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Kia Sephia Sporty


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The Ground wiring at the Engine bay, came from Factory as Follows:
 
From the Battery's Negative Terminal, to a 8 mm Bolt on the inner fender side, goes a 6 Ga Wire.
 
Around twenty inches from said bolt, there is another 8 mm Bolt, Hiding under the Relay & Fusible Box, where is attached the main ground wire for the Engine & transmission; it is another 6 Ga Wire, that goes to another 8 mm Bolt on the transmission, right under the Air Filter Box, next to the TSS.
 
There is another ground wire, but much thinner, at the other side, nearby the alternator, it is a 10 Ga wire that goes from a Bolt on the intake Manifold, to a Bolt on he other fender's inner side.
 
 
Long time ago, I had placed another Ground Wire, directly from the Battery's Negative terminal, to the Engine's Head, but this time I decided to get rid of that, in favor of a much better grounding setup. Let me Explain:

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First: I removed all the Bolts, which were Rusty, and thrown them away, replacing them with brand new inox steel reinforced Bolts.

Second: Using a Sanding Sponge...

sanding-sponge.jpg

 

...I cleansed all the Contact Surfaces where those Bolts should be: at the Transmission, the one Next to the Battery at the inner fender side, and the one Hiding under the Relay & Fusible Box.

Third: I Cleansed all the terminals from all the original ground Wires, using same sanding Sponge.

Fourth: I obtained a Brand New Ground Wire, this one is Thicker: 4 Ga which comes pre-made with open "eye" terminals at both ends:

 

groundingwire4gaX24in.jpg

 

Fifth: I Placed all the Ground Wires as they came from factory, as I described above.

Sixth: I added the new ground wire, Directly from the Battery's Negative Terminal, to the Transmission's Bolt, together with the Factory one, in order to "Reinforce" the Ground on the Transmission & Engine.

Seventh: After Tighten all the shiny, brand new Bolts, I Smeared them with Clear Silicone for High temps, also smeared their surroundings, in order to weatherproof the contacts.


(Clear Silicone is easy to remove, it comes out almost as one piece, using a knife, in case is needed)

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After the Grounding Wires Cleansing & Adding the New one, I drove the "KiaStein" all the past Weekend; at first, the Tachometer's failure disappeared, but suddenly the failure reappeared again, this time the Tachometer's needle drops dead to zero readings for way less time; and comes back to life, reading normally again, Randomly.

The problem is less, but still exists. :(

So, I believe that the Culprit of this fail could be located inside the cabin. I'll check the internal wirings and the instrument cluster itself, as soon as Possible, and report back here the results.

Kind Regards.

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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You're very welcome!  I hope the print outs help you out.

 

In looking at the diagrams, see if you can determine where the ECU and tachometer/gauge cluster are grounded.  Once you find that you can use a multi-meter to check the resistance between those points and the negative terminal of the battery and check the resistance of the ground wiring.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I Fixed completely the Tachometer's failure since a week ago, but I decided to Not post here the cause / repair, until I am Completely Sure that the issue will not reappear; my Wife has been Drivin' the "KiaStein" without problems since then, and she reports that the Tachometer's failure has completely Gone.

I was Right when I wrote that the Failure was Caused by an Electrical False Contact:

 

 

... I believe that the issue could be caused by Electrical False contact on the wirings related to the Tachometer.
 

"Electrical False Contact" = Means when a Fuse or Bridge wire is proven to be good / alright (Passing current from one of its sides to the other) but its ends / terminals are loose and \ or have enough corrosion to don't let the current to flow as it should, flowing intermittently or not flowing at all.

 
 

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And I Found the Culprit!

The thin plastic that has the electrical tracks, behind the instrument cluster, sends the Power, Ground and info for the Tachometer, also to the Speedometer and the rest of the Gauges, via long Screws, that touches those tracks and sends the signal to the gauges' system.

 

 

Those contacting screws were Loose, very loose...

FalsoContacto.jpg
 
 
...those loose contacting screws made the Electrical False Contact

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This is the List of Parts on the Photo, for the Timin' Belt Service on the "KiaStein":

Part Nº: 24312 2Y000 = Timing Belt.

Part Nº: 24450 2Y000 = Tensioner.

Part Nº: 24810 2X700 = Idler.

Part Nº: 0K013 10602 = Camshaft Seals. (Two Needed)

Part Nº: 0B3C7 10602B = Crankshaft Seal.

The only part that I have not obtained, is this:

Part Nº: 21310 2Y011 = Oil Pump.

