This 2008 Chevy Impala 3.5L was towed in. It cranks but will not start and has no spark. Lets fix it! Merch: www.watchweswork.com Send us a postcard: Watch Wes Work P.O. Box 106 Fulton, IL 61252 Send us an email: mail@watchweswork.com
You used a blue crimp eye - that's for AWG13 or 2,5mm² - for the two thin wires that look like AWG18 to AWG20. Next time try a red one (AWG15 or 1,5mm²), it will do better. And please do not solder crimps, that's for non-professionals only 🤣
@@tomjoad1363 They are trained to read a diagnostic code reader. Not how to trouble shoot. Case in point: I have a 2002 Harley Davidson Road King. A few years ago, I had an on again, off again plug fouling problem. I took it to three different Harley dealers who could not fix it because it threw no code. I considered selling it but as a last ditch effort, went online and studied the fuel injection theory of operation, checked every single wire connection that had anything to do with the ECU control of the FI system and found a simple wire connection problem that cost me 14$ to fix. Sad thing is the general public does not know what's going on with dealership mechanics. Not all of them, but most of them. Sad, sad, sad.
@@rrcoster you mean they simply don't do what a mechanic should do and use their knowledge (which some of them obviously lack of they have to rely on what a tool tells them) to actually troubleshoot an issue by applying knowledge on how a system works, some logic and some simple structured approach? Yeah, you are absolutely right. And for some shops, especially the ones that seem to cost less (although sometimes or even quite oftwn at dealerships it is the same) who then just look up codes and fire the parts cannon, in hope to hit the right one as well seems to be the official procedure to repairing parts and mechanics are discouraged to actually spend time analysing and troubleshoting
@@alexanderkupke920 Yes...id rather pay someone actually spend time analyzing and diagnosing the problem then fire part canon hope that fix it. Guess glad i have some decent mechanic local like Wes when i can't figure out the problem myself.
I used to get jobs like this, that had taken multiple hits from the parts cannon. A little look at a wiring diagram, and a bit of methodology, is usually all it took. No wonder the trade has such a bad reputation. Well done Wes.
That was a great diagnosis. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm a security system technician. It amazes me how people don't start at the basics. Even at my company, they like to just throw parts at the problem, regardless of cost. Then throw in the technician who can't possibly be wrong, "he's been doing this for years". I always start on the basics. Does it have power and a good ground and move on from there.
As a 76 year old retired Marine Electrician, I often asked "knowit all" customers to explain to me electron flow. First response says it all as to how I proceeded lol
I hear “ comments are going say I should be soldering this”, then I hear and see “going to use a little liquid tape” then I hear and see the “ going to use a little dielectric grease on this connection”, and I find myself setting here grinning like a dog eating cork, because I can just hear all keys on the key boards being smashed at the same time and the send being assailed at the same time. You gotta love it, stay the course, love your vids, thanks for the ride along.
I just found this channel. This guy is extremely talented and you can see the true passion he has for repairing vehicles. I’m yet to see something he can’t fix. Between watch Wes work and diesel creek these two are amazing to watch . I know there are many other great channels I just haven’t found them yet.
I remember in a previous video Wes said the same thing about his old man, "nothing he couldn't fix". Thinking Wes jr be saying the same thing in years to come.
Wes, if it did cost a fortune to buy and ship the tool to you, that guy enjoys your work as much as we do. To him it was worth it. Nice fix here. Keep M coming man, I'm almost 72 years old and enjoy the hell out of you and your channel. Thank you.
Fun fact regarding people telling you to use solder: I’m in aircraft maintenance school at the moment. Aircraft no longer use soldered splices or connections because solder makes wire brittle at the point where the wicking stops. Crimps are also more easily repeatable with less margin for error.
@@robertheinkel6225 I have no real life experience yet so that's entirely possible as well. They told us one splice is allowed on a wire except for some where you're not allowed to splice at all like coaxial cable and such.
In aircraft maintenance you use the proper tools to make a high quality crimp, then it is superior. The trouble starts when people just squeeze those cheap colored crimp connectors together with whichever pliers are on hand. That's not a gas tight crimp and won't last. But hey, those people probably couldn't solder worth a damn either.
As you were bending over to get down into that little cubbyhole and replace the ends on those grounds, the thought came too me that you must be a contortionist. How in the world you do some of this stuff is more than amazing. It also surprises me that you find the stuff that’s wrong when other shops won’t go the extra mile. It’s like all they want to do is just throw parts at a problem and call it a day. Man how I wish you were closer to my place - I’d use you as my mechanic.
