and Yahoo, offer customers a place to post
reviews. Here are some comments we
found posted about Identifix subscribers:
“I’ve tried many tire shops, and they may
not always be the cheapest. However, they
are honest and provide good service.”
“They run a great shop. Good, reliable
automobile mechanic services are
getting hard to find these days. This shop
qualifies!”
- continued on page 2
1
 -from page 1
“They got our car in quickly, and after an hour when most auto
repair shops are closed. Turn-around time was quick, and they
were thorough in checking it out. Very fair pricing, as well! We’d
happily bring our car back again!”
“Good service, honest recommendations!”
“They came and picked up my car off the beltline and towed it
to their shop; it didn’t take more than 15 minutes until the tow
truck driver showed up. They started on the repair right when
we got back to the shop, they gave me a ride home and said that
they would have the fuel pump completed by the next day. They
gave me an estimate on the parts and labor. They next day they
came to my house, picked me up and took me back to the shop
to pick up my car. The estimate was right on. They also did a free
inspection on my car to tell me what needed to be replaced. I
will for sure contact them again for any repair that I need.”
“They were honest! My ‘check engine’ light was on, but they said
the part was fine so they didn’t want to replace it yet. They could
have just told me it needed to be replaced and I wouldn’t have
known any better. They fixed up my other issues quickly and the
work was great. I am somewhat new to the area and had not yet
found someone I really trusted. I will bring my car to them for
EVERYTHING from now on!”
“We recently brought our vehicle here to get its brakes fixed.
This was not the cheapest place to have the repairs done, but
the service was great and worth the little bit of extra money. The
workers were able to fit us in even though they were on a tight
schedule. They were very friendly and did an awesome job. The
service here is very reliable! “
“They broke something on my car, took full responsibility and
fixed it—no problems. The way customer service should be!”
When we read posts of appreciation like this, the message
comes through clear. Car owners aren’t looking for the cheapest
place to get their car repaired—for most, the words ‘honesty’
and ‘trust’ are more important. One post (about a shop who is
not one of our subscribers) shows just how quickly the ‘honesty’
and ‘trust’ can be lost.
Auto Trivia
What year did
Hyundai export its
first production
vehicle (not in the US)?
Can you name it?
Answer is in this issue.
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
“I used to like going to them for car repairs. Their
rates are reasonable (compared to everyone else -
we all know car repairs are astronomical in general),
and it SEEMED like they know what they’re doing, but
now I’m not so sure. I had my car in their shop THREE times
and it eventually took a (very expensive) trip to the dealer
to diagnose a head gasket problem. It took 6 months and
several cases of me being stranded for them to finally admit
they couldn’t help me. The dealer had it figured out with
one look and had no idea why they couldn’t figure it out. I
don’t feel as if I can trust them anymore.”
Sadly, it only takes one bad experience to lose a customer
and your reputation. That is why we really appreciate the
opportunity to provide you with the information you need
through Identifix to enhance your reputation. Consider this
unsolicited email we received on September 1st from Dan
Walker of Dan’s Auto Center in Oakhurst, California, near
Yosemite Park. Dan uses both the Hotline and Direct-Hit.
“Just a quick note to say ‘thanks a ton’ for your service.
Yesterday I had a customer who was on vacation stop in for
a crank/no start problem on their 2004 GMC Diesel pickup.
I accessed Identifix and it gave me some clues. I went to
their campsite to save them having to be towed and worked
the primer pump. Right away, we heard a hissing noise by
the fuel filter and then some diesel fuel came running out.
I reached down and was able to get about 1/8th of a turn
on the spin-on filter and the system stopped leaking. After
that, the engine fired right up. I went back to the shop and
told my wife, Sally (who works in the office) that, once again,
Identifix came to the rescue. I tell her quite often that the
top three loves in my life, in the order of importance, are
Jesus Christ, her and Identifix. She laughs every time I tell
her that! Your service is invaluable. I really appreciate how
the descriptions identify the color of the wires, what voltage
to expect, where the component is located, etc. Thanks for
being there for us in the trenches!!”
Our thanks to Dan for his kind comments. As with all of us,
this is what motivates us to do our best possible job.
And as another year ends, we want to send our deepest
appreciation to each of you, for your friendship and your
business. We wish you and yours a joyous New Year.
—Jeff and Bill
TO CONTACT US
1-800-288-6210 Repair Hotline
1-800-288-6220 Identifix Customer Support
1-800-745-9649 Direct-Hit Sales & Support
2

