Matching Your Techs with the Right Job
Just a single decade ago, many industry experts speculated that 80% of the workflow passing through an independent repair shop would involve some type of high-level diagnostic process. Today, it’s obvious that, with the infusion of electronic operating systems, high-level diagnostics is now approaching that level of total workflow. Nevertheless, many others continue to ridicule
Understanding Today’s Multi-Coil Ignition Systems
Distributorless Ignition Systems (DIS) have been around for more than two decades, but in recent years the trend has been to multi-coil systems such as Coil On Plug (COP) or Coil Per Cylinder (CPC) ignition systems, and Coil Near Plug (CNP) ignition systems. COP systems have become the hot setup for a number of packaging,
Secondary Ignition System Maintenance
As one might expect, the introduction of low-maintenance ignition systems has changed how we sell and service secondary ignition system parts for import vehicles. Most import nameplates have, for example, replaced conventional distributor ignition systems with distributorless or coil-on-plug (COP) ignitions in order to reduce the number of wearing parts in the secondary or high-voltage
Flash Reprogramming
Would you believe flash reprogrammable PCMs have been in vehicles for more than a decade? The first such application was the 1990 Geo Storm. Why a humdrum car like the Storm would be the first to receive a flash reprogrammable computer system is unknown. You’d think GM would have chosen a more high profile vehicle
Analyzing Ignition Misfires and Plotting a Diagnostic Course
Uh oh. The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is on, and you’ve just found a misfire code. It’s a code P0304, which tells you cylinder number four is misfiring. There are no other codes and the engine has a steady miss. Now what? Misfire diagnosis in this kind of situation should be fairly easy. You have