2006 Lexus GX470 - Struck by lightning.

The customer had the vehicle towed into the dealership, stating that the vehicle had been struck by lightning while driving it. The customer also stated that it just died and would not restart. After doing some inspection of the exterior, we determined that it had been in contact with lightning. The right rear wheel had carbon tracks on the tire and three little spikes on the rim lip.

Next I tried retrieving codes. I was not able to communicate with any of the modules.

Now what? Time to test the CAM BUS.

This Lexus uses two 120 ohm resistors to terminate the CAM bus. I measured the CAM BUS and it was 60 ohms like the specs stated. But there is another step to this, you need to check for a short to ground or a battery source.  Bingo, we have a short to power.  This vehicle has a junction block that all the connection for CAM bus.  This junction block makes it pretty easy to determine the culprit. After removing the radio to access the junction block, I was able to determining that the STEERING ANGLE sensor was shorted.

Now let’s check for communication. I can now see the ABS and YAW sensor, but still no ECM.

Next step is to perform a pin check on the ECM connectors. That checked out good, so the the ECM will need replacement in order to continue diagnosis.

2002 BMW 325i - Air Conditioner Problem

One of my friend's brought his wife car to me to look at, he has been recharging the A/C every year.

I did the standard routine of evacuation and recharge.  I also added dye into the system to aid in leak detection.

He called me the next day to tell me that it was still doing the same thing.  It would cool for a few minutes then get warm.

I checked the pressure readings and they were about 10 to 15 psi off.  It had me puzzled.  I suspect the compressor,  because the high readings were bouncing.  This typically happens when the valves in the compressor are warped and not sealing all the way.  So recommendations were replacements of the following:

- Compressor
- Drier
- Expansion Valve
- Evaporator

Sure enough after several hours of dash panel disassembly, we found a leaking evaporator. Next is the installation of a new compressor and drier.

Testing after the reassembly showed pressure readings that were 10-15 psi higher and still cooling was erratic.  The bouncing HIGH pressure reading stopped.  But it still wasn't right.

Where is the heat coming from?

DUH!!! The heater core.

I remove the Radio and A/C controler to gain access to the heater core inspection cover.  And sure enough the heater core was at Engine tempature.  Now to check out the Heater control valve.  The heater control valve defaults to open.  I checked the power supplied to the valve, and it has no battery voltage.  After further testing I found the #32 fuse missing.  Installed 7.5 amp fuse and now the A/C is blowing a steading 54 degrees all the time.