4 Cars Down Overnight?! The Reality of "Car Down" No One Talks About
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Concept
diagnostics
Diagnostics is how a mechanic figures out what’s wrong instead of just replacing parts randomly. They look for clues and use tools to find the real cause.
Term
strange rattle
A strange rattle is an unusual noise that can mean something is loose or worn. The key is finding where it’s coming from so it doesn’t turn into a bigger problem.
Term
miles to the gallon
Miles per gallon (MPG) tells you how efficiently a car uses gas. Two cars can show different MPG even if they’re similar, depending on how and where you drive.
Term
ambient air temperature
Ambient air temperature is just the outside temperature. When it’s colder, cars often use more gas because they take longer to warm up.
Concept
in-house leasing and financing
They’re saying the dealership can arrange the lease or loan for you. That can make it easier to get approved, but you still want to understand the total cost and monthly payment details.
Term
maintenance
Maintenance is ongoing service required to keep a vehicle reliable and efficient, including routine items like oil changes, filters, and brake/tires checks. The speaker emphasizes that the purchase won’t be “maintenance free,” highlighting that ownership costs extend beyond the monthly payment.
Company
City Auto Sales and Leasing
They’re talking about a dealership they trust for used-car purchases. The point is that you can reduce the chance of getting a bad car by working with a place that communicates clearly and has vehicles available to inspect.
Concept
skunk in a Mink coat
This phrase means something bad is hidden under something that looks fancy. With cars, it’s a reminder that appearance doesn’t always match condition.
Car
Toyota FJ Cruiser
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a rugged, off-road-styled SUV known for having components that can be exposed to road splash when driving through rough conditions. In this segment, it’s used as an example of how low-mounted parts can be vulnerable to water and debris.
Term
road splash
Road splash is the dirty water and grime that gets thrown up from the road. It can reach parts under the hood and cause corrosion or electrical trouble.
Company
Niagara Block
This is a local business the host visited. The episode mentions them because they help support the program behind the scenes.
Term
wouldn't crank over
“Wouldn’t crank over” means the engine wouldn’t even start turning when they tried. Usually that points to something like the battery, the starter, or the electrical connections.
Term
not cranking over
If the engine won’t “crank,” it means the car isn’t even trying to turn over when you turn the key or press start. That usually comes down to power getting to the starter or a starter-related issue.
Part
starter motor
The starter motor is what “turns the engine over” when you hit the key or push-button start. If it’s bad—or if it isn’t getting power—the car won’t start properly.
Term
constant power
Constant power means the wire has electricity even when you’re not turning the key. If it’s not constant, the problem could be upstream like a fuse, relay, or wiring issue.
Term
relay
A relay is like an electrical helper switch. A small signal tells it to turn something bigger on or off, which helps protect the rest of the wiring.
Term
front bumper cover
The front bumper cover is the outer part you see at the front of the car. If you’re fixing the grille or doing cosmetic work, you may need to take it off.
Term
summer tires
Summer tires are designed for warm-weather grip and handling, typically using rubber compounds that perform best above roughly 45°F/7°C. Swapping to summer tires is part of seasonal maintenance and can affect traction and braking feel.
Term
corn flakes in the back
“Corn flakes” is a colorful description for loose debris or internal breakdown inside the muffler (often baffle/packing material). When exhaust internals deteriorate, pieces can rattle and restrict flow, which may require muffler replacement.
Term
muffler
The muffler is the part of the exhaust that makes the car quieter. If it’s worn out, it can cause annoying noise and sometimes performance issues.
Term
fuel pump
The fuel pump sends gas from the tank to the engine. If it doesn’t run, the car can crank but still won’t start.
Term
powers and grounds
“Power and ground” checks are core electrical diagnostics. The speaker is verifying that the fuel pump circuit has the correct voltage (power) and a proper return path (ground), because either issue can prevent the pump from running.
Term
corrosion
Corrosion is rust-like buildup on electrical connections. It can stop electricity from flowing reliably, which can make a car fail to start.
Term
SWAG
SWAG means you make a best-guess decision based on the clues you have. It’s not random—it’s used when you’re pretty sure, but not 100% sure.
Concept
duplicate the problem
To “duplicate the problem” means to reproduce the fault under test conditions so the technician can verify the cause. Intermittent no-starts are especially difficult because the failure may not occur during the diagnostic visit.
Concept
no start
No start means the car won’t run when you turn the key or press the start button. It can be caused by things like fuel not getting to the engine or the computer not seeing the right sensor signals.
Term
parts cannon out
“Parts cannon” means just throwing parts at the problem without really proving what’s wrong. It can cost a lot and still not fix the car, especially with intermittent issues.
Term
corroded
Corrosion is rust and damage caused by moisture. They’re saying the alternator looks like it’s been exposed to a lot of water, which makes it fail.
Term
water gets inside it
If water gets inside the alternator, it can ruin the moving parts and electrical parts. That can cause squealing and eventually the alternator stops working.
Term
handbrake on
If you drive with the parking brake (handbrake) on, it can overheat the brakes. That can cause damage and may require the brakes to be taken apart and fixed.
Concept
car down
“Car down” just means the car isn’t working right now and can’t be used until it’s fixed. They’re describing how long repairs can take and how that affects what else they can do.
Term
lifetime warranty alternator
They bought an alternator with a lifetime warranty. If it fails, the company replaces it without you paying full price again—usually after you return the old one.
Company
Hyundai
Hyundai is the brand the shop is getting the replacement part from. That usually means they’re using the correct part for that system.
