Selling myself

Over the last couple of days I have been out trying to expand my business. This is no easy task walking into a shop and trying to sell my service. For the most part shop owners are pretty busy and it is hard to get their attention. Most of the time I get a head nod and the usual response of  "We do diagnostics here too." I try to get my main points across in a hurry. I typically have about 3 minutes. Yes, I have timed it. In 3 minutes I have to convey to the shop owner that I am capable, equipped, and on his side. The capable part is usually the easiest. I tell a little bit about myself, my past, etc. The equipped portion is a little harder. All the shops have scanners, some have labscopes, some have J2534 programming capabilities, a few have low amp probes. What the average shop owner/tech doesn't realize that there are limitations to aftermarket scanners and J tools. While many aftermarket scantools claim that they are OE level tools unfortunately they are not (look at my ongoing Ottotest posts). That is where owning factory scantools is essential. This is by no means a knock on any shop or shop owner at all. There is a lot of misinformation out there, 90% of the time a quality aftermarket scantool or J2534 tool will do the job. The other 10% of the time I can help them with OE tools, along with my knowledge and experience. This is where I earn my keep. The convincing the shop owner I am on his/her side is by far the hardest. I make sure to mention numerous times I only service professional shops only. I am not the competition. I am not here to take anybody's job or to rub someone's nose in a problem. Nor, do I hold myself above anybody else. My service is a supplement to an already well performing shop. As any of the shops that I service will tell you I am also not secretive. I teach as I diagnose or after. I am not one of these guys that says change that part because "I say so." I always share with anyone who will listen how I arrived at that decision. My service helps keep the shop's customers in their bays instead of somewhere else. Diagnostics does not pay the rent in a shop. Do not let anyone fool you. But, solid diagnostics keeps them coming back in for the brakes, exhaust, and service work that does pay the rent. I have to get all of that across in 3 minutes or less to a person who probably is worried whether Mrs. Jones' check is going to clear, how he is going to meet payroll, the parts house is 2 hours late with a part that the customer is waiting for, etc. Most shop owners are masters of multi-tasking. That is another reason why my service works-I am focused and can give my undivided attention to that problem that is eating away at shop productivity and bottom line. I always follow up with shops after the initial meet and greet in about 2 weeks. I can usually get a feel if the shop is going to use me after that. I always try to stay positive with my visits. There are a lot of great people in the automotive industry. I have met some real good quality individuals stopping in and saying hello. I never stop trying to get new business and I always take the time to help out a shop. You never know when it could turn into some newfound business. Now, if a shop decides to use me they usually throw a problem vehicle that they have been knocking their head against the wall at me. It is like a trial by fire type of scenario. If I solve the issue and impress the shop I get the business. In this business you definitely have to walk the walk.           

1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

There it is the 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with 128,191 miles with a 3100 motor that seemed posessed. The car was towed in for a no start. The shop diagnosed it rightfully so as a bad fuel pump. Customer decided to supply their own parts. Shop installed customer supplied pump and car leaves. Car comes back a couple of days later with fuel pump belly up. Shop owner convinces customer to install a quality fuel pump assembly instead of best price unit. Customer agrees, pump is installed and car leaves. Car comes back with complaint of lack of power. Fuel pressure is at spec. Shop takes a look at load under WOT (Wide Open Throttle) and it is barely 60%. We like to see 80% or better on a naturally aspirated vehicle. In went a remanufactured Mass Air Flow sensor and now we have 82% under WOT conditions and the car is thoroughly road tested. Car leaves and customer returns a couple of days later thoroughly incensed. Now the complaint is the car is cutting out, runs bad, etc. This is where I come into the story. This shop owner is pulling his hair out. Do we have a defective remanufactured MAF sensor? Another bad fuel pump? The shop owner let's me road test the car. So I hook up my Tech2 scantool arm it to take a snapshot and head out. This car runs rather well. I sneak a peak at the load and MAF pids under various driving conditions and they seem right on. I road test the vehicle close to 12 miles under every concievable driving condition and it runs great. Back at the shop I pop the hood and the first thing I notice is it looks like it has the original ignition coilpacks and ignition wires. Hmmm. I grab my spray bottle of salt water and mist away. It wouldn't be the first time I have seen poor secondary components causing this issue. This car doesn't miss a beat. So I hot soak it for a half hour still nothing. I low amp probe the coilpacks and the injectors-nothing! The shop owner agrees to take it on an extended road test. The next morning he calls me and tells me he got it to act up after about a 30 mile road test. I tell him I will be by later for another road test. Again, I arm my Tech2 and go for an extended road test. After about 20 minutes of driving I feel a sputter. I immediately hit my record button. It sputters some more. This is a hard shudder. Like someone shutting the key on and off.