You are quite methodical in your diagnosis; always a pleasure to watch an expert. You remind me of my Dad - now 92 - who was a wizard like yourself at solving electrical problems.
Once again, your patience and knowledge and focus in troubleshooting problems is impressive. I like to think of myself as above average at troubleshooting, but you are second to none my man. Thanks for the upload!
Absolutely love how you explain and show trouble shooting in a calm manner. Its too easy to freak out and throw the parts cannon to it. Keep up the good work.
A Pleasure As Always, The Saturday Morning WWW Video Notification is Typically A Highlight Of The Day. These Short Diagnostic Videos Show Your True Talent As A Professional. Your Knowledge and Experience Level Makes Short Work of A Scenario That Would Be A Nightmare For Someone Like Myself. Looking Forward to The Next One, Keep It Safe Out There Sir
You don’t go straight to the scan tool... it is nice to see you are going old school... the mechanics I know always start with scan tool if no faults then change something until it works again... you saved the costumer money by being “old school “ great work...
Pretty easy job when you know how to really troubleshoot instead of just throwing parts at it. Seems like that’s a lost art today at some shops. Nice work!
I find that using a wiring schematic to be the must enjoyable way to track down a problem. It's more of a challenge than to hope for the correct answer from a computer. Awesome as always.
Whatever you are charging for that hour it was too cheap. The previous mechanics were replacing expensive parts based on guess work and probably charged collectively 3 or 4 times what you did. The customer paid them and you and you gave him a real bargain for your brain work. Love to watch your analysis. Keep up the good work. Thanks.
I hope you charged the customer a considerable amount of money for this. Not many people today are capable of this type of diagnosis, there for you deserve to get payed for this quality.
Rennstieg makes a lot of the factory crimp tools for terminals used by several OEM's. I was shaking my head when you started trying to use those standard crimpers...glad the light bulb came on...lol. Thanks for sharing Wes. Keep em comin'
Iirc...Back about 10 or so years ago...Launch was the only scan tool aside from factory tools that you could use to reset the electronic parking brake on most German vehicles when doing the rear brakes.
New subscriber here… love the channel. Thanks for taking the time to do all the work to record, process, and share. I imagine it’s a lot of extra work on top of all the work you already have to do to keep your shop running.
It is good to see an honest and professional mechanic. Too many shops would have claimed they spent several hours doing diagnostic work and the repair, even if it only took an hour.
Hey man just wanted to come leave this comment I literally been working on a dirtbike that I couldn’t get running and before tearing into it I said let me just check this electrical first which is my weakest suit but after watching your channel Ive gained confidence in how to really combat troubleshooting and fixing electrical-well good thing I started with it because I found the cut off switch was bad so saved me a lot of time and energy and I wouldn’t have done that without watching your channel and learning from you
Best way to make sure the wire doesn’t pull out of a crimp is to strip it twice as long as needed. Twist the wire, Fold the stripped section in half and place it in an eyelet of proper size to fit the now doubled up wire. Using this method the wire will break before it comes out or if it does come out something has hit it hard enough it wouldn’t have held no matter what
Wes I really enjoy your logical approach to any repairs. I wish I had your knowledge of electronics and wiring repairs. But your acerbic wit and wisdom along with your wife, son and dog is what makes you videos truly enjoyable. -28 Celsius in Dorchester Ontario. You are north of me so suspect cold there to. Take care
I've always wondered why he didn't have a real wire stripper. A pretty good one by Ideal is less than 50 bucks. Smaller than that one the viewer sent, too.
@@Mishn0 real wire stripper = those which leave dints/damaged/cut copper strands ? That german one can be controlled rather closely = not nicked/damaged copper strands here.
@@TheStefanskoglund1 Why? Because it's "German"? Are you saying US made tools can't have tightly controlled tolerances? I used Ideal wire strippers to make literally thousands of wire harnesses for military aircraft and the work was closely inspected. Give me a break.
Wes, don't worry about when you try to film in a tight spot. Those of us that watch alot of mechanics videos are used to the occasion when you have a to do that to get the job done. So you make sure the job is done right and everything else will all work out.