LIVE
Good morning folks, you're tuned in to Car Connection where the coffee is strong, the
stories are real and the wrenches never stop turning.
I'm your host Nile Modermouth Jenkins coming to you from the Car Connection Workshop, where
the smell of fresh oil, a little elbow grease is all part of a balanced breakfast.
Around here we don't just talk cars, we live them.
Whether it's a 25 year old Jeep Wrangler getting a second chance at life, or a Nissan
Rogue getting its brakes back in order, or a mystery leak that's got everyone scratching
their heads.
This is where we roll up our sleeves and get it done, with a little wit, a little wisdom
and a whole lot of fun.
The Car Connection isn't just about nuts, bolts and diagnostics, it's about connection.
Connection to our vehicles, to the people who drive them, and to the community that
keeps Niagara rolling.
Because when you fix a car, you're not just turning a wrench, you're restoring someone's
confidence, freedom, and maybe even their sanity.
We're here every week for you, Monday through Saturday, for Modermouth's morning drive
at 8am helping you keeping your ride safe.
Keeping it safe, reliable, ready for whatever road lies ahead.
So whether you're a weekend wrencher, a daily commuter, or someone who just wants to understand
what that strange rattle really means.
Welcome aboard, we're Shift and Gears this morning, and thank you for joining us.
If you're joining us for the very first time, couple things you need to know, have your
favorite morning beverage ready so that we can have a swiggy together, 16 pack of crayola
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So thank you so, so much for doing that.
Car connection is not all about me, it's all about you.
I'm not the message, I'm the messenger and this is the lane that I've been carving out
and been carving it out for over 40 plus years.
I'm not in the pocket of the car manufacturers, the parts manufacturers, the dealerships, any
of them whatsoever.
There's can always be change and there can always be accepting responsibility for crap.
That's exactly if you keep building the same stuff with the same problems and you don't
fix it.
I put it in the category of crap with a large K, that's right.
It's like, come on engineers, you got to get this right.
How can you not, after all these years, get things right?
I don't know.
When I look at the older vehicles that we use for car shows and stuff, you know, was
the technology better than back then or is it better now?
It's better now.
That's for sure.
There's a lot of I'm telling you, I've been doing some research and a lot of the big engine
pattern failures, transmission pattern failures, the stuff that is falling apart, not because
well, I guess it is poor quality, poor engineering.
You got you can't put that junk out and expect it to last.
But there's a lot of people that are not happy, Jerry, definitely not happy.
So welcome aboard this morning.
Let's keep it light.
It is Monday morning.
We're kicking back into a full week after the the Easter holiday, having two short weeks.
Now we're back to, I guess, normal.
I guess we can call that normal, right?
Would that be safe to say, would that be safe to say it's normal?
Well, it's as normal as it's going to be, folks.
Well, let's thank our certified financial planning professionals.
Tony Miele, Larry Tietro with over 50 years experience as fiduciaries.
They don't need any more clients, folks, but they want to be a part of car
connection and help any of you that want to sit down and get your questions answered.
And doing an opinion poll will always get you into hot water.
Trust me, because here's the thing.
I don't know about you, but in my circle of friends, they can solve anyone else's life
problems, except their own.
I'm just saying I'm not being disrespectful, but you know what?
I put them at a distance when it comes to questions and concerns.
So connect with Tony or Larry.
They are my personal financial planners, my brothers from other mothers.
They're with IG Wealth Management, one of the biggest corporations in the world,
managing billions and trillions of dollars.
They handle investment portfolios, debt retirement, estate planning.
So you need powers of attorney, beneficiaries, the whole package and health proxies.
If you have older children living at home, are you their health proxy?
Can you speak for them if there something happens to their health?
That's a legal thing.
You need to check into that because moms and dads, even though you born them,
if something should happen, if you're not their health proxy,
you can't give the doctor's direction.
Did you know that?
They can't take it.
They can't take your direction.
You need to have a health proxy.
So check into that.
That's very important.
They arrange mortgages, having had a mortgage with a bank for almost 15 years.
Not going anywhere else.
I love it there.
The rates are are very competitive.
And the mortgage crew out in Winnipeg are very easy to connect with
and get questions answered.
They're wonderful, wonderful team out there.
They have more and more services that we just don't have time to talk about.
But you can book an hour and a coffee.
We call that the discovery meeting.
And I would highly suggest if you're like overwhelmed, get your questions answered
and leave your wallet and your purse at home.
Ladies, you they're not going to sell you anything.
The discovery meetings is for you to put your questions on the table.
Connect with either Tony Miele or Larry Teatro and let them shed some light
on what's going on, because when you and I think there's no way out,
sideways, top, bottom or underneath, they have heard and dealt with it before.
So take that opportunity to connect.
Book your discovery meeting, the hour and a coffee.
You can meet in person, the boardroom at your home at a coffee shop
in a box with a fox, whatever you want.
And just get it done and get that peace of mind.
OK, so let's have our morning swiggy together.
Thank you to Tony Miele and Larry Teatro are certified financial planners.
And that's who you want to sit with.
If they don't have the credential certified financial planner,
it's just the same with auto mechanics.
If they don't have a license number that says that they have and hold that trade,
then they're an apprentice.
They're not a licensed service technician.
So those who are called advisors, they are not CFP's friends.
They're not. They're in training.
They may become a CFP at some time at some point or something else in their train,
but they're not certified financial planning professionals.
You want to sit with a CFP to get your questions answered, even tax issues.
CFP's deal with that.
You know, it's better to know what the tax tax implications are before you give
the government your money that you didn't have to give them.
They don't do that.