John Esau, GM Specialist
is certified ASE Master + L1, A/C Refrigerant
& Recycling.
“Instrumentation problems. It’s a
long story.” That was the symptom
description submitted to our Repair
Hotline.
The long story involved a 2003 Chevrolet
Impala with fuel and temperature gauges
that would sweep back and forth when
the ignition was first turned on when
the vehicle was cold. The gauges would
sweep a few times and then begin
working normally. The technician had
tried a number of tests but still had not
found the root cause.
We started by looking at the trouble
codes in all of the modules. There were
plenty of codes, but none were related
to our problem. We checked for scan
tool communication with all modules on
the vehicle and all were communicating
properly.
Next, we looked at the fuel level and
the engine coolant temperature in the
powertrain control module (PCM) data
while the condition was present. The
PCM sends Class 2 serial data messages
through a data circuit to the instrument
panel cluster (IPC), indicating the fuel
level and engine coolant temperature.
The values did not fluctuate at all as the
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
Impala Gauges
gauges swept back and forth. We started
to get suspicious of the IPC. I wanted to
look at the coolant temperature and fuel
level values in IPC data on the scan tool
while the condition was present, but
that data was not available on the scan
tool. Since the problem only occurred
when the vehicle was cold, the technician
placed the IPC in the freezer overnight
and left the vehicle in the shop so it would
remain warm.
The next day, with a frozen IPC installed,
the symptom was gone. This made it
seem like the IPC was not the cause of the
problem. Then we started to wonder if
the PCM was sending fluctuating data to
the IPC, despite the stable scan tool data.
Though this seemed unlikely, none of
the other modules in the vehicle should
influence these gauges. We disconnected
the PCM while the gauges were sweeping
back and forth, and they stopped
sweeping.
So it seemed like the PCM was causing
the gauges to sweep, but I wondered
if something was affecting the data
messages from the PCM to the IPC when
the vehicle was cold. The technician had
already replaced the body control module
for an unrelated problem, so that was
not likely to be the problem. He had also
checked for add-on accessories that might
be tapped into the Class 2 serial data
circuits and found none.
We needed a quick way to rule out each
module interfering with the PCM to IPC
communication. Luckily, this vehicle has
a splice pack connector that is a central
connection point to tie all of the modules’
Class 2 serial data circuits together. The
splice pack (SP205), located under the left
side of the dash, uses a shorting bar to
connect all of the data wires together into
one circuit. To make progress quickly, the
technician removed half of the data wires
from the splice pack, leaving the IPC and
PCM circuits in place with the shorting bar.
The car was put outside to get cold.
The next day, the gauges did not sweep
on the cold start, so we knew that
whatever was causing the problem had
been disconnected from the splice pack.
The technician reinstalled wires into the
splice pack until the symptom returned.
The wire for the sensing diagnostic
module (SDM) was the one that brought
the symptom back.
With the wire back in the splice pack, and
the SDM disconnected, the gauges did not
sweep when the car was cold. This meant
there was nothing interfering on the
wire itself. The SDM powers and ground
were tested when cold and the symptom
present; they were all good.
In the end, the SDM was causing the
gauge sweeping problem. The SDM had
been interfering with the temperature
and fuel level data that was being sent
from the PCM to the IPC. The technician
replaced the defective SDM and the car
was fixed.
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3