Back at the shop I download my snapshot. I choose to look at 5 pids closely. Engine Rpm, Cam Signal, Ignition 1, 24x Crank Sensor, and Spark Timing. This 3100 motor has a 7x Crank Sensor in the block that reads off notches on the crankshaft. This sensor is the engine speed input to the Ignition Control Module. From there the module then conditions this signal and produces what is called Ckt. 430. This is the main rpm input to the PCM for engine speed calculations, ignition timing, fuel injection control, etc. We also have a 24x crank sensor that reads off the front of the crankshaft via windows on crankshaft dampener. This signal is sent directly to the PCM. The PCM uses this signal for low speed timing events. Typically this signal stops being looked at above approximately 1600rpm. Then there is a Camshaft Sensor which is utilized for sequential fuel injection. Every year has different wrinkles for each of these sensors. What I layed out is a generalization. So, if we look at the snapshot above the first thing I see is that 24x is above the usual rpm limit of approximately 1600rpm. It is at 2184 rpm. The other pids look ok. Let's go backwards in the snapshot.

Here you see typically where I see 24x stop incrementing. Looks go back even further.

Here you see that Engine RPM and 24x are under 1600 rpm and are within 50 rpm of each other. This is when the car is running well. Lets look at when this car was really having issues.

Here we have a real issue. The Engine RPM is under 1600 rpm but 24x is above. What gives here. I have seen weird things happen with 24x sensors as well as Cam sensors. Thankfully, most of the time you can just unplug the offending sensor and road test to confirm if that is the problem. So, at this point I feel pretty confident that after I unplug 24x sensor this car is going to be alright. So, off I go figuring I am done here. Well the car still hiccups and runs poor. Feeling dejected I plug the 24x sensor back in and decide to look at the 24x rpm counter when it hiccups. Sure enough every time it hiccups it gets a stupid rpm increment. There are times that you fix a car more with your gut then a scantool or a fuel pressure gauge. With this in mind. I hook my scope to the 7x Crank Sensor and CKT. 430.

Here it is 7x on Channel 2 and CKT. 430 on Channel 1. I didn't even make it out of the parking lot when I got this. We have nice 7x but no 5 volt square wave on CKT. 430. Here is another one below out on the road.

There is the money shot! This is during a hiccup. We have proper signal into the Ignition Control Module but improper out. We are missing CKT. 430 pulses. I torture the modules power and grounds to make sure we do not have a power or ground issue. This car needs an Ignition Control Module. I advise the shop owner that the original secondary components should be replaced with the module as well. As far as the scantool data. I am thinking that when there is a CKT. 430 issue the normal rpm increment for 24x goes out the window. I know for next time. You never stop learning in this business. This is a perfect example of a vehicle coming in with multiple issues. Since there was no history with this car and the car came in as a no start you have to stay on your toes for sure.

1997 Dodge Stratus

I am called to Mr. D's shop to look at a 1997 Dodge Stratus 2.4 liter with an overheat condition at an idle in traffic conditions. The car has 182,374 miles on it so the sky is the limit. Given the fact that it only seems to overheat at a standstill makes me really want to look at the cooling fans and the cooling fan circuitry. I hook up my scanner and check for codes. No codes are present. The reason I check for codes is for circuit integrity. If there was something open or grounded in the control circuitry it should set a code for that particular circuit. In this case we have low speed and high speed fan circuits. These fan circuit codes don't always trigger the MIL lamp and I never take anything for granted. Next thing is I command the fans on low speed and high speed with my scanner. I hear the fans come on so I know something is happening. With that being said.  I start the car and select from my scanner the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor pid along with Time From Start, Low Speed Fan Command, and High Speed Fan Command. When I start the car the temp is around 85F. I use time from start all the time for coolant related issues. It is very useful for looking for thermostat issues, etc. As I let the car warm up I graph my pids. I am also listening to the banter at Mr. D's shop. It is one of those fun shops. You never know when you are going to get sprayed with carb spray and then lit on fire. Or, if you drop an attached caliper from the control arm while doing a brake job Mr. D will yell out "should I order a brake hose now?" Meanwhile, he is all the way across the shop at his desk and you ask yourself how did he know? Yeah, it keeps you on your toes but at the same time it keeps things light. Shop life at it's best.
Alright back to the overheat. About 12 minutes later the temp is creeping up to low speed fan turn on temperature which is about 221F. I see the low speed fan command flip to "on" on my scanner and I hear the fans come on. The temperature however instead of dropping stays right around turn on temperature. I look at my fans and only the drivers side fan was on. The passenger fan is dead. Huh? I know from experience that these fans run at the same time. I smack the offending fan with a backend of a screwdriver and it comes to life. Ok, we are on to something. I am still worried about the quick time to get up to operating temperature.
It was a little quick for me. I shut off the vehicle and check the coolant level. Well a gallon of coolant later and we are filled and I am back monitoring. Now, both fans are coming on and the temperature is behaving. Was I seeing things with that fan not coming on? At this point I can look at the fan motor's integrity through my low amp probe. I have two pretty much identical motors so I can compare.