Kind Regards.

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I've not done the Timing Belt service on the "KiaStein" yet, mainly due to the Lack of enough time, I've been Super Busy nowadays... but also, somehow I was still debating with myself, if I should obtain a New Oil Pump or Not; especially after readin' this Thread:

~►
Sephia oil pressure light

 

it was indeed the oil pump. the two little tabs that hold hold onto the crank wore away and it was pushing oil up to the cylinders but not enough to get the lifters.

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However... I have not enough money to buy a Brand New oil pump yet... and something happened today: The car developed a new, strange whining noise after its first startup this morning; I opened the engine bay and after a brief visual inspection, I encounter this:


CrackedUpperCover.jpg

 
The Upper Cover for the Timing Belt has Cracked, and the piece of Plastic that fell inside, was rubbing against the cover and the Timin' Belt ...  :banghead:  ...

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So, I had to Remove the Upper Cover for the Timin' belt, to let it "Clean" itself by Centrifugal action, and it Worked well...

 

T8D.gif

 

The Noise went away as the plastic flew away... the Timin' belt has one minor / superficial scratch of two millimeter long on its back, but otherwise looks pretty Healthy, for a Belt which is almost reaching the 100K Miles old... and supposed to be changed earlier.

Kind Regards.

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Finally I obtained in a local Junk Yard, the Upper plastic cover for the Timin' Belt, out from a 2004 Kia Spectra which featured the same T8D engine, and the Lower cover was purchased for cheap, at the Local Kia Dealer, brand new.

 

 

TapadeBandayMangueras.jpg

 
 
The Hoses on the side, are the ones that sends the ATF to the Radiator and from there, back to the Transmission, for coolin' purposes.

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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I was still deciding if I should purchase the Engine's Oil Pump or not, when my Wife called me from her Cellphone: the "KiaStein" suddenly developed a severe "CLUNK!" noise, coming from the driver's side axle; she reported that the whole car stopped a little when the noise happens, and was little bit hard to steer in curves; so I asked her to stop the car and wait for me.
 
I went there and switched cars, she went to her job in my Subaru "BumbleBeast", and I drove her Kia... and she was Right; there was a very Loud and solid metallic hit that sounded through all the car's body at the same time it stopped for a second, the driver's side wheel from spin.

I removed the tire and inspected everything, also I repeated this on the other side, nothing was wrong with the Suspension, nor the Steering components; so it could be either the Constant Velocity Joint
(Axle), or the Differential.

I managed to drive the
"KiaStein" Back home, very slowly, and on certain curves on corners to the Right, the Driver's wheel stopped to Spin for a second, two or three times, while refused to be steered to the Right.

The More the car went, the Worse the issue became... two blocks from home, the Clunk noise / wheel stopping started to be constant, one per wheel turn, while going to the Front in Straight line... but it stopped sounding while the car was going Downhill, so it is not the Wheel Bearings, which I changed a year ago; This noise Sounded like if one Ball from the Constant Velocity Joint would manage to find a way out from the Basket that holds those balls together, inside the Constant Velocity Joint.
.

  • Could this be an an Axle fail?
  • Or could this be a Differential fail?

 

I have enough experience with Constant Velocity Joints (Axles) as you can Read, Here:

 

~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/114267-advice-for-longer-cv-joints-life/

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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My Subaru has five years being driven with noisy Axles, even worse than the slight sound the Kia had, and still is going strong; I've never seen such a Sudden Severe Fail on any Axle, before... so maybe it is the Differential that is braking.

The: "Clunk!, Clunk!, Clunk!" noise was so Loud and the Wheel Stoppings so Severe, that I thought that the
"KiaStein" would never reach home by its own ... :banghead:  ...

I Called by Phone to the Local Kia Dealer, asking for the price of a brand new Axle for the Automatic Sephia 2000, they asked an extremely crazy price: Lps. 14,500.ºº in our Currency, equals to $ 300.ºº US Dollars each... I joke with the salesman, saying: "I only need one, not one dozen" but he hung the phone...

I needed to solve this puzzle as soon as possible...

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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I've been checking things on the "KiaStein" and the Axle seems to be OK...

disgustedgu9-1-1.gif

 

 

...So I bet that the Differential has broke somehow; the reason why it sounds more on one side axle, is because the Driver's side axle is Shorter than the Passenger's side axle, and thus explains why the noise is more noticeable on one side.

I am accustomed to my Subaru, all subarus have symmetrical everything, even the axles... 

 

Time to Drop the Transmission.

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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