In this video I bring you along as I have a look at a customers 2014 Ford Focus that came in with a customer complaint of no headlight operation, o panel dimmer and no trunk release button. Sounds easy enough.... -Enjoy!
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South Main Auto Repair
47 S. Main St
PO Box 471
Avoca, NY 14809
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. South Main Auto Repair assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. South Main Auto Repair recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained.
If an SMA Video has helped you out please consider giving using "Patreon" to help support us. The videos take real time to create and pull us away from real work that pays our bills. CLICK HERE: https://www.patreon.com/southmainauto
CHECK OUT OUR "SMA SWAG" STORE! Go on Teespring and get your very own SMA merch!
https://teespring.com/stores/the-sma-store
If you don't like Patreon feel free to use the "PayPal Me" link: https://www.paypal.me/SouthMainAuto
The South Main Auto Amazon Store:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/southmainautorepairavoca
AES Wave Automotive Diagnostic Tools: https://www.aeswave.com/cart.php?m=affiliate_go&affiliateID=2525b91fc8e906e8215984074c9d9e8f&go=https://www.aeswave.com/Miscellaneous-p9347.html
Thank you for all the continuing support!
--Eric & Vanessa O.
Feel like sending some swag to SMA because you love the videos but don't know where to send it?
Just ship it here:
South Main Auto Repair
47 S. Main St
PO Box 471
Avoca, NY 14809
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. South Main Auto Repair assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. South Main Auto Repair recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained.
That's a tough one, and one I hate. You know there's a problem and its a simple one, you know where it's likely to be but you also know it's gonna involve a hullv lot o work to sort out with the possibility of opening that can of worms. Don't envy ya one bit. Carry on .
G’day Eric I couldn’t blame you at all for walking away from it, you don’t know ware it will end, down here it the techs come across anything like this they send it to auto electrician. John
Love your videos Eric, I’ve learned a lot watching your videos, look forward to future videos!
Once went to a engineering training centre and there was a guy who had done his mini van up as a bat mobile brush painted black stickers on it it looked great NOT lol
Once went to a engineering training centre and there was a guy who had done his mini van up as a bat mobile brush painted black stickers on it it looked great NOT lol
I have a new phrase it's Ford Stupid after working on a 2011 ford focus power steering pump.
Even Batman brings his car to you lol
I have this same car, and whoever owned the car beforehand should've spent the extra 50-100$ to get the actual Ford OEM car starter/remote door unlocker thingy majig. Mine doesn't have a remote with it so unfortunately I have to use a key to unlock it and the door lock button is on the radio or you can put the key in the door and turn right to lock. It is kind of frustrating having a car with power windows and locks, but no remote. Silly ford.
Soooooo…does that mean that the rat's nest is a aftermarket dealer installed option too??
Had a Focus that you had a intermitent start issue, sometimes had to hold on start position fir a second or two. And the Duel Clutch sucked big time..
Holy smokes Batman, you figured it out and something the other riddler couldn't fix. Just going to (rat) this guy out.👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I have tons of respect for the methodical way you diagnose electrical problems. Most garages don't seem to want any part of these things. I've done commercial electrical work for a decent part of my life and could wire your house or shop in a decent amount of time. But getting into the can bus and electronics of modern cars? Oh no. Much respect. You remain calm and just follow your printouts. 😎 Please keep sharing when you can.
The sad part about new cars is that it's perfectly conceivable that the headlights don't work because the radio is faulty.
Good job Mr. O, going that one extra step. I make a habit of doing that one first extra step just before I throw the towel at things. Often pays off.
In those immortal words… "If I can do it, so can you!" and "Never Give Up…. Never Surrender!"… "I am… Batman…"
Hope you have a better day, my friend.
That's why even when we aren't our best ,don't give up ,the satisfaction of solving is greater than the why was it ,what did I miss,and carrying on will give you knowledge.
Easy said ,I know but still the current trends of it's to hard and can't be bothered has to be over ruled for the sake of man kind .
Hope you have a better day moving forward 😊😊
You always are so honest and that’s a rare thing in this crazy world ! That’s why I admire you and your ability to fix the unfixable ! Watching you makes me a better tech! Thank you!!
He’s Batman. Not a sponsor.
Correction Mr. O it's scotch locks, scotch blocks are for trains.
How does someone still have a Ford Probe in New York?? That thing should have rotted away decades ago.
first thing I would have done is call batman and ask him why the headlights don't work.
👍👍👍
I had a 2012 base model version of this car that I did add foglights to which meant doing some creative wiring, however I did document all the wiring I did and used as much of the already existing factory wiring that was available. When I sold the car I made sure the new owner got a copy of the added wiring documentation, outlining what circuits I tapped in to and had a wiring diagram of the relay control wiring I used for the foglights. I also added factory cruise control to this car and a few other upgrades (factory rear disc brake upgrade from drums) as well as added the SE model instrument cluster which allowed me to turn off the traction control which wasn't possible on the S model. Long story short. If your going to mess around with the car, document everything you did and send it with the car when you sell it so if something goes sour later on, the person who has to fix it knows what you did and why you did what you did.
