Q:I got a new stereo head for my 1999 Ford Contour Sport on my birthday. Since it‘s been installed, I can only get any kind of electrical power when I turn my lights on and the dimmer knob is up all the way. My lights inside don‘t turn on unless my headlights are on and neither does my sound system. I also cannot use my remote lock on my keys unless my headlights are on. I figure it‘s a wiring problem that may have something to do with the stereo head. Any ideas or suggestions as to how to fix it?

Sounds like the stereo was wired incorrectly. I'm not an expert in auto wiring but I have installed my own stereo before and know that they are supposed to be wired a certain way so the power isn't on when the ignition is off etc. I'm not sure why your lights are affecting everything. The only think I can think is whoever wired it up used the wrong wires.

Q:Code PO 0455 showed up. I take to dealer and they made me wait 2 days before bring it in. Took it in and engine light was still on. They called me and told me engine light was not on when they got ready to check it and the computer did not even store record of this code. This is under warranty and I justquestion what is going on here. Is this possible that I drive for 3 days with engine light on, get code reading at auto store and now dealer says it never happened. ????

1st of all to add feedback to the other 2 posts: dealers do not like to do warranty work as they cut the labor tremoundsly --average payout is 3 tenths of an hour for checkout ...were talking getting paid for 18 minutes. And yes its possible for your gas cap to give you a P0455 code but so are other things such as emmision hoses with cracks/splits. Your vehicle goes through system checks all the time when it fails a check, your check engine light comes on, until it is either cleared by a scan tool or the system has 3 suscessful run cycles it will turn the light back out as it thinks the system is ok. Dodge Chrysler Jeep Tech

Q:I recently installed a new audio system in my truck, then i started to notice the battery light come on. it went off for a couple days, then i installed a capacitor just to be safe and then the battery light came on and has stayed on... any ideas on the issue. all the audio equipment is installed correctly. 300 watt amp and 1 farad cap.

stop at any auto parts dealer and get your charging system checked out to make sure your alternator is putting out the right power for your battery,they do this test for free.it takes a matter of minutes.good grounds are important clean steel area with o ring clip on the wire screwed into the clean area.the ground off the amplifier should be as short as possible.there has to be a reason that your battery crapped out and im thinking alternator.make sure you pick a different place to ground the amplifier not to the cap the cap should be grounded on its own and a good ground to.if your capacitor has a read out on it you should be seeing about 14 volt read out with engine running sometimes it will go to 14.4 then back to 12 volts when you shut the car off and it gos out after a min or two.if the numbers are any bigger than that there is a good chance your brushes in the alternator are tired,the alternator most of the time starts over charging your battery and this is what kills it.hope this helps you out.also check your alternator to see if its getting to hot and make sure you don't get your fingers caught in the belt,that would suck.if its getting to hot its working its butt off.look into the (big 3 upgrade) on u tube and see what its all about.but a 300 watt amplifier should be fine on a stock charging system.i have about 900 watts into two amplifiers and my stock charging system can run this with out a problem.good luck with your system.hope your running your amplifier off the battery itself with the wiring kit they sell for the job.if not this is your problem.

Q:2006 G35 Sedan.Service Engine Soon (check engine light) came on. Took it to local auto parts store, ran a free diagnostic. Gave me code P0420 which reads --- Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) No other codes are with it. Just that. Randomly happened as I was driving home from work.So whats the difference between Bank 1 and Bank 2? Since my issue is only bank 1. Passenger side?? Does that help me find out what is causing this code of P0420 that I have??Honestly I haven‘t had any bad issues or symptoms. Gas mileage is still fine, no problems idling, going uphill, flooring it, or anything. Car doesn‘t smoke, any still runs like new. Just with this code on. I did notice that one day, it came on. went to bed and started it in the morning and it was off. But then came on again in a few days. Been on ever since. What does this code tell me? O2 sensors even though it doesn‘t throw a code that says o2 sensor or sensors is bad? The cat? Exhaust leaks? Thanks for the help!

u need all new cats. 9 out of 10 p0420's need new catalytic converters. it is possible u have a bad pcm, bad o2's, exhaust leak, or bad wiring, but unlikely. it will not cause driveability problems because cat efficiency happens after your engine and in your exhaust. you cat is supposed to burn the hydrocarbons (fuel) that your engine did not burn completly. your car has a precat and postcat o2. your pcm watches for a change in oxygen content b4 (pre) and after (post) exhaust gas leaves the cat. if there is no change or not enough change, it assumes the catalyst is no longer burning excess fuel and is therefore polluting. if u care about the air u and everyone else breaths, buy new cats. ask for old parts back. sell old cats at recycler. they contain small amounts of precious metal. btw if u live in the usa and your car is less than 8yrs old and has less than 80,000mi the dealer should fix it for free. its a law. google it.

