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Preventative maintenance should prolong a vehicle's life, not shorten it
Imagine laying on the operating table. There you are, the bright lights bearing down on you and focused on the thought of someone opening you up like a sandwich bag so he can rummage around in your...
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Smartphone-based NVH diagnostics
Have you ever had a problem vehicle with a vibration that just seemed to be impossible to fix? Have you performed repair work or installed parts, in an attempt to correct a vibration and it ended up...
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Motor Age Garage: When customers need us — and we need them
One particularly cold day, I was on my way home from work and I saw a couple of women standing by a black Cadillac crossover that was parked in the grass beside the road. I pulled over to see if I...
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Engine mechanical testing: Good, better and best
In this first of two articles on engine mechanical testing, we will introduce two fundamental engine mechanical tests that will be performed with electronic tools. This first test is the relative...
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Wheel Pros acquires Gorilla Automotive Products
SANTA MONICA, Calif. and GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., June 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wheel Pros, a leading designer, marketer, and distributor of branded automotive aftermarket wheels, performance tires,...
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Identifying bottlenecks in the repair process and correcting them
In most shops, back-ups can happen during the various stages of the repair process. The goal of any repair shop should be to increase output through improved efficiencies. In order to maintain...
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Automotive Service & Technology Expo coming in September
The Independent Garage Owners of North Carolina are once again hosting ASTE (Automotive Service & Technology Expo) Sept. 28-29, 2018 in Cary, NC at the Embassy Suites and Convention Center. Repair...
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The benefits of being an automotive technician
My very first job was that of service station attendant way back in the mid-70s. Many of you reading this likely don’t even know what that means! This was back in the day of full-service gas stations,...
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When a replacement ECM doesn't want to make nice with the keys
Have you ever heard the saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?" or "Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy?" I'm sure we can all relate to having said both of those at one time or...
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Motor Age Garage: Automotive IV
I was recently called to a shop on a 2012 BMW X5 with a 3.0 Liter Engine (Figure 1) that needed a new Engine Control Module (ECM) programmed. The shop had determined that the ECM was internally damaged...
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How to properly remove customer data from their connected vehicles
A few years ago the vehicle manufacturer I was working for was looking for evidence to support their suspicion a certain employee was taking vehicles home at night without permission.Sure enough, the...
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Connected versus “connected” vehicle
A little over 100 years ago (1908 to be exact) Henry Ford’s original Model T was on the road and by 1913 they were rolling off the first moving assembly line. In 1925 Ford was producing a vehicle every...
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A look at J2534
The rate at which technology is changing personal transportation accelerates every year. While this is a challenge for technicians now, imagine what interesting experiences still lay ahead of us.It’s a...
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University of the Aftermarket Foundation announces scholarship recipients
The University of the Aftermarket Foundation has awarded 80 students with scholarships for the 2018-19 academic year, it was announced today by Pete Kornafel, MAAP, chairman, education and scholarship...
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K Tool International’s new line of power supply/jump starters
The new Power Supply/Jump Starter Kits (part no. KTI74391, KTI74392, KTI74393 & KTI74394) from K Tool International are portable lifesavers when you’re on the ropes!These compact tools can...
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Ground Circuits: Part 11
Measuring ground side voltage Ground Voltage and the DMM Vd (Voltage drops) on the ground side of a circuit are very small. Using a DMM (Digital MultiMeter) allows measurements as fine as 0.01 volt...
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Mitchell 1 names Jaxen Stewart 2018 Automotive Technology Outstanding Student
Jaxen Stewart from Council Grove, Kansas, was named the 2018 Mitchell 1 Automotive Technology Outstanding Student during the 45th annual North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT)...
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Making sense of Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI)
It’s hard to believe that the internal combustion engine has been around for more than 200 years. The design of such an engine is a combination of work from many different individuals, but basically we...
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Adapting the automotive education model to fit today's needs
Earlier this spring, I attended the annual ASE Training Managers Council (ATMC) conference in Atlanta. This is where a group of automotive training leaders from both the OEM and aftermarket meet to...
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When automotive repairs are more complicated than they should be
I’ve been in this business since the early seventies, and the guys who are my age and older know that there was a time when the most complicated electrical issue we might encounter on a vehicle would...
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