Back in Black, Broke Down Twice Already...

[hesermon]

I know your paranoid, but if you can't /won't change your own chip, maybe you should sell the car!

Has to be the easiest thing to do and if you can't do that, well...... Not trying to be a prick but a chip is just too easy to change or unseat and reseat. No need to be paying someone else to do it.

Dannyo

Wow!


Don't be scarred! YOU CAN DO IT!

 

[Pronto]

You do have alky right? It's not in your sig. If you don't have it hooked up be carefull with boost!

 

[kTrainHurricane]

You do have alky right? It's not in your sig. If you don't have it hooked up be carefull with boost!

I do NOT have alky. I DO know that the previous owner I bought it from (the one who had the motor swap done, etc.) liked to run race gas/110 octane. I dont know if he called Eric Marshall and told him this (or if its ok, for that matter) but I plan on getting in touch with Turbo Tweak asap Monday...

 

[TurboJim]

Its not that I will be paying someone to do it - its the fact that the job was ALREADY paid for so EXPECT them to do it. With my luck the chip will snap while taking it out, plain and simple. My only argument is that i'd rather have the SHOP break the chip or whatever so THEY can paid Eric Marshall $100 for a new one, rather than ME breaking it and having to spend MORE money out of my pocket...

Thats a real ****head attitude. And is why I have stopped being interested in helping people.

I hope the shop that works on your car is reading.... If you came to my shop with that train of thought I'd throw you out.

 

[rmar]

Thats a real ****head attitude. And is why I have stopped being interested in helping people.

I hope the shop that works on your car is reading.... If you came to my shop with that train of thought I'd throw you out.

I hate to say it but I agree..... Not the kind of customer anybody wants.....

 

[kTrainHurricane]

Thats a real ****head attitude. And is why I have stopped being interested in helping people.

I hope the shop that works on your car is reading.... If you came to my shop with that train of thought I'd throw you out.

OK GUYS, POINT TAKEN. (As of now) the problem is fixed - all it took was removal+reinsertion of the chip, and adjustment of the grey plug piece that goes into the ECM box. I dont need any more lectures. I sent out a thanks to those who helped, and I paid the shop as the car now runs fine...

 

[TurboJim]

You know what gets my goat? Not that you care but I'll share anyway. Your car stalled. KAM wire to the ECM was the cause. I'll bet your car was dripping fuel in their lot at which point you approved the tank/lines repair, because you either came to look at it on their lift or smelled/saw fuel leaking in the past. Now the shop fixes the stall and the leaking fuel tank. They charge you $1000 and off you go. Now you think that $1000 all applies to the stall so you think if the car ever stalls again it's under warranty. Now, the shop fixed one of a thousand things that can cause a stall. And 10% of the bill applied to that repair. To you, you spent a grand and if the car ever stalls again it's because it was not fixed right. You need to realize that not everything is related, and just because one thing was fixed, does not mean another of the thousand other things that can fail won't. Hell, these cars are 25 years old man. There's stuff waiting to break every time you fire it up!

Lastly, setting up a shop for failure is a terrible thing to think, let alone talk about in a public forum. In the shop environment if I break something, I'll fix it. You may never even know I broke it. But just our thought process regarding bringing something for someone else to break so they will have to pay for it sounds almost like a set up, and that's plain wrong. I don't know how people who think that is acceptable can sleep at night.

 

[Wknight13]

"Basically the car died on me one day and I found out it was because the orange ECM wire had a bad connection."


This person DID say that the garage had messed with and replaced a portion, why not the whole thing, of the ECM wire. To me it's likely a small static built up and that is why the your chip started working correctly. Electronics is a strange thing, it happens on rare occasions in medical equipment. Dismantle put back together, the things work right and you didn't replace a thing....

BUT...do take it easy on the garage, after all, they are the ones working on your car. Check their credentials and any references (random is better than they giving you their friends names).

 

[hesermon]

I think the lesson learned here is "you get what you pay for (if you're lucky!),
We've all paid for something and got less than we expected at one time or another. My take away on this thread is that if you can't (or won't) do something yourself then don't blame someone you trusted to do it for you unless you have pretty good reason to believe that they know more about it than you do. I recently sold a re-man engine to a nationally known repair facility, they called me to say that the rotor button was defective because it did not fit properly. It was pointing the opposite direction when they installed the distributor while on top dead center. I asked them if they were sure that they had the engine on the compression stroke and not exhaust. The ASE certified "technician" replied "Look, I know what I'm doing, according to my Mitchell program, the #1 piston has to be all the way to the top of the cylinder".
Ugh! As it turned out of course the dist was 180 out. They charged this customer almost $2000 for labor alone for a job that they were obviously not qualified to do. Point is simply, if you own one of these cars then you should know that not everyone is qualified to work on it. Option a) seek out a TR experienced tech like some of the guys on this forum, b) be willing to learn to do some of the smaller stuff yourself with the advice and help of these same guys on here or c) take your chances with whomever you choose and be willing to pay the bill and accept whatever outcome you get.

