My auto class teacher in high school taught us from day 1. Anyone can get paid to change parts, but learning why the parts need to get changed pays more.
The ability to read between the lines and understand diagrams saves you headache and sets you apart. Still fine tuning my diagnostic side 😂 I compete with another guy that's a little older & skilled than myself. I dont get to play as much as I'd like.
The biggest and most famous Northstar problem was the head bolts pulling up out of the block and stripping the threads. It spawned a whole industry to repair the problem. But that was the first few years of production, '97-'99, and the 2000 semi-fix involving longer head bolts helped but did not fix them entirely. But in 2004, bigger head bolts with coarser threads were used, and no more problems after that - aside from the usual GM type issues that were far less serious. So the used car guy was probably on to something.
These are actually my favorite South Main videos, where you chase down damaged wiring or connectors. I watch and enjoy them all however, and have even learned a few things. Thanks for putting them out.
The northstar is a great engine. There are test kits available if you want to buy an early model car but by the time this DTS was made the head bolt issue was fixed. I had one and it never gave me any issues.
I'll be a little bit more charitable in my thinking and say that maybe they did try jumping the relay and found that the starter was bad. They replaced it and then the engine would turn over but not start. At which point they gave up.
Great straight forward diag Eric and Jason. It always amazes me how many people would rather throw parts at something rather than have it properly diagnosed. A simple jumper wire on the starter circuit could have saved a lot of unnecessary labour, as you demonstrated. Keep up the good work!
Those cars are like the early 90's Ford Taurus. You go up to the people you see driving them on the road these days and congratulate them for keeping it on the road. It's truly an accomplishment. 😂
Kudos to the GM software guys for building in diagnostic codes that pointed directly at the main problems. Toyota could take some lessons there. And a face palm for whatever idiots worked on this before and ignored such obvious codes. Great video!
Can’t believe they didn’t fire a “main board” at it with the parts cannon while they were at it and noticed the mess of wires resulting from a rodent sabotage haha
A basic scan tool would have send them in that direction. So its safe to assume they didn't try that. Therefor only were able to conclude that when the key turns the starter doesn't work. They also didn't notice the fuel pump didn't activate. If they did they wouldn't have tried to fix it with a starter. Its actually quite logical why they did what they did. From a 'limited information' and 'basic understanding of a car' point of view. At the very least they attempted to fix the problem themselves, which unfortunately didn't work. Can't fault people for trying. I mean if it so happened to be the starter... they would have fixed it. Not trying would have resulted in no results either. No guts, no glory :)
You have taught me the difference between a mechanic and a parts changer. Though I would never claim to be anything more then some guy with a handfull of tools, I can say for certain that I am not a parts changer! For that I thank you!
By 2006 Cadillac got the problems with the Northstar pretty well taken care of. Had a 2010 with 200,000 miles and saw limo companies that ran them over 300K regularly.
Thank you for sharing, I have same problem w my DTS crank but won’t start? Dad passed n Left me this car , it’s ran okay no problems but now this changed fuel pump ran okay for couple days then she quit thanks again
We got "red alert" and "turd analysis" all in one video. Who could ask for more..... Well, Mrs. O giving you some grief would just have been icing on the cake. Seriously, thanks for bringing us along. Following you through your diagnostic routine is always a learning experience. Looks like you could make a whole series on auction car "buys". Keep them coming.
👍Bought a 99 Cadillac STS w/ 70k NorthStar. Super nice 1 owner. Kept for a year, enjoyed it as the thing was nice & pretty quick down the road. Got semi educated on the NorthStar thru RUclips over a couple days then Sold it BEFORE any issues started happening. Paid 6k. Sold it for $6600. I wanted to love it & keep it but I've been dumped before & it hurts😂 NorthStar...such a disaster all due to fine thread machined head bolts....among other things!
I wish I could post a picture of my Impala after a red squirrel had a field day with the underhood when I was gone on vacation for a week. Unbelievable. He his mother, brother, sister and non relatives are now deceased 👍
Seen the damage after a raccoon demolished a Dodge Caliber. Needed pretty much everything on top of the motor. Coils, wire harness, fuel line, insulators. Never found the raccoon though.
I have an ‘04 DTS, Northstar or nothing! They can be “challenging” to say the least. Oil leaks, water pump, power steering pump, hoses (all) radiator, broken wires, window regulator(s), etc. 210K & still going strong...
06 DTS 360k on it, love it have only had the usual maintenance done by myself, I did do a refresh on the seals @ 250 which does involve dropping the full front crossmember to get er out, past that, and maybe having to remove bumper bolts to change your headlights lol it is a great car especially in winter it weighs so much haha Smokes a new turbo MDX, just don't expect to get anywhere reasonable fuel mileage until you're on the highway But you gotta love all the comforts, even air bagged from factory and a trunk you can fit 4 dead bodies in
Sometimes they are the wrong size, and have to be returned for the proper size. The shipping delays are what makes the job take so long. "Ma'am, the turds were the wrong size from the supplier. We apologize for the regrettable delay in getting the proper size turds for your Cadillac." Customer satisfaction with rat turds is of paramount importance to our company.
