Tech Tip: Why technicians should always initiate a diagnostic connection

Sept. 26, 2019
Fifty-seven percent of heavy duty vehicles leave the shop with active fault codes, which go undetected by foregoing a vehicle connection.

Do you connect diagnostic and repair software every time a vehicle is in the shop, or only when a dash light or driver complaint calls for it? Fifty-seven percent of heavy duty vehicles leave the shop with active fault codes, which go undetected by foregoing a vehicle connection.

Using JPRO, technicians can typically connect to a vehicle and begin viewing fault information in sixty seconds. The time spent to begin the diagnosis process is a minor sacrifice to a vehicle owner when the upside can mean reducing unexpected downtime. 

Imagine a customer schedules an appointment during planned downtime to have new tires installed on a vehicle. There are no dash lights and the driver has no complaints about the vehicle, so you install the tires and the owner dispatches the vehicle for its next delivery. A few hours into the trip, a rainstorm occurs. The new tires handle great in the rain, but the driver cannot use the windshield wipers due to a faulty wiper motor. The vehicle is now on the side of the road due to an issue you could have prevented. Fortunately, JPRO can make you aware of the faulty wiper motor and many similar issues that often go undetected. 

JPRO provides a holistic, all components view of the vehicle, as well as inactive and pending faults – a unique advantage over most diagnostic and repair solutions. Within the past three years, JPRO detected a fault for a wiper motor circuit with amperage higher than normal (code: SPN 522215) more than 23,000 times. Of those 23,000+ faults, around 1,100 were active faults. None of those active faults would trigger a check engine light, and many in-shop tools would not detect the nearly 22,000 occurrences of the fault with an inactive status. By detecting this in JPRO, the technician can warn to a potential issue and provide transparency to the vehicle owner so he or she can make a decision about repairs. 

Both technicians and vehicle owners should try to ensure a diagnostic connection occurs whenever the vehicle is in the shop. Vehicle owners can ask for a diagnostic connection to ensure there are no faults to be concerned with, or even ask for one of JPRO’s diagnostic reports. By connecting each time, repair facilities and vehicle owners both experience benefits: 

Repair facility 

  • Offer clear communication – Gain the trust of customers by making them aware of all issues on the vehicle.
  • Improve profits – By finding every issue on the vehicle, upsell opportunities allow for increased parts and service revenue.

Vehicle owners

  • Increase uptime – By knowing about, and fixing, all issues on the vehicle, you can reduce the number of events that sideline a vehicle.
  • Reduce comebacks – Stop paying for multiple trips to a repair facility when all issues can be fixed the first time.
  • Enhance driver safety – Plenty of safety issues will not trigger a dash light, such as the wiper motor example, risking the driver’s wellbeing when these systems are not functioning properly.

Information provided by Noregon 

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