Good decision to abort, it will protect your blood pressure and not speed up the demise of your organs. But it plays on your mind to want to fix the problem. I've been there many times and regretted my decisions. Now retired in Spain my health is something I think about other than customer satisfaction.
I would be pissie to if I had to work on that kinda junk everyday …..Eric O go home early and have a cold one…..You earned it.
THE BEST diagnostician on YouTube — knowing your enemy is half the battle +1 Like
Eric, I'll start by saying that your trouble shooting skills and logic are second to none, I wish that more mechanics had the patience and skill you show. I recently retired from 45 years in the maintenance and repair of earthmoving and construction
equipment as a mechanic and supervising the fleets mechanics, and have seen some crap work, butt connectors, scotch locks ( I call them Uhaul connectors!) twisted wires, black tape, etc. I was often the end of the line when others walked away or just were out of their league, I also had many days where I wanted to walk away as you showed , but I know that it is the challenge that keeps us there.
Keep up the good work ! I can only hope that your skills will rub off on some of the viewers, I believe also
"that if I can do it, so can you " . People just need to try !
Mark
Correct decision to walk away. Cleaning up someone elses cluster ^%& is never fun and can be very time consuming
Bahahaha front n back emblems circle the problem lol 😆 🤣 😂
“Parts Exchange Program” ..P.E.P. 😂
What a difference a day makes.
Ford probe dam I need that especially if its a GT
I know what you need… A 55 gallon barrel of smoky RIBS
I gotta say thanks for always posting diagnostic videos, I could easily follow your videos unlike many others on here. I never really got this perspective from tech school, so it helps, it was always book and lecture not too much in field training.
My experience it’s always best too just walk away for a bit come back too it with a good rest good mindset or else you start doing dum crap.
Waiting for Part 2…same Bat Time…same Bat Channel!
he has a bat signal, what the heck does he want with headlights??? LOL cant blame you for passing on the job, find a mess with a bunch of those scotchblocks, run away. those things are a short term cure, and a long term nightmare.
Am I the only one that wants a video on that super sweet Probe in the shop? Probably, but damn I haven't seen one of those in years
Happy to be reminded to check the fuse legs too. I was thinking about that from a previous video! The knowledge follows!!
The most reliable cars I have ever owned are the ones where someone wasn't upgrading the radio or adding remote start.
Never mind the Focus we need a video of the Probe. Haven't seen one in ages!
I wish i could get the great wiring schematics that he gets. The ones that I find are usually wrong
I feel the need to openly acknowledge that the owners of this vehicle have a batman steering wheel cover…and floor mats
I was surprised to hear him say he was going to pass on it and still posted a video . . .
but was glad to see he kept going.
Man! Ya can't use your Spidey Sense on the Batmobile! Two completely different universes! Otherwise, Nice Work.
That tells you Eric O is not only a great mechanic but a good human being for not being in a good frame of mind and pausing the repair so as to not only NOT throw the missing 10mm but teach the little O's some new words to add to their vocabulary. When I work on my 2 vehicle I do the same and put all my tools away and do something else while thinking about the problem.
Batmobile had issues.
Holy headlights, Batman!!
Based on your noise I'm assuming the female half's felt good, LMAO……
Blown away how easy you make this all look….but I know it's hard work. When you look up the definition of "troubleshooting" at Wikipedia, it redirects you to the Eric O page, lol. Thank you so much for the knowledge!
Thank you, Eric.
The minute I would see that plate of spaghetti I would pass on that job too
If that's the OEM remote start setup, that seems like a pretty brutal install. I know the Hyundai dealer installed accessories like that are very specific about how connections are supposed to be made, secured etc. so as to not make a mess. Either Ford didn't do that, or someone didn't follow the instructions..
Gotta love that Ford Probe in the shop. Go Bob Glidden!
Another wise philosopher once said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”
These videos make me like my '94 even more. A LIN bus where a simple wire would do…
It's broken..
Batman? Is the owner 12? 🤔😬🤣👀
I can only smile.
Eric, YOU ARE SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT!!! After watching you work on cars that I feel belong in a crusher for all of these years you build up my hope and say I'm going to send this piece of shit down the road and then you chicken out. Liar, Liar pants on fire! Nobody in Phoenix would even look at these future soup cans on wheels.
Oh boy, your heart must sink when you discover third party installations … anything could be amiss!!!
Somebody needs a Snickers 😂
No thanks. I wouldn't do it either. Not worth the can of worms.
I was convercing with " the online auto mechanic" yeaterday about doing a botch job & he didn't seem to care about the next (someone like you ) who has to come along & fix the rats nest of wiring that he had left behind as he was doing it out of hours for extra cash .He sure didn't like my comments as I was calling him out about the type of situation you found on this vehicle.
I was a Ford dealer technician. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, we were the last house on the block, especially if it was a dealer install.
