DENNIS Q&A
Adequate will have to do for this car radio installation
QUESTION
I cannot get into my car without worrying about it catching on fire. My neighbour, who is an electrician, offered to replace my radio with a new radio that I had purchased online. I paid him thirty dollars to do the job. After he replaced the radio and turned the key to the on position, there was a great deal of smoke coming from the dash area. He immediately shut the car off and removed the battery cable. He removed the radio again and found out that it was not the radio that was smoking but said that the smoke was most likely the hand residue on the radio burning off. The radio was made in China so I thought that he might be right and said nothing. The car runs fine and the radio works fine but my concern has made me have someone else look at the car since I was not able to get under the dash to look myself. I did take it to a radio shop and they told me that there definitely was a shorting of the under dash harness but it appears to have been repaired adequately. Why should I accept adequately when there was nothing wrong with the under dash harness before he replaced the radio? I have left his phone number with you if you would care to call him.
Andy from Carlisle
ANSWER
The replacing of a car radio is not a safety concern so you will have very little chance of getting him to pay for any replacement of the under dash harness. Your man never really answered my question when I asked him if he was actually a licensed electrician and he shut down the conversation with me when I pressed him for more information about his licence. Electricians are highly qualified people but I do not think that they or he should have tried to install a radio for you. A mechanic or a radio repair man would have been the best choice to have someone install a radio for you since they would better understand the wiring in an automobile. I think that you are going to have to accept adequate and not worry about it since a qualified person did say that the wiring was repaired and he did not have any concerns.
QUESTION
I have a utility trailer that I used about ten times over the summer and less in the winter. The last time that I hooked up the trailer and put on either the left or right signal, the flasher goes quickly and I can hardly hear it in the van. All the signals seem to work on the van and on the trailer and I was wondering if you have any idea why the lights were flashing so fast. I am thinking that there might be a short in the trailer harness and was also wondering if this will affect my battery or alternator. My vehicle is a 1980 Dodge van. Any suggestion would be appreciated.
Bill from Dundas
ANSWER
You have two flashers in your vehicle, one is the four-way flasher and the other is the signal flasher. I suspect that your van’s signal flasher cannot take the load of extra lights and should be replaced. Replace it with a heavy-duty flasher, which is a few dollars more to purchase but I am sure that that will fix your van’s flashing problem. In order to find the right flasher, put your four way flashers on and then locate the right flasher under the dash area. If the flasher that you are touching is pulsating while the four-way flasher is on, then you know that it is the other flasher that you need to change.
QUESTION
I purchased a 2010 GMC truck about six months ago from a reputable used car dealer and ever since I owned the truck, I noticed and was annoyed that the steering wheel was not always straight when driving straight down the road. I purchased the truck “as is” so I never went back to the dealer to ask about it. Last week, I finally took the truck into an alignment shop because I noticed that the left front tire was wearing out faster than the other tires. The alignment shop told me that the truck could not be properly aligned because the left front of the frame was bent. I had a Carfax done and nothing showed up in terms of the truck being in an accident. What’s up with that? Andrew from Mount Forest
ANSWER
In speaking to the alignment shop, they did verify the fact that the left front of the frame was bent. The alignment shop also believes that someone, hooking a chain improperly to the frame, bent it, possibly a tow truck or some type of farm machinery pulling the truck out of a ditch sideways. That being the case, Carfax would not have any record of that incident. The alignment shop told me that they could pull the frame back into place for around three hundred dollars, but at that time you declined to have them do it for you. If you want the steering wheel to be straight and the left front tire to wear properly then I would get the frame straightened.
To my readers: If possible, it would be appreciated if your emails would indicate the town, city or village that you live in. Please be advised that not all emails can be answered. Send your questions (be sure to include your address) by email to:: dennis. osullivan@cogeco.ca