Misfire Monitoring In Combustion Engines
Any time you’re dealing with a combustion engine, there’s a chance it will develop a misfire. A better understanding of how computer systems analyze a misfire can make your job that much easier as the technician who’s diagnosing the problem.
Customer Satisfaction: You Can’t Win Them All
When you start your own business, your initial goal is to make every customer happy. But as the years go on, you realize some people aren’t going to be happy no matter how good of a job you do.
Modern Vehicle Diagnosis And Repair
Even with all these modern tools, techniques and scanners, there are still problems that occur because of previous work performed incorrectly. The difference is how the computers in modern cars interpret incorrect parts or faulty workmanship.
Power Window Retaining Spring Replacement
There are times when all the diagnostic trees, diagrams and graphs in the world aren’t enough to properly repair a vehicle. Sometimes, you just can’t get from Point A to Point B without some homemade ingenuity – a little of that “MacGyver” magic to pull you through the next obstacle. It’s all part of that “natural mechanical ability” each one of us possesses.
Government Regulations And The Check Engine Light
At first, Uncle Sam demanded crash tests, tire tests and seat belts. Then, in the ‘70s, it was the crash bumper debacle followed by the arrival of emissions systems with their smog pumps, miles of vacuum hoses and EGR valves. All of these “improvements” on the family car forever changed the way mechanics service vehicles.
How Education And Equipment Can Help Manage Your Car Quota
Help me out here. There’s something I just don’t get. How do some people leave their pride and joy — the family truckster, the old jalopy, or whatever they want to call it — at a repair shop for an extended amount of time? Every day while driving to work, I’ll pass numerous shops that
2013 Ford: No Radio, No A/C, Airbag Light On
How many times have you been working on the computer when it suddenly locks up? Not one single key or command works, and the more you click, the less it responds. The only thing left to do is hold down those three magic keys, “Ctrl-Alt-Del,” or shut the whole thing off and restart the computer. Chances are you’ll have lost whatever it was you were working on.
Shop Owner Or Bartender?
I sipped down the rest of my coffee and finished up the morning paperwork, then it occurred to me that the whole time I was on the phone, I wasn’t just a mechanic answering a customer’s concerns; I had taken on the role of the corner tavern bartender.
Gonzo: Communication Is Key To Knowledge
Are there things mechanics keep to themselves and not tell other mechanics? I hope not, but I’m sure that even doctors and lawyers have a few secrets they’re not sharing with each other. The big secret is that there really are no secrets. What it really comes down to is knowledge.
Lost and Found: When Good Tools Go Missing
How many times have you finished a job, watched the car drive off, and then started cleaning up your tools, only to realize you’ve misplaced something? You’re not completely sure that the missing tool is under the hood or in the interior of the car that just drove off. If you’re lucky, you can call the customer and ask if they’ve found your missing tool.
‘Wanna Be’ Technicians Are Their Own Worst Enemy
There’s one situation all professional automotive technicians have had to deal with from time to time, and it involves the home-grown garage guy who just so happens to own a couple of ratchets, a repair manual and a broken-down car. Some of these connoisseurs of the all-knowing repair manual skim through sections without truly comprehending them.
Gonzo’s Toolbox: Abbreviations Or A Foreign Language?
One of the techs came into my office some time ago to explain some crazy readings he was getting after hooking up to the DLC with the NGS. As he was explaining the problem, a very inquisitive customer was sitting at the counter waiting for an LOF. The tech and I discussed the test results and worked out a way to narrow down the problem even further. The whole time, the customer was intently listening to every word of the conversation about abbreviations like MAFs, TPSs, MAPs, ACTs, PCMs and CTSs. Nothing out of the ordinary for two CMTs to discuss, but it did get a bit on the “techie” side.
