As an up-and-coming technician, I recall my days being filled with angst. The internal feeling of inadequacy was set deep in my bones simply because my focus was inadvertently placed on a seemingly unattainable goal. Although that goal was to be the best technician I could be (for myself and my teammates), I was pursuing it headed in the entirely wrong direction.
I had originally assumed the idea behind my true success (as a technician) was to become so familiar with the service information that I would be able to recall it when necessary (rather than referencing the material I needed at the time). That unfortunate assumption led to very overwhelming days and a deep sense of failure.
However, with almost 25 years in the automotive industry, I eventually streamlined my success as an automotive technician. I did so by becoming familiar with the functionality of the devices (and the systems they make up) that are common to almost every vehicle we encounter. I became familiar with how these individual devices operated and more importantly, the physics involved in their operation.
At
Motor Age Training's upcoming Accelerate event, Join Pete Meier, Scott Brown, G Truglia, and me on a journey toward mastery of the basics. Learn how to implement tried-and-true diagnostic and analytic techniques that will apply to just about every vehicle you will encounter.
The class descriptions are listed below:
Electrical Challenges: Three Steps to Successful Electrical Troubleshooting, Pete Meier
Pete has helped hundreds of technicians become comfortable tackling electrical problems by helping them master electrical principles and testing techniques. This class is perfect for any technician that is less than comfortable dealing with electrical customer concerns. Learn the three steps you need to focus on, including the ONE testing technique you MUST master to become your shop’s electrical “guru”.
Engine Controller Calibrations, Scott Brown
Contrary to popular belief, computers are not at all smart. They are simply very efficient at processing a lot of data swiftly and are simply programmed to respond with a specific output or multiple outputs. Join Scott Brown, as he takes us deep inside the ECUs of today’s modern vehicles, all the way down to the software level.
Scott will be using sophisticated, high-performance tuner software and tooling. This will allow him to demonstrate and share examples of how the calibration tables, functions, and constants within the software can provide a deeper understanding for the diagnostician, of how the calibration engineer uses the controller. Functions like the management of air-fuel ratio, torque output, catalyst warm-up, noise/vibration/harshness, power enrichment, emissions, boost, and overall driveability will be explored heavily.
This deeper level of understanding will serve driveability technicians well and will provide insight into the strategies in place, in the modern vehicles we are now challenged with. The driveability technicians will realize how much of an asset it is, to have access to this information and especially those who have come to appreciate charting and plotting data and documenting their work.
Hybrids & EVs, G. Truglia
With the ever-tightening noose of “emissions standards,” technology found in the automobiles of today is changing at an ever-increasing rapid pace. Sometime in the not-so-distant future, we will see the internal combustion engine fall to the sidelines, as vehicle electrification takes center stage.
It's this technology that so many technicians and shop owners have placed on the back burner for so long, hoping to avoid having to learn new technology and all the intricacies of the tooling and software that goes along with it. Well, we cannot run and hide from technology any longer. Hybrid and EV technologies are here to stay and will only become more prevalent as time goes by.
Join G Truglia, in this hands-on class as he provides a working knowledge of current as well as future hybrid/EV technologies. This course will cover the proper techniques necessary to safely diagnose, repair and service almost all hybrid/EVs.
An overview of the main components of the electrified subsystems, including the examination of the Battery control module, the Motor control module, as well as the Power inverter, and input sensors, will be discussed. Knowing how these components function together, as a system is what it takes to develop the skill set necessary for addressing these hybrid/EVs.
Included in the class will be a comparison of various scan tools and their capabilities, as well as their deficiencies. Specialized test equipment usage will be demonstrated for more pinpointed testing of the individual HV components and their related circuitry. All this will give the attendee the confidence to make a call for a faulty component, with the evidence as proof right in front of them.
Being aware is the first step in maintaining safety, accuracy, and efficiency throughout the workshop.
Scan Tool Analysis 101, Brandon Steckler
I began my driveability career shooting from the hip and taking educated guesses. Although I got by with this sort of approach, it wasn’t very scientific and surely did not plot the course for efficient and accurate repairs.
Only later in my career did I come to learn a better, more efficient way of approaching driveability issues. Through the understanding of how components and fuel injection/feedback systems function, at their most basic level, I learned to extrapolate data from the basic OBD2 generic scan tool and make diagnostic decisions, right from the driver’s seat.
Join me as I take the novice (as well as the experienced) driveability technician through the components of the fuel injection system, as well as the strategies in place the PCM uses to supply the engine’s combustion chamber with the appropriate air-fuel ratio, regardless of operating conditions.
The course objective is to first take the driveability technicians and offer insight as to how fuel injection strategy functions. After a thorough discussion of what critical inputs are necessary for the proper fuel delivery, and how these inputs contribute to the decision of the proper fuel injector pulse-width, interactive class exercises will begin.
Using my vehicle, with a MAF fueling strategy, I conducted a series of experiments to create a series of poor-performance driveability faults. The faults include:
- exhaust restriction
- Air Filter restriction
- Fuel restriction
- unmetered air before the throttle plate
- unmetered air after throttle (vacuum)
The scan data will be presented in a graphed format, for “action/reaction” comparison, as well as in a format featured only by ATS eScanELITE. The goal of the class is not at all a sales pitch but to have the attendees analyze the data and decipher which fault is responsible for the data being viewed at that time.
The class will be exciting and a great time for all. Attendees will leave with an understanding of how the computerized fuel injection system functions, how the feedback system corrects for inadequacies, and most importantly, with the confidence to implement the tools they likely already own, to gain a diagnostic direction, right from the driver’s seat.
Take advantage of top-notch technical training right in your own backyard! Motor Age Live Training is coming to Chicago to bring to you the 2022 ACCELERATE Event, featuring not one, but four classes for the cost of one! A full day of training for one extremely low cost.
Now is the time to capitalize on great training without the cost or travel expenses,
but you must get signed up. Will we see you there?
