Carthage Auto Repair

  Is My Catalytic Convertor Bad? We get this question sometimes. If your vehicle is exhibiting symptoms such as a Strong Sulfur Smell or you are losing Fuel Mileage, it is possible that your CATALYTIC CONVERTOR is bad. It takes Specialized equipment to test your vehicles Catalytic Convertor properly. Also, another symptom you could notice is your vehicle has low power and this could from a clogged Catalytic Convertor. Your Check Engine Light may be on with a P0420 and/or P0430 code in the ECM. If your vehicle has any of these issues give us a call and we will be happy to diagnose your vehicle and let you know what needs to be done to fix it

Why Does My Dash Say Service Def System? This is a question we get a lot and many things can cause this and we will go over some of the reasons this message comes up on your dash. Another question we get is Why Does My Truck Have A DEF System? We will look at both questions and give you some answers of why Diesel Trucks have a DEF System and why the Service DEF System message comes up on the dash. We will look at Why Does My Truck Have A DEF System first. The main reason late model Diesel Trucks and Cars have a DEF System is to control the amount of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) that the vehicle emits. The EPA has mandated that the OEM’s had to control the Emissions that the Diesel Engine emits. The DEF Fluid gets injected into the exhaust stream before the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) unit. The Def Fluid goes through a mixing tube and enters the SCR unit, and the DEF Fluid reacts with the SCR and reduces the NOx and lowers the emissions coming out of the tailpipe. When the Servi ... read more

      Why Does My Truck Keep Having Emission Problems. These issues can be frustrating to deal with whether this is your personal diesel pickup or it’s your Heavy Haul Truck that you use to haul freight. We realize that anytime the wheels aren’t turning on your vehicle your loosing money. We have the factory software to hook to most of Class 8 trucks and medium duty vehicles. We also invest in training so that we understand these emission systems and how they work so that we can fix them right the first time and get you back on the road. We will look at some of the most common problems we see. You may be driving your vehicle and dash lights up with SCR Fault Engine Derate in 4 hours. If you get this message on the dash and you ignore it and keep driving your truck it will go into Derate and you will notice a loss of power if you keep driving, you will end up at 5 mph and getting a tow to get your truck fixed. The best thing you can do when this happens i ... read more

Why Does My Engine Shake? This is a question we get sometimes and there are many different things that can cause an engine to misfire and create a shake that you feel inside the vehicle while its idling or driving down the road. It doesn’t matter if the engine runs on gas and it’s in a car or if it runs on Diesel and it’s in a Commercial Vehicle. We’re going to only look at one reason and that is the Camshaft and the Lifters that make the valves move. The Camshaft has to be timed with the Crankshaft if it gets out of time it will cause the engine to run poorly and misfire causing the engine to shake and if its bad enough to shake the whole vehicle. Another thing that can go wrong with a Camshaft is the lobe that the lifter rides on can get worn down and wear the bottom of the lifter when it gets bad enough it will cause a Misfire. What happens is as the Camshaft Lobe and Lifter get worn it can’t open the valve the correct amount if it’s the Intake Lo ... read more

Check Engine Light why does it come on? This is a question we hear a lot. Your vehicle’s engine light comes on for a lot of reasons. The main reason it comes on is for emission related faults. You can go to a parts store and get your car hooked to a Check Engine Light Reader and get the codes read. They can give you the code and sell you the parts that may or may not fix the problem. We have high end Scan tools and OEM Software so we can fix your “Check Engine Light” correctly. If your vehicle is exhibiting a “Check Engine Light Flashing” you want to stop driving the vehicle as soon as you can safely do so. When the Check Engine Light Is Flashing that is an indication of an Engine Misfire and if you keep driving it will damage your catalytic convertor. It is always best to get the Check Engine Light on your vehicle fixed as soon as possible. If your vehicle has a “Check Engine Light” on give us a call and we will diagnose it for you and let you ... read more