[MUSIC PLAYING]
One, two, three, four!
Rev up your engines.
Time for the Scotty Kilmer Channel.
OK, it's happened to all of us.
You've got a vehicle that has a hard time starting.
It will try to start, try to start, try to start.
And after numerous times, it finally starts.
[ENGINE CRANKING]
So today I'm going to show you how you can diagnose and repair
a vehicle that has a hard time starting,
but then once it starts, it runs OK.
Now in the case of this Chevy pickup,
the customer says over the course of the last year or two
it's gotten worse, where it will be
harder and harder to crank and crank,
and then eventually it starts.
Now, unfortunately, there's a zillion things
that can cause that.
Anything from low fuel pressure to a problem in the computer
to the car.
So the first thing I'm going to do
is hook up this basic scan tool, see if there's any codes.
So just go under the dash and plug it in.
Now in this case, it says PO1O2, mass air flow,
circuit low input.
And here's a new air flow sensor for the Chevy.
What it does is, it measures how much air
is flowing into the engine, which
it tells the main computer of the vehicle,
then the vehicle decides how much power
to give the fuel injectors to match the fuel
with the air that's coming in.
And if the sensor goes bad, it can
give the wrong amount of fuel so the vehicle
will be hard to start.
But then once it warms up, a lot of times
it runs good enough that you don't
notice that much difference.
So we'll take off the old mass sensor here.
We just unscrew the clamps and get the rubber to come off.
Then pull the other side off the air box.
Then we squeeze the tab and take the electrical connection off.
Now if you want to try, they make a mass air flow sensor
cleaner, and once you take off the car,
you can spray the inside and clean it.
Sometimes that'll fix them.
But if you want the truth of the matter,
I already tried this months ago on it,
and it didn't help it out.
So I'm just going to replace the mass air flow sensor.
And the only thing you get mess up
is, you can put it on backwards.
So you look at the flow line, and you
make sure that the air filters on this side,
and the air is flowing this way into the engine
so you don't put it on backwards.
Now first, you just put the rubber ring on.
And then you push the ring onto the air box
and tighten the clamp.
Then you can put the whole air box down
and stick the other end going to the engine on it.
And tighten that clamp up.
Now, these air flow sensors are pretty sensitive,
so before you plug it back in, first take off
the negative battery terminal.
That way you won't short anything off.
Now you can plug it back on without risk
of shorting anything.
Because if the sensor is powered up,
just the fact of plugging those wires in sometimes
can make those little dials pop.
So unplug the battery first, then just put it back
on before you start it.
Then put the cable on nice and tight.
And now comes the moment of truth.
[ENGINE STARTING]
Starts right up like a dream.
Now, we got lucky.
This is a pretty simple fix.
It had a code for the mass air flow sensor.
Let's say it didn't have a code.
Well, then generally you need to know all about cars
or hire a guy like me who has a high-level scan tool who
can analyze all the data on it, and figure out which system is
working right, and then fix it.
Because with the Chevy truck, for a couple of years
it didn't have a code for the mass air flow sensor.
Even though it was going bad.
It only trips a code when it gets really bad.
But he drove it.
It ran good enough, but now with getting a lot worse,
so he brought it in, and we figured out what was wrong.
And since these scan tools don't cost that much
for a basic one like this, it's not a bad idea
if you just go out and buy one.
It will work on every car sold in the United States
from 1996 to the present time.
And since you're not going to use yours all the time like I
use mine, heck, you can get four or five neighbors together
to work on all the cars.
Just buy a decent one, and you can share it
amongst each other.
Heck, when I was a kid, they had a thing called party lines.
We even shared a phone with the neighbors across the street.
Maybe people should go back to sharing more.
And remember, if you got any car questions,
just visit the Scotty Kilmer Channel.
And I'll answer them as soon as I get done doing my business
and making it home.
What will they think of next.
Hey, it does have a motor on it.
I gotta fix this thing.