'14 Chevy Impala - Battery Dies Overnight - Part II

In a previous video we had a look at a customer's Impala that kept killing the battery overnight. It's time to get to the bottom of this and get the vehicle fixed once and for all.
-Enjoy!
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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.

[@billmalec]

65 years old here. We were the original 'kids' that changed out our car stereos because the original ones sucked. When we say sucked we mean SUCKED. Most all new stuff sounds ok. The stuff then was beyond horrible. But, when we changed our stereos all we needed was power, ground, right and left channel wires for rear speakers(front ones if you were really cool !! 😄). Those were the days of Pioneer Supertuners and 6x9 speakers.... And a little thing we called.... FREEDOM!

[@ronwade2206]

B00mer!😊

[@billmalec]

@@ronwade2206 BOOM

[@garyv8104]

I remember those days as well. 73 Camaro with a pioneer super tuner with 6 x 9 speakers was the best stereo system I had back then until someone stole it 😮

[@ronaldbrown5745]

In the day it was easy to replace the radio to a high quality unit and this caused radio theft, so the manufactures made it difficult to use a stolen radio!

[@brucewilson2268]

I have to agree but it’s not over yet the replacement radio needs to be Programed to work ,which is another specific reason you have to know what your doing. Hats off to South Main Auto

[@greg.goergens6315]

I'm a GM guy and that is pretty shitty for a company to quit supporting electronics on a 10 yr old vehicle. I hear it more and more that we live in a "throw away" society and I'm starting to believe it. Great job on going the extra mile like usual to help these folks out. Your locals don't realize how lucky they are to have you and your shop! Hopefully they do! Thanks for taking us along as always!

[@waynesanders1406]

They're going to slowly go out of business in the US. Just like Sears. I've noticed the majority of their patrons are baby boomers that still think these are American cars. Their revenue income is soon to fall through the floor. They intentionally make things take a long time and complicated so no one can fix them except experts with an array of tools. It takes 3 hours to configure the radio so they can charge 5 hours of free labor for it to sit in the bay without being worked on. And since that one came from a yard and is probably equally as worn, that won't last long before it gives out either. Planned obselesence at its work. GM products are the Chinesium of the auto industry. It would seem to me that the failure is a cheaper quality circuit board component like a capacitor or transistor that has burned out, which means the next will do the same (it's not an external cause of failure). I'm surprised with that being a 2014 up in the NY area that there aren't others that it has occurred to and been identified in warmer states where components will likely burn out faster.

[@MrSmeagolsGhost]

Can you explain what “woke” is and what it has to do with a car radio ? I haven’t come across that term before. Thanks.

[@Boga217]

The other day I had a 2006 bmw 750li..gps navigation disc reader in trunk was drawing battery..bmw still had it amazingly...4500 bucks...omg😮but they had it amazingly.

[@rodparker4514]

Why are you a GM guy ?

[@captaindunsell8568]

The law only requires them to manufacture parts for 7 years …

[@joeroggenbeck8444]

Eric isn't just a great technician - he stands by a code of honor. SALUTE!

[@captaindunsell8568]

Going the extra mile for your neighbors is a class act …

[@shawn_530]

It’s appalling that a 10 year old vehicle would be suggested to be scrapped by the manufacturer because the radio is causing an issue to make it not driveable. Shame on GM. Unfortunately it’s a reflection of the planned obsolescence that is permeating everything today. Kudos to you, Eric, for going the extra mile

[@kevinbarry71]

To be fair, General Motors only expects their cars to last five years maximum

[@fulf]

And its usally after 10years or so the electronics fails.😊

[@milfordcivic6755]

The dealership is not the manufacturer. They aren't interested in taking on difficult problems like this, because it's time consuming and they can't shove as many vehicles through the shop. Most stealerships screw up oil changes and tire rotations, nevermind troubleshooting wiring.

[@RL-xb4gz]

The ten year thing is because there got many many car lots full of cars they didn't sell

[@lynnryckman7300]

You'd be surprised how many parts number changes in any model year and series run. Yes I agree putting all electronics into a series ring is problematic but the customer wants a one touch screen and steering column controls,easy peasy world . Simple is better but it's not going to happen when almost everyone wants complex gizmos.

[@stu8575]

GM: "Sure, we can provide you with a radio that works properly. It's attached to a brand new car, and will only cost you about $40,000 more than carrying a portable battery powered radio in your car." Great job going Way above and beyond to help these folks! Keep up the good work!

[@milfordcivic6755]

GM junk

[@chrisbrown4570]

$40,000??? My friend you haven't visited a dealer lately have you? Try $60000 ish! It's crazy.

