In yet another viral video by Royalty Auto Service (@royaltyautoservice), owner and mechanic Sherwood takes viewers through his methodology after he discovered an issue on a Ford Mustang he’d never seen before.
Royalty Auto Service is quickly becoming one of the most popular auto-themed TikTok accounts. The shop has gained a loyal following for its straightforward yet in-depth discussion of mechanical issues and car advice. Examples include three cars to never buy and how to avoid online car buying scams. In this latest video, Royalty Auto Service garnered 126,000 views for its interesting discovery.
The video begins with Sherwood investigating a mysterious issue in a Ford Mustang. Though it won’t start, it’s unclear what’s causing the malfunction. Sherwood notices that a big energy draw is occurring within the car. To find it, he uses thermal imaging.
“I went over the whole car,” Sherwood says. “Went over everything inside the cab here, everything inside the trunk.” Then, he sits down in the front passenger seat. “As I got over here, I found the hot spot in the fuse box.”
Using a few different thermal imaging devices, Sherwood identifies a connector near the hot spot as a potential source of the issue.
“There’s something that’s making the connector hot,” Sherwood continues. “I know it’s definitely in that fuse box.”
Later, Sherwood goes over the Mustang’s diagnostics and pinpoints the accessory delay relay as the source of the problem. He says this relay powers windows, radio and other built in conveniences.
“We all know in a modern car, you turn the key off, all the doors shut, but you can still put your window up and down; the radio will stay on until you open the door,” he says. “I’m thinking that when the door opens, this thing should cut the power off.”
According to idmsvcs.com, “many vehicles are equipped with a feature called ‘Delayed accessory power’ that allows the vehicle operator to listen to the radio and adjust the power windows for a short period of time after the keys are removed from the ignition.”
Sherwood experiments for a while, opening and shutting the Ford Mustang’s doors to check whether or not the accessory delay relay clicks off. That’s how he notices that the ignition switch is coded as an accessory. After removing the ignition switch from the housing, the code switches from accessory on to off.
To test his theory, he leaves the vehicle running to ensure that the drain goes down below 80 AMP. Luckily, a simple accident on his part helps identify the issue.
“We’re sitting over here waiting for the drain to go down. Nobody’s touching the car, nobody’s near, and the wipers popped on just out of nowhere,” Sherwood says. He’d mistakenly bumped the handle into the on position. “I’m so glad I did that.”
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He goes back over to investigate, plugs his scanner back into the car, and notices that the ignition switch has flipped back to accessory, turning the delay accessory relay back on. With further investigation, he pinpoints the issue to a faulty ignition switch.
“I’m glad the wipers were on because I would have definitely not been looking at this ignition switch,” Sherwood says.
According to Repair Pal, if the electrical portion of an ignition switch fails, the vehicle will permanently or intermittently lose power to certain systems. Electrical issues in an ignition switch can make driving very dangerous. Symptoms include a vehicle randomly shutting down while driving, stalling, or the engine won’t shut off when the key is removed.
Multiple viewers praised Sherwood for his thorough diagnostic.
“Great information. My youngest son is going to school right now to be a Ford certified mechanic,” one said.
“That’s some impressive diagnosis!” a second agreed.
“I’m no mechanic but you guys are my favorite on this app,” a third wrote.
“I love watching a master at work,” another added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Royalty Auto Service via contact form.
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