Here in New England, in my 120 year old house, I "trapped" over 35 mice so far In 2 weeks. Another 50 or so & my wife will finally get that fur coat she's been asking for. I hope that the peanut butter holds out.
LOL Once again, the trusty ol "Lets just throw new parts at the problem and hope that fixes the issue" This is why Eric is a TRUE mechanic and demonstrates why!!! Amazing how many cars have shown up at SMA that others couldnt fix...
I love auction car videos! Makes me wonder how much money people lost by sending the car to the block instead of getting it fixed (by someone who has a clue)
Mechanics are expensive, Northstars are difficult to work on, and the trade-in value of a car like this is only $1500. Despite it being a dang nice car I understand why it ended up at an auction.
I wish I had time in my shop to do videos...always busy dont have that kind of time..but its awesome some of you have the time to teach a little out there to help others.
@johnny smit Could be that he is an employee that has a manager who runs him to death and would consider a video a waste of time. There is a reason why this is one of the only channels that shows the level of diagnostics it takes to find problems. Even SMA doesn’t show all the cars he works on. Why? Because it takes a lot of time.
@@12yearssober I have to give credit to anybody that has time to film themselves and edit it to post on yt. I've learned just about everything i know by watching these. Forget the haters Eduardo.
That was textbook! Great video, and well explained. I bought a Caravan a couple years back, a very shoddily rebuilt vehicle that had been hit hard right where the fuse box, PCM, and body harnesses meet. Shredded probably half the wires. How many wires is that? There are 192 pins on the PCM alone. I knew the wiring was junk when I bought it, but I love electrical stuff. Spent a week going over the wires with a powerful light and dental mirror, looking for nicks or damage, and repairing everything. Over 100 nice neat solder splices, going around each splice with a smooth-jaw pliers after soldering to make sure there weren't any pointy bits sticking out, then double-wall heat shrink tubing. I also loved that you actually soldered the wires like you need to do for a reliable fix. Too many guys use crimps or even wire nuts (aka Marette connectors). Or just twist the wires together and electrical tape them, like these chumps did with the airbag wires in my Caravan. One thing I would recommend that I didn't see you use is double-wall heat shrink tubing, which has a lining of hot-melt glue. Otherwise moisture will get in to the copper wires and cause corrosion which WILL eat completely through the wire in 5 years or less.
Gotta like how the common sense diagnostics of a pro mechanic/tech. Start with the basics every time. One lesson driven home every time. Fule, spark, go on from there. Basic brilliant.
I am NO mechanic, I hate working on cars..lol but I can watch it all day, but even to me, that seemed pretty easy for a mechanic, the parts gun was filled and fired.
New Mustie1 video and a new SMA video on a Sunday morning ... Life is back to normal now 😀. Amazing how all the other shops in your area seemingly don't have basic wiring and diagnostic skills.
Nice shooting Sherlock Ohms😉 Both my Dodge Cummins trucks had this problem....damn ground squirrels. Air boxes were so full of mesquite seeds and insulator pad fibers, it maxed out the air filter minder! Mileage went in the tank as well. Repaired the damage, replaced the pads and pop-riveted hardware screen cloth across the air intake openings. So far, so good.
in the south when you buy a used motor many times they cut the harness and leave on motor i cut them apart and save wire so when repairing wiring most of the time can find same color or real close but i don't do the volume of work you do so i have more time to do stuff like that. thanks for what you do has helped me so much doing diag. had to do ball joints on 4wd dodge from up north got a taste of your problems. upper control arm bolts rusted to inner metal part of bushing had to cut both sides of the bolts to get out would go crazy if i had to do every time didn't know how to charge and be fair but he was happy so life goes on. keep sending us videos thanks. i am in southeast alabama
@@biggerbill82 Agreed, its is a great engine IMO. The N* is not the only engine that had head bolts pull out of the aluminum block. Just look at all the head bolt repair kits out there.
As someone who worked at a Cadillac dealer, I can say those Northstar engines are $$$ makers. Especially when it comes to them overheating due to the head gaskets.