Advisors don't do that.
They sell products.
That's what they do.
Hey, Mrs. Smith, this lipstick is you.
Just kidding. All right.
On three to one, that's how we do it.
So if you're scooting through the drive through, getting ready and get your vehicle
pointed in the right direction on the compass to get to work this morning and
start a new work week, let's start it off right and have a swiggy together here
in the car connection workshop on three to one.
That's how we do it.
Ready? Three, two, one.
Yeah, I was so ready for that this morning.
Let me tell you.
What a beautiful day yesterday.
I'm hoping that trend continues because we need to get this 30 day fuel savings
challenge going because I don't know about you, but we've hit two bucks.
And it doesn't seem to be anyone from the great big head to to make a change
for us and help us out.
So we got to come up with our own and I've got it.
Motor Mouse got your back.
The 30 day fuel saving tips challenge.
That's step one will earn you at least a hundred bucks back in your pocket.
But you got to do the things on the challenge.
I'll be your coach.
I'll guide you.
But you have to be the one that implements the tips.
And when you implement those tips, your fuel savings is going to go up, not down, up.
But you got to take it seriously and it works.
How do I know how many people out there driving 07 Toyota FJ cruisers
with a four liter v6 and getting almost 30 miles to the gallon?
Not too many, not too many from what I see.
They usually fly by me on the highway and almost spin me around into the rhubarb patch.
Well, we have to talk about that.
So as we get to 60 degrees or plus over 60 and we can maintain that,
then we have the ambient air temperature on our side to do the 30 day fuel savings challenge.
All right, let's take a look at the weather this morning brought to us by Earl
Louise Grant, City Auto Sales and Leasing, low mileage quality vehicles at fair prices always.
They sell no junk there.
They're Greater Toronto Areas, Premier, Pre-Owned Auto Store.
Earl Louise Grant are fabulous to deal with.
They have in-house leasing and financing.
And one thing you're going to learn about them, and especially from Louise,
she is not going to let you put yourself in debt way over your head without saying something.
So you got mama right there to guide you.
You may need to do a little stepping stone to the vehicle that you really want,
but get something that you can afford to make the payments, pay the insurance, gas and oil and maintenance.
It won't be a maintenance free automobile that you purchase there.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's just the way it is.
So check in with City Auto Sales and Leasing.
If you've got to drive 90 minutes to get there to make the second largest purchase in your life
and know that you can purchase it from those that will treat you with honesty and integrity
and you can purchase with confidence knowing you're not buying somebody else's junk.
It's worth it, isn't it?
I think so.
I've driven four hours to get to a ride to purchase it,
but been talking through Zoom, emails and photographs before I even turn on my ignition to go,
you know what, this is worthy to go and touch it and drive it.
So you've got that right in the palm of your hands with City Auto Sales and Leasing.
If you don't see the vehicle, they carry a pretty decent inventory under roof and on the lot.
If you don't see what you're interested in, call them and talk to them.
They have the resources and can save you a thousand steps,
preventing you from buying somebody else's junk or what we call a fixer-upper.
Yeah, and they're out there.
It's easy to get bit in the car buying business, especially pre-owned,
so we're blessed to have City Auto Sales and Leasing with us utilize them.
Share them with your family, your friends, your names, your coworkers.
It's great to have that connection because when you got to buy another vehicle,
you don't want to buy somebody else's lipstick on a pig, if you know what I'm saying.
Skunk in a Mink coat.
Well, this morning we have a yellow warning.
Warning, warning.
You say, what's a yellow warning?
Well, this is all new to me.
This is new to the weather report.
For me, yellow warning is wind.
These conditions started at about 3.59 a.m. this morning.
That would be like just before I got up, like one minute beforehand.
For Monday, April the 13th, light rain forecasted.
Light rain is expected to start here in the south shores, rather.
I don't know what's going on in the north side.
No clue.
In about 31 minutes, we're going to have some light rain.
Let's see what we have on the rainometer for today.
Shall we?
How much are we going to see?
That's what I want to know.
Inches, feet, what?
So it's 54 degrees right now and cloudy.
Wind is making it feel cooler, about 47.
Rainy conditions from about 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.
With windy conditions expected around 11 a.m.
Today's temperature range will be from 49 to 62.
Yippee!
62 degrees Fahrenheit and it will feel more like 40 to 55,
which is just fine by me.
Rain, accumulation, 0.1 of an inch.
That's not too shabby.
So take the umbrella, make sure you've got some dry clothes with you.
Maybe a rain slicker, something like that.
Why not?
And stay out of the puddles.
And again, a reminder, folks, don't go blazing the trail
through these deep puddles right now.
Not a good idea.
You got a lot of electronics under the hood.
You got the starter motor is down low.
On 90% of the vehicles, really low.
How low can you go?
Not much lower.
Otherwise, the speed bumps in the grocery store parking lot
would shear it right off.
If you're like me on the FJ, Toyota FJ Cruiser, the Altenator,
they just about put it on the ground.
It's open to all kinds of nasty road splash.
And there's a story about that this morning.
So hang on with that one.
Definitely.
Thank you to Crystal Ridge Dream Center doing what they do.
And that is serving men, women, children, widows, orphans,
single moms, meals, love and hope, changing lives one at a time
in the Niagara region.
They are car connections, nonprofit, faith-based organization.
We've come alongside in part of 2025 and now into 2026.
Our job is to make people aware what they do, where they are,
and how they work.
Every Tuesday, every Friday, they feed hot meals out the side door
to people.
And if you can help them in any way, shape or form,
send them some grocery cards.
They could use those.
