Mastering Diagnostics #30: When Mechanical Testing Lets You Down
Welcome to the latest episode of Mastering Diagnostics with Motor Age Technical Editor Brandon Steckler. Think of a time when you were faced with a drivability fault and determined early that it appeared to have nothing to do with the engine itself, only to find out later that the test you relied on to determine mechanical integrity didn’t show you the engine was actually faulted. This happens each day to technicians around the world, and Steckler is going to uncover why.
The truth is that each test we perform has certain limitations or characteristics we are searching for but don’t exist. If we conduct tests in which these limitations are crossed, the test is sure to let us down.
Join Steckler as he leverages the Launch X-431 Torque Link to demonstrate how a highly reliable relative compression test would have led any unknowing technician down the wrong road. But he then shows you how viewing valuable engine global scan data not only points him in the correct direction but also justifies the need for disassembly and further inspection.
If you find drivability to be a challenge you wish to improve your accuracy and efficiency on, this is an episode of Mastering Diagnostics you don’t want to miss. For more information, visit Launch Tech's website.
About the Author
Brandon Steckler
Technical Editor | Motor Age
Brandon began his career in Northampton County Community College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he was a student of GM’s Automotive Service Educational program. In 2001, he graduated top of his class and earned the GM Leadership award for his efforts. He later began working as a technician at a Saturn dealership in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he quickly attained Master Technician status. He later transitioned to working with Hondas, where he aggressively worked to attain another Master Technician status.
Always having a passion for a full understanding of system/component functionality, he rapidly earned a reputation for deciphering strange failures at an efficient pace and became known as an information specialist among the staff and peers at the dealership. In search of new challenges, he transitioned away from the dealership and to the independent world, where he specialized in diagnostics and driveability.
Today, he is an instructor with both Carquest Technical Institute and Worldpac Training Institute. Along with beta testing for Automotive Test Solutions, he develops curriculum/submits case studies for educational purposes. Through Steckler Automotive Technical Services, LLC., Brandon also provides telephone and live technical support, as well as private training, for technicians all across the world.
Brandon holds ASE certifications A1-A9 as well as C1 (Service Consultant). He is certified as an Advanced Level Specialist in L1 (Advanced Engine Performance), L2 (Advanced Diesel Engine Performance), L3 (Hybrid/EV Specialist), L4 (ADAS) and xEV-Level 2 (Technician electrical safety).
He contributes weekly to Facebook automotive chat groups, has authored several books and classes, and truly enjoys traveling across the globe to help other technicians attain a level of understanding that will serve them well throughout their careers.