Use to own a 97 . 180,000 and never had an issue with the head gaskets , heater core fell apart ( friggin plastic tanks ) , alternator fried twice , battery died twice ( replaced both times ) but that car ran like a banshee
That's a lot of bad shops out there there are no good at troubleshooting it don't crank they want to put a starter in I know troubleshooting we learned a lot from you on every video👍👍👍
Just had a flashback from when I was a young man.(18) I was hard on my Moms car. A 1966 Chevy 6 cylinder. I fried the clutch so I had to get it fixed. Brought it to a friends shop. They put new clutch, throw-out bearing etc etc. When it was all done I got in and was backing out of the garage. I did not realize the door was open as far as it was. Needless to say I snapped the hinges in half.. (pot metal) Long story short got the door back on and locked it. Forgot to tell my Mom about it. When she went to open the door, it fell to the ground..lol Boom. Just wondering if you have ever had this happen? Thanks for the walk down memory lane..51 years ago
My mother owned one of these toilets.....it was one thing after another. Those Northstar engines are notorious for problems.....Not only that, they didn't use this engine much else. (Oldsmobile Aurora maybe?)
@@animalcorvair your lying then, these Cadillac's are complete garbage, i used to work at a Cadillac dealer, even c tech's were doing 85 to 90k a year, always broken, north star should have been called the shit star
Everybody's wires are. Mice climb up the tires and get into engine compartments and air intakes, and then the party starts. When I worked in IT Field Services for a large electric utility we had a lot of trouble with pack rats at mountaintop sites; they not only chewed wires, they chewed coolant hoses. Sometimes half the hose would be gouges. Then we would call the company who maintained the APUs and called our "rat patrol" department. They found the entries, stuffed steel wool in them, and filled them with urethane foam.
Scottie talks about the problems but you show us the problem plus the repair. Those scan tools are something else and it must be great to know how to use them. Thanks for a pleasurable journey.
Sad they probably crammed some junk aftermarket starter in there when the original was still good! Hours of incorrect work done and it was correctly diagnosed in minutes 😂
Great diag Eric. Right to the heart of the problem. No thanks to RUclips, 15:11 minute video with 5 ads in it. RUclips is getting worse than this country. Hard to believe, but true.
"C'mon, Jake! Set the timer and let's take it on the lam!" "But boss, I forgot how long I set it for. You know I don't get no idears." (Bugs Bunny fans will understand.) "Ah, never mind. Jump in the Toyota and we will get away scot free."
The northstar is a great engine if maintained properly. Head bolt issues were fixed in 06. I had a 97 deville that I bought with 130k and put another 30k on it before selling. Didn’t have one issue and all I did to it were coolant changes, brakes, tires, and oil changes. People who say these engines suck are people who buy these without testing them first.
No matter how many times I watch your vids I feel like Im learning a lot. When it comes to applying this knowledge to my own stuff I freeze up. Great vid!
I chased down a bad "o2 sensor" on one of these, after and ecu swap it was fixed. Your channel is part of the reason i was able to chase the wire all the way to the ecu that had a dead o2 sensor channel:) voltage on wire was solid, while ecu reading was jumping all over , rather that shotgunning an O2 sensor like the mechanic that "fixed" it before me. The real fun is getting that car to pass one of the emissions tests involving deceleration for 60mph.( It nearly idles at 58-65mph.)
You have to be good with electrical and there are just so many mechanics that don't understand what they can't see and will tend to stick with tried and true methods they know (i.e. change the typical parts).
@@killer2600 Yep thats true, Some of the older guys don't even think it's possible to understand computers and electricity with out at least a masters degree in engineerting.
@@davidlong1786 proffessional only means you are getting payed. Amateur means that you do it for love. So I guess a proffessional amatuer would be the best balance?
One of the best feelings in the world is figuring out a problem car and fixing it. Never assume when it comes to these kinds of problems. Like a police detective a dead car cannot talk like a dead person cannot either. Just have to find the leads and get to the cause of the problem and fix it !
How could anybody criticize you, when you go right to the problem and fix it, this was a quick & easy one for you besides the mice droppings, and by the way you deserve a break bud, nice job once again.
Eric, this a text I had to send my son today, "Ok Technician A: A tip when you are helping someone with a no start. First try to start it yourself. Second if a key symbol lights on the dash. Go into your emergency supplies and take out the new 2032 battery you have in kit. Doing both of those will save you at least 10-15 troubleshooting steps and a trip back home. And a second road repair after it started on the first one. Don't ask how I know that."
I can promise that changing that starter was a lot harder and more expensive then it would have been to do what you guys did and actually diagnose the issue 👍🏻
I had the same problem with my 04 gmc dually with the dmax. What a mess, 3 hours later and it was running. Then my granddaughter put a penny in the cigar lighter outlet.🔥😱. Didn’t blow the 20 amp fuse, just melted some wire before I could pull the fuse. She is a great helper!
This is the difference between a parts changer, and a real mechanic.
My auto class teacher in high school taught us from day 1. Anyone can get paid to change parts, but learning why the parts need to get changed pays more.