[@courtneyjones4472]

Don't worry, in 10 years, that new radio in that new car will go sideways too!

[@afellowinnewengland6142]

@@chrisbrown4570 Where are you guys shopping?? A new Chevy Equinox at my local dealer is $32,000.

[@zephyrsman]

I usually use my phone, and listen using I❤ Radio.

[@robertquast9684]

In the old days we used to fear the mechanic saying it needs a computer. Now it needs a radio is the kiss of death😂. The days of the 100$ Best Buy radio have left us behind

[@calholli]

I was partial to the Pioneer at walmart. lol. Actually, I installed a lot of different brands over the years. My favorite was Aiwa.

[@plumbum48]

Eric, Please allow me to congratulate you for your patience and drive to provide service to your customers that goes above and beyond the norm. Rare to find a mechanic that would spend the time you did in sourcing, installing and programming a discontinued electrical component for an elderly couple. This let them keep their perfectly serviceable (and paid for) auto on the road for far, far less than the cost to junk it and buy another one. You are a wonderful asset to your town.

[@RipCityBassWorks]

You went above and beyond to verify that diagnosis, that was an amazing test.

[@rickharper1497]

It's not only GM, ALL the car companies are in on it. Another form of planned obsolescence. We live in a wicked, greedy world. Your willingness to help is a blessing to your community. We all appreciate you!!

[@tjroelsma]

Yes, and this isn't the only way to do just that. Some car manufacturers use the "separate control module and separate display" trick, others use the 1,5 DIN or some different size and most of them have the radio hooked into everything, like this Chevy has. The world is rapidly getting worse indeed.

[@Qusin111]

100%

[@JoseJimeniz]

Someone has to pay to keep 20 years worth of stock of parts that will probably never get used. Which is the perfect job for a government: - raise your taxes - in order to buy every part, of every car, ever produced - sit on the tens of trillions of dollars worth of inventory for 20 years - and after 20 years, all unsold stuff in the government warehouse can be landfilled. For example the 2014 Chevy Malibu sold 188,519 units. - Assuming 3 radio replacements per vehicle over the next 20 years, - thats 565,557 radios. - at arond $650 per unit That's $367M worth of 2014 Chevy Malibu radios. In 2014, the United States sold 16.5M passenger vehicles. Assuming similar cost for radios, that works out to around $10.725B to store radios for every vehicle sold in the United States per year, or $214.5 billion for 20 years worth of radios. - Multiply that by ever part - for every vehicle ever sold and you can ballpart how much income taxes need to be raised. Unless you can think of a better solution.

[@williamsommariva7488]

Can't put in an new better radio like in the 80s?

[@tjroelsma]

@@williamsommariva7488 Depending on how deeply GM has "integrated" the radio into the board system(s), and Eric says it IS pretty deeply integrated, the ECU might constantly flash the error light when mounting a different radio. So unless someone can hack the ECU and program it to ignore the radio, that would be very annoying.

[@fastglassman624]

Hey, some of us watching here are from the dial phone era, and we're standing right here! 😂 Actually, Eric, you went above and beyond to serve these "elderly" folks with their pristine Impala, while GM and almost every other service shop, no longer gives a damn. But, this is just the usual response from South Main Auto.👍

[@robertprelewitz4511]

Dial-up phone and a party line. 😮

[@emmettturner9452]

@@robertprelewitz4511He doesn’t mean “dial-up.” He means ROTARY dial. ;) That said, I was born in the ‘80s and grew up with a rotary phone supplied by the phone company. Heck, even when we got a push-button phone we had to set it to pulse dial because it was cheaper than touch tone.

[@wadecornwell8896]

Of all the automotive repair people out there, how many would have pursued this lady's problem to the end like you did? Not many I expect. Perhaps just you. Amazing.

[@alfee9411]

Me like a rabbit on a hunt That's the fun of it, after 35 years it's still fun ...

[@richard1835]

Its just amazing how complicated radio installs can be these days. You did something very few shops would even bother with.

[@trotva]

My first 3-4 cars all had AM only radios. The first thing I did was replace them with AM/FM 8 track, then AM/FM cassette. It was a rite of passage growing up in the seventies. That and adding fog lights. We first installed the radio, new and more speakers. That way we could have tunes playing while working on the fog lights. I never had a lot of money so all the cars I got were well used. I would install the radio, lights, clean and wax the car, change oil, lube and write down anything else I needed to do. All done in the driveway or curb in front of the house. Cars are a lot safer than back then. But they are so technically advanced, most young people can't work on them like I did. You showed this so well with the radio issue.

