DIY: Diagnosing an Overheat On My Own Car

2000 Pontiac Trans Am that I suddenly noticed was overheating while driving.
I show the steps to take when car is overheating and how I was able to diagnose and repair the condition.

[@lmstuber6044]

Really cool garage you got

[@SchrodingersBox]

Thank you!! it took me about 60 hours to do everything from paint to lighting to flooring. I did it in just 3 weekends though- I worked my butt off so I could be operational again ASAP

[@billsmith2212]

So you are not in bare feet on a dirt floor ? I guess the guy with the fuses is ! In fact - he's got an 8 Track " Sound System " and using his VHS to wear out his bootleg copy of DELIVERENCE ! Pass the bib overalls !

[@sagifern4444]

We missed you !! great to have you back

[@seunfire]

Great job matt , ur diagnostics videos has really really been helpful. Big fan from Nigeria.

[@billyyoder8171]

Thank you Matt. Good job again. Have a blessed and safe week to you and your family.

[@SchrodingersBox]

yours as well. Never followed up on that issue last year with your immediate family member. Hoping all is well there. You know how to get hold of me.

[@billyyoder8171]

@@SchrodingersBox thank you Matt. My mother in law recovered well from covid. Thanksgiving to Jesus Christ our Savior.

[@8953147]

I really like that simple relay tester Matt. Great find- corrosion is the enemy!!

[@averyalexander2303]

Great information as always! Another problem with running the AC for more than a few seconds without functional fans during testing is without proper airflow through the condenser, the AC system will quickly overheat and build excessive pressures. Most modern vehicles have a high pressure cutoff switch to shut the compressor off if the AC system overheats, but if it fails or someone has bypasses it the AC system could be damaged. Best to never rely on safety features :)

[@SchrodingersBox]

oh good point. Didn’t think of that.

[@georgebonney90]

Alot of great info in this one,thank u sir

[@TheCowgirlNiamh]

Love the new garage Matt and that floor is fantastic! Must be suiting you because you sound happy 🤗♥️🇮🇪

[@SchrodingersBox]

I love it!

[@whitetiger8652]

Thanks for the video Matt, I have the same relay kit also.

[@johnobiro5202]

Brilliant. As ever. Thanks for the Education.

[@SteveRobReviews]

Matt your shop looks terrific . Can't explain it very well , WHAT bud you explain everything very well. 👍

[@SchrodingersBox]

Thanks 👍!! Good to see you back btw. been a while!

[@mattcrouch8984]

"Im collecting data as im... freaking out." Story of my life Matt. Story of my life

[@rontiemens2553]

Great stuff as always Matt!

[@SchrodingersBox]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@georgebonney90]

Your floor looks awesome 👍

[@SchrodingersBox]

Hahahaha finally I was waiting for someone to say something about that lol!!! It’s called RaceDeck. It’s awesome in every way- not just looks. It’s indestructible, allows the floor to vent and channels water and fluids to exit the garage easily and allows you to make whatever patterns you want.

[@TheDisgruntledMechanic]

@@SchrodingersBox I've looked it into it before. Interested to know how it holds up!

[@DrFillyBlunt]

Another great video!

[@jgeorges3061]

Matt, hope every body is healthy around you brother and thanks for sharing.

[@SchrodingersBox]

They are indeed as well as myself. Everything is going well thanks for asking!

[@anthonysova7117]

Hey Mat nice to see you nice video Looks like shoveling will be on the agenda By the way a simple way to check a removed relay is with a 9 volt battery and an ohm meter on the load side quick and easy Cheers

[@SchrodingersBox]

yep that’s also a good way to do it. I use a 9V battery when installing speaker wire as well- great way to identify wires as well as keep polarity straight.

[@kman-mi7su]

The garage looks great, I love the floor! I wish I had a garage, (I live in an older home) because working outside sucks and slows down work. I'm swapping the engine in my 1988 Ford F250, it's a 7.3 idi diesel motor. A 4-day project has turned into 2 months because of winter weather delays and my job has me working 60-72 hrs a week now. Funny you mentioned those plastic engine vanity covers, I HATE those stupid things! My RAV4 and the wife's Camry have that plastic garbage on it, a waste of materials if you ask me.

[@ethan....]

