Stories from the Road 9

Stories from the Road 9
An Automotive Case Studies Series
By Mandy Concepcion

This book, "Stories from the Road - Automotive Case Studies" is a real work in action about the intricacies of modern automotive diagnostics. It is based on actual real life situations. From this book you may extract real-life lessons, which will help you as an automotive aficionado, DIY mechanic and professional technician. The work is divided into narrated stories representing real-life applications of diagnostic technology, equipment usage, repair techniques and knowledge based information. Here, you'll get input on how to use the automotive scan-tool, OBD-2 ECM/PCM readers, oscilloscope, graphing multi-meter, signal tone injector and many other diagnostic tools. You'll also get deep insights on testing all kinds of sensors and actuators, such as injectors, solenoids, transmission components, motors, fuel pumps, CAM and crank sensors, TPS, MAF, Knock and pretty much every component seen today. All the content is presented on a narrated, story like format to make the knowledge easy and fun to comprehend. With that in mind, enjoy your readings.

Table of contents

Stories from the Road 9 - Content

* - The PTC Learning Curve
What's a PTC? Found on Dodge vehicles, it is here to stay and can through a diagnostic out of bounce. This vehicle would start then stall and afterwards it would not start again until some time had passed. The ECM was replaced, but nothing worked. See what this case diagnostic can tech you.

* - The Sputtering Malibu
A Chevy with a drivability complaint and a misfire code that was hard to diagnose. See how this diagnostic developed from using a Tech-2 factory scanner to the logical path that made the tech repair the issue.

* - The Tachometer Coil Affair
A no-spark condition on a Dodge, but what does that have to do with a tachometer? Ignition and coil assemblies were replaced, but the issue remained. See how it all worked out from dedicated CG video diagrams to expose the issue. Also get a grip on using the graphing multi-meter to solve this repair case.

* - Toyota it Wasn't Me Injector
A great engine swap gone bad. What appeared to be a good running engine all of a sudden when buzzers. See how this diagnostic was approached and what the ECM was seeing using various tools. See how thing got crazy and took the case in the wrong direction.

* - Toyota's Ignition Octopus
Misfire issues on today’s crowded engines are time consuming. See how "The Octopus" or a special tool used for ignition diagnostic was employed and how diagnostic time was reduced to a minimum by this tool usage.

* - Trans-Am Rocker Poker Issue
A Trans-Am having a misfire issue and the shop replaced parts galore. The shop went through all the diagnostic channels like compression, electrical test, but thing worked. A powerful tool was employed here from the tech's arsenal of tools. See how it was used to check ignition and solve the final issue.

* - VW Golf on the Rough
This VW ran fine for miles, but then would start to run rough. The ECM, Hall-Effect and O2 sensor was replaced, but to no avail. This diagnostic was started by monitoring the most vital signals for starting. See how a chain of events unfolded to correct this issue.

* - Who Quit First
A Ford with a complaint of hesitation upon acceleration. The venerable complete tune-up was performed. This series video runs you through a complete analysis on ignition system waveform interpretation. It also explain other concepts highly desirable in today's vehicle diagnostic.

* - Zapping the Air Control Signal
A Chevy Camaro with absolutely no codes and an idle control issue. Learn how the IAC Counts were used during diagnostics. To top it all off, this issue was intermittent. Get a big scoop on scanner PID interpretation and how to use the data-stream to find vehicle issues. See how it all developed.