They get no outside funding other than from you and I
and local business owners.
That's it.
They have no government grant money and they do this week
after week after week after week.
The after-school programs for the kids.
They can have music lessons for free.
They get tutoring, help with their homework.
They get loved on.
They get fed and they get to play mind-expanding games
like Chocolate Bingo.
Yeah, you and me both.
I'm in.
Can't get in.
I've tried.
Yeah, even fake ID won't get you in there for Chocolate Bingo.
So that is all available at no cost to anyone.
So if you can help them out any way, shape or form,
donate some food.
They've had some food come in and it has to be date stamp,
for sure.
You can't empty your cupboard and you've got outdated food.
That has to go in the dumpster and that costs the money.
So whatever you can do to support them,
check them out on our website.
Click on their link below their logo and have a look.
If you'll find out what I found out.
And that is they're doing stuff that we don't have time to do
because we're busy working.
You know, in times when community sport is crucial,
Crystal Ridge Dream Center shines as a beacon of compassion
and transformation.
They're located at 385 Derby Road in the heart of Crystal Beach.
And there's a lot of low income families out there and everywhere.
So they don't discriminate.
Yeah, I guess that's the word.
Is that a word?
Wokeness?
You wokeness people, don't get me started on that.
Take me a week and 10 days to come down.
Yeah, you can't fix stupid.
Yeah, I'm glad they're not in the automotive repair business.
That would be really interesting.
Anyhow, if you can support them in any way, shape or form,
please consider that.
Would you?
Thank you very much for that.
Well, let's jump into the topic today.
Are you ready for it?
And I have this beacon of light over top of me and it's for two reasons.
So I can see what's going on on my laptop.
But also at the same time, I am in the spotlight today.
I'm one of you.
Okay, I'm one of you.
Operate older automobiles and the title of this morning's program,
episode season two, episode 136.
And again, you can grab our podcast off of any platform out there,
Amazon, Apple and the like.
We're there.
And so wherever you're pulling your podcast from,
just put in the search bar, car connection workshop.
You will find us there.
You can click into our YouTube channel and I have to say thank you
to all those who have been subscribing.
Please just double check and make sure you are subscribed
because I have learned some things.
I'm an analytics.
It'll look an animal and not an animalistic,
an animalistic kind of guy because I'm dealing with with statistics
and data and stats and all kinds of math every day in what I do for 44 plus years.
And what I've noticed with the algorithms is
they dump your subscription.
And how do I know that?
I've got some of my online YouTube favorites
and all of a sudden I'm not getting notifications of new videos coming out.
So I go into their channel and I check to see if I'm still subscribed
by clicking on the bell icon.
So ring the bell to be notified of new vids.
That's how you help your YouTube online influencers.
Do the whole schmiel for all of us.
If you've got online influencers you enjoy,
do the like, share, follow, leave a comment,
ring the notification bell, share, do the whole package,
and you help the channel out.
That's how it works.
We're dealing with analytics, we're dealing with algorithms,
and for some reason that's what I've noticed.
And I put a little word out to some others and they go,
yeah, we've noticed that too, that subscribers drop off,
but they haven't unsubscribed.
So how did that happen?
That's the question I ask.
Okay, so my mechanical mind goes, so how does that happen then?
Ding, ding, ding.
So check, see that you're subscribed
and do all those little things that help all of us that are online,
giving our knowledge away, and supporting you 100% and then some for free.
If it weren't for the program partners that have migrated over
from when we left radio back in November, we wouldn't be here.
We would not be able to pay to keep things going.
We just would not be able to do it.
So thank goodness we have, you know, we have Earl Whee's grant,
we have City Auto Sales and Leasing,
we have the amazing people at Niagara Block at 5,000,
5,000 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls.
I was there on Saturday, spent almost the whole day with Dave Grimo,
met his brother, Dan, and had a whole tour of the entire place.
It's a monster that they have so much going on there.
It's crazy good.
Building supplies, they manufacture and make the blocks right there on site
and all different types of blocking as well.
You know, fascia block and designer blocks for putting buildings together.
They have beautiful landscape, hardscape materials there to create an amazing
outstanding backdoor space.
They also have slate there so they can create slate rock walkways for you,
but they also have a list of referral contractors too.
So check in with Kathy Grimo.
She works in the front office.
That's Dave's wife.
She'd be happy to give you a referral.
In fact, when I arrived there were some people having a consultation
as I arrived looking at creating that back outdoor backyard space
where you can hang out and just be 905-356-2221.
Get all your building supplies, block, steel, rebar.
They have it all there and hardscape, landscaping materials.
So this morning's program.
I entitled it Cars Happen.
I was going to call it something else, but I know it's a family show.
So I'm here for you.
You can email me.
Quick reminder, Fridays are fun Fridays.
Saturdays, I do a one hour Q&A.
Questions and answers.
You've got to get your emails in with your questions in early.
Okay.
So like Thursday, end of day, EOD.
I need your email.
All right, if you don't mind.
And you won't get any spam or anything.
Just send me your questions.
I pick three questions.
We had three amazing questions on Saturday.
Thank you to Susan and Ian and William for taking the time
to put those in the pile.
I pick three out of the pile.
And then that's about all I can cover in one hour
because I don't just give a yes-no answer.
I unpack the question for you so that you've got direction
for the week ahead.
So if you needed an answer to that question,
I'll give you enough material, enough fodder
for you to be able to iron your way out of a problem.
So, but I need your emails by end of day, Thursday.
