Lessons From A Day Being Out Of My ‘Comfort Zone’
Being under the dash or hood of the modern car is my comfort zone, but it doesn’t hurt to get out of my comfort zone from time to time. You can take those average days in your own little comfort zone for granted and forget there is more to what makes the world go around besides the next car you’re working on. Sometimes, it might take a little nudge from an outside source to get you to realize it.
Gonzo’s Tool Box: What If Insurance Covered Repairs
These days, the demand for the expertise of a practicing doctor and a technician on the job continues to accelerate. While a technician doesn’t need a degree to repair cars, he might as well have one with the speed at which the automobile has evolved and the vast amount of knowledge that’s required to fix today’s vehicles.
Gonzo’s Toolbox: Real Or Reality TV? Our Profession Is Greatly Underestimated By The ‘Big Screen’
Have you noticed how many automotive reality programs there are on TV these days? I take the time to sit down and take in a few of them here and there. But from my side of the wrench, I have a completely different perspective when watching them.
Gonzo’s Toolbox: Driving, Drinking And Grandpa
On one of many slow days at the shop, I had a small job come in from one of the local tire shops. This rather young girl brought the car to me from the tire shop that’s just a few blocks away. She told me she was the owner and that the tire shop was rude and wouldn’t help her, so I called the tire shop to find out what was the deal.
Gonzo’s Toolbox: Sometimes You Get More Than What You Pay For … But That’s Not Always A Plus
One day, one of my customers called and said he just purchased a car from the police auction, but it had some sort of strange noise coming from the driver’s-side electric seat. It seems that every time he moved it, there was a strange electrical sound. He thought there was something wrong with the seat motor. He asked me, an auto electric technician, if I would take a look at it.
De-Coding Diagnostic Scan Tool Codes
I like to take full advantage of the codes the manufacturers offer. One of the ways to do that is to understand what all those letters and numbers represent that are in a diagnostic trouble code. Each of the five digits actually has a purpose and can make the job of diagnosing a vehicle’s problem much easier for import technicians if they understand the breakdown of the code’s letters and numbers.
Gonzo’s Toolbox: Lost In The Owner’s Manual
Hardly a day goes by when I’m not changing oil in a car. It’s a simple task to perform, but, today, you must also reset the oil reminder system. The procedure varies from model to model and year to year. Sometimes, I figure that since I’m right there by the car, I might as well find the owner’s manual and look up the procedure myself. But, for some reason, not one manufacturer can come up with a method of putting the information in one convenient spot.
Gonzo’s Toolbox: Duct Tape … The Often-Used, Sometimes Abused Wonder Adhesive
When people list the myriad of uses for duct tape, they never seem to include the various ways I’ve seen it used on the family car. I’m a big fan of duct tape, and my son has even made himself a handy little wallet, a tie, book binders and whole bunch of other cool things with it. While I’m no pro at conjuring up different uses for this stuff, I’ve seen what some creative people can do with a roll of it. Recently, I was out to dinner with the family, and, low and behold, we spotted in the parking lot a minivan with the front bumper strapped on with layers upon layers of duct tape.
Diagnosing Passive Wheel Speed Sensors
The passive wheel speed sensor has been around a long time. It works quite differently than the active speed sensors that are found on most cars today. The passive speed sensor creates its own AC signal that changes frequency with wheel speed. This signal is only present while the wheel is turning at a rate fast enough to create the AC signal.
Active Wheel Speed Sensor Diagnostics
There are two “types” of sensors generally found on the modern car – the passive speed sensor and the active speed sensor. They both perform the same function, but work entirely different. The passive speed sensor uses a magnet with fine copper wire wrapped around it to create its own alternating magnetic field. The polarity changes from positive to negative as the tone ring passes by the magnetic field. This frequency changes with wheel speed.
Interrogations Should Revolve Around Vehicle Problems, Not The Ability Of The Technician To Solve Them
Occasionally, I’ll have a new customer approach the service counter not just to have their car repaired, but also to interrogate every part of my process in finding the solution. More often than not, these customers are referrals from another repair shop or previous customer. I seldom get interrogated by someone who has seen an advertisement or drove by the shop and stopped in for repair.
Gonzo’s Toolbox: Who’s The Boss? Deal With The Person In Charge, Especially When Your Customer’s Vehicle Is A ‘Basket Case’
There’s a boss in every family, and sometimes you might think it’s you, but your spouse may have a different opinion. For example, there have been countless times I’ve had a car in the shop where a wife or husband has dropped the car off and the repair is done, paid for, and sent on its way, only to have the other spouse call and give me an earful because they weren’t told what had transpired. (As if that’s my fault!)