Tech Feature: Engine Technology Gets a Boost
As a technician, you’ll need to understand how Ford’s EcoBoost turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine works, since the automaker plans to incorporate it in 90% of its new vehicles over the next three years.
Toyota Tech Feature: Diagnosing Today’s Complex Electronics Systems
Find out the latest innovations in scan tool technology, and what your scan tool should be doing for you.
The Keys To the Castle
Over the years, my father taught me many things. One of those things might be of interest to you. What he taught me was that the keys to survival in this business, or in any other for that matter, are the very same keys that will ultimately lead you to success.
Tech Tip: 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid Safety Precautions
As vehicle manufacturers strive to meet or exceed fuel economy standards, alternative vehicle designs incorporating new materials and systems will be produced to accommodate consumer demand. One such vehicle that may roll into your repair facility is the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid. Questions will arise when this vehicle arrives ….
Let’s Make A Deal: Let’s Not…
The last few months have been challenging. My guess is they were challenging for you, as well. The next few are likely to prove equally as challenging, if not more so. You don’t have to be a Nobel Prize Laureate in economics to understand what’s going on. People like us — people on the ground,
Electronic Brake Distribution: Emerging Technology Offers Service Opportunities
Say goodbye to mechanical brake proportioning valves, and say hello to Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD). This new technology is yet another electronic enhancement that’s being added to many late-model vehicles. With conventional hydraulic brakes, a mechanical proportioning valve is used to reduce pressure to the rear wheels when the brakes are applied. Inside the proportioning
Tech Feature: Keeping the Tire in Contact with the Road Surface
Confused about modern ride control technology? Sometimes looking back into automotive history can put such technology into a more usable framework. A good illustration is how ride control technology evolved from the simple, early-century friction shock absorber to the electronic variable-rate shocks and MacPherson struts being installed on today’s cars and light trucks. When early automobile manufacturers first mated a gasoline engine to ….
Tech Tip: Steering Position and Yaw
The Electronic Stability Control (ESC) program uses the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) and Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) to maintain vehicle stability in a cornering maneuver. The ESC program requires the communication between the Engine Control Module (ECM) and ABS controller. This communication takes place on the Controlled Area Network (CAN) buss of the vehicle. The program uses input from the following sensors: steering wheel position, throttle pedal position, throttle position, engine speed, brake switch, wheel speed, yaw and ….
Tech Tip: Finding the Failure Pattern
All diagnostic techs are eventually confronted with a random, no-code failure that occurs only under a very narrow range of circumstances. All too often, solving a random, no-code malfunction is a long-shot proposition for any diagnostic tech because a particular combination of events is required to initiate that particular malfunction. Sure, every once in a while a technician can get lucky with a chance roll of the diagnostic dice, but that’s about it when it comes to ….
Steering Position and Yaw
Driving skills and Electronic Stability Control One of the first things a novice driver asks is: “Do I turn into the skid or away from it?” With Electronic Stability Control, this decision is made for us. When a vehicle begins to skid during a cornering maneuver, the skilled driver steers into the direction of the