It's Nile at ccbusnet.com, B-U-S-S-N-S-A-M-N-E-T.com,
or motormouth.jenkins, J-E-N-K-I-N-S,
just as it sounds at gmail.com.
That's motormouth.jenkins at gmail.com.
I put that information in the description box
on our YouTube videos.
We do three new videos every single week,
two for Tuesday and one on Friday.
We video record today on Mondays at 7 a.m.
Skippy will be here there abouts,
and we'll shoot three vids and some shorts
and get those loaded up and ready for next week.
And we're usually, we try and be about a week or two ahead
with videos so that if we do get a problem,
we've got videos made ahead of time.
We can just put those up.
So that's a great way for you to also learn a lot
about the basic fundamentals of vehicle ownership.
And it doesn't matter what age you are,
what size you are, what color you are, or anything.
If you're wanting to learn, our YouTube channel
is designed to teach you all the basic fundamentals,
what it is, where it is, how it works, how it breaks,
and what you could have understood
about those components a little bit better
that would have saved not hundreds,
but thousands of dollars and even better than that,
a whole lot of chaos.
Yeah, a whole lot of chaos.
So get signed up for our YouTube channel.
There's over 310 resources on our YouTube channel
for you to watch and listen as well.
So let's get into it.
This features myself today and how stuff can just happen.
It just happens, folks, and I'm not discluded.
I do my very best to try and prevent this kind of thing
I'm going to explain to you from happening.
But you know what?
You can't catch them all.
Yeah.
You know, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a cat wrangler.
Then I realized, you know what?
You can't catch them all.
And that bothers me.
I don't want one to get away.
So that kind of put the X in the box
and I decided to become an auto mechanic,
not a cat wrangler.
All right.
So cars happen and the common denominator is this.
Get used to it.
That's right.
I was going to call it something else with a C or possibly a K.
If you know what I'm saying, it happens.
It does.
Poo-poo happens.
There's a better way of saying it.
Poo-poo happens.
So you better get used to it.
Now I'm going to tell you what's transpired in the last.
Let's see.
How many days is that Thursday?
Four days.
Here's what happened in four days.
And it involves four automobiles.
Okay.
Four.
Not three.
Four.
And the whole cascade started with the very first one.
The first one.
And then things escalated from there and went south very quickly.
And nothing that I could really control except figure out the schedule
and part sourcing to get something moving.
Get something in motion.
It left us with one vehicle.
One vehicle to share and it caused a problem.
That's all I'm saying.
That's all I'm saying on that one.
Here.
So here we go.
Stay with me now.
So I needed to get another vehicle into the shop badly.
And it was, I think it was Thursday evening.
I was doing a whole car shuffle and it was busy here.
I was moving vehicles around by myself getting everything lined up
to work with the schedule I had created in my mind, in my mind's eye.
And then it began to unravel.
And I wanted to get that all done before the rain moved in late in the day.
Well, the 1997 Jeep TJ Wrangler Rescue wouldn't crank over.
Nothing.
Key forward.
Say a prayer.
Try it again.
No.
Give the car a blessing.
Didn't work.
I'm like, darn it.
Now, now the drops are starting to hit the windshield.
I'm going, oh, this is not going to turn out good.
I, this, if I can't get the Jeep moved, it's blocking everything else in
that needs to be moved away from the bay door so I can get what's in there out
and move to a different location and get what's got problems in.
Yeah.
So I'm stuck.
So now I've got the 97 Jeep is not cranking over.
I, I head under the hood, look at the quick, simple things.
Everything's tight and right.
I'm going, no, this is a little bit deeper than you think.
It's not the ignition switch.
That's all brand new.
I put that in there way back in the beginning of that rescue and you can see that on video,
all the stuff's on video all the way up to the Jeep being outside and it's drivable.
So I head into the shop.
It's threatening rain by this time and it's guys blacker than black and I'm going,
I am going to get drenched through to my gotchas.
So I'm rushing in my mind going, okay, what am I, what am I going to test?
I need this, this, this, this and this boom back out there to the Jeep.
And so I right away because it has a brand new starter motor on it.
So it can't be that, right?
It can't be that, right?
Right, right?
It's changed.
So I'm going, it's not that starter came from a very reputable company that I trust 110%.
It's not that.
So I'm going, it's electrical for sure.
Something's packed in it.
So I had right to the starter motor relay in the fuse box under the hood.
I pluck it out.
I put a jumper lead in.
First, I test to make sure I've got constant power there.
The answer was with my, my test light and I just used Neanderthal test tools.
That's it.
Just quick and dirty.
I've got power where I'm supposed to have power.
Okay.
I grab my jumper lead that I always have jumper leads made up.
I shove it into the power side.
I locate the, the throw side of the alternator, the starter and I cross referenced the power.
So in other words, I made the power goal where I wanted it to go to see if the starter would
crank over and the answer was quickly.
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
Circuits are good.
What do we got going on here?
So I pop open the relay in the relays junk.
The points inside the relay, it's a mechanical, electrical, mechanical relay.
I see the, the condition of the points and I'm going, yeah, there's the failure.
So I'm like, I don't think I have another one of those relays around.
So I go looking in my electrical box and lo and behold, I find one.
It's not really designed for that, but with a little modification and removing a bracket
off of the relay, I stuff it in there and head for the ignition key and voila, problem solved.
By this time, now I'm running in the rain, putting tools away, dropping the hood,
now get this car out of this Jeep out of the way to move, get stuff moved around and it's raining.
I mean, it's slapping rain drops the size of flap jacks.
So anyways, so now I've got to get the 99 rocket, the Honda Civic DX two door hatchback
out of the shop because I took it apart.