Q:Why are some antivirus engines light as a feather and possess no impact on system performance while others bog down the system? What is it about these security products' programming that creates this variation?

It completely depends upon the antivirus configuration and how it is made. Some antivirus tool slows down computer system and takes most of the memory space; while some work silently in the background without disturbing any process of your system. Like Windows Defender, Immunet Plus Antivirus, Bitdefender, Avira, AVG etc. are some examples of light virus protection tool which does not affect computer’s speed or any of its process.

Q:I have talked to people that say all Honda's do this, but the guy at the dealership said it could be something bigger. He wouldn't go into detail, I think he just wanted to get my car in to get it looked at and have me pay 150 bucks. If it is the alternator, than how much do those cost?Any help or do you have the same problem.

If by blink you mean dim slightly when the window motor is being operated? If so then there is resistence in the circuit (bad connection, corrosion) or you just have a weak alternator and battery which is gonna cost you about $200.

Q:Mechanic turned it off using a tool- said it was an old crash sensor code but it came back on the next day. He couldn‘t trouble shoot it any further- only option on his tool was to turn it off. It hasn‘t been hit in years- why would the light start blinking now? I tried to manually reset it following the procedure but it did not work. He said it is probably the sensor in the console. Is there anything else I can do to fix it. I‘ve heard that sensor is $800. Where could I find it for less? Junk yards like to sell with the airbag which I don‘t need. Is this an easy job to do by myself?

The other thing the mechanic didn't tell you is that if the air bag light is on The Air Bags will NOT deploy in case of wreck. That is the computer telling you is detects something wrong with air bag system and it has disabled it. impact sensors are single use items. Once they have been triggered they have to be replaced as far as i know, this would explain your issue. I'm not absolutely certain about the sensor some confirmation would be nice.

Q:Car lights division of the two lights system of four lights how to point, there are cars of the lights.

Take the headlamps, the two lights is like Jetta, the side of the headlights only a lamp bowl, a light bowl is only a headlamp bulb, the headlamps have two filaments, one is the low beam , One is the high beam, this light to open the light when the electrical system will automatically close the light to close, so far and near light can not open at the same time.

Q:LED car lights and HID car lights What is the difference

Xenon lamp light principle is UV-cut UV crystal quartz glass tube, with a variety of chemical gas filling, most of which is xenon (Xenon) and iodide, etc., and then through the supercharger (Ballast) will car 12 volts of DC voltage instantaneous boost to 23,000 volts of the voltage, through the high voltage amplitude excitation quartz tube xenon electrons free, between the two electrodes to produce light, which is the so-called gas discharge. And by the xenon produced by the white super arc light, can improve the color temperature of light, similar to the sun in the daylight, HID work required when the current is only 3.5A, the brightness is three times the traditional halogen bulb, the service life than the traditional Halogen bulb is 10 times longer.

Q:What are the differences between the 2010 Mazda 3 Sedan and the 2011 model?

The only changes for 2011 were- Power door locks with auto-lock function added to entry level i SV and i Sport 4-door models Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and Traction Control (TCS) added to i SV and i Sport models Top-level s Grand Touring adds Moonroof Bose audio system as standard features.but Bi-Xenon HID headlights, Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS), LED tail lights, rain-sensing wipers and auto on/off headlight control, which were standard on the 2010, are now optional. The s Sport 4-door also has the option to add the same features noted above for the Grand Touring model. It basically makes the s Sport 4-door the same as a Grand Touring without heated, leather seats, power driver's seat and automatic climate control. Celestial Blue is no longer available on any Mazda3 4-door; it was available on 2010 s Sport and Grand Tourinig 4-door models; for 2011, it is only available on 5-door hatchback models.