Oh how I long for the old days when you didn’t have to be half a scientist and a computer tech to make an engine run! 😬 Great work. Thank you for sharing
@@erik_dk842 I am not sure I consider having wiring diagrams or schematics cheating. There are likely multiple main ground points on most vehicles. Would be expensive and time consuming to physically trace a faulty ground wire to it's attachment point. Diagrams used properly conserve time and technician energy. My opinion at least.
@@brianworley7705 Without subscribing to a service, getting correct wiring diagrams is quite hard. The redrawn version Wes has access to is also easier to follow than Volkswagen's originals, which I'm familiar with, because they split them out across several pages, so you have to go back and forth.
When you were saying about the lack of room to work , I remember when I was a kid my dad was a mechanic and watched him do motor jobs on 57 Chevy with a straight six . He use to get right inside the engine bay and remove and replace parts . Them were the days
I hope i can sneak this in and wes wont see it..i wanted wes to strip more insulation, more bare wire exposed. I learned wire splicing years ago. Pigtail, western union and tap style splices. The advantage of mechanical strength comes from a mininum of 4 twists, then what he did afterwards was fine.
Being the lazy guy I am, I would have made up a new eyelet with a stub of wire on it then just spliced the existing wires to that using a shrink&solder splice. Always easier when you can see & reach what you're working on.
After having watched Eric O at work,when I saw you had power at the module I wondered about the ground.So i guess you can teach an old man new(ish) tricks.
RPO codes are on the sticker on the glove box door... There is a reason you don't find solder joints in factory wiring: they determined long ago that the hardened wire section becomes a stress riser and often results in a broken wire (from fatigue) right next to the solder.
Great work as always Wes. Just had a bad earth problem on my landrover. Salt air had destroyed the ground for the rear lights. Not the best build quality. Have used dialectic grease on the repair despite the 'experts' on you tube! Best wishes from the UK 🇬🇧
@@WatchWesWork Yes even Mercedes start to have those ground issues when tey turn 25 years old, And I know, my daily drive is S124 300e 4-matic -90 year model. No too many computers in it, and vould need those spesial MB "tools" to diagnose, or that " flashinglamp" wire to count, those basic things, ABS and 4-matic system. I think also KE-jet also, no needed yet that, coming next spring, when I start with my other merc, also same age 300e but saloon, AMG copy, by some finnish people, dont know, but in registration papers, it is made in Finland. So quite unexpected for mercedes tha old. Yes I really love your way to do things, you go to basics, by thinking first, then you take that codereader for help, and also yours way to handle those not so roadworthy vehicles also, and rust can`t stop you making good job.
No job to big, no job too small we love www fix em all, from diagnosis to the mad dog max, hufflepuff wife, littleman we all have a laugh, along the way we all enjoy no matter the job no matter toy 👍 always a joy thanks
Is the dog traumatized by your incredibly dry humour? Cause I am not. It's great and how does it jive with a teacher? My ex couldn't handle the facts that a tradesman brings to the table. Great content, humour and diagnostic teaching. Thanks and keep it real in an unreal world.
Thanks for the content Mr. Wes, too bad when you decided to be a RU-vid content provider you opened up your life to the World Wide Web now everyone thinks they have to tell you how to be a mechanic instead of enjoying the content.
Got a lot of grey in that beard son. RU-vid seems to be aging you at a geometric rate! Another fun, to the point video. Nice job Wes. Always good to see you on a Saturday morning. Love home brother!
I have an old plow truck with a spider web of added grounds with star washers and dielectric at each end. Every time I pop the hood I stop and laugh at myself for trying to prevent every bad ground I've ever seen. Great videos.
After watching your fine work for a while and have no experience with fixing cars myself. It baffles me to see that the tiniest wire hidden in the bowels of the car can completely disable an otherwise functioning car.
Always fun to watch someone who knows what he is doing. Every one of these videos is a learning experience. Someday I can see me telling a mechanic to "Watch Wes Work". 😂
If you were based in the UK I would send all of my vehicles your way. Clear, methodical fault diagnosis alongside cost conscious repairs and a great dose of sarcasm!
There was in my area, an EFI expert that roamed around in a van and even dealers that were stumped with difficult cars would call him in. He told me that the vast majority of EFI faults are faulty or poor earths that cause unusual problems such as poor running that wont throw codes. I have even encountered a problem on a vehicle (only when the ECM had a non stock tune) that would get a hesitation misfire at 5000 rpm wot........... It was caused by the 20 year old, main positive battery cable. Once it was replaced, the missfire went away . Nice fix Wes, thats how its done........check the basics.