Facts bro 💯
The ability to read between the lines and understand diagrams saves you headache and sets you apart. Still fine tuning my diagnostic side 😂 I compete with another guy that's a little older & skilled than myself. I dont get to play as much as I'd like.
Amen!
I would love to know the estimate from a Caddy dealer to fix that! No doubt they would have charged for a new ECU, then an entire harness.
My 03 DeVille/DTS went to 255,000. They are comfortable, reliable cars provided you MAINTAIN them.
Who the hell downvotes these vids? Jealous competitors? This is as good of work as you will ever see.
I'm guessing Scotty, and the mechanic(s) who worked on the car previously.
And maybe the rodents that lost their condo
Hell i wouldn't be mad at all. 500k views! 10,000 like! With that kind of traffic 45 people could have accidentally hit the dislike.)
Down votes are inevitable because you can't please everyone. I have yet to find a video on YT that didn't have at least some down votes.
@Edward Martinez You feel better now that you got that out?
The biggest and most famous Northstar problem was the head bolts pulling up out of the block and stripping the threads. It spawned a whole industry to repair the problem. But that was the first few years of production, '97-'99, and the 2000 semi-fix involving longer head bolts helped but did not fix them entirely. But in 2004, bigger head bolts with coarser threads were used, and no more problems after that - aside from the usual GM type issues that were far less serious. So the used car guy was probably on to something.
“Get the camera close in case there’s a mouse”. Hilarious!
These are actually my favorite South Main videos, where you chase down damaged wiring or connectors. I watch and enjoy them all however, and have even learned a few things. Thanks for putting them out.
How great is this: it is Sunday, got my breakfast sandwich and noticed Eric is here to edutain us!!?
Could you continue eating your breakfast sandwich after the nun num nums?
Nice new word "Edutain" :-D
@@AZBEEMR Yeah, that doesn't bother me, as long it wasn't present on my sandwich.
@@zx8401ztv these videos are also great entercation
You're all right Eric I love your comedy when you're working with the fellas in the shop God bless you sir and Mrs o
YES, LMAO AT HIS LITTLE JOKES.
the young guy is lucky to have a great teacher
I have a Cadillac DTS 2006, 201,000 miles. Had for abit over two years no huge issues so far.
love these short quick hitters with a happy ending
"This is better than an unboxing video" Priceless!
The northstar is a great engine. There are test kits available if you want to buy an early model car but by the time this DTS was made the head bolt issue was fixed. I had one and it never gave me any issues.
In the second half of the 2004 model year the the head bolt issue was fixed for good by GM.
Can't believe someone replaced the starter without jumping the relay
I was half expecting a loose bolt securing one of the large connectors to the underside of the underhood fuse/relay box!
I'll be a little bit more charitable in my thinking and say that maybe they did try jumping the relay and found that the starter was bad. They replaced it and then the engine would turn over but not start. At which point they gave up.
seriously
If they keep throwing parts at it eventually they will find the problem.
3 sureties of life...death...taxes....caddy is at the shop
Great straight forward diag Eric and Jason. It always amazes me how many people would rather throw parts at something rather than have it properly diagnosed. A simple jumper wire on the starter circuit could have saved a lot of unnecessary labour, as you demonstrated.
Keep up the good work!
Those cars are like the early 90's Ford Taurus. You go up to the people you see driving them on the road these days and congratulate them for keeping it on the road. It's truly an accomplishment. 😂
Love it when I get an education on car repair, and comedy all at the same time!
Kudos to the GM software guys for building in diagnostic codes that pointed directly at the main problems. Toyota could take some lessons there. And a face palm for whatever idiots worked on this before and ignored such obvious codes. Great video!
Can’t believe they didn’t fire a “main board” at it with the parts cannon while they were at it and noticed the mess of wires resulting from a rodent sabotage haha
Cuse them mainboards are expensive and gotta be programmed. Way above the low dollar mechanics pay grade and student loan costs.
Right? Lol
They sure do like to go to that option pretty quick usually
I've always wondered why people jump to the computer being bad so quick. Often times its the most reliable part in the car.
@Timothy Salomon Fair enough. Still seems like a backwards thought process though.
A basic scan tool would have send them in that direction. So its safe to assume they didn't try that. Therefor only were able to conclude that when the key turns the starter doesn't work. They also didn't notice the fuel pump didn't activate. If they did they wouldn't have tried to fix it with a starter. Its actually quite logical why they did what they did. From a 'limited information' and 'basic understanding of a car' point of view. At the very least they attempted to fix the problem themselves, which unfortunately didn't work. Can't fault people for trying. I mean if it so happened to be the starter... they would have fixed it. Not trying would have resulted in no results either. No guts, no glory :)
This dude does NOT play games! He knows what he is doing. And has a fun personality. Thanks for the demonstration South Main Auto Repair.