 

[hesermon]

Just want to add one more thing. I am NOT a TR expert! 99% of what I know about my cars I've learned by being willing to learn from hands-on and asking questions (in the correct manner) and being willing to take advice from those that are much more knowledgeable than myself. There is truly not much that your car will every need that someone on here has not done and is willing to help with.

 

[TurboJim]

Ugh! As it turned out of course the dist was 180 out. They charged this customer almost $2000 for labor alone for a job that they were obviously not qualified to do.

And this supports what I tell customers that bring the car to the dealer because they made the car.... you never know who in a shop will be working on your car, unless you specifically ask for someone and watch them do it.

Just because you take a car to a reputable shop, does not mean the kid working on it has the experience someone else in the shop has. And if the shop charged this person for the "learning experience" it was wrong to do.

Hey, we all learn everyday, I do too, but the customer never gets charged for me to learn. We may get beat up on a problem. Maybe even a distributor put in wrong. And we eat it. But the next time(s), I'll remember what I did wrong and kick the hell out of the job and make money. Thats how it works. Everyone was a beginner at some point. A person who takes advantage of this is a poor person. Be it a business owner or a customer.

I'm sorry I took this thread on a tangent. Just kinda miffed me that the OP was willing to basically "set someone up" for doing a job that may not go smooth. I would NEVER bring in say my rustbucket car for brakes, and bitch if a line blew out on the way home. I'd be mad, but never blame the shop, even if they were near the line. It was ready to break and it just happened when I left the shop. Even if I had already paid for a brake repair. Just because its still brakes, doesnt mean it was their fault. Its just not right. I couldnt sleep knowing I took advantage of someone or a situation. I'm just not that way. But apparently that IS just me....

 

[hungerbuhler1]

That is what this world is coming to. Let someone else take it apart and if they break it they can fix it that right there is a n**** im so glad i didnt trade my GN to you cause god knows if something broke i would not hear the end of it. If you cant afford to fix a vehicle ride a bike.

 

[kTrainHurricane]

Point is simply, if you own one of these cars then you should know that not everyone is qualified to work on it. Option a) seek out a TR experienced tech like some of the guys on this forum, b) be willing to learn to do some of the smaller stuff yourself with the advice and help of these same guys on here or c) take your chances with whomever you choose and be willing to pay the bill and accept whatever outcome you get.

I am aware of this, and WANTED to take it to the local, reputable TR mechanic but as previously stated he did not answer the phone when I originally called. So, it was either leave the car (with no alarm installed, to say the least) in a parking lot for god knows however many days, or take it to the next best thing...

Once again I was not "out" to screw someone over for my benefit. My thought process was just that
a).The shop had the car for a month which is WAY to long to replace a gas tank, fuel pump, and jump the ECM wire, and
b).My posts about taking it back for them to fix was BEFORE I found out it was the chip that was the problem. At the point in time the car was not running I had absolutely no clue as to what the problem was, other than that it was something electrical-related, which is what (i thought) i paid the shop to fix. I am the first to admit i dont know my ass from a hole in the ground with these cars...I learn what I can reading this forum and take it from there. As soon as I was certain it was the chip, I went outside, popped it out, replaced it and said thanks - to the contributors of this thread AND the shop who did the work...

 

[kTrainHurricane]

That is what this world is coming to. Let someone else take it apart and if they break it they can fix it that right there is a n**** im so glad i didnt trade my GN to you cause god knows if something broke i would not hear the end of it. If you cant afford to fix a vehicle ride a bike.

Jason you can blow it out you're a$$. Dont sit here and talk smack about something you only know a little bit about. Anyone with a brain could infer that there is at least a little more to the situation than "my car stalled again its the shops fault i'm gonna try and screw them" and if not, i apologize for being vague and making it seem that way.

Lastly, dont sit here and flaunt your fcking money in my face. You own a successful business, congrats. Doesnt give you the right to knock those of us who dont have thousands of dollars to hand a performance and just say, "here, make it fast" i.e. your 86...

I value my GN much more than I would any bicycle, as most of us on here would. I struggle and do what i gotta do to do the best i can do. If i dont have the money to fix my car, then so be it...its none of your business.

 

[HUMBLE-U2]

pm sent kevin.

 

[83ttypecooled]

Hi,
I just spent 2 hours reading these posts,and I'll tell ya, I'm exhausted. As a little background info, I am also a CMAT and an auto repair shop owner. In my opinion, the portion of the original bill regarding ecm wiring repairs should have entitled the customer to some sort of warranty. You know, like 100 ft out the door, or some such. In all seriousness,there should have been some mitigation between the customer and the repair facility,as it is always easy to lose a customer, but almost impossible to gain one back.It's too bad, but constantly this occurs. Personally, I eat a lot of jobs because I understand that keeping my client base is more important than losing a $50 job.
Y'ALL need ta chill! The reason this all got out of hand was that the original problem was not diagnosed accurately. It was a mysterious,big pain in the ass,but with the input of the group,it was easily solved. I,personally,had never seen a flashing check engine light before,so I learned something. That's the way it works.
That's it hope you have a good one!

