Raising Your Engine's Performance: Understanding Headlights and Alternators

When disconnecting the negative battery on your car, you may notice that your headlights become brighter. Riki Cunningham explains that this is not a recommended practice, as it can cause voltage surges that can ruin computer modules in modern cars. The average car today has around 40 modules, some Mercedes have over 100 separate modules. If you disconnect the battery and remove the cable from the negative terminal, the lights will get brighter because the alternator's load is removed from the equation.

The alternator plays a crucial role in maintaining the car's electrical system. It produces alternating electricity that is then converted to direct electricity by diodes. However, if these diodes fail, the alternator can produce high voltage, which can damage the entire car. Therefore, it's essential to have your alternator load tested to ensure it's not producing too much voltage.

Low Antifreeze Coolant and Its Effects on Transmissions

Antifreeze coolant is an essential component of most cars' cooling systems. However, low levels of antifreeze coolant can indirectly affect the transmission. When the radiator fluid level is low, the car's engine temperature rises, which in turn causes the transmission to run hotter as well.

This phenomenon was observed by a customer who towed his Subaru from Austin to Houston for 175 miles with all four wheels on the ground. Although the car wasn't running, the towing caused the transmission cooler on the radiator to get so hot that it bubbled out of the radiator and overheated the engine, leading to a blown head gasket.

In some cases, the opposite effect can occur. A mechanic shared an experience where a customer's car was towed without transmission fluid, causing the transmission to overheat due to the lack of cooling. In both cases, it's essential to maintain proper levels of antifreeze coolant and check for any signs of overheating.

Grinding Brake Pads: A Temporary Fix?

John Madden discusses grinding brake pads to make them fit properly in a pinch. While this might seem like an easy solution, he warns that it's not the best approach. Grinding down the brake pads can lead to noisy and potentially dangerous driving conditions.

Madden suggests that it's always better to purchase new brake pads that are the correct size and type for your car. If you're in a tight spot and need to make do with what you have, grinding the brake pads might be an acceptable solution as long as you're careful not to make them too loose or too tight. However, he advises against using this method frequently, as it can lead to premature wear on other parts of the braking system.

A Classic Ford Econoline Rebuilt Engine

Fernandez shares his experience rebuilding an engine for a friend's 1966 Ford Econoline. The car had a 170 cubic-inch straight-six cylinder and three-speed transmission on the tree. While the engine was basic, it still ran well despite its age.

However, Fernandez notes that buying an old car with a rotten frame is not worth the trouble. If the frame is damaged, it's best to look for another car altogether. In this case, his friend's Econoline had a solid frame and was a great candidate for rebuilding.

Fixing an LCD Satellite Navigation Screen

Reese advises against attempting to fix an LCD satellite navigation screen on a Ford Focus. Instead, he recommends purchasing a used screen from a junkyard or opting for an aftermarket Android setup. Most modern cars now come with infotainment systems that can be easily updated or replaced.

Reese shares his own experience with installing an aftermarket Android system in his Toyota. He was initially skeptical about the quality of the stereo speakers but found that the new Android system produced significantly better sound quality, even using the same old speakers. The Android setup cost him around $300, which is relatively affordable considering the improvements it brought to his car's entertainment system.