Man, having to correct an overheat on your engine only to have a stuck valve a few months later... I feel bad for you Matt! Hopefully these scares quit happening to you on this car. Been very lucky both times brother!

[@SchrodingersBox]

thanks man. yeah this sucks right now hahaha. ain’t nobody got time fo this!!

[@GMAN420BC]

Welcome back. Would like to see an update to covid 19 variants. I learned a lot in the first two.

[@SchrodingersBox]

Noted! I do have a “Nov 2029” update which talks about the D416G variant but I haven’t done one since because I don’t want to have too much attention drawn to the channel by those who don’t want honest unbiased scientific data presented for people to make their own conclusions.

[@northpoint1039]

Yeah! A new video :)

[@Pablo_Automotive]

Nice diagnostic Matt, I like see you again =)

[@SchrodingersBox]

You too my friend!

[@timothymohammed919]

Cheers from ThermalTim ....... great video....

[@phillloyd8625]

Another great video👍

[@nadeemahmed640]

Good job sir

[@srnc9740]

Now you found out how we live in Canada! That is common in Alberta every winter, but this one was good. After snow like that, we have next night temperatures below -30C!

[@SchrodingersBox]

yes I will say one awesome thing about denver- if the sun is out it makes remarkably short work of the snow no matter how bad it is. in fact major roadways are already dry! the high altitude let’s the UV really cook stuff, plus it’s very arid on top of that. when I was in St. Louis MO, a snow like this would just rot on the roads as ice and slush for literally months. it never dissipated. after a couple weeks the snow was so black and nasty it looked like coal on the streets.

[@ricpla6930]

Lol, love your videos man. One of the very few true techs on KZbin. The total opposite of Scotty Kilmer lol

[@SchrodingersBox]

Thanks 👍 that’s a great compliment!!

[@labradormcgraw]

Hey, Matt - I see that the new dry-erase board was put to good use in the latest pay channel series. I'm loving learning about the different types of networks used in cars. I actually used to be a computer network administrator, but some of these auto systems confuse me somewhat. The new garage lighting really improves the picture quality - so clear. Congrats!

[@SchrodingersBox]

Thanks my friend. Yes I did notice the lighting had a serendipitously positive effect on the video quality. Didn’t even think about that at the time.

[@labradormcgraw]

@@SchrodingersBox You should have claimed the lighting effect as a shrewd and calculated intention, instead of admitting to the boon of serendipity - lol. (Too late now of course.)

[@nilsgeindre1697]

so nice !

[@PhillyDee215]

Great video👍I was gonna get that kit too until I realized it didn't have an adapter for the Toyota's🙄specifically for my 98' LS400

[@SchrodingersBox]

is that right? That sucks!!! never had to use it for a toyota so I didn’t realize that. pretty unforgivable!!

[@PhillyDee215]

@@SchrodingersBox yup😏

[@mtrltoolman]

good job , thanks for share.

[@SchrodingersBox]

Howdy again TT! Good to see you back!

[@Jeff-gr1on]

last time I had the "oh shit turn up the heater" moment was in the middle of a canyon in Wyoming, trying to find a place to park + camp on my way to Montana from TX in my '88 gasoline Jetta about 2 years ago. It was a car that sat on the farm I previously worked at for maybe 5+ years and was in such bad shape when I got my hands on it that the entire air intake was full of mouse nesting! I never quite got it to 100% after that over-heat (and eventually had to send it to the scrap yard- I was poor and it was the first car I started to really "learn" on so I had no idea what I was doing) but man that evening was a rush. trying to find a spot to park before my car stopped working and the intense fear I had when I tried to restart it in the morning was something I'll never forget!

[@SchrodingersBox]

oh yeah brother. it’s incredibly unsettling for sure and that obsession with every slight movement of the temp gauge is exhausting lol!!!

[@nickayivor8432]

KNOWLEDGEABLE Schrodingers box Tutorial great 👍 👌 👏 thank you ,take care and have a great day 👍 Schrodingers Box From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧

[@SchrodingersBox]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@doubledensity2]

Use some Deoxit to clean and protect the connector pins

[@drewsdiagnostics7201]

That way you're not front-probing with a file!