And it's a car down like it can't go on the street.
The whole, I took the whole front bumper cover grill and everything out because it was annoying
me because it's sunburned and I'm going, I'm dealing with that this year, makes the car look cheap
and lousy. I want it looking top drawer. So I thought, okay, we've got four vehicles that
need to be get ready for the summer. They need to get its fleet maintenance time.
I'll do the rocket first, get the bumper cover off, get it sanded out, paint the grill.
I put the summer tires on, I serviced all the brakes. I got a muffler on that thing that's
all full of corn flakes in the back. A muffler's coming, but I didn't take it off. So I, you know,
if we needed to use the car, we could use it, but I thought I'll do that one first. Okay,
this is where it all goes to hell in a hand basket. So that car now is deemed can't go on the road.
It's got no nose on it. It's off. Everything is hanging open.
Well, if another vehicle doesn't decide to poo poo and won't start wherever it is.
Okay, so that's the J-Beam, the O9 Hyundai Accent. Two door got no accessories.
No air, no power, nothing. Cranking windows. It's dead and the person gets stranded
for half an hour or more. Not a happy camper. Okay, just saying. Not a happy camper. So I get this thing
and it's running. It came back to life. Period. That happened last year. Last July, I went on a
service call. It was broken down somewhere in Ridgeway. I find it. I get there and I wasn't there.
More than 15 minutes. I had right for the fuel pump because I cranked a key. I couldn't hear the buzz.
I couldn't hear buzz, buzz, buzz. I'm going, the pump's not running. This thing only has like 70
plus thousand kilometers on it from brand new. So anyways, long story short, I get down to the wiring,
get down to the pump. I check for powers and grounds. This is last July. Okay, you have to
know this part of the story for it all to come together. Yeah, for everything to go to hell on
a hand basket, you got to know this piece. So I'm there with my test equipment, my tools. I pull
the back seat. I get down to the pump. I check for power and ground. It's a car where when I'm
sitting in the back, it's so small I can reach and turn the ignition myself without having a
skippy to do it. And I got power and ground where it's supposed to be. And so I take the plug off.
I look at it. Everything's normal. Everything's clean. There's no corrosion anywhere. There's
no chafe wiring. So I go to reach for the ignition one more time and it starts
just like that pumps buzzing. And I go, you little dirty rat. So now what do I test?
What what failed? I ask you that question, put it in an email. What do you think failed?
What was the failing component that stopped the pump from working? Was it the pump?
Well, I don't know. It's an IDK. I don't know. Was it the fuel pump relay?
I don't know because it's all working. What do you test? You can just go looking.
But you know, I don't have a crystal ball. I can't look in and go, yeah, it's that.
You know, that's where, you know, if you listen to the customers having
going Heber Phoenix on you, there's a word for you, having an amygdala hijacking.
Remember when emotions are high intelligence is low, you can't have a conversation. So I'm going,
I'm not throwing the parts candidate because if I say, you know, let's just throw a $386
factory pump in there and hope for the best. And guess what happens when that doesn't fix it?
When you get the call, the car quit again. What are we going to do now?
And then you get the stink guy. I just spent 386 bucks and you told me to put a fuel pump in it.
And it didn't fix it. Well, you were busy tearing me a new one and ripping my forehead off.
While you were doing that, I made a quick rash decision. Well, let's throw a fuel pump in.
And then guess what happens afterwards when the pump didn't fix it and the car goes down again?
Well, I just spent 386 bucks. You told me it was a fuel pump. No, I said it's a possibility of
a fuel pump and you said put it in. Well, why'd you ask me? I don't know anything. You see what
happens there? I got 44 years of this crap. And if you walk into that trap, that's exactly the
conversation you're going to get. That's exactly what I'm going to get. I can't win that one.
As a tech, I'd rather just kick it down the road and go take it to Joe Schmoes,
because I'm not stepping into that, that firestorm. So I don't get out the parts
cannon for that reason. Now, that said, I can say in my entire career, there's a couple of times
where you spend a whole night testing it, you've had a pizza and a couple of cold snacks and
you know, it's two o'clock in the morning and the testing keeps coming back to the same feature
that could potentially be the causal component. That's when you have to do a swag
to try and get things to move forward. But we weren't in that position.
And a swag is a scientific wild guess. Got it? That's what a swag is. If I can get to about 90%
on my dyag and go, everything's pointing at this, but I can't say 100%, but I'm at 90%.
That's when I'll do a swag. And generally, I'll try and call some of my buddies go, hey,
do you got one of these sitting around you that's good? Yeah, I got one. Come and get it. So I can
grab it and plug it in. And if all is well, then we put a new one in and give my buddy back his
test piece. So anyways, we weren't in a position to do that to throw in. I didn't just happen to have,
you know, a fuel pump cartridge ready to drop in in my pocket from Hyundai. So
it's been fine ever since. Then all of a sudden, guess what? It decides to poo poo. Now we got a
problem. So now customer A says, I don't want to drive it. I don't want to get caught somewhere.
I get it. Okay. Now I can test it. So now this thing actually is not running. And I could
quickly test it. And I knew where the fuel pump relay and fuel injection relay is,
because it could be as simple as a relay. Now at this point, it's not the pump's not running,
cars not starting. So quickly, I swap relays. Double check, make sure part number same.
So you don't do something stupid and fry something. But the book, the diagram showed
three relays of the same part number. So I swapped the fuel injector relay to the fuel pump,
and it still didn't run. Okay, so that eliminates what? Fuel pump relay is not the cause.
There is a check engine light on. It could be a crankshaft sensor. Possibility is there.
