This is an informative auto repair blog with a touch of fun.

Recently we had a gentleman come into our shop because he could not get his cell phone charger to work. "It just stopped working and I even tried a new cell phone charger." After a 'professional inspection' of the power outlet, ie try my own charger from my own cell phone, we determined the customer is absolutely right, it's not the charger cable. After a little more testing we determined that the fuse was good but still no power to the outlet. After a little head scratching and more conversation with the customer we learned earlier in the day he jump started his tractor and maybe ever since then it stopped working?

"Stop and smell the Roses" Recently a few customers have come in with complaints of a "weird smell or foul odor when their vehicle is warmed up." Sometimes a foul smell can be a big deal and sometimes not. After inspecting the vehicles we found 2 different issues. In picture above a gentleman ran over a plastic grocery bag and in time it will burn completely off. In most cases this is not a big deal. The picture below shows a bad axle in which the seal and boot has blown out and it (literally) puked the grease onto the hot exhaust.

Why do my brakes squeak? Often time we get a call like this and we bring the vehicle into the shop for a brake inspection. Some of the times the squeal noise is coming from the warning clips on the brake pads alerting the driver that "Hey, it's time for that brake job!" Sometimes they are squeaking because the brake shoes on the rear are out of adjustment. A simple clean and adjust of the rear brake shoes could help eliminate that nails on a chalk board noise. Also, sometimes humidity and moisture cause that crazy noise.

Often times I get phone calls from customers wondering if the light on their dash is a serious problem. Some have told me the light started flashing and their vehicle immediately started chugging or running rough. Some have told me the light has been on for months and it's been running fine. Some have even "fixed the problem themselves with a piece of electrical tape." Regardless....there are many answers to this now age old question. The most important piece of advice I can give in this little blog is..... If the light is flashing and the vehicle is running poorly get somewhere as soon as possible and have the vehicle's computer scanned.

Even I have a hard time starting on a cold morning. Recently I had a call come into the shop. "My car won't start, can you come to my house and give me a jump start because I need to get to work asap." "Of course we will, Mr. Smith." When I got there, Mr. Smith was laying under the car in a heap of snow looking for his battery. "I would have jump started it myself if I could find the darn thing," he said. After a quick inspection, I realized the battery was buried under an abundance of plastic shroud intertwined with bracing to hold the entire car together.