[@weldingjunkie]

“You didn’t check the fuses, I did you are just to Dumb to know” 🤣🤣 I was dying LOL . Gotta love the green crusties responsible for 80% of issues.

[@SchrodingersBox]

Lol never fails. In fact yesterday I actually got a comment "you never checked the source voltage".

[@weldingjunkie]

@@SchrodingersBox LOL gotta love the armchair diagnostician. Most shops don’t even have one qualified that’s the funny part

[@davidkelp9444]

Another good video. I would have only liked a link to the Lisle test kit you showed near the end. I will try to find it.

[@SchrodingersBox]

ah you are absolutely correct. i will look it up and put it it In the description

[@jaredstieg4238]

Relay box is always a good central point to test to find the problem fast.

[@SchrodingersBox]

Absolutely correct!!. It allows multitasking. Checking the fuse makes no sense to me because- I mean EITHER WAY- you still have to determine why the fuse is blown if it is, or what else is wrong if it isn’t blown. what good is that? Probably 90% of people who check the fuses first do so because they have no clue what else to possibly do.

[@scientist100]

@@SchrodingersBox only time is when there is no relay, the fuses must be checked and I'm talking about Mercedes where the fuses are numbered and out of order with no naming conventions. Even my paid Mitchell1 is limited for these newer cars. I always pull the diagrams before I attack an issue where I dont know if a relay is involved for an actuator. I guess this was an easy and very known that are relay controlled as standard for all vehicles.

[@arctican7483]

GOLD!

[@stuckinmygarage6220]

LOL. Good to see you!

[@frankrieser1090]

I would check the voltage drop across the bad connection. This would give you some baseline data to use after the repairs.

[@benparsons5065]

Hi Matt, thank you for another great video. Nice car by the way. That relay kit looks pretty handy also. I have a question unrelated to the video. So I have this car that I would like to be able to get a little more power out of and maybe a little bit better throttle response. I have seen quite a few different manufacturers that offer a performance chip that plugs into the OBD2 port and claims to give it better performance. With my understanding on how the computers work and how the oxygen sensor works I began to wonder what it is that one of these chips do and do they actually provide more power or is it kind of a waste of $300? Does it move the fuel curve outside of stoichiometry? I have also seen some devices that are made for these drive by wire cars and they claim to increase throttle response, any thoughts or opinions on those? Any thing that I should be concerned about with either one damaging something long term? I understand that to gain real power out of a motor I should either build the motor or add a turbo to it but I am not looking to make that large of an investment into an engine that does not have anything wrong with it on a car that I use for work every day. So far I have added a Borla type S axel back exhaust and I plan to install an AEM cold air intake. It is a 1.8 liter VVT Toyota motor if that weighs any in your thoughts on the matter. Thank you and keep making your videos.

[@SchrodingersBox]

yeah those chips are pretty secretive in how they actually work and it’s pretty sus that they claim to both increase HP and Fuel Economy- pretty much impossible to do simultaneously. in general what those chips do is slightly retard the timing to get slightly better compression and also move the shift points to shift at RPMs that would allow more torque but of course this would be at less fuel economy.

[@tonyb1968]

Is dielectric grease in the connector a good preventive measure considering your environment? I'm in the arid south west where 25 year old cars barely get much corrosion. Thanks for the great content and congrats on the new place!

[@SchrodingersBox]

Yes, absolutely. in fact someone else pointed out it appears the silicone sealing ring seems to have been missing from the connector which probably caused the corrosion to occur so quickly. but indeed a dielectric grease on the connectors (not the terminals!) is good prevention.

[@scientist100]

Boss, the computer has the transistor open when not grounding the control side thus a short is unlikely unless you have commanded the circuit on while you're messing around with the wires. My tip is to use shorter wires and a test light clamped to ground and touch the control side of the relay and since the miliamps required to activate the relays are low, then the test light will be enough to pass a decent ground. A test light is safer to use than a direct wire 😎

[@scientist100]

New trick: Check the fuses on the ground side of the circuit. Sometimes that blows when it shorts to power.

[@SchrodingersBox]

What fuses are on the ground side?

[@The_Noticer.]

He inb4'ed you in the video fam :D

[@weldingjunkie]

@@SchrodingersBox in the name belive circuits 😂😂 you know protecting grounds.