If the crankshaft sensor doesn't see the engine cranking over, it doesn't see RPM,
it won't turn on the fuel pump. That's a safety feature. So get the scan tool, go in there.
No, it has everything to do with an oxygen sensor that's gone completely.
So it's not the crank sensor. So now what is it?
It's the pump. So it's decided to die. When we get into a vehicle that has an intermittent problem,
I want you all to understand this. If it's intermittent, that means you bring the car to the
shop, and I can't get it to duplicate the same problem. So in this case, a no start.
You bring it to me, and I can't get it to no start. It won't duplicate the problem.
What do you want me to fix? Do you want me to get the parts cannon out? Because I won't do it.
I'll just say, you know what, take it to someone else because I'm not riding that storm. No,
because it comes back. Exactly what I just already told you. I put some parts in,
and then the problem's still there. You're going to get, well, why'd you put all those parts in
there for? I had to pay for that. You need to pay me back. It gets into a firestorm at that point.
No. I'd rather say no. So if I can't, as a tech, if we can't get the vehicle to duplicate the problem,
what do you want us to fix? It's a patient's trying issue. You've got to let the problem
develop to where we can get it to duplicate so we can test. It's that simple. If you force your
tech to throw some parts on it and it doesn't fix it, it's on you. It's on you. Okay? It's all on you.
Not on the tech. If you're saying, well, what am I supposed to do? You know, I can get caught out
somewhere and it just starts to shrubs into trees. That's what happens. Shrubs into trees.
And we got an amygdala hijacking taking place when we got someone who's emotional
and when emotions are high, intelligence is low. You're getting nowhere as a tech trying to explain.
Here's the procedure. But if you want to throw parts at the thing and hope that, you know,
we hit the bull's eye and we find the causal component first time out, but if we don't,
we're the bad guy. So I was able to die agate. It's definitely pumped. But now we got a problem.
We got a car down. I don't have a spare. Well, I do. We got the 08 Rogue. It's supposed to get
a transmission service today, but now it's being split. Anyways, it's a long story that there's one
vehicle still running usable very much so use it. Just share it. Well, guess what else happens? It
gets worse. It gets worse. So you go when you might be thinking, well, what happened to the 07
agent FJ? Oh, it decided. It decided third day before Wednesday. The alternator bearing went out
of it. So and it's squealing. So what's happened with that before is it seems about every 100,000.
I got to put an alternator on it because of where it's located on the engine. That's the problem.
It's down low. It gets all the road splash. It can handle all the time. And you look down,
you look at the alternator, you go, how old is that thing? Yeah, it looks like it's been living in
the bottom of the ocean in a pineapple, the bottom of the sea. Yeah. And that's what happens to it.
It just gets all corroded and the water gets inside it. It's a stupid setup. The alternator
should be up higher, much higher, but it's not. So the alternator bearing decides that it's going to
say, I still have used a baby and yeah. And what happened to me once before was I heard that same
noise and I kept driving it. And then I went to a mall in town up to the bank. That was it. I went
up to the bank, shut it off, went into the bank in the $20 store and got a few things come out and
the engine starts up and the alternator is not turning and the belt is squealing like I heard
of wild pigs and the belt is smoking because the alternator is not turning. So when this thing
started squealing again on Thursday, I'm like, that's one that's on the list to come in for
the spring inspection. And I talked about that in a podcast last week. The spring evaluation
is priceless. It is priceless because this is where you find this stuff, right? You find this stuff
on the rocket. The right rear brake was messed up because somebody drove it with the handbrake on.
It wasn't me. And so that all needed to be torn apart and fix it, clean it and put it back together
and take care of that business, put the summer tires on. But I decided to take the nose off of
it, deal with the faded out grill and the top of the bumper is sun baked. I decided, let's take care
of that aesthetics. I can do it myself with some as some of my body men friends on how I approach
this. So we're going to do a video with that and show you you can do it at home. You can do it
yourself and I'll show you how save a lot of money. So anyhow, so that car is out of the running.
FJ is down. I'm not pulling the alternator off outside. It is a bugger mucking a half
to get it out of there. And it's lifetime warranty. So I don't have to pay for it. I was smart enough
the last two times to make sure I bought a lifetime warranty alternator. That means I give
them the broken one, they give me a new one. So but here's the deal. Now things have changed.
They couldn't just send me that alternator and I'll give them the old one when I take it off,
right? I said, okay, charge me core for it. No, no, you got to buy the whole alternator up front
and the core charge and tie your money up till you get that alternator off. And when you get it
off and take it back, then they'll credit you back like the 700 almost 800 bucks. And I said, no,
I don't need to. We had other vehicles rolling. Well, that changed with the 09. The J-Bean goes down
with a nose start. And now it's not intermittent anymore. It's pretty much it's there to stay.
So alternator bearing goes out on the FJ. That's car down the 09 J-Beans car down the pump arrived
sometime late this afternoon. And the rockets all apart on the other side of the campus.
And the Jeep starts and runs, but it is not ready for the road. It needs a floor welding up
and a new bracket putting on the lower control arm. And I'm going to let my friend Jesse do that
at their custom shop in Waifleet. But we're not there yet. So we're down to one ride.
The 2008 Nissan Rogue is the savior here. But people aren't happy. That's all I can tell you.
That's all I'm going to share. So see how quickly the whole point of this whole thing is how quickly
things can turn for the worse, but you got to turn it around. So the J-Bean will be all completely
back together today by EOD if I have to stay up until tomorrow morning. It will be all back together.
