QuestionYou’re right about the TON of money part (LOL). Just so happens it was an easy fix though, just in a very precarious position. Diagnostic time factor was overshot by like 12 hrs. They had my car for 2 days, & on the 3rd day bout 4pm they called & informed me that it was an electrical short in my Driver’s side door. He asked me if by any chance I had custom speakers put in the car. I answered yes (& asked why). He said, “the inside looked VERY tampered with & abused, that it was the reason why the short was caused in the 1st place". Things that should have braced/clipped & isolated had not been in their proper place & that there was a EXTREMELY high chance this would have never happened if things were done a lil more professionally.
I did have custom speakers put in my car 2 mo ago & had to take it back to the radio facility for repair & drop off my car for an entire day (ON 4 diff occasions b4 they got it right). Some custom work done on my paneling did not work out for them as anticipated. There were some minor electrical problems, bad connections/ground noise. So somewhere out of the midst of frustration & the 4 times of working on it, he maybe got a lil careless (surely not purposely though), he manhandled some things or did not put things back like it should have been (Shortcuts). This resulted in a devious problem for me shortly after the work was done. The work from the place is supposed to be warranted against any defects, so I may in fact take them the info from the shop & try to barter with them & demand that they pay my bill for. They still have to repair my bottom paneling for it is STILL not done correctly (due to the service of the short). So this would be the 5th time for them to keep & work on my car, I’m thinking just taking it elsewhere for repair, which ironically will void my warranty on the “Custom Stereo”.
Its kinda funny that the 1st original problem with the custom stereo was ground noise & a small paneling problem. They custom cut slightly bigger diam holes for the speakers cause it did not clear by a couple cm or less. They put a custom panel over the speaker (w/ bigger diam. holes for better sound), then customized it with new & matching carpet. Well the carpet & panel was not glued on correctly, & the tweeter did not work. So It was taken back for the 1st time for repair. This is where it gets ironic! They had the audacity to accuse me of removing the panel & messing something up in the process & that my warranty is now voided. Longer story shorter, I set them straight, because I had not even driven the car since they installed it (except to get home & back there again) & I certainly did not remove a door panel or any panels for that matter. This is why I paid them in the 1st place. I know my electrical; I just did not want to fool with ripping off panels, seats, etc. I‘ve had the car for over 7 mo, & have put less than 8k mi on it, its not my primary vehicle. I primarily drive my 99 mercury sable. But the starter relay just croaked, so I’ve been driving the Deville for a week or so, & that’s when it broke on me.
So anyways, it’s been back there on 4 diff occasions, & I’m taking it back to them to let them know just how much I think they suck. I know not really a mature thing to do, but I will be mature & very frank about it. I have an AUT degree & Laser Electro-Optics, & am no fool when it comes to electronics for I have at least 5 yrs of intense electronics. I lacked certain equipment/tools for the job. There is no reason for faulty work time after time, it’s not that hard. So anyways, thanks for the help & the ear. Just thought I would include an in-depth description on the situation just in case someone else had symptoms like this. Clearly it wont be in the same place, but to knowing a simple electrical short to ground can do all these things to your car is good to know.
Sincerely,
Nick Obando
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Follow up to Question -
94 Deville 4.9 Ltr V-8. Bought car at an auction, more than likely serviced by dealer for the car is in immaculate condition, new fluids, spark plugs look great (excellent burn, not necessarily new , or excellent for the mileage of 55 K). Car exhaust smells slightly, but runs EXCELENT & shows no signs of anything wrong. Avg mpg 28 & runs smooth & very powerful. Went 2 work, came back 2 car to go home & "Service engine soon" light is on. Electronic windows dont roll up & down, Instrument panel display out, Aut trunk release not functional, AC-No response(No blower), & car runs as if it is stuck in OD (runs normal once speeds of 50+ reached). Similar to takin off in 4th gear in a standard, feel like trane is slippin. Will not shift automatically but can if done manually (Does not seem to want to engage in 1st gear). Has fluid in it & is discolored normally (Very clean). I was thinking maybe a fuse or 2 blew, I looked in the manual & no single fuse seems to control the exact symptoms of car. Maybe you can help me.
Answer -
You are going to have to spend a TON of money on this one to fix all these problems. 2 even try & give you specific instructions on what & how to resolve this many problems, I would have to write a short novel. Give the repair center a chance to see what they can find & let me know.
AutoHelp
AnswerThis IS one of the major problems that we run into. People do NOT tell us that they had work done on the car such as radios, speakers, different size wheels and tires, Installed an aftermarket computer chip in the computer for faster acceleration, Recently replaced the transmission, etc,etc,etc.
This is why I ask has there been any work done at all anywhere on the vehicle and rarely does anyone come back and say YES.
Had I known about the speakers being installed this is where we would have started our diagnosis.
I just had a guy complaining that every time he turned on his radio, his instrument panel went dim. He never told me in the beginning that he replaced the radio and sure enough after dragging it out of him we discovered that it was wired wrong thus faulting his instrument panel.
thanks,
tom