[@labradormcgraw]

Those new garage lights really enhance the picture quality of the video - we can see a lot more detail now. With regards to your relay hack, how do you secure the wires to their pins in a way that the unit still remains flat in its seat? I'm thinking about making a few of those myself.

[@SchrodingersBox]

I just twisted the wires on the terminal until they are tight - it’s a pretty terrible method. previously I had a set of relays where I soldered the wires and had “butt connectors” on the ends to prevent shorts and stuff but I haven’t unpacked them yet so I just made this one out of the existing relay.

[@kdmq]

3 Bad fan motors is actually much more probable than you might think, since they could theoretically fail a few months or even years apart from each other. You would never notice one fan being bad because the car would never overheat. You may or may not notice 2 being bad, especially if you don't stop too often and are driving in a Denver winter, until finally all 3 are bad.

[@bchrisl1491]

I missed the silicon packing on the connector that is supposed to keep it water tight. The pins are easy to replace with an extractor tool. They are open barrel type and need dies to crimp, but they are better than the closed barrel in that they crimp the conductor and the provide a strain relief by crimping the insulation as well. That style connector has silicon packing for the wires as well.

[@SchrodingersBox]

Hey great observation!!! It seemed to be missing in that connector now that you mention it! Damn aftermarket. Probably absolves my wire harness too I hope!

[@fredflintstone4715]

I was thinking they just weren't Spal fans till you mentioned you had three. Even cheaper fans don't all quit at once.

[@TheDisgruntledMechanic]

Damn! garage looks bigger. How much snow you get so far?

[@SchrodingersBox]

yeah née garage is just under double size of my old one. so far there is well over a foot and it’s adding fast. Two and a half feet is predicted.

[@jarinwilson9539]

Matt, you look like you're losing weight...you alright bro? Great content once again.

[@SchrodingersBox]

yeah just haven’t been in gym since covid so it’s just some atrophy. Will get back into it once the stupid restrictions are lifted.

[@jarinwilson9539]

@@SchrodingersBox damn liberals 😆

[@prometheus4130]

Connectors....often the weak link in an electrical system. I had a similar issue on my 1930s car, however the give away symptom indicating the original harness needed replacing was a puff of smoke from the dash....not a difficult diagnosis 😏

[@The_Noticer.]

Hm, would using a testlight for load simulation also be a good thing to test for the relay control/powerside? Because 12V in open-circuit doesn't mean itll stay 12V with a load.

[@SchrodingersBox]

Absolutely it would! I just decided to use the DVOM because I have been using testlight a lot more in recent videos. I could very well have used a testlight and in fact in some of the tests it would have been a better method actually.

[@MotogiantTL]

Thank you for a down tp earth (no pun intended) fan diagnostic video! Any troubleshooting suggestions for a pwm activated fan? Obviously for those without access to a device that creates the square sine wave?

[@SchrodingersBox]

I haven’t run into a PWM fan yet but if you didn’t have a scope the best you can do is see a difference in the AVERAGE voltage as the pulsewidth increases or decreases. Since a regular multimeter already takes an average reading, you should see more or less voltage on your readout as the pulsewidth is adjusted. Even then, if you are having issues on the circuit you are limited in what you can use for diagnosis since you can’t see how “clean” and consistent the square wave is. but you can still measure voltage, amperage and voltage drop/resistance.

[@MotogiantTL]

@@SchrodingersBox Thank you Brother! Some day you should do a video on the importance of having a clean organized garage, as your garages always look great!

[@SchrodingersBox]

hahahaa I have one on my pay channel actually but I will do a “garage tour” video on this one if there is enough demand.

[@Agent-nw3it]

@@SchrodingersBox DemandCount+=1

[@adamnightingale1151]

Voltage drop question.....have a shift lock solenoid that does not actuate. Tested the brake switch....have proper voltage there. Pulled the solenoid out and have proper voltage there. While the solenoid (old or new) is connected the voltage then drops from 11.57v to 50mv.

[@SchrodingersBox]

remember you will always have full voltage drop ACROSS a load so that sounds about right. . The only way you wouldn’t is if you had resistance on the ground which clearly you don’t. so what you may want to do it check voltage drop on only the power side since you are starting with only 11.5V. it should be same as source voltage.