You have taught me the difference between a mechanic and a parts changer. Though I would never claim to be anything more then some guy with a handfull of tools, I can say for certain that I am not a parts changer!
For that I thank you!
I would say Eric is a Technician - the rest are mechanics. :)
By 2006 Cadillac got the problems with the Northstar pretty well taken care of. Had a 2010 with 200,000 miles and saw limo companies that ran them over 300K regularly.
@@atikovi1 💯💪🏾
yeah, they put LS engines in there
@@norsk54472 Umm......No.
Thank you for sharing, I have same problem w my DTS crank but won’t start? Dad passed n Left me this car , it’s ran okay no problems but now this changed fuel pump ran okay for couple days then she quit thanks again
We got "red alert" and "turd analysis" all in one video. Who could ask for more..... Well, Mrs. O giving you some grief would just have been icing on the cake.
Seriously, thanks for bringing us along. Following you through your diagnostic routine is always a learning experience. Looks like you could make a whole series on auction car "buys". Keep them coming.
👍Bought a 99 Cadillac STS w/ 70k NorthStar. Super nice 1 owner. Kept for a year, enjoyed it as the thing was nice & pretty quick down the road. Got semi educated on the NorthStar thru RUclips over a couple days then Sold it BEFORE any issues started happening. Paid 6k. Sold it for $6600. I wanted to love it & keep it but I've been dumped before & it hurts😂 NorthStar...such a disaster all due to fine thread machined head bolts....among other things!
I wish I could post a picture of my Impala after a red squirrel had a field day with the underhood when I was gone on vacation for a week. Unbelievable. He his mother, brother, sister and non relatives are now deceased 👍
A bush rat recently knocked a glass jar off a self onto my recently repainted 65 gto. His family tree goes no furthur.
Seen the damage after a raccoon demolished a Dodge Caliber. Needed pretty much everything on top of the motor. Coils, wire harness, fuel line, insulators. Never found the raccoon though.
I have an ‘04 DTS, Northstar or nothing! They can be “challenging” to say the least. Oil leaks, water pump, power steering pump, hoses (all) radiator, broken wires, window regulator(s), etc. 210K & still going strong...
THAT'S JUST HOW I LIKE IT, COULD WE HAVE SOME MORE DIAGNOSTIC VIDEOS PLEASE THAT WAS A GOOD ONE AND THANKS FOR YOUR TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
06 DTS 360k on it, love it have only had the usual maintenance done by myself, I did do a refresh on the seals @ 250 which does involve dropping the full front crossmember to get er out, past that, and maybe having to remove bumper bolts to change your headlights lol it is a great car especially in winter it weighs so much haha
Smokes a new turbo MDX, just don't expect to get anywhere reasonable fuel mileage until you're on the highway
But you gotta love all the comforts, even air bagged from factory and a trunk you can fit 4 dead bodies in
Exact reaction I had when I looked under my truck fuse box... I think he left 3 or 4 wires unchewed.... LOL... Thanks, SMA...
Hello from Sweden 🇸🇪😃.
I ♥️ the GM Cadillac Northstar engine👍👍👍
Finally a Cadillac on the channel! Yay!
I'm honestly surprised he hasn't had a lot more
Excellent auction car. Never leaves the auction block.
Great Sunday Morning
"We're gonna have to analyze those turds..." I really needed a good laugh. Thanks for the great videos...and commentary.
Those turds are big because it’s a big engine, if it was 1.8 or similar, the turds would be a lot smaller.
Sometimes they are the wrong size, and have to be returned for the proper size. The shipping delays are what makes the job take so long. "Ma'am, the turds were the wrong size from the supplier. We apologize for the regrettable delay in getting the proper size turds for your Cadillac." Customer satisfaction with rat turds is of paramount importance to our company.
Well, yeah. You are what you eat. :D
We are talking about the rodent and not the Northstar Cadillac. Both are turds though😄
Do turbos affect the size of the turds
Here in New England, in my 120 year old house, I "trapped" over 35 mice so far In 2 weeks. Another 50 or so & my wife will finally get that fur coat she's been asking for. I hope that the peanut butter holds out.
LOL Once again, the trusty ol "Lets just throw new parts at the problem and hope that fixes the issue" This is why Eric is a TRUE mechanic and demonstrates why!!! Amazing how many cars have shown up at SMA that others couldnt fix...
I love auction car videos! Makes me wonder how much money people lost by sending the car to the block instead of getting it fixed (by someone who has a clue)
Mechanics are expensive, Northstars are difficult to work on, and the trade-in value of a car like this is only $1500. Despite it being a dang nice car I understand why it ended up at an auction.
You make that look like a cake walk with that scanner. That’s like the Bible. It never lets you down. Way to go man. God bless.