[@Dirtyharry70585]

Still have the 100w amp from my ‘70 Montego in the basement, don’t know why -that was 1979

[@thomaswilson8634]

I still have my clarion cassette tape am /fm stereo with 200 w amp equalizer and 2 three way jenson 6x9 and 2 6vinch door Jensen speakers​@Dirtyharry70585

[@Sojourning_]

I'm with you trotva, although, I never was much of radio guy, any car / truck that had an AM radio, generally was in our price range, used. I gone back to washing our car and pick up truck, even though there is a car wash across the road from us. Being 75, by the grace of GOD I'm still good enough to do that. the car is a 2010 Equinox, the truck is a 2015 Chevy 4x, LTZ. We use Meguiar's gold car wash

[@neiltheplayer]

Craig PowerPLay. burned out a few in my time

[@kevinrenn9123]

On a lot of the new vehicles, you can no longer put in an aftermarket radio system as they are used by and/or control several other modules in the car so you must replace it with the way overpriced factory equipment

[@sidvis7235]

Boy, talk about going above and beyond! That lady is blessed to have S. Main Auto in her vicinity! Good job, Eric. You've got a friend for life!

[@paull4659]

The more I watch you work, the more I thank God for my old school vehicles.

[@kensimpson8133]

It is almost like car manufactures are purposely trying to screw their customers.

[@pawns2prizes]

Yeah.. weird, huh? Ha!

[@jerrycoon3369]

They are. Absolutely

[@calholli]

Now really screw.. but milk, like a cow

[@michaelreeves8164]

Sounds very Apple-ish.

[@knowone6214]

Ya Think????LOL

[@jaxsonhugh9334]

JC Whitney??? HOLLY COW that place brings back old memories. I use to go to the original location in downtown Chicago when I was younger….

[@repro7780]

Remember Kraco? Pyramid? Alpine? Lots of great stereos back then, some not so much....

[@SouthMainAuto]

@@repro7780 GET SOME BAZOOKA BASS TUBES! Oh and a 400watt Kraco amp !

[@davidbaldwin2729]

yes I would go there too in the 60's and 70's, their retail in person business was called Warshawsky and sons, on south state street right where archer ave begins. I first went there at age 14 taking 2 buses from the north side to buy a model T buzzing spark coil which had a wooden case. you could connect it to a 6 volt "lantern" battery and it would make quite a spark which would make beautiful purple lightning inside of clear incandescent light bulbs. it might have been a science project or maybe I had seen the bride of Frankenstein on tv. Bought a new Holley for my first car there 10 years later, a 1955 ford country sedan with a Y block. been wrenching on old stuff ever since. good times

[@keithsanders9396]

@@SouthMainAuto I always wanted the cat that you put in the back window whose eyes would blink with the turn signal.

[@the_bishop]

You run one hell of a shop, Mr. O. Not many shops would have put the time and footwork in to finding a replacement radio module.

[@SteveLowe65]

I hate new cars. Eric, you are a great man for solving this problem for that couple. Kudos.

[@pyralux01]

I didn't need any more reasons to hate GM but the list continues to grow....nice video....

[@DinDooIt]

When corporations are deemed "too big to fail" by our illustrious leaders, they do whatever TF they want because they don't GAF about anything but their bonuses from OUR TAX DOLLARS!!

[@JT-LV]

I think you’d be surprised how quickly all manufacturers stop making parts. 2 to 10 years is the norm. For kicks I looked up radio control models for a few 10 year old vehicles, including a Taurus, and saw “item not available “ from some ford dealerships. A few were still available. But I’d bet it’s down to shelf stock.

[@lynnryckman7300]

All manufacturers have issues.

[@Ghauster]

Chips have a production cycle measured in a few years. The replacement chip often doesn't have the same pin pattern. This is done on purpose.

[@oldman9642]

Eric, this is the reason I follow you. Any other “mechanic” would have simply said I can’t help you. You went WAY above and beyond for your customer. Kudos.

[@kurtb3606]

The level of expertise of mechanical, electrical and electronics knowledge is nothing less than incredibly impressive!

[@DeeSea3]

The amount of dedication to helping these people get their problem fixed is incredible, and shows how much character you have. Bravo 👏

[@mungtor]

I would have spliced a toggle switch into that red/violet power line and just lived with that, but you went above and beyond. Crazy how hard it was for you, and it would be practically impossible for somebody without your industry knowledge and connections to pull off.

[@cameraalton8754]

I Was thinking the same. Or upgrade the unit to a modern retro fit.