[@sgerepairs5978]

Matt New sub here trying to learn. My 05 Nissan Titan goes in and out of closed loop. O2b1s1 is dead at .005. Po300 code only. Why would it go back and forth between open and closed loop? Runs fine in open loop shakes and carries on in closed loop. I’m planning on joining the pay channel but what’s a good starting point for now? Thanks. Great channel. 👍

[@SchrodingersBox]

On a dead sensor you have to determine whether sensor is dead and causing the symptoms, or if the symptoms are causing the sensor to flatline and it is legitimately reporting actual condition. induce variables and look at response to determine which it is.

[@sgerepairs5978]

@@SchrodingersBox I just wanted to let you know that I swapped the two AFR sensors and the problem transferred to bank 2. Smoking gun to me so I replaced the sensor and the truck runs perfect! Now this is after I had it to a professional mechanic with a $5000 scanner who put my truck out back of his shop when a new MAF sensor didn’t fix it. I with your knowledge and a $50 scan tool fixed it for $95. It’s completely true what you say about so called professionals and I will now keep studying and will do my own diagnostics for now on. Thank you again for your time and skills and for sharing

[@victordelomas]

Matt, look good without cap.//

[@drewsdiagnostics7201]

So the three fans, each with their own relay, share a common connector? Or, did three connectors each get green crusties and opens at the same time? I'd like to see that wiring diagram.

[@SchrodingersBox]

The former. I have the fans set to all run either low at 190 or high when AC is on. This maintains right about a 185 degree constant operating temperature under all conditions. The modified 6L LS7 with supercharger and headers created a tremendous challenge with cooling the engine. The setup I have allows me to still have AC without overheating.

[@palharley]

Can you tell me where you found the new white board? I'm looking for a new garage too.

[@SchrodingersBox]

Hahahahaha. yes it was the deal of the century. personally I would have expected a new garage would have come with a new whiteboard but these days home builders don’t give you crap because the market is so strong!

[@CantCampThereMate]

11:12 now THAT is snow! Here in England, 1/8 of that would grind the entire country to a halt!

[@nicks-analytics]

I assume with that statement you live south of the Pennines

[@aymenmohamed1134]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🌷

[@TheWeirdSide1]

You should replace plugs and wires, you know, since you have the hood open.

[@DrFillyBlunt]

I do that at every fill up at the pump.

[@TheWeirdSide1]

@@DrFillyBlunt That makes you a 'professional' haha!

[@SchrodingersBox]

@filly- had me literally LOL!!! Witty AF dude lol!

[@lornaz1975]

Do you worry about getting modules for such an old car? Or have any problems in getting them?

[@SchrodingersBox]

Not sure what you mean by "modules for such an old car"?

[@lornaz1975]

Well for that age perhaps there are few modules in cars. In one of Ivan's vids he could not get a pcm for a particular vehicle due to its age (early 2000s). Just curious how much of an issue it is to get parts especially modules is for older vehicles.

[@SchrodingersBox]

ohhhhhh yes, I see No that isn’t a concern because there is a massive aftermarket for firebirds. finding any parts of any type is never a problem on any firebird.

[@Justinwhat1]

Would throwing dielectric grease in everything be a good fix?

[@SchrodingersBox]

why would that be a fix?

[@mattcrouch8984]

I also got a new dry erase board. Its 8ft by 4ft... idk where to put it so its just taking up my hallway. 5 dollars.. id have walked it home for that price 😅

[@SchrodingersBox]

I am jealous lol!!! man, I wish mine was bigger….

[@bernardaflores1720]

For maintaining and cleaning electrical contact look into a product call CORROSION X, best stuff on earth. To avoid problems in my turbo car, I install a push fan on a separate circuit that I can turn on when needed manually.

[@SchrodingersBox]

Great tip!

[@ingopedersen9953]

you should use dielectric lithium grease on your connectors :)!!!!!!

[@farerse]

You've driven a Trans Am since it was brand new? You must be a millionaire! Most mechanics seem to drive beaters

[@SchrodingersBox]

it helps that I am not a mechanic I guess lol. but I have seen mechanics with amazing cars- however I agree- the majority seem to drive beaters and keep barely running them til they pulverize into the ground. Eric The Car Guy lol!!!