This is the drivers side motor. It is drawing about 8 amps and has a nice even signature. I see nothing wrong here. It is drawing properly and the pattern is excellent. Now, let's look at the passenger side.

Geez. I wasn't seeing things. This motor is drawing close to 22 amps and the pattern is awful. My low amp probe confirms that this needs a cooling fan motor. I advise Mr. D of this and show him these pictures. Oh by the way there was a leaking hose connection that caused the low coolant level. Now if I can get out of Mr. D's without getting set on fire..... 

Ottotest Update

Well I am happy to report that after the last update to my Ottotest. I was able to graph ABS data on my Dodge Durango. This must have been one of the "Client requested enhancements" that they have on the update screen. I will have to see if graphing has been added across the board to all modules and all makes. At least I can say they are listening. I am using the tool more and more as time goes on. It is still slow and the tablet battery life is horrible but the tool is evolving. It is nowhere near any of my factory tools. Then again what aftermarket tool is.

A tale of two Chryslers

I am called to a shop this day for a problem with a 1997 Chrysler Sebring with a 2.5 liter V-6 motor. The shop owner explains to me that this vehicle has been all over the place. Lots of replacement parts. It runs real poor. So poor that the catalytic converter glows red after only a few moments of operation. The shop owner has had enough of this car. He has spent a considerable amount of time and resources on it. The vehicle sets Cam/Crank error codes as well. It has had multiple crank sensors. After listening to the shop owner and hearing the vehicle run. I am pretty sure we have some cam and crank relationship issue. I have been down the road with these vehicles before. There are many things that can go wrong from improper timing belt replacement, broken camshaft dowel pins, worn crankshaft gears, wrong or damaged flywheels, wrong year PCM with wrong flywheel with wrong camshaft sprocket, etc. The first thing I do is scope camshaft sensor and crankshaft sensor to look at the signals and more importantly the relationship between the two.

There she is. The crankshaft sensor reads off the flywheel and the camshaft sensor is inside the distributor which is driven off the end of the camshaft. The relationship between the two looks great. Amplitude of signals and ground point are also excellent. However, I am seeing a very weird crankshaft sensor pattern.

I changed the timebase so we can see more detail. Here the crankshaft sensor signal (arrows) is not what it is supposed to be. There should be four equal pulses reflecting the slots in the flywheel. If you look at the pattern sometimes we have this more often we have this freaky pattern. Hmmm. Do we have a damaged flywheel? This car has been around the block. Who knows how many times the transmission or engine has been out of this. Remember, this car has had multiple new crankshaft sensors. Something tells me that the problem still is with the crankshaft sensor itself rather than the flywheel. I recommend to the shop owner to get an OE crankshaft sensor and to make sure it has the felt spacer on the end of it. This felt spacer is the air gap adjustment between the sensor and flywheel. When installed it will bottom out. The first start takes the felt spacer off and sets the air gap. Subsequent crankshaft sensor removals and replacements require this felt spacer to be reinstalled before sending the sensor back home. I have seen plenty of aftermarket crankshaft sensors that do not posess this spacer. Installing the sensor without the spacer will cause certain sensor damage. I inform the shop owner of my hunch. But, warn him that he may be taking this transmission out. I reason with him that I would rather gamble with the sensor than a transmission removal. He agrees.
A couple of days later he calls me. He goes on to tell me that the vehicles crankshaft sensor he removed had obvious contact damage. The new OE sensor fixed the car and the car runs well. I was happy for him.