[@henrydunbar397]

Or even better, an old school relay and you wouldn't need to remember to switch it off and on.

[@Slicerwizard]

Nah, just reroute the radio power lead to a fuse that has accessory power. Car off = radio de-powered.

[@mph5896]

Could run a relay to switched ignition power. But that would prob clear out radio memory every time you turned it back on.

[@thomasklein9766]

I remember a time when the key was off everything was off, except you could still use the flashers and headlights.

[@douglash3129]

Eric, you are an outstanding person, Tech, neighbor, local grease monkey, what ever these people don't know how lucky they are! What you just did is way above and beyond, You should get some kind of award for what lengths you go to for your customers! And I'm glad to have watched this! You are a good Man Eric O.💯%👍👍👍

[@robertabbott8402]

Saint Eric! The Patron Saint for Lost Automotive Causes...Going the extra mile! Eric... You're a gem!

[@keithbeckmann5668]

Outstanding Diagnosis!!! There is no one else that was gonna go this far into getting this fixed. You earned your GOLD STAR for the month, and deserve a little extra loving from the wife.

[@danlemke6407]

The "Elderly"? I resemble that remark! You can't hurt our feelings on new tech. We know the phone isn't on the wall anymore, and thankfully we don't have to keep phone numbers in our heads anymore either. I ran into one with a parasitic draw and while I could find the leg with the draw, there was too much aftermarket tinkering done with the wiring to go any further. Fixed the other issue and told the guy "yep, you're right... It's broke and we can't fix that problem." As a geezer, I'm not afraid to tell someone that it is above my pay grade. Could we have found the problem? I think so. Would it be worth the hours? Not on that rig. Thanks Mr O. Love your vids.

[@CraigGrant-sh3in]

It's embarrassing. I'm 65. I remember my phone number we had when I was growing up , my number I had when I was married over 20 years ago. My former brides relatives who live out of state but when someone ask me for my current cell phone number it's , ummm?

[@rocketscientist007]

@@CraigGrant-sh3in Short term memory fades quickly; long term memory is more permanent. Some call it CRS disease. BTW, who ever calls themselves, so why would you need to remember your own phone number?

[@russdavis1960]

I have a phone on the wall.... and also a rotary desk top phone from 1963. My newest vehicle is a 1993 model. I have no use for anything newer. None of my vehicles even have power windows... let alone air bags or ABS. I'm perfectly content with what vehicles i have and can still get parts for them... (plus i have my own 'inventory' of 'parts vehicles')..

[@KStewart-th4sk]

@@rocketscientist007 Hmm, why would one need to know their own phone number? Better think that over again! It's pretty obvious, i have a crappy memory, but still know that one.

[@robiecarmichael9958]

As always you go the extra mile! You are so correct a 10 year old car with 45K and near impossible to repair the radio! Makes you say REALLY GM! As always great diagnostics, commentary, education, and most of all customer service. Thank you Eric.

[@hammermekanik]

Just by the chance that no one has told you today, You're awesome.

[@milesmahan]

I truly luv that you answer to a higher power, go the xtra mile to sleep at night, and wake up knowing you're living the best you you can do..rock on brotherman~!

[@mikemiller3565]

Not JC Whitney but maybe crutchfield. That’s a blast from the past.

[@SouthMainAuto]

Both great places from the past!

[@douglash3129]

I just got an e-mail yesterday that J.C. Whitney is back!

[@jamescaron6465]

@@SouthMainAuto Crutchfield is still around. I put apple play radios in my wife's Matrix and Discovery and in my 2011 F-150 plus a fresh set of speakers because the factory ford speakers suck.

[@tomcardale5596]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had radios that fitted in to a standard shaped slot in the dash and connected in to stardard connectors so that you could swap it easily and keep it up do date? Oh wait...

[@cameraalton8754]

To be frank I was surprised that it was never mentioned that this might be a good time to "upgrade" their radio. I put an ATOTO in mine. Just saying. What do I know.

[@65cbtengr]

Eric, your one in a million. No mechanic around where I live would ever go to that length to diag or even think about fixing that issue. Great to see a true craftsmen who is an expert in his field. Your the man.

[@GunfighterWyo]

Eric is our man! He fixes GM and gets cars back on the road.

[@chrissmithz314]

23:00 Sad of GM to do that especially when you consider that outside the salt belt, those cars will be on the road a lot longer than they are in the PRNY.

[@MurphyTheBandChild]

Watching these videos makes me want to drive something from the 1960s.