I love how u narrate your videos. Glad your back on. 😬
Always love seeing "smear-o-matic" wiper blades!!
"Rust and Rodents" a new country music song.
Great deductive reasoning! True Technician/Mechanic right there.
I wish I had time in my shop to do videos...always busy dont have that kind of time..but its awesome some of you have the time to teach a little out there to help others.
Probably busy firing the parts cannon. There is a reason some people don't do videos.
@johnny smit
Could be that he is an employee that has a manager who runs him to death and would consider a video a waste of time. There is a reason why this is one of the only channels that shows the level of diagnostics it takes to find problems. Even SMA doesn’t show all the cars he works on. Why? Because it takes a lot of time.
Wow all these haters lol..must be top fans.
@@12yearssober I have to give credit to anybody that has time to film themselves and edit it to post on yt. I've learned just about everything i know by watching these. Forget the haters Eduardo.
Lol gotta luv them haters if they work the same way they comment (guessing) i feel sorry for the results 😅
New Sunday morning videos with Eric O and Mustie1. Life is good. Thanks.
That was textbook! Great video, and well explained.
I bought a Caravan a couple years back, a very shoddily rebuilt vehicle that had been hit hard right where the fuse box, PCM, and body harnesses meet. Shredded probably half the wires. How many wires is that? There are 192 pins on the PCM alone. I knew the wiring was junk when I bought it, but I love electrical stuff. Spent a week going over the wires with a powerful light and dental mirror, looking for nicks or damage, and repairing everything. Over 100 nice neat solder splices, going around each splice with a smooth-jaw pliers after soldering to make sure there weren't any pointy bits sticking out, then double-wall heat shrink tubing.
I also loved that you actually soldered the wires like you need to do for a reliable fix. Too many guys use crimps or even wire nuts (aka Marette connectors). Or just twist the wires together and electrical tape them, like these chumps did with the airbag wires in my Caravan.
One thing I would recommend that I didn't see you use is double-wall heat shrink tubing, which has a lining of hot-melt glue. Otherwise moisture will get in to the copper wires and cause corrosion which WILL eat completely through the wire in 5 years or less.
He always uses adhisive lined heat shrink
Gotta like how the common sense diagnostics of a pro mechanic/tech.
Start with the basics every time.
One lesson driven home every time. Fule, spark, go on from there.
Basic brilliant.
You always make it look so easy :) In fact so easy that I started doing my own simple maintenance things. Great find on the wiring!
Chip monks ate the wires ,cause hi had same problems with fuel injection wires
The way you eliminate the issue is awesome👌🏼
Simple solder repair on some eaten wires good work Eric O @SouthMainAutoRepairLLC
Another one saved from the junk yard for the minute.. great video thanks for your time..
Awesome. I love your videos. You’re very talented.
I am NO mechanic, I hate working on cars..lol but I can watch it all day, but even to me, that seemed pretty easy for a mechanic, the parts gun was filled and fired.
The Parts Cannon was totally ineffectual in this case. In fact, the parts that were "prayed and sprayed" had nothing to do with the problem.
New Mustie1 video and a new SMA video on a Sunday morning ... Life is back to normal now 😀. Amazing how all the other shops in your area seemingly don't have basic wiring and diagnostic skills.
Few bucks? He used a +US900 scanner. Skill and logic are invaluable...great work 👏 👍
Nice find, I think you can add Scatologist to your skill set.
Nice shooting Sherlock Ohms😉
Both my Dodge Cummins trucks had this problem....damn ground squirrels. Air boxes were so full of mesquite seeds and insulator pad fibers, it maxed out the air filter minder! Mileage went in the tank as well. Repaired the damage, replaced the pads and pop-riveted hardware screen cloth across the air intake openings. So far, so good.
Sherlock Ohms. :) And he says "It's elementary, my dear WATTson!"
Mark H. Well played Sir👍🏻
Esp. love the Caddy ad while Eric is working on the POS Northstar!!😃
in the south when you buy a used motor many times they cut the harness and leave on motor i cut them apart and save wire so when repairing wiring most of the time can find same color or real close but i don't do the volume of work you do so i have more time to do stuff like that. thanks for what you do has helped me so much doing diag. had to do ball joints on 4wd dodge from up north got a taste of your problems. upper control arm bolts rusted to inner metal part of bushing had to cut both sides of the bolts to get out would go crazy if i had to do every time didn't know how to charge and be fair but he was happy so life goes on. keep sending us videos thanks. i am in southeast alabama
I beat on a wheel hub for 3 hours the other day due to rust. Aluminum/steel fused together. 30 minute job turned into 3-4 hours.
AHHHHH "NORTHSTAR" ultimate GM
My dts guns great no issues at all smooth ride pulls good and the girls love it . Big daddy caddy .
Another “parts cannon” approach disproved.
