Meet a young technician: Vy Tran

Vy Tran brings academic rigor and deep technical understanding to automotive electrical systems. This North Carolina State University student has a comprehensive view of why electrical diagnostic skills are crucial for modern technicians.

Vehicle Service Pros is partnering with TechForce Foundation to share profiles and perspectives of young automotive technicians who are in the early days of their careers. These students were asked: "What is one skill you would like to master?"

"One of the most crucial skills to master to advance one's career as a technician is the electrical diagnostic skill," Tran says. "There are two important reasons that make the electrical diagnostic skill crucial: enabling efficient repairs and accurately identifying the root cause of the problem.

"Being skilled at electrical diagnostics is critical in enabling efficient repairs. A complete circuit needs three basic components: power, load device, and ground return. There will be times where checking the basic elements will be sufficient instead of overthinking the problem.

"For example, if the headlight will not light up, the technician needs to always check the 'obvious' causes first like a loose headlight connector socket, a blown fuse, or an expired bulb. Otherwise, the technician could spend countless hours trying to run a diagnostic check."

Tran says, "When the engine will not start, a diagnosis indicates a low fuel pump pressure. The technician can solve the problem by checking the signals going through the wiring to determine if the pump is bad or if the issue is a faulty pump circuit.

"Mastering electrical diagnostic skills will help the technician gain more confidence in troubleshooting automotive electrical systems and provide a better chance at solving an issue the first time when something electrically related goes wrong."