[@gungadinn]

For years I drove older cars and trucks. I never purchased a alternator, starter, brake wheel cylinders or disc brake calipers, I rebuilt them. You turned drums and rotors. Today, try finding a brush kit and rectifier for a alternator, or a brush kit or a Bendix drive for a starter? I have the question the idiocy of installing a fuse panel under the hood that isn't sealed against the elements on a new car or replacing a display on one of the new trucks. Besides creature comforts and the ability of new vehicles to go 50-75k miles between tune-ups, I don't want to go back to old cars and trucks, except as a SHTF vehicle, and that one will be a 12 valve Cummins all mechanical diesel truck. Push start, no electric required.

[@Taillighttim26]

I would rather have an old school muscle car myself but too hard to get. But I do have a 92 iroc z not completely old school but I use it as a week end cruiser and racer

[@georgewhiteman7341]

What I wouldn't give to have my '63 Galaxy fastback. It had its idiosyncrasies but I could live with them and work on it most of the time.

[@petermccoll469]

Great diagnoses and repair. Finding a way to repair the car when the manufacture can't or won't. Excellent!

[@buffdelcampo]

This is exactly why I'm spending some time on my '72 Plymouth Valiant. It's a southern car, so no rust at all. New brake system, front end bushings, fresh slant 6 engine and some comfortable seats. The transmission is already awesome. It doesn't need a radio but I guess I could install one. It wouldn't hurt to plug the hole in the dash. And best of all, no electronic parking brake that sets itself without touching the switch. Dealers can't find the problem with the parking brake on my 2016 Mazda so I live with an occasional rear wheel lockup. The parking brake on the Valiant is mechanical. Yep, I'm older and I like this simple stuff.

[@tom5cox]

Still wish I had my 69 valiant!

[@rickinoakville1549]

I had a 76 Volare, is the radio the type with the Volume and Tuning side by side? Just curious

[@jg6142]

Unfortunately this is the new America throw away everything after 7-10 years. Sad😮 Great skills Mr O

[@trekOCLVone]

You went to the end of the earth to get this Impala back up to spec. You earned a double gold star. Now go eat some cake and celebrate. Ya-done-good there Mr. O.

[@davesipsy7587]

435k on my 2002 Tundra. 303K on my 2005 Sequoia. Over half a million on my 1994 Isuzu Trooper. .And this is EXACTLY why I keep them all.

[@phillipfritz7014]

Can't agree with you more but man, that’s a whole lot of miles and time spent in a vehicle. Ever have time to do anything other than sit behind the wheel...asking for a friend lol

[@calholli]

340k on my 97 Isuzu Rodeo 5spd 4x4.. almost as much on my 2002 F350 7.3L diesel 6spd 4x4. I certainly will not be selling either one myself. They are both built like tractors with manual transfer cases. You can't buy this kind of reliability anymore.

[@karlkohm3369]

My guess is you guys don't live in the Rust Belt of New England. My 2000 F150 200K is on the last year of existence because of the wonderful new corrosive road chemicals being used rust the frame, supports and metal faster than I can keep up. My 1999 Wrangler 150k only fairing slightly better but I expect I will have to replace the frame in few years. I installed aftermarkets Radios with Bluetooth in both which this video creates the argument to keep them on the road until I die by replacing the steel. My 2014 Honda 80K could be obsolete this year !

[@davesipsy7587]

​@@phillipfritz7014😬 - Ex-wife, three boys, current GF, her three kids.... Lots of help stacking miles on all the above.

[@martinsechrist1393]

Another awesome job. I am one of those older people who miss the simplicity of simple cars. I fantasize about getting my 1963 F100 which I drove in high school and putting it back on the road, just to have a vehicle that I don't need a preflight list to start up on drive. Ignition key, light switch, choke and two knobs you could pull to open a little vent down by your feet. Nothing else. Points, plugs, condenser, rotor, cap and wires, and adjust the valves.... nothing else! Maybe I will miss the heater and AC, but there is something appealing about nothing else to think about.

[@electrake2063]

It would have been great if you could have opened up the old radio module to see if these was a bad component visible, or corrosion causing the current draw. Based on the location I'm guessing it wasn't corrosion - my bet is on a bad capacitor on the board conducting all the time - a quick glance with an IR camera probably would have identified the bad component.

[@65bugnut]

Great job Mr O. I'm sure that your customer appreciates your efforts to help them. Sadly the service that you provide is the exception, and not the norm.

[@paulsullivan6392]

Talk about customer service....very few shop owners would expend this effort to take care of their customer. Well done sir...well done.

[@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524]

Great tenacity to chase down that part to help the old folks out. Great diagnostic too!