The next Chrysler is a 1995 Chrysler Cirrus with a 2.5 liter V-6 motor. It is a crank no start. Also, the shop owner says it has no scantool communication. I crank the car over. It has a nice even cranking sound. I hook up my scantool and I indeed have communication. This is one of those vehicles that have the familiar OBD2 data link connector but are really not true blue OBD2. We used to call these cars OBD one and a half on the techline. I check certain key parameters on the scanner such as map voltage, vehicle theft status, and cranking inj pulse. All look good. I check spark quality and scope ASD (Automatic Shutdown) relay voltage and injector pulse right at an injector. I have great spark, good ASD voltage cranking, and proper injector pattern. What gives? I spritz a little carb spray into the throttle body and car cranks starts and stalls. I break out the propane and can run the car. Ok, I know I have no fuel. Hooking a fuel pressure gauge up on this vehicle is a pain in the a$#. So, I use ATM (Actuator Test Mode) to actuate the fuel pump relay. I hear the relay click but no fuel pump operation. I remove the relay to jump out and look at the pattern with my low amp probe.

I removed the relay next to it for comparison. Do you see what is missing?

The terminal that is the output of the relay out to the fuel pump is not there. It has sunk down below where the relay blade terminals will make contact. I am able to use a long duckbill terminal to make contact with it to get this fuel pump to run. I hear the fuel pump turn on. I try to start and we still have a no start. Huh? The fuel pump is wailing away. Ok, lets get the low amp probe on there.

So we have a nice pattern. But very low amperage. I typically see 4-5 amps on these vehicles. Even a cheap pump will give me 3 or so. This is very low at barely 2 amps. Ok, we have a good pattern but low amperage. What would cause that? I think we are out of gas. A quick rap on the tank confirms this. I advise the shop owner to remove the underhood fusebox and repair the terminal. Oh yeah, put some gas in it as well. 

2007 Dodge Caliber

Yup, there she is. Straight from the body shop almost complete. It has an airbag lamp on and the body shop wanted to rectify this before putting the rest of the nose together. Smart move just in case there is a sensor or wiring that needs to be accessed. Let's pull some codes.

Ok, so we have some OCM (Occupant Classification Module) codes. Drivers seat track position sensor issue. Late model vehicles with "smart" airbags have information overload when it comes to keeping the occupants safe. So, where do I start? I know already. I look under the drivers seat and....

What do we have here? Yup, the sensor connector is swinging in the breeze. This day is going to be easy. I reconnect the connector. The CPA (Connector Position Assurance) lock tab was a little screwey. It needed to be gently "massaged" back into place. I moved the seat forward and back to make sure we don't have any issues with the sensor itself.

Here, is a shot of it from the backseat area connected. I cleared the codes and went on my way. This day is going to be easy. That was the mentality until I had to reindex a cam sensor on a 4.0 liter Ford Explorer and burned a half dollar sized portion of my forearm. The lesson here is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Go after the obvious first. I just wish I followed my own advice all the time.
 

Ottotest Update

Well, I have now had the Ottotest for close to 6 months now. It has disappointed me more times than not. It is billed as an OE level tool. It does not even come close. The latest disappointment was a 1999 Hyundai Tiberon. The Ottotest didn't even have a menu for this car either using the vehicle or the VIN number. The tablet battery life is extremely short and it seems to struggle with the Nissan/Infiniti platform. There have been numerous updates. These updates typically are for 2010 model year coverage. I feel the tool and it's owners would be better served if they would concentrate on increasing the capabilities of the scanner on 2000-2008 model year vehicles. Case in point would be Ford automated evaporative test. Something, the Ford IDS scantool does that the Ottotest does not. I feel the tool is improving but it is at a snails pace. The typical updates always lists "client requested enhancements". Well tell me in detail what the enhancement is! I do use it more and more. I was recently checking an Infiniti I-30 for a shop and was showing him the graphing capabilities the Ottotest provides. The shop owner definitely liked what he was seeing. The Ottotest does do an excellent job of graphing. The speed of the tool needs to be increased tremendously. In the real world speed of a scanner from boot up to diagnosing is paramount. We technicians are not a patient group. I will keep you posted.