By following these tips and recommendations, you can improve your car's performance and overall driving experience. Whether it's upgrading your alternator, maintaining proper antifreeze levels, or installing a new infotainment system, there are many ways to keep your vehicle running smoothly and efficiently.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines,riki Cunningham says, what would cause myheadlights to go brighter whendisconnecting the negative battery, neverdo that in any modern cars, you can'tleave a car running in a modern car anddisconnect either battery terminal, youcan get voltage surges that will ruinall the computer modules and it's notlike you only have one computer modulethe average car today has like 40 modules,someMercedes have 97 or over a hundredseparate modules you never want to dothat, and if they get brighter eitheryou've got a crappy battery and it'susing so much electricity up from thealternator that when you remove thecable and take the battery out of thewhole equation, the lights will getbrighter, also go out and have youralternator load tested you can have analternate putting out actually too muchvoltage, that's what people don'tunderstand alternators are calledalternators because they makealternating electricity, then they havediodes in them that turn that to directelectricity, if those diodes brake you canactually get an alternator that puts 100something volts out and it'll fry your wholecar, so get that tested too just to be onthe safe sideintro tainment says can lowantifreeze coolant affect yourtransmission, well yes it can indirectlyand here's how, modern cars your drivingdown the road,you got a radiator but either in thebottom of the radiator or on the side ofthe radiator like on GM's, there's acoolant tank that has transmission fluidthat goes through it, your radiator alsocools your transmission fluid it getshot, so if you're low on radiator fluidand your car starts running hotter it'sgonna make your transmission run hotter tooI even had the exact oppositehappened with a customer didn't knowthey towed a Subaru from Austin to Houston,that's like hundred seventy-five mileswith all four wheels on the ground, andit ended up blowing the head gasket of theengine, even though the car wasn'trunningthey were towing it and all thatspinning of the transmission with nothingworking, and made the cooler on the radiatorfor the transmission get so hot itactually bubbled the coolant out of theradiator and overheated the car, and itwasn't even running, so you can go theother way too, john madden says is it okto grind the ears of brake pads to makethem fit, you want to get the right onesreally, now in a pinch I used to do ityears ago, I was a mobile mechanic and Iwent around fixing cars at people'shomes and offices too, if I got brakepads and it was just a little bit off,I'd be cursed if I was gonna go drive20 miles to get pads that are right again,and I would I had a grinder and I wouldgrind down it so they fit in, you could ifyou do a really good job, just gonna makesure you do a really good job, you'rereally better off buying the correctpads, I mean if you want to go tiny bitsby tiny bits then you get them in therego right ahead,but be careful cuz if they're too tightthey'll drag and if their too loose you'renot gonna like because every time youhit the brake you'll hear click asthe whole assembly moves a little bitwon't hurt anything it will just benoisy and then it will probably annoy youFernandez says Scotty what areyour thoughts on a 66 Ford Econolinethanks, I rebuilt an engine one ofthose things for a friend when I was akid in the late sixties, those werecool old Vans and I mean they wereturds speed wise, this one had 170 cubicinch straight six-cylinder and athree-speed transmission on the tree, itcould barely get out of its own way, butI mean he had a waterbed in the back youknow, then sleeping in their vans, theywere solid built you can still get partsfor the things, I mean they're very basicmachines, carbureted so if the carburetorgoesbad put a new carburetor on iteverything still available and if youlike it, yeah why not, the one caveat Ihave on any of those old things are, don'tbuy one if the frame is all rotted becauseif the frame is rotten it's useless it'lljust fall apart, but check the framefirst if you're thinking about buyingone, reese says how do you fix an LCDsatellite navigation screen on a FordFocus, nobody fixes those things, go to ajunkyard buy used one, what most peopledo these days they'll just throw the factoryoneaway and put in an aftermarket Android, Igot a video on that I put one of theseaftermarket androids a company sent meI thought I'd try it out and it'sfantastic I mean I got all kinds ofmusic on the little micro SD card andvideos whatever you want, you can playwhatever music you want and theyinteract really well with your phone andget my samsung phone if we're goingsomeplace and I can go to Spotify theycan play all my music through thatAndroid and here's the weird thing, when Iput that Android in I kept the speakersthat the Toyota came with, and I thoughtman the stereo that Toyota put in thismatrix is pretty crappy it didn't soundthat good, well when I put that Androidin and it wasonly a $300 android, man the musicsounded better, it sounds fantastic whenyou turn it up and I had the same old 10year old Toyota factory speakers and soI didn't bother changing them, sounded somuchbetter, and that was only a $300 one, whoknows what the really expensive ones soundlike, but I'm too cheap to get thoseanyways, so if you never want to missanother one of my new car repair videos,remember to ring that Bell!\n"