[@PhillipBailey]

Excellent resolution! I have installed a key switched relay to interrupt the power to the radio when the ignition is shut off. The only lost feature will be the radio staying on after turning the key off until you open a door.

[@cmans79tr7]

Ha! Maybe to prevent this very problem is why Honda designed my wife's 2016 Accord to (annoyingly, I might add) turn the radio off after hitting the stop engine button 🤔

[@hypocriticalharambe8274]

That is my go to for odd power draws in vehicles that are older then 15 years. But I hide them near the fuse box or in if I can.

[@rnahrgang]

I know it's not Eric O's style to do that, but that was the thought that came to me as well. Here in rural MN, where some of the cars are a bit more used up, I could definitely envision a generic toggle switch drilled into the dashboard too!

[@PhillipBailey]

@rnahrgang that's something Ivan would do I'll bet.

[@johnhenon1464]

Eric you are the man it is all about taking care of your customers. The big 3 don't care about anything but the dollar

[@curtisjmurphy]

I swore to myself that I wouldn't ever be like my father reminiscing about "the good old days" when cars were simpler. I recognized the benefit computer controlled engine management and growing up in the age of personal computers and the internet it never seemed overly complicated to me. Every new sensor or by-wire control that was added seemed to make cars more reliable, easier to diagnose, easier to repair. I've been able to help dad and his buddies learn the basics of troubleshooting modern vehicles and for the most part they have embraced them. There really is something to be said for being able to start a diagnosis without even getting your hands dirty. But here I am, 40 years old, wising I could buy a brand new car with hydraulic power steering, a manual handbrake, a manual transmission (or at the very least an automatic with a good old fashioned lever to change gears), headlight bulbs I can change myself for a few bucks, brake pads I can change without a specialized scan tool, the list goes on. Instead we have gotten heated seats as a subscription, over-the-air updates, shorted out backup cameras that put the car in limp mode, "lifetime" transmission fluid, spare tire deletes, and radio modules that drain the battery and can't be replaced without an asinine amount of fuckery. I'm starting to find it very frustrating when car reviews and internet keyboard warriors throw shade at companies like Toyota when they don't update their cars for 15 years. Even my own car, A 2017 Subaru STI, was lambasted at the time it was new for being old and outdated, getting shit on for its lack of technology in comparison to competitors, having a drivetrain that went largely unchanged for almost 20 years. Yet, I'm able to fix it myself, Problems and the solutions to them are well documented and most of all it's basic enough that I can still learn a thing or two about fixing it from Dad and his buddies. Same thing likely applies to a brand new 2024 "15 year old" 4-Runner, basic and old isn't always a bad thing, sometimes it's a very very good thing.

[@Psxmoe]

Dude.. Seriously! I miss my crank windows and single zone climate. Its such a trip, as a kid new was better. Now its the opposite

[@jonminer9891]

Hi, Mr. O. Thanks for doing a good deed for the old folks. I am an old folk myself, and I appreciate it too. Thanks for sharing! Stay Healthy!

[@brucehobbs1734]

You are the best. You go way beyond the extra mile. 🎉🎉

[@davidkasperek3907]

Outstanding service and dedication to solving a problem for a customer. Using your God given talents to the max every day! 👍👍👍

[@ricktotty2283]

Good Job! What some of your viewers don’t understand is that dealerships work on flat rate. It pays two tenths for one step of a diagnostic scenario and four tenths the next under warranty. I pretty sure the of time you spent on this diagnosis is not really going to meet you any money. When you go into a dealership with a 10 year old car, most of the diagnostic experience for this vehicle has aged out. This causes the dealerships to make estimates that will push you out of consideration for the repair. Manufactures are only required to make parts for vehicle for seven years. Truly a diagnostic that will take this long in a dealership would ,at 140 bucks a an hour, would be prohibitively expensive. You might see a year old car once in awhile but often enough for techs to even remember how to work on them. The diagnostic scanners generally don’t support vehicles that are 10 years old. Don’t get me wrong dealerships are the worst but there are reasons why.

[@GNX157]

Back when I was at the dealership here in NJ, we sent all out sus radios to Suburban Radio in Oaklyn, NJ. They did all our testing and repair on GM radios. They’re still in business.

[@walkingman9171]

This video is a great explanation of why I will "Never" own a new vehicle or anything in the last 15 or so years.

