GMC general mess of crap help

[Slate]

the problem with dealers is that the good guys that would be able to figure it out don't want to work on it. they want the gravy jobs. accordingly the guys that don't know, or are learning get the job. and you end up spending more money to figure it out.

 there is very little from any of the domestic manufacturers that us private guys can't figure out.  

   I must say at the Dealer you will spend more but you have a better chance of getting it repaired without  creating more problems. There are good private shops out there but many don't have the proper knowledge or equipment. A scan tool would tell you instantly the voltages from the tps sensors and if they agree with each other.
   Good Techs get cars that others have attempted to fix and now that the customer has spent a bunch at a cheapo shop they are not happy when they need to shell out for the real fix. Had a car the other day that a private shop busted out the bulb in the Cluster so now they need that plus the real repair.  

[CAP1]

it should be noted that those "cheapo" shops are generally midas, mienke, sts, and those chain types of places. most of us with private shops have a TON of equipment just for diagnosing. hell......i've got4 different scanners, just to be able to cover all the makes/models.

 

[icepac]

You need someone to go to the detail of the code event in the scantool and print the extended datalist values of the freeze frame data.

Also......I'm sure this system has some sort of readiness monitor of the throttle system that takes a few drive cycles to fully execute.

If you aren't getting a "hard code" but rather a readiness monitor that isn't completing successfully, then you might find information in that monitor's details.

[homersipes]

well the last 2 times I have taken a vehicle to a deealership to get fixed, they have screwed me over.  the first time was about 10 years ago, had a free oil change with the purchase of the car, well when I did the next oil change the drain plug was completely rounded off and had to use a 12" pipe wrench to get it out.  the next experience was at a GMC dealer with this same truck 2 years ago, I blew a tranny line, so I took it to them instead of me fighting with the lines, $500 later get the truck home, it had been snowing a bit and had friends over so I parked on the lawn.  went out to move it when they all left and had about 4" snow, reverse spin, put in 4WD NOTHING, so had to have my buddy come over and pull me out of the holes that I dug, drove it into my garage, and found that they had unplugged the 4WD, the plug was no where near tranny lines, so not sure what happened, but before that I never had any issues with the 4WD.  that was the last time I will ever take a rig to a dealership.  just got home after running about 70 miles and no REP, dang POS hardly trust it anymore should have kept my 90 z71 

[CAP1]

well the last 2 times I have taken a vehicle to a deealership to get fixed, they have screwed me over. 

 this is the same basic story i get from about 80% of the people i deal with.

 i sent a lady with her mercedes to the local mercedes dealer, 'cause i wasn't able to access information for correct diagnosis. $600 later, she's back, with the same problem. i sent a friend to the local bmw dealer with his wife's 7 series for one problem, that i thought they'd be able to handle better than me. he came to me with 4 pages of "needs now" stuff, totaling about $11k. the car wasn't worth that, and he pulled it out of there, then traded it in of a ford 500. i could go on, but no use polluting the thread with junk.....

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Crate engine 

[homersipes]

ints not the engine thats the issue, the stupid fly by wire crap, the motor runs awesome, just the throttle setup is stupidly rediculous

[Slate]

ints not the engine thats the issue, the stupid fly by wire crap, the motor runs awesome, just the throttle setup is stupidly rediculous

   Thats the way of the future. Cars are getting more complex every day with more and more computers in vehicles. Your problem is fairly simple and even your 90' truck had a single tps sensor. When your computer gives the rep message it's trying to protect you and the vehicle from injury from an uncontrolled powerplant.
   The backyard Mechanic is surely at a disadvantage these days and computer knowledge is abosulutely essential.

