In this tip clip, Bob Augustine discusses the similarities and differences of several UART bus configurations and explores some diagnostic strategies for each of them. This clip is an excerpt from the 90-minute comprehensive "Getting Technical with Your Tech 2" with Bob Augustine available from AVI.
Air ride diagnostics is more than a spray bottle of soapy water. On today's late-model vehicles, it requires a scan tool, meter and scope. Swapping components will only lead you down a diagnostic black hole that leads to an angry customer and parts supplier.
There is no way to quickly tell if a Wheel Speed Sensor (WSS) is passive or active. Both sensors have two wires and are located in the same position on the vehicle. Often, the service information will not indicate what types of sensors are on the vehicle
Fuel pumps and voltage drops are never a good combination - at least the wrong kind of voltage drops. Good voltage drops occur with fuel pumps that are given multiple speeds with a module that is connected to a computer with a dedicated signal wire that tells the module to...
Measuring the steering wheel position angle and rate of turn, which are critical for Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems, is the job of the Steering Angle Sensor (SAS). The scan tool will typically display the information in degrees.
While there are many times where you will be able to repair a vehicle's brakes without a scan tool, you only have to run into one car that needs this to make it worth having. The reality is that if your customer's vehicle is 10 years old or newer, there's...
The 2004-2009 Mazda3 is based on the Ford global C1 platform, shared with the European Ford Focus and Volvo S40. Nothing is really groundbreaking about the brake system. But, not paying attention to the details can end in a post brake job comeback.
Get any teenager their first car and the first thing they want to do is modify it with new wheels, a different exhaust, seat covers or, the most important and popular upgrade, the stereo. You know, when they have to get to school with all their buddies in the car,...
Leave it to the OEMs to take a simple system like heating and air conditioning and turn it into an electronic jumble of wiring, sensors and computer components.
A ringing, snapping or popping sound may be heard coming from the driveline when the transmission is shifted from Forward to Reverse or Reverse to Forward. The sound may also occur when the brakes are released after shifting into or out of Drive or Reverse.