[@user-hg7kv6pw6w]

You went above and beyond what most shops would have done for that customer. Reminds me of an issue I had with my 2000 Toyota Sienna that had a relatively minor parasitic draw of only around 75 mA, but enough to kill the battery which was 3 years old and the car was driven infrequently. I traced it down to the aftermarket radio the previous owner had installed in the car. Replaced the radio with an original Toyota radio I got off eBay for 40 bucks and all was well. I went back to look at the service records the previous owner had included when they sold the car and they had reported a "hard starting" problem 3 months after they had installed this aftermarket radio. The place they took it to fired off their parts cannon and replace the starter, battery, and a few other parts. Of course, the issue appeared fixed as the new battery was good enough to mask the draw as long as the car was driven frequently. Once the battery gets old and tired, especially if the car is not driven daily, the issue came back for me. What you had to go through to fix the problem tells me that for all these newer cars it will be beyond the capability of most DIY guys.

[@garysparks2681]

I think a lot of us older - 75-85 yo - guys still don't think in the modular frame of mind. "Back in the Day", the radio WAS the module that everything else was built into. Now the radio is just a module, in with a group of other modules? All talking over Ethernet, or something like it. Yep, That's progress for ya..😀😀 I really do love these videos. Still learning.

[@kurtb3606]

Eric, your experience and troubleshooting skills are next to none, but also having the ability to run the camper and provide the level of intricacy is amazing. Thank you!

[@Intabih]

8:20 A trend setter! It is fun to see how someone else puzzles their way through issues.

[@Intabih]

18:15 Electronic Jibbily-bits.

[@Ricky-kp5ys]

Thank you for taking care of us older folks God bless you

[@Black3ternity]

Man - you went to such length to fiy a radio where every other shop would have told then to pound sand. Kudos to you and thanks for showing us how it's done - from the technical side but also from the human, social side!

[@robertfinnerty7201]

I complement you for doing the right thing when 98% of the shops would have just said I can't help you. At the end of the day you are the highly skilled mechanic because of the difficult repairs you take on and finish. This is true in every field of work. If you only do the easy work and never get out of your comfort zone you become stagnant where you are and just stop learning. I learn a new thing from you every week and continue to do the work in my profession that nobody wants to, can do, or will do. By doing this "crappy work" it leads to a lot of easy work without haggling and long term customers. Thank you for the funny educational videos. Hey it's that guy!!!

[@jimburgess9205]

Eric, you went above and beyond to help those folks. Very impressive diagnosis and repair.

[@davidjones8680]

Top job, i admire your tenacity and willingness to keep your customers happy, especially so for us 'extra mature' one's.

[@ejwxb2561]

Reminded me of a Jeep Wrangler my wife had. A breather gasket on the valve cover split. I went to the Jeep dealer's parts department figuring I would get soaked a bit on the price but it was easier than doing a bunch of research for an after market part. The Jeep parts department guy looked me straight in the eye and told me the part was no longer available and there was no substitute. I told him the year of the jeep (less than 10 years old) and asked if Jeeps solution to the $6 part was for me to buy a new jeep. He said "yep, i guess so". Eric, whatever you are charging for your incredible troubleshooting and repairs...is not enough Sir!

[@watajob]

What a crock o' shit! Even Crutchfield says, "Sorry, lady. No can do." Bless you for going WAY above and beyond to help these folks.

[@StB55-oi9yp]

God bless you for taking care of these older folks. I know you would do it for anyone, but going through all you did and not just send them on their way is commendable. You have really banked a lot of Karma points, my man.

[@davidkaminski615]

I'm so glad my 20 year old Toyota has a double-DIN slot. And the Chinese box I put in seven years ago still works perfectly!

[@michaelguglielmo2749]

Option #2 - transistor radio hanging from the mirror , old service station paper road map for directions and all is good. Nice diagnostic work , draw’s are always a blast.

[@jimclifford1241]

These two videos were amazing! Thank you for being who you are, doing what you do and for sharing your stuff with the rest of us. You're an American treasure Sir!

[@richard1835]

Thank you SMA

[@johnpereira822]

Wow way to go Mr O the way you went above and beyond to help that couple out. Most shops i know wouldn’t do that

[@martyg3757]

Eric, you have far more patience and regard for your customers than any mechanic near me. I guess that is the difference between small town and big city mechanics. I’m just a face that likely won’t be back. In the city, customer service is a thing of the past.

[@loisrinehart6755]

I'm of the old dial up era however, I've had to learn to be in the computer era because of my job as coroner. I think you did a helluva job for those folks. I'm sort of self-taught on this here newfangled computer stuff. Actually, I've tried to keep up with it so I wouldn't be left behind and when someone talks computerize, I can understand them. Great job Eric. Keep up the great work and I love your videos and work ethic. Thanks.

[@evanch123456]

Eric is so thorough I love it. An inspiration for us all to be better people!