[homersipes]

yup computers in cars are getting crazy, they brake for you, can back up for you, call you, email you, I remember reading about one a couple years ago that could drive its self.  I believe they tested it in arizona but not 100% sure though.  Its not just from a computer stand point any more either, there are many fasteners that require a special wrench or socket.  But once you get beyond all the electrical and computers an engine is still an engine 

[CAP1]

Crate engine 

 with todays crate engines, it is almost beyond belief what you can build. hell....many companies make kits to drop gm's ls series engines right into old hot rods. ford does the same with the coyote engines.

[CAP1]

   Thats the way of the future. Cars are getting more complex every day with more and more computers in vehicles. Your problem is fairly simple and even your 90' truck had a single tps sensor. When your computer gives the rep message it's trying to protect you and the vehicle from injury from an uncontrolled powerplant.
   The backyard Mechanic is surely at a disadvantage these days and computer knowledge is abosulutely essential.

 that is why i can figure out nearly anything now a days.

 at the shop i had my first job at in this field, i got the "tempo from hell". because the other guys didn't want to work on it. i spent three dam days on that car, and it beat me. the boss told me to button it up, that he was sending it to ford. i still remember what the problem was, as i talked to the ford tech when they figured it out. somehow, i'd missed the orange ground wire for the eec4 fuel injection. that single mistake is what made me so anal in my diagnostics. to this day, that tempo is the only car that ever beat me. i actually got so good with the ford EEC systems, that no one in the shop ever got one of them again, as they all ended up in my bay.

[CAP1]

yup computers in cars are getting crazy, they brake for you, can back up for you, call you, email you, I remember reading about one a couple years ago that could drive its self.  I believe they tested it in arizona but not 100% sure though.  Its not just from a computer stand point any more either, there are many fasteners that require a special wrench or socket.  But once you get beyond all the electrical and computers an engine is still an engine 

 in general, the computer systems on todays cars are why we can have our cake and eat it too. i mean.....picture your truck, with 60's tech. you'd be getting about 4mpg, and have no torque or power to speak of. even todays grocery getters are better performers in EVERY category than our hotrods of years past.

 that all said, i do not like, or agree with having automatic braking systems, lane hold, etc installed. if you need those, you shouldn't be driving.

[ReVo]

that is why i can figure out nearly anything now a days.

 at the shop i had my first job at in this field, i got the "tempo from hell". because the other guys didn't want to work on it. i spent three dam days on that car, and it beat me. the boss told me to button it up, that he was sending it to ford. i still remember what the problem was, as i talked to the ford tech when they figured it out. somehow, i'd missed the orange ground wire for the eec4 fuel injection. that single mistake is what made me so anal in my diagnostics. to this day, that tempo is the only car that ever beat me. i actually got so good with the ford EEC systems, that no one in the shop ever got one of them again, as they all ended up in my bay.

May I ask if you work for a dealership?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I believe they tested it in arizona but not 100% sure though.

Heh, Google has been running self driving vehicles in California for years already. Computerized cars are actually not necessarily bad at all for the DIY guy. You just need to get an OBD II reader and compatible software, the car will inform you what is wrong much better than the old 'listen and wiggle' type of analysis would tell you.

Many people are intimidated by the electronics and the plastic covers of engines without realizing that by removing the plastic and plugging your laptop to the car, things can be still as simple as ever. The only real complication comes if the car computer itself is the one with problems. That can send you and your mechanic to an expensive wild goose chase. I've heard horror stories of stealerships replacing part after part, chasing the false error messages from a broken car computer or error messages generated by a simple flat battery.

[CAP1]

May I ask if you work for a dealership?

 i never have worked at a dealer per se......closest i came was working at a limo dealer. there were politics. one needed to keep their opinions to themselves, if they didn't agree with everyone else, or else they got the crap jobs. guess how long i survived there? not very long. even though i was one of only 2 of us that could figure out the wiring nightmares that the limo builders created with all the extras. or that i could have a tranny out and back in in less than half the time of virtually anyone else in the shop. i'll tell ya. 6 months. i couldn't take the atmosphere. and i do not keep my opinions to myself. it sucked. i will never work for a dealer. ever.