Another awesome Eric fix. No rat can ruin the day!
Cady TOILET you have made my day🤣🤣🤣
You have taught me more about vehicle wiring than what they taught me when I went to school for it in the military.
Top o' the mornin' to everyone !
Grandma will be so happy
seeing Northstar would make me run!
They did, right to south main!
Northstar after 06 model year is not to bad. They fixed the head gasket issues by then.
@@biggerbill82 Agreed, its is a great engine IMO. The N* is not the only engine that had head bolts pull out of the aluminum block. Just look at all the head bolt repair kits out there.
Ah I had one from 96 and 08. They aren't that bad..
Ya the second I saw that I thought blown engine
Great job!! This is the first time out of every video I watched on RUclips where I have seen a professional mechanic.
Love me a no start no crank!!
As someone who worked at a Cadillac dealer, I can say those Northstar engines are $$$ makers. Especially when it comes to them overheating due to the head gaskets.
Use to own a 97 . 180,000 and never had an issue with the head gaskets , heater core fell apart ( friggin plastic tanks ) , alternator fried twice , battery died twice ( replaced both times ) but that car ran like a banshee
@@thomasfletcher4765 same here! I love it ,crossing 228k miles! 1996 Deville base
The GM engineers set a goal while drunk to beat Subaru at the bad head gasket count.
Those Northstar engine were so good that GM switched Cadillac to Chevrolet engines and rear-wheel-drive in their cars.
146,000 on my 06 DTS ,still runs strong as it ever did ,with no major issues..
That's a lot of bad shops out there there are no good at troubleshooting it don't crank they want to put a starter in I know troubleshooting we learned a lot from you on every video👍👍👍
Just had a flashback from when I was a young man.(18) I was hard on my Moms car. A 1966 Chevy 6 cylinder. I fried the clutch so I had to get it fixed. Brought it to a friends shop. They put new clutch, throw-out bearing etc etc. When it was all done I got in and was backing out of the garage. I did not realize the door was open as far as it was. Needless to say I snapped the hinges in half.. (pot metal) Long story short got the door back on and locked it. Forgot to tell my Mom about it. When she went to open the door, it fell to the ground..lol Boom. Just wondering if you have ever had this happen? Thanks for the walk down memory lane..51 years ago
OUCH! OOH! I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!
HAHAHA! Great story!
Methodical and thorough, true professionals!!!
Calling the Caddy a "toilet" almost made me spit my coffee out.
Lmao thats okay me too but the thing about toilets are, everybody needs one 😂
@Doogie Rush i have a caddy my boy has a caddy..both have northstars no problems
It's a bit harsh on toilets tbh.
My mother owned one of these toilets.....it was one thing after another. Those Northstar engines are notorious for problems.....Not only that, they didn't use this engine much else. (Oldsmobile Aurora maybe?)
@@animalcorvair your lying then, these Cadillac's are complete garbage, i used to work at a Cadillac dealer, even c tech's were doing 85 to 90k a year, always broken, north star should have been called the shit star
I learn soo much from this man. He and his wife are awesome people!
GM wires must be tasty.
Same problem here in India for most of the cars.. Mechanics here say that's cos the wire taste sweet 😂😂
Carmakers all changed to soy-based plastic for the wiring and rodents think it's the tastiest thing ever. It's not just GM.
@@ischmidt same with volkswagen ag
Everybody's wires are. Mice climb up the tires and get into engine compartments and air intakes, and then the party starts. When I worked in IT Field Services for a large electric utility we had a lot of trouble with pack rats at mountaintop sites; they not only chewed wires, they chewed coolant hoses. Sometimes half the hose would be gouges. Then we would call the company who maintained the APUs and called our "rat patrol" department. They found the entries, stuffed steel wool in them, and filled them with urethane foam.
Mercedes also!!
Scottie talks about the problems but you show us the problem plus the repair. Those scan tools are something else and it must be great to know how to use them. Thanks for a pleasurable journey.
Sad they probably crammed some junk aftermarket starter in there when the original was still good! Hours of incorrect work done and it was correctly diagnosed in minutes 😂
Great diag Eric. Right to the heart of the problem. No thanks to RUclips, 15:11 minute video with 5 ads in it. RUclips is getting worse than this country. Hard to believe, but true.
Northstar. For those that like gambling and time bombs
"C'mon, Jake! Set the timer and let's take it on the lam!" "But boss, I forgot how long I set it for. You know I don't get no idears." (Bugs Bunny fans will understand.) "Ah, never mind. Jump in the Toyota and we will get away scot free."
It is got to be one of the WORST engines in a Cadillac. Oh wait! The 4.1 liter all aluminum engine was worse....No! The V8-6-4 was.....Great video!
By this year, they weren't having issues any longer.
