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My friend and I just picked up a cheap 1996 Volvo 850 with the intention to “flip” it (like we know enough to do that :dry: ) and one of the two biggest issues is a crackling in the speakers. The problem is, it crackles when the stereo is off, and it gets louder as the engine revs up. My guess is a bad ground somewhere. Does that sound about right? Any places I ought to check first?
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I can’t be sure that a bad ground is causing the problem, but here are some diagrams to show where to look for grounds if you need it. It looks like it’s under 31/7, and the second attachment shows it’s near the drivers side by the frame.
Wow great! That should really help. So at least now I know what I’m looking for and about where to find it. I’m guessing under the speaker grille/inside the dash, as I didn’t see anything there under the hood.
Thought I’d post a mini-rant… it’s worse than I thought. Turns out the bad ground is the least of my problems. I took it to get it emissions tested and it failed with a misfire on cyl 1. The check engine light wasn’t on, but they pulled two codes. Upon further inspection, the check engine light doesn’t come on when you initially switch the key to “on.” The PO disabled it. And looking at it, the signs are obvious: a crack in the dash, trim that doesn’t quite fit right, the bad speaker ground. I’m just praying it’s a simple fix, though I doubt it. We’re going to check all the obvious stuff Friday, then do a leakdown test and probably end up either replacing the head gasket or junking the engine as necessary.
I’m quite pissed at the PO, but not as much as I am with myself for not checking something obvious like “do all the dash lights work?” before I bought it!
There’s a couple other symptoms I forgot to mention: slight smoke coming out the dipstick hole and overfilled coolant. I asked the PO about the coolant and he said he “recently topped it off and must have overfilled a little by accident.” The fact that he needed to add coolant at all concerns me. But we’ll try compression testing and leakdown testing and coolant testing before jumping to any conclusions.
OK, I’m just going to give you a bunch of videos here because it will save me from typing.
Solving Performance Problems 1
Solving Performance Problems 2
Re Performance Problems
Basic Electrical troubleshooting 1
Basic Electrical troubleshooting 2
Used car inspection
Thanks for the reply. I’ve seen all the videos, the problem is you get all excited when buying a new car and as much as I tried to adhere to the basic principle in your used car buying videos of “check absolutely everything,” it’s easy to overlook things. Plus you don’t want to take up 2 hours of the seller’s time for such a cheap car.
Anyhow, we compression tested and found no compression in cylinder 1. We leakdown tested, which was inconclusive (we could hear air rushing out but couldn’t tell where), so we’re offering it up for sale or trade. We’ll lose a couple hundred bucks, but it’s a learning experience.
It also shows why we’re not cut out to be mechanics :dry:
You should be able to tell if it’s leaking from. I believe Eric’s video on leak down testing shows how to narrow down where it’s leaking from.
I’m not sure what you have invested in the car but if you’re going to lose money on it you might want to look into parting the car out. Can make some money and learn a little about all the parts to the car. Look on ebay for different parts from your car and see what they are selling for and add the major ones up and see if it’s worth it to you or not.
Yeah, we tried a leak down test (actually bought a compressor just for that purpose) but while we could hear the air escaping, we just couldn’t pinpoint where it was going.
We unfortunately can’t part it out, it’s actually parked at my mom’s house (since she has a garage) and she would have a fit if we left the car there for months taking off a couple pieces at a time every week :unsure:
We have someone coming tomorrow who I believe has made an offer of $900 sight unseen (we paid 1100). So we’ll see if that pans out.
I think looking at a car for 2 hours is time well spent. If you’re looking to get into the business of ‘flipping’ cars you need to know what you’re investing in. Would you give your money to a guy on the street without checking him out first? Just hand him your cash and hope for the best? Not a smart business decision. If you’re going to pursue a business venture it’s wise to know your out of pocket and also what that item is worth after you invest your time. I’ve seen the shows on TV where people are ‘flipping’ cars and I almost want to scream every time I see them. If people knew how crappy those cars were from all the corners cut to try and make a buck they wouldn’t be interested in them in the least. I think if you look into the true cost of ‘flipping’ cars you’ll find that the margins are pretty thin unless you’re willing to compromise your morals. Good luck and thanks for keeping us posted.
You’re right. Cars are relatively new territory for me. I’ve only taken one automotive class in my life back in high school, so I certainly don’t know all the ins and outs. I’ve been in the business of flipping computers for a few years now, and thought I could add cars to my repertoire. But I’ve noticed the difference: with computers, I know exactly what sort of problems to look for that can give me a good deal initially and a high return; with cars, I don’t. But my friend and I want to learn, and despite this setback, we do plan to purchase another car once the weather warms up, but with a much, much more critical eye. (And a scangauge!)
A word of caution. I’ve worked for people that do what you’re looking to do and to be honest they mostly end up loosing money. I’d like to make my position a little more clear. If you’re an honest person flipping cars is most likely not going to be profitable. It’s more likely that you’re going to be loosing money in that situation. Good luck.
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