As an independent garage mechanic, too often, I got stuck with jobs like this because the owner of the repair facility and/or the service manager was too stupid to listen to me when I'd say, "no way do we want to get involved in that cluster fork." You can't make money on crap like that.
Beyond that, it becomes a kind of hair-pulling, shin-kicking contest between you and the customer because "ever since you worked on my car [insert laundry list of crap that is totally unrelated to the repair you did that's now gone wrong]." We did a tire rotation on a Chrysler, and the customer came back with "ever since you worked on my car, the windows won't roll up and down." If I'm lying, I'm dying.
Unfortunately for him, he'd bought the car from a long-time customer of ours, and the windows never rolled up and down. But that's the kind of crap we had to put up with.
I kind of really hate broken wires. I really really hate them on cab and chassis with body builder boxes or bodies on them where they builder doesn’t have a wiring diagram of what they did in Mitchell on Demand. I really, really, REALLY hate broken wires on 20 year old body builder box trucks that have been pawed up over the years. Just saying.
dang a ford probe, haven't seen one of those in awhile lol
Eric thank you for always being real about your job and profession. You are a master and it’s great to know even the best have rough things occur.
These aftermarket accessories create so problems and fixing these problems end up costing more than they’re worth.
Looking forward to the part 2
The BCM controls the radio delay power. My 2018 Focus has a fairly BCM from the factory and the new one has been on back order since April.
Thank you for still posting Eric even though it’s a bad day
Great video Mr O your videos inspire me to follow my dream of working in a shop. I appreciate you bud
It's not good to see you in a bad frame of mind.. I've never done it or know anyone that has . It won't cost you anything but time. What about trying some meditation . Kind of like the Japanese doing warm ups at the start of each day. Come in each day and after you learn to meditate and think calm peaceful thoughts. Then before you go back to work after lunch do the same.
No LED headlight bulbs? People that run those deserve these problems after blinding everyone for no reason.
I like the Southern Tier of New York where you are. Too bad it's run by the PRNY.
Some days are great some days are good and every now and then you have that one crappy day but the next day will be great 👍 cheers keep on wrenching my friend..
Everybody has a bad day once in a while, you were due I’m sure. I’m also sure that MRS O made it all better too.
it is a wonder you can keep your sanity at all. when i worked for the railroad the worst job was an electrical problem someone else worked on. i learned many things watching this video
We're all human have our good with the bad.
Eric I have walked away from a couple of jobs last couple of weeks. One was a. Vehicle that was in a flood. Sometimes the right thing to do for yourself is to walk away from it. Great video as always 🍺🍺🍺
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."-John 14:6
"But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."-Matthew 10:33
“For the wages of sin is death (hell), but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”-Romans 6:23
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand – Matthew 4:17
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God – John 3:5
Good work Eric but did you notice the same type of person who would buy a 2014 ford focus would also buy a batman steering wheel cover.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."-John 14:6
"But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."-Matthew 10:33
“For the wages of sin is death (hell), but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”-Romans 6:23
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand – Matthew 4:17
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God – John 3:5
Sir we DEF need some
Content on the probe!
This job reminds me of the end slice of bread everyone has touched it but nobody wants it lol
We want videos of whatever you are doing to the Ford Probe! I haven't seen one of those in years… and I've never seen one up close. 🙂
Cheer up it's almost hunt'n season!😉
New cars suck. You shouldn’t need a computer bus and a body control module to turn on the light or open the trunk.
Topo gigio strikes again! Ship it! They do love Batman
Another issue from this generation Focus is the wiring harness that carries the trunk release wire. Due to el cheapo wire loom tubing, the wires bend each time you open the truck times 10,000 times over the life of the vehicle. Eventually some of the wires in that trunk bundle break and you can no longer open the trunk but also the headlights won’t turn off and the doors locks cycle on and off like they’re possessed! Craziest thing I’ve ever seen but an easy fix by crawling through the rear seats, manually open the trunk, and simply solder the broken wires.
On no! A Ford Probe that’s escaped the crusher. I can’t believe I did warranty work on them.
I know you hate, aftermarket stuff. Rats nest suck too. Sorry bro
Is there a non-sinful way to add a remote starter to my wife's car before the winter hits?
it's a Grand Marquis from twenty aught three.
I really like the fact that my 25 year old headlight switch doesn’t “communicate” with anything but the damn lights.
Kenny Rogers didn't write The Gambler. He just communicated the message.
Knowing when to step back and gather yourself is a huge advantage when your trying to be the best you. Some days I set the world on fire and get 13 cars out the door. Other days I just want to set myself on fire. Knowing which days are which makes both better.
Those wheel covers that slip over the steering wheel is a national epidemic.
Thanks for posting Eric, even though you were having one of those days. Some of us can go into stealth mode and dodge coworkers and work when we're having a rough time, but you're putting yourself out there for us. I know that I, and pretty much everyone else, appreciate every minute you give us. Some days you're the statue, and some days you're the pigeon.