So we're going to shoot a video on that today. It's kind of tied up the service bay,
but there is a bunch of stuff that needs to be taken care of while it's indoors.
It may as well get what? It's spring evaluation and it has a service light on. So I need to get
into that a little bit more and solve these other issues. Prepare for the new pump to arrive
from Hyundai today. They're delivering it and get this thing back to life before I lose my freaking
mind. That's all I got to say. Happy Monday, everybody. Happy Monday. So how's your day going?
How's your day going out there? You guys have been a little exciting here, so just remember
cars happen. Get used to it. That's all. You just, you know, 44 plus years. I just laugh,
but that's not a good thing when somebody's not happy. Got it? Somebody's not happy.
And like I said, when emotions are high, intelligence level is extremely low and bottomed
out. You are not going to be able to reason with that person. Even when I had my shop,
it was exactly the same thing. Well, what am I supposed to do? I can, I can't drive this thing
that way. You know, if it, it cocks out again, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I go, well, what
what would you like me to change? Just give me a list of parts and I'll put them in,
but I'll tell you what, I'll make sure your work order says you decided to do it. You've told me
and forced me to do it under due rest. It's your baby. If it doesn't work out. And then,
you know what you hear? Here's the next line every single time. Well, that just doesn't seem fair.
Oh, I see. Little narcissistic behavior there, perhaps, but who knows? Who knows? I'm not a
psychotherapist or analyst, but no, I'm not getting involved in that. I'd rather send it down the
road. I don't even want to touch the job at that point, because I'm going to be the one, no matter
what, no matter what, I'm going to be the one holding the bag and under fire. And I'm going to
be the conversation around the coffee shop, coffee table. I took my car to so-and-so and he screwed
me. Yeah, that's the conversation that will come out nothing prior to that point. He threw a bunch
of parts on there and he never fixed it and I ended up taking it somewhere else and oh my gosh,
no, I won't get involved in that. That's the danger zone that I've learned not to play in.
So if you think cars happen just to you and not to me, I hope that shed some light on your day.
I hope it made you laugh a little bit, because you know what? It's just a car. That's all it is,
and you got to get through it, no matter what. You just got to get over it, under it, through it,
round it, and get it done. So till tomorrow, have fun, have a great Monday, make it a great day today,
keep it under 100, happy healthy motoring, and remember, come back for another edition of Motor
Mouths Morning Drive, 8 AM. We'll see you tomorrow morning at 8 AM. Make it a great day. Don't forget
to like, share, follow, ring the notification bell, comment. Your comments are really important
to growing, so like and follow. Join us on our online stuff, Facebook, Instagram. Our online
presence is there and Skippy usually puts a reel up there and bloopers so that you've got some
entertainment there, things that you won't see anywhere else. And get into our online store and
grab yourself at least a car connection morning coffee mug. Yeah, it'll soothe the
savage beast, no matter what. So happy, healthy motoring, peace, patience, and kindness always,
and we'll see you right back here for another edition of Motor Mouths Morning Drive tomorrow
morning. Make it a great day. Stay out of the puddles. Bye for now.
About this episode
A busy Monday at the Car Connection Workshop turns into a real-world lesson on why “car down” situations spiral fast. After weather, fuel-saving tips, and local sponsor shoutouts, host Nile walks through a four-car cascade: a 1997 Jeep TJ won’t crank due to a failed starter relay, a Honda Civic gets disassembled and then a Hyundai Accent becomes a no-start mystery tied to an intermittent fuel-pump issue, and the Toyota FJ Cruiser later develops an alternator bearing failure. The episode focuses on troubleshooting discipline, avoiding the “parts cannon,” and managing customer emotions when problems won’t duplicate.
Original notes
" Cars don't break when it's convenient....they break when it hurts."
This weekend was one for the books...and not in a good way.
Four vehicles. One after another. No warning. No pattern. Just real - life automotive chaos.
In today's episode, I break down exactly what happened when multiple vehicles in our household went "car Down" - from a failed starter relay in a jeep to an FJ Cruiser, to the worst kind of problem of all....an intermittent no - start that refuses to act up when you need it to.
This is the reality drivers don't hear enough about:
1) Cars don't wait for. the "right time" to break
2) Intermittent problems can't be diagnoses on demand
3) And sometimes ....everything fails at once
We also talk about:
1) Why "Concern, Cause, Correction, Confirmation" matters more than guessing
2) The truth about intermittent no-start diagnostics
3) Why throwing parts at a problem can backfire
4) How timing (and even taking apart your spare car) can make things worse
If you've ever had your vehicle leave you stranded - or wondered why your mechanic "couldn't find anything wrong" - this episode is for you.
Because sometimes....cars just happen.
#CarRepair. #AutoDiagnostics #CarProblems
Car Connection / Motormouth merch available in our online store at our web site ccbusnet.com. Thank You for grabbing some gear, joining our crew in helping those struggling with addiction get to a Total Freedom Addiction Campus Canada & USA where a New Life Awaits them there! You Guys Rock Tnx again! Skippy & Motormouth.
More episodes and ....Project Details & Links are available at Car Connection Business Network.com (ccbusnet.com) you'll find everything on our homepage if you'd like to follow the build & Repair work we do, connect with our program partners click their logo to meet them! Appreciate your support by giving them your business! Nile Motormouth Jenkins.
Thank You for doing these little things to help all that we do grow!
Like, share, follow, subscribe, leave your comment, ring the notification bell to miss nothing, join our online community. Tnx again Freinds we love y'all very much! Motormouth & Skippy.
Car Connection Workshop
Nile Jenkins
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