 

[Grumpy]

I'm sorry I took this thread on a tangent. Just kinda miffed me that the OP was willing to basically "set someone up" for doing a job that may not go smooth. I would NEVER bring in say my rustbucket car for brakes, and bitch if a line blew out on the way home. I'd be mad, but never blame the shop, even if they were near the line. It was ready to break and it just happened when I left the shop. Even if I had already paid for a brake repair. Just because its still brakes, doesnt mean it was their fault. Its just not right. I couldnt sleep knowing I took advantage of someone or a situation. I'm just not that way. But apparently that IS just me....

Your NOT wrong !!!! This same guy had another Buick that he sold because he couldn't figure out how to fix it because he knows nothing!! Sold his car saying it needed a little work that anyone could figure out. Then he finds this HYBRID his best buddy did .. People said to stay away from it unless he was prepared for some "issues" along with it being a 20+year old PERFORMANCE car !! BUT nooooo... He best buddy "Fred" (I think it was Fred) was a Buick Turbo guru. Guess Fred didn't answer that phone call right away so he finds someone else !! He should just go buy a Honda and call it a day!! :biggrin:

 

[8UWITH6]

I know your paranoid, but if you can't /won't change your own chip, maybe you should sell the car!

Has to be the easiest thing to do and if you can't do that, well...... Not trying to be a prick but a chip is just too easy to change or unseat and reseat. No need to be paying someone else to do it.

Dannyo

Ditto........... have fun

 

[818GN]

Let the drama begin!
Unplug the ecm, and see if the pins are corroded. Could be a water leak at the cowl are is allowing H2O into the area that the ecm is sitting in.....

Had that happen to me and it fried my ECM.

If you have a Scanmaster and it reads -.-- when it shuts off and SES comes on, it may be the ECM. That was my experience with a similar issue awhile back.

 

[kTrainHurricane]

Your NOT wrong !!!! This same guy had another Buick that he sold because he couldn't figure out how to fix it because he knows nothing!! Sold his car saying it needed a little work that anyone could figure out. Then he finds this HYBRID his best buddy did .. People said to stay away from it unless he was prepared for some "issues" along with it being a 20+year old PERFORMANCE car !! BUT nooooo... He best buddy "Fred" (I think it was Fred) was a Buick Turbo guru. Guess Fred didn't answer that phone call right away so he finds someone else !! He should just go buy a Honda and call it a day!! :biggrin:

As I responded to you already elsewhere, NO I DID NOT SELL MY OTHER TR OFF ONTO SOMEONE ELSE BECAUSE IT HAD "A LITTLE PROBLEM ANYONE CAN FIX." I sold the car because someone offered me the right amount of $$ for it. I took the car off Craigslist two days before the buyer put cash in my hand on the spot. I had made up my mind to take it to Fred, who IS a good guy and DOES know what he is doing, to have the fuel pressure adjusted, which was the ONLY "problem." The reason I wanted the FP adjustment was to get better gas mileage, because at the time it was killing my pocket driving it every day.

Regardless, THIS HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PROBLEM THIS THREAD WAS CREATED TO RESOLVE. Don't mix apples with oranges. I DID purchase this car for less money than asking price, and DID have some cash set aside for issues that I expected to come, as this community told me to do. Yes, I did listen.

Once again (and I feel like we are ALL beating a dead horse here), my trail of logic was that the car went into the shop for an ECM/electrical problem to be fixed, and was returned to me with an ECM/electrical problem not fixed. Excuse me for thinking, "hey, maybe if the mechanic who fixed the car would have driven it around for 10 mins. to make sure it was actually problem-free this wouldn't have happened." BUT, AS SOON AS I WAS TOLD IT WAS 100% THE CHIP AND NOT RELATED TO THE ECM WIRING PROBLEM, I SHUT MY MOUTH, WENT OUTSIDE AND RESET THE CHIP, AND THANKED THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED HERE.

Dan, I respect you 100%. I was actually on the phone with Rob (firebird from the other site) when I was going through the process of resetting the chip. THe first day I met him he told me the guys to watch out for, and the guys to actually listen to. You know which list you are on. You (as well as MOST people here) know much more than I do about these cars. I dont, however, think it is necessary for you to degrade me and talk all this smack, especially when I am not even attempting to argue back and make a big deal about it. The fact of the matter was I...YES ME (and this is me admitting it, once again) made a mistake by thinking/assuming the car shutting off 5 miles away from the shop had to do with what I paid the mechanic to fix. Simple as that, done deal.