[@farerse]

@@SchrodingersBox I see you're not a mechanic .. just good at it lol , he has a few projects which turned out good but mostly Hondas what I've seen over the years in "various conditions" :) , I think more Americans should drive American cars .. there are lots of good looking models. Is that Trans am your daily driver ? Reliable?

[@SchrodingersBox]

my trans am is indeed a daily driver and it has been incredibly reliable up until 2 issues in the past month- a no crank no start and this overheat. but over 20 years it has had less than 5 issues that have required repair in order to safely and confidently drive it.

[@farerse]

@@SchrodingersBox That's impressive, I'll tell this to any "anti american car" friends I know who insists that they all overheat and "blow up" on the highway. I like having the same car for many years, that way you know the condition of every nut and bolt.

[@turboflush]

Disapointed in you.. Good habit is to always check source voltage. Is fan getting voltage at fan? Is fan being provided voltage at the fuse? Now back to finish the video. I guess if you are splitting the circuit.. That is a good test point. Sometimes we smart guys overthink things.. Gotta be the computer, the relay..

[@SchrodingersBox]

ummm the very, very first thing I did was confirm source voltage. that was literally the first thing I did.

[@godfreypoon5148]

I know how you fix those rotted out connectors, all you gotta do is reset the codes.

[@TheDisgruntledMechanic]

OH NO!!!

[@SchrodingersBox]

always a whole different story when it’s your own car instead of someone else’s!!!

[@TheDisgruntledMechanic]

@@SchrodingersBox Ha You know me so well! you got exactly why I said that!

[@bchrisl1491]

Open between motors and ground...

[@bchrisl1491]

110C

[@SchrodingersBox]

Thanks I was too lazy to convert it lol

[@testosteroneinc.3800]

10cc🥒💦. 😳😂

[@legallass9905]

💜💜💜

[@labradormcgraw]

Hey - that's cheating! Hahaha.

[@milolll]

WD 40 good?

[@SchrodingersBox]

depends what you use it for. I find it makes a great fish attractant actually!

[@milolll]

@@SchrodingersBox Haha kzbin.info/www/bejne/pV6QhqGBn9CajMU

[@SchrodingersBox]

funny yet typical- the guy in the video uses a freakin bass boat daily, yet claims WD40 is bad for the environment.

[@lyinginbed]

Why did you stop showing up in my feed?

[@SchrodingersBox]

no idea. that’s disconcerting!!

[@hondafan163]

In Arizona fans are a dime a dozen

[@labradormcgraw]

First! lol

[@legallass9905]

Hey!!!!

[@legallass9905]

How the hell did you do that? I'm sitting right here😄

[@SchrodingersBox]

Hhaha we actually set it up so Legal Lass(Vicki) would be first but damn you still were lightning fast!!!! WTH man lol!!!

[@labradormcgraw]

@@SchrodingersBox Damn - so close. Personally, I think a 'first' from the channel owner's girlfriend is just plain cheating - lol. Now, if you don't mind - I'm trying to watch a video on some asshat's Trans Am that seems to have overheated.

[@legallass9905]

@@labradormcgraw 🤣🙃

[@bchrisl1491]

+3db

[@SchrodingersBox]

I believe you are referring to the audio? I got a new upgraded wireless mic system. In a lot of my older videos, there was often interference and feedback especially when I was going any electrical stuff. The new system is a lot better at filtering out chaff but the microphone is extremely extremely sensitive. It sounds like I have asthma when I am just breathing and there is no background noise in fact lol!

[@bchrisl1491]

@@SchrodingersBox LOL no the audio is great! You said your interest rose exponentially...so I figured a doubling of your interest was in order.

[@godfreypoon5148]

@@bchrisl1491 My interest rose cosinusoidally. Ha, ha, that's my bank account interest I am talking about. :|

[@alberteller7286]

Very very very poor camera work,I don’t think I would rely on hem to show me how to do something.👎🏻

[@SchrodingersBox]

checked your channel to see how to do good videos but you have no videos at all. surprise surprise.

[@jdmackable]

Sorry some of us are not quite as smart as you Matt !! The to dumb to know comment's are kinda of a turn off..

[@SchrodingersBox]

it refers to people who criticize my methods when they don’t understand them. not to people trying to learn them.