Paul Brand: Air-bag light is an indication of serious problem

Q I own a 2004 Dodge Stratus, and the air-bag light has lit up on my instrument panel. Sometimes the light stays on during start-up and driving; other times it will flicker on and off. What could cause this problem?

A The cause could be a poor connection to the air-bag control module, a problem with the clockspring in the steering column that maintains the electrical connection to the air bag as the steering wheel rotates, or a problem with the instrument cluster. Regardless, the fact that the air-bag warning indicator illuminates means there's a significant problem with the restraint system. While the warning light is on, the system is disabled and won't deploy to protect you or your front-seat passenger during a serious crash.

Take your vehicle to the dealer to have their scan tool read any fault codes recorded in the air-bag control module. Any faults identified should be repaired or replaced under warranty.

Q I put new tires on my car and went in for an alignment. They aligned the car but said that the camber could not be adjusted. I questioned that, and after double-checking they said it could, but they did not have their alignment guy on duty so I would have to bring the car back. The readings for camber were 0.0 and -0.8 degrees, but I can't remember which was left or right. I checked Alldata, and the settings for the front should be +0.2 degrees, plus or minus 0.5 degrees.

Is the camber setting not that important? They acted as if it wasn't a big deal. How much will this affect handling and tire wear?

A If their "alignment guy" wasn't on duty, who aligned your car? More important, camber and toe are related, so if the camber needs adjusting, the toe would need to be rechecked and possibly readjusted as well.

Camber is important. It can be adjusted on your vehicle, and the camber on one front wheel (-0.8 degrees) is off enough that it should be corrected. The mechanism for adjustment is rather easy. Two large bolts secure the bottom of the strut to the hub/knuckle. Slotted holes allow a range of camber adjustment. The technique isn't particularly complex, either -- attach the camber adjusting tool to read the camber setting, loosen the two bolts, adjust the camber correctly, tighten and torque the bolts.

While the camber isn't so far off on the one side to create an immediate problem with tire wear, over the life of your new tires -- even with regular tire rotation -- the inboard shoulder of the tire mounted on that front corner would tend to wear a bit faster than normal.

Because you've invested $300 to $500 in new tires for the vehicle, wheel alignment -- toe, caster and camber on all four wheels -- should be checked and adjusted back to factory specifications. That's what you paid for when you had an "alignment" done.

Q My daughter topped off her tank yesterday and went directly to the car wash without closing the cap or fuel-cap door. Will this harm the engine?

A If any significant amount of water entered the fuel filler opening, there's a problem. Add a full can of SeaFoam Motor Tune-up to the fuel tank to help demoisturize the fuel. The isopropyl alcohol in SeaFoam will mix or pick up the water and carry it through system. If only a very small amount of water entered the fuel system, this should take care of it. And likely this is the case. The only water that could get into the fuel tank would have to be direct spray hitting the small opening in the recessed filler neck.

What if a higher quantity of water got in the tank? Well, she'll know soon enough. The water won't necessarily hurt the engine, but it will stall the vehicle and require professional service to clean, clear and remove.

Q I have an '85 Volvo wagon that has 175,000 miles on it. Recently it began losing power and would go only about 40 mph until I stopped and pulled over. Once I turned it off and restarted the engine, it ran fine for about another 40 minutes or so, then cut out again.

The problem has progressed to the point where it now will cut out and go only about 20 mph until I restart it -- and it also stalls when stopped at intersections and when I put it in reverse. I have paid more than $1,100 for a major tune-up, catalytic converter replacement, thermostat replacement, all fuses replaced, all done at four different repair shops, the last of which was a Volvo dealer that claimed to have never heard of such a problem.

A I can think of several possible causes that have not been addressed yet.

First, debris in the fuel tank -- rust, moisture -- could be progressively "packing" or clogging the fuel pickup screen inside the fuel tank. As the fuel flow becomes restricted, fuel pressure falls and the engine loses power. Shutting it off stops the pump, allows the debris to fall away, back into the tank, and the engine then runs OK again, at least for a while.

Scenario No. 2 might be an extremely lean air/fuel mixture that feedback from the oxygen sensor cannot ultimately adjust for. When the mixture finally reaches a too-lean point, the engine loses power. Shut the key off, clear the computer memory, reboot the computer as you fire it up ... and the process starts over again.

Another scenario might be faulty input from the mass airflow sensor causing the engine to run lean until it loses power. Again, shutting off the key lets the cycle starts over again upon restarting.