[@keithbednar6814]

Seems like that is a common problem with the Impala's. I had 2014 LTZ with the same problem. It acted funny and I was not laughing. My last modern day Chevy.

[@mortoncopeland9905]

Your persistence dedication and integrity to fix a customer’s car especially elderly folks makes for truly enjoyable video thank you !!

[@RealSteelAutoWorks]

This video reminds me why I keep my 70s and 80s Dodge pickups running. Super simple and no CAN networks to deal with. Also no Infotainment needed, just gauges and a simple aftermarket CD player. It all just works. - Jamie

[@JeffreyGroves]

I'd be interested in whether someone like Mr Carleson's Lab or your guy who rebuilds modules could do a component-level fix on that radio.

[@MARTINA-gc3tq]

Having identified the power supply wire you could have installed an audio kill switch for peanuts. Plus the radio memory battery fails after many years . A replacement might have been a cure for the power draw.

[@garenblack4503]

Awesome. You never gave up. Thank you.

[@markcaldwell1245]

Awesome video thanks for bringing us along.

[@onthewayup]

Eric.....JC Whitney? lol... I havent heard that name for quite some time.. You are showing your age. ha. Keep up the great videos....please

[@michaelashcraft2028]

Wow is all i can say to this vid troubleshooting your tail off and good work thankyou sir

[@misterhat5823]

Every time I see one of these I just become more motivated to keep my '94 going.

[@wes11bravo]

The $3000 '01 Jeep TJ I paid $5000 for had an eerily similar issue. Over the years, I've had to un-hillbilly the wiring. One parasitic draw I'm lucky didn't set me on fire and was +12v to a bare wire for a power amp that no longer existed. Disconnected, problem solved, right? Of course not. It also had an aftermarket Dual radio that was killing my battery every two days. I pulled the fuse for the radio and bingo, no more dead batteries. Thanks to some of your other parasitic draw videos, I was able to isolate the problem pretty systematically. Thanks!

[@myronsherman8571]

As always eric is the at find the issue. 😊 love your video content!

[@SouthMainAuto]

Thanks for watching!

[@SuperDave71176k]

They quit supporting the radio because they have a new headquarters building to pay for.I hope those new background flutters don't create a new draw problem.Great job .Congrats for not needing Ivan

[@schaferspeedshop]

JC Whitney.... Haven't heard that name in a long time! They were the go to for all those aftermarket goodies!! Love all your videos we all learn something new every day🤗

[@RM.....]

Way to go GM. What a joke of a company . Awesome job Eric finding and fixing the problem.

[@kevinkoepke8311]

Back in the 70s, my uncle Jim was into corvettes 53 to 67. He also was a parts manager for a small town chevy dealer. He convinced the owner that he wasn't required to inventory parts 7 years after they were out of production. He then bought the corvette parts at pennies on the dollar. His garage had one whole wall of blue and white boxes. Thanks, Eric!

[@randyr.parker2698]

GOOD ON YOU Eric for going the extra mile to help this customer! I'm being very serious and sincere here! Not many will do that. And thanks to the salvage yard that also went the extra mile. Shame on GM for telling them to scrap a perfectly good car just because their radio quit. Things REALLY need to change in the auto industry somehow, it's getting insane! How can these companies 'claim' to be 'green' when you have to keep throwing items out because of electronics that should be able to be repaired.

[@paulroggemann1017]

Absolutely FINE troubleshooting. I learned A LOT!!!

[@peterhodgkins6985]

People in your community are downright fortunate and blessed to have your shop as an option for their vehicle service. I suspect in my case without the knowledge/skills you have, I'd have just gone the route of an interposing relay to shut the radio power off when the vehicle is shut off. This is one of the many reasons I wouldn't own a vehicle any more modern than the early 2000s. Those things push my knowledge to the edge but I can still whip 'em if I need to!

[@gilberesrepairs]

My mate bought a Porsche very cheap because it had a draw on the alarm system and it was to complicated to sort out. He bought a solar panel trickle charger off eBay and mounted it on the rear parcel shelf and it never failed after that 👍

[@hawksite]

How about putting a switched relay for that circuit? Could also do a battery master switch. Get around the problem and an anti-theft device….

[@gilberesrepairs]

@@hawksite Good idea….Master switch becomes the immobiliser 😎

[@brucehobbs1734]

A Volkswagen Beetle? Wanna see that one.

[@davidbaldwin2729]

not an OG

[@mkbbadd]

Learned a lot from your videos!! Keep it up !!!

[@doug4834]

South Main Auto , Way to go, always great work by Eric O !!!!!!