The northstar is a great engine if maintained properly. Head bolt issues were fixed in 06. I had a 97 deville that I bought with 130k and put another 30k on it before selling. Didn’t have one issue and all I did to it were coolant changes, brakes, tires, and oil changes. People who say these engines suck are people who buy these without testing them first.
@@johnwilkins6871 The car I am talking about was a new car.
No matter how many times I watch your vids I feel like Im learning a lot. When it comes to applying this knowledge to my own stuff I freeze up. Great vid!
Wont start boss. Sir, get the PARTS CANNON!
Those 155s ($1,550) really pack a wallet - uh, wallop!
sir it seems we are firing blanks
@@buffsheeri "Sir, Parts Cannons ineffectual. I suggest we try the Money Torpedoes."
Call in the dorman canon, it's the best lol
@@dwaynechaulk7387 Or the poop shooting cannon. Same thing.
I chased down a bad "o2 sensor" on one of these, after and ecu swap it was fixed. Your channel is part of the reason i was able to chase the wire all the way to the ecu that had a dead o2 sensor channel:) voltage on wire was solid, while ecu reading was jumping all over , rather that shotgunning an O2 sensor like the mechanic that "fixed" it before me. The real fun is getting that car to pass one of the emissions tests involving deceleration for 60mph.( It nearly idles at 58-65mph.)
What's up early crew
Testing, not guessing!! Common sense and logic, all marks of a true mechanic!!!
I'm always shocked that any professional repair place will still do this.
It is pretty easy: test, Test, TEST!
You have to be good with electrical and there are just so many mechanics that don't understand what they can't see and will tend to stick with tried and true methods they know (i.e. change the typical parts).
@@killer2600 Yep thats true, Some of the older guys don't even think it's possible to understand computers and electricity with out at least a masters degree in engineerting.
"Professional" is the key word. They weren't.
@@davidlong1786 proffessional only means you are getting payed. Amateur means that you do it for love. So I guess a proffessional amatuer would be the best balance?
Sometimes it’s easy enough just to actually look at it for a few minutes.
One of the best feelings in the world is figuring out a problem car and fixing it. Never assume when it comes to these kinds of problems. Like a police detective a dead car cannot talk like a dead person cannot either. Just have to find the leads and get to the cause of the problem and fix it !
I wanna diesel swap a 88 dodge ram with the big 360. Want to help 😂😂, keep up the good content
How could anybody criticize you, when you go right to the problem and fix it, this was a quick & easy one for you besides the mice droppings, and by the way you deserve a break bud, nice job once again.
The water pump takes a "bit" of disassembly, lol. I didn't buy the car, inherited it (2 of them, lol).
There the best type of cars when you think you'll only need 1k into it and then find out that you actually need more
That engine is a boat anchor. No bueno. The starter is in a great spot. Wonder what the engineers were drinking when they designed that engine.
@@ceezer6262 dealer service everything
triple hitter day: Eric O, Ivan, and Watching Wes work all within a few hours. Must have been a coordinated effort!
eric o, i think you should do some kind of offering to your mouse population once a year because of all the customers they bring for you
He should buy one of those huge ass wheels of cheese, put some birthday candles on it and leave it in the shop overnight to appease the rat gods.
Eric, this a text I had to send my son today, "Ok Technician A: A tip when you are helping someone with a no start. First try to start it yourself. Second if a key symbol lights on the dash. Go into your emergency supplies and take out the new 2032 battery you have in kit. Doing both of those will save you at least 10-15 troubleshooting steps and a trip back home. And a second
road repair after it started on the first one. Don't ask how I know that."
With all the rat turds, I guess it really was a toilet.
And a lunch counter...
And an apartment
😂😂😂
Well, it's a GM, so that's pretty appropriate.
That tool you made to line up the wires is awesome. I'm going to make one.
I don’t know if nasa analyzes 💩 😂
Actually, they did analyze astronaut feces for chemistry changes from weightlessness.
maybe he means National Geographic...
I can promise that changing that starter was a lot harder and more expensive then it would have been to do what you guys did and actually diagnose the issue 👍🏻
Starters are a pain on these vehicles @SouthMainAutoRepairLLC
That really makes me wonder why the previous guy went that route rather than doing the test that took Eric O. a minute or so to run.
@@flagmichael right
@Brian Kelly agree 100 percent
I had the same problem with my 04 gmc dually with the dmax. What a mess, 3 hours later and it was running. Then my granddaughter put a penny in the cigar lighter outlet.🔥😱. Didn’t blow the 20 amp fuse, just melted some wire before I could pull the fuse. She is a great helper!
By the size of the "leavin's" I'm guessing your NAPA guy was chewing on those wires!! nasty!!
Not a sponsor...
Not a sponsor!!
I love it @the end these things are toilets it sums it up.