Having a standard diagnostic testing process in your shop does three things:
- It keeps everyone on the same page – everyone is following the same initial steps and performing the same basic tests.
- It helps prevent misdiagnosis – with everyone following the process put in place, no technicians will be cutting corners or making assumptions about the vehicle.
- It makes conversations with customers easier – you can tell them exactly the process that is taking place to examine their vehicle and provide them with any test results.
But what happens if you’re following the steps, performing all the rights tests, and things just don’t seem right. In fact, the findings you’re receiving seem downright impossible. In our first article, Chris Martino walks us through a repair that really puts his diagnostic process to the test. However, he advises that you must trust your process.
“Trust your process,” Martino says. “Don’t deviate even though something may be unbelievable. These vehicles are only machines and follow simple rules when broken down to their base systems.”
Once you’ve gone through your initial process you may or may not have a diagnosis in mind, and even if you do think you have the answer to why a vehicle was towed into your shop with a dead battery, your conclusion may not be right.
In our second article, Brandon Steckler urges you to open your mind to the many possibilities of what may have caused that vehicle to end up in your shop. Going back to the example of the vehicle with the dead battery, Steckler creates a list of questions to ensure you’re looking at this problem from every angle.
- Is the battery just old and expired?
- Is there a parasitic drain present, killing the battery?
- Is the alternator charging properly?
- If not, why? Is there a voltage drop elsewhere in the battery charging circuit?
“I always choose to take the diagnostic path that yields me the most information for the least amount of time or energy invested,” Steckler explains.
Similar to Steckler’s view of diagnosing from different angles, our final article in the guide looks at the similarities and differences that come with making the same repair on two different vehicle types – an internal combustion engine vehicle and an electric vehicle.
Though some parts of your process may stay the same, Craig Van Batenburg notes that there will come a point where the knowledge from your “12V brain” won’t match up with the knowledge from your “high-voltage brain” and you’ll have to deviate your diagnostic approach.
As you flip through these pages, we hope you find ways to strengthen and improve your diagnostic process.
