october2021 - 18

The basics
The first thing to remember is that triage needs to
be done quickly and efficiently, and that is accomplished
by building a solid-yet-simple foundation.
In the same way that first responders at an accident
scene or field medics in the military can treat
a host of issues out of a knapsack, a good triage
technician can rely initially on a few basic tools.
" A battery tester and a diagnostic code reader
are essential tools for any heavy-duty shop, "
said Jennifer Grabowski, product manager, Bosch
Automotive Service Solutions. " Before starting a
diagnostic scan of the vehicle, a battery tester
should be used to test the state of health and state
of charge percentage of the battery. It's important
to make sure the battery is properly charged
before using a diagnostic tool, as a low battery
can generate erroneous trouble codes during a
diagnostic scan. "
It is also crucial to complete a precise visual
inspection and consider any details the driver
or fleet shares about the vehicle, related Jason
Hedman, product manager at Noregon. Then, an
effective triage process combines a thorough vehicle
scan with a diagnostic solution for all makes
and models.
" Using a single application for triage, diagnosis,
and troubleshooting makes the entire repair
process more streamlined and efficient, " he
explained further. " Rather than using countless
component-based applications, a single application
for all steps of maintenance simplifies training
and gives technicians a holistic view, leading
to a more effective triage process. "
Effective triage includes knowing which fault
codes exist, the status of those faults, and when
they occurred. And to do that you need software
that will look at the entire vehicle, noted Diesel
Laptops CEO Tyler Robertson. The vast majority
of the commercial trucks on the road today
are not vertically integrated. They have various
manufacturers of brake systems, engines, transmissions,
collision warning systems, and cab/
chassis controllers.
" You need to make sure you have the proper
software that allows you to connect to the vehicle
one time, read all the data on all the components,
and easily retrieve that data both locally and from
a web-based platform, " he added.
Grabowski agreed. " A heavy-duty code reader
for Classes 4-8 vehicles that can read and clear
standard trouble codes is a must-have for any
shop, " she stated. " It's a portable, handheld device
that can diagnose ABS, transmission, and engine
issues quickly, and it can help troubleshoot the
complexity of the issue and help technicians determine
if it is easily fixed or may require a fuller
diagnostic scan. "
A portable tool can also be used to diagnose
issues in the field and help identify quick fixes
to keep trucks on the road and minimize downtime,
she added. A heavy-duty code reader is
not a replacement for a full function bidirectional
heavy-duty diagnostic system, but it can
quickly pull codes, as well as read, record, and
playback live data streams for further analysis
and diagnosis.
With diagnostic software tools, a roll call of all
vehicle ECUs can be taken at startup, according to
18 Fleet Maintenance | October 2021
» Once diagnostic triage is complete, a technician has a better idea on how to repair an issue.
Rush Enterprises
» The Acom Pro Diagnostics dashboard
provides a detailed health report of Bendix
systems and components on a truck.
Bendix
T.J. Thomas, director of marketing and customer
solutions, Controls Group, at Bendix. " We recommend
that technicians use a systems approach
and review all diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs)
before diving into any one active DTC, because