Tom Vadnais, Chrysler and Mitsubishi
Specialist, is certified ASE Master + L1, A/C
Recovery & Recycling.
I recently had a call on a Mitsubishi
Montero with codes P0171 and P0174
stored in memory and a low power
complaint, indicating a lean condition
on both banks.
Step 1: We checked the O2 sensor activity
and the fuel trim numbers. The O2 sensors
were switching, but the long term fuel
trims on both banks were positive at 12.5
percent, indicating that the powertrain
control module (PCM) was adding the
maximum amount of fuel as programmed.
Confirming this, we could see that the
injector ‘on time’ was increasing above
3 milliseconds.
Silverado
Kevin Caple, GM Specialist,
is certified GM Driveability, Diagnostic
& Emissions, ASE Master + L1.
Montero
Low Power
Step 2: The technician checked the
volume air flow sensor input to the PCM.
It was reading slightly high, at 40 hertz,
which (if anything) should cause the
vehicle to run rich.
Step 3: The barometric pressure sensor
and temperature sensor inputs were
checked; they were normal.
Step 4: The fuel pressure was tested; it
read normal at 48 psi, with the vacuum
hose off of the pressure regulator.
Step 5: The intake system was smoke
tested for vacuum leaks; none were found.
Step 6: I suggested disconnecting a
vacuum line and adding some additional
fuel while monitoring the O2 sensors and
long term fuel trim. The vehicle reacted
positively, the O2 sensor voltage went up,
and the long term fuel trims came down.
The vehicle had a noticeable increase in
power when adding the fuel.
Step 7: At this point, the tech attempted
cleaning the fuel injectors. There was an
increase in performance. But after clearing
the fault codes and the fuel trims and
Recently I was working with a tech from
northern Minnesota on a 2000 Silverado.
The anti-lock brake light was on and a code
C0235 was stored. The tech said that the chart
indicated it was a rear speed sensor code but
this truck doesn’t have rear speed sensors.
This is a good example of different systems
sharing information. In this case, the speed
sensor on the transmission or transfer case
sends a signal to the powertrain control
module (PCM), which then uses the reading
for transmission shifting and other calculations.
It also sends the reading to the dash cluster
for speedometer and odometer operation, as
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
test driving the vehicle, the same two
codes reset, and the fuel trims once again
maxxed out at 12.5 percent.
Step 8: There was one sensor left to test,
the manifold differential pressure (MDP)
sensor. Normally, this sensor is used to
monitor the exhaust gas recirculation
(EGR) valve operation, but it is an input to
the PCM that could cause a lean condition
based on the negative pressure in the
intake manifold (vacuum). The normal
reading at ‘key on/engine off’ would be
in the range of 4 volts. In this case, the
voltage was reading under 3 volts at ‘key
on/engine off.’
Step 9: I asked the tech to disconnect
the sensor and jump the signal wire to
the 5-volt reference wire and the voltage
on the signal wire went up to 5 volts.
Step 10: I also asked him to check the
vacuum hose and the vacuum port on
the intake; everything appeared clear.
The Fix: The technician replaced the
sensor, and the fuel trims went back to
normal.
well as to the electronic brake control module
(EBCM) for rear speed signal (the rear wheels
are on one channel for braking unlike the front
wheels that are controlled on two separate
channels). For the most part, there are two
different ways modules share information:
1) By sending the information to another
module by way of data line and, 2) By using a
dedicated wire, as in the case of this Silverado
and the rear speed signal.
On the Silverado, the PCM has a yellow/black
wire that sends a pulsed voltage signal to
the EBCM. The EBCM counts the pulses to
determine the rear wheel speed.
- continued on page 6
4

Paul Kujawa, Asian Specialist,
is certified Nissan Master, ASE Master + L1.
Vehicle: The vehicle referred to in this
article is a 2004 Nissan Titan. However,
this problem could occur on just about
any vehicle.
Symptom: This vehicle came in as a
crank, no-start, and a stored sensor
power supply code P1229.
Code P1229 refers to the 5-volt
reference used by the accelerator pedal
position (APP) sensor 1, APP sensor
2, the evaporative emissions (EVAP)
control system pressure sensor, the
A/C refrigerant pressure sensor and
the power steering pressure sensor.
The 5-volt reference for the APP sensor
checked good; yet after the code P1229
was cleared, it would come right back.
Diagnosis: Failure of the engine control
module (ECM) relay is very common and
causes low voltage supply to the ECM,
so a test of the battery voltage supply to
the mass air flow (MAF) sensor’s brown
wire was performed and it showed good
battery voltage. Trivia: 1976-the Pony.
This is a convenient place to test power
from the ECM relay. The ECM relay was
also swapped with a matching relay
in the intelligent power distribution
module (IPDM), but that yielded no
answers either.
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
“Close” Is Not
Good Enough
Testing for the no-start problem resumed.
There was no security light, so it was
not an immobilizer system problem.
Attempting to check for engine RPM
while cranking, the scan tool would stop
communicating, so that was no help.
The fuel pressure was 51 psi, which is
good. Fuel quality was also tested. The
engine had good spark and injector pulse.
The spark plugs were getting wet and
we found that with the fuel pump fuse
removed, the engine would start and run
if supplemental fuel was supplied. The fuel
pump fuse was re-installed while it was
running on supplemental fuel and then
the engine stayed running. At this point,
it would not accelerate above 1200 RPM
due to the P1229 power supply code for
the APP sensor. The engine would lose
spark at times as well.
With the P1229 code coming back
instantly, the focus was back on this code.
The next step was to check all of the 5-volt
reference circuits at the ECM terminals 48,
49, 68, 90, and 91. If any 5-volt reference
circuit was low, the sensor(s) receiving that
reference was to be unplugged to see if it
would return. A low circuit would indicate
a possible defective sensor shorting out
the 5-volt reference.
5-volt reference wires checked:
-EVAP control system pressure sensor: Sky
blue wire was checked at terminal 48 of
the ECM.
-A/C refrigerant pressure sensor: Red/
yellow wire was checked at terminal 49.
-Power steering pressure sensor: White/
blue wire was checked at terminal 68.
-APP1 sensor: Blue wire was checked at
terminal 90.
-APP2 sensor: White/red wire was checked
at terminal 91.
All of the 5-volt references were checked
and confirmed to be OK, as were the ECM
powers and grounds. The ECM was then
replaced but yielded no fix. The same
starting problems were present and the
same P1229 code reset instantly with the
key ‘on.’ When the 5-volt references were
re-checked at the ECM, all the circuits
measured 3.8 volts with the exception
of terminal 91, which read 5.0 volts.
The technician working on the vehicle
thought that 3.8 volts was “close enough”
to 5.0 volts, and therefore, told us that the
5-volt references were good. Wrong!
The related sensors were then unplugged
one at a time as the voltage was being
monitored. When the A/C refrigerant
pressure sensor was unplugged, the full
5-volt reference returned and the engine
started and ran fine. The A/C pressure
sensor was replaced and the vehicle was
fixed.
We have seen a shorted 5-volt reference
several times on many different vehicles,
commonly resulting in a no-start with no
spark, no injector pulse, no malfunction
indicator light on, and no communication
with the scan tool—basically shutting
the ECM down. In this case, the 5-volt
reference was not pulled all the way
to ground so it did not cause the ECM
to completely shut down, but it clearly
affected its operation.
If you encounter this problem, remember
to watch out for a partially shorted 5-volt
reference, and don’t assume that 3.8 volts
is “close enough.”
Remember, there is never an
additional Hotline charge when
you call to tell us what fixed
the vehicle!
5
 PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT 2977
ST. PAUL, MN
November-December 2009

Sweet & Sauer Report: Feeling Appreciated

-Silverado from page 4

Knowing how this information is transferred can help with
diagnostics. The trouble code chart directed us to disconnect
the EBCM and check voltage on the yellow/black wire. That is the
clue to the direction the voltage is coming from. Sometimes the
sending module will produce a pulsing voltage. Other times the
receiving module will send out voltage and the module sending
the signal will pulse it to ground (this sounds more confusing than
it is). It will be very helpful to skim through the flow chart to try
to determine which way the voltage is traveling. Be sure the flow
chart is not asking you to check for voltage, only to have the next
line say, ‘Repair the wire shorted to voltage.’
In the case of the Silverado, the PCM should put out about 10.0
volts to the EBCM. A quick voltage test at the EBCM revealed no
voltage on the yellow/black wire. Next, the voltage at the PCM
was tested and found to be 10.0 volts. Great—a broken wire or bad
connection. If there had been no voltage at the PCM as well, we
would have tested the yellow/black wire for a short to ground or to
another wire before condemning the PCM.
Most of today’s cars and trucks are using shared information in
as many systems as possible. This greatly reduces the cost and
complexity of extra sensors, connections and miles of wiring, not
to mention it can help shorten diagnostic time like it did on this
Silverado. Seeing that the speedometer worked meant not having
to check the speed sensor, reluctor, or wires and connections to the
PCM. We’ll be sure to keep sharing the latest information with you
and as you share information back with us. This closes the loop and
helps pinpoint where the problem spots are on each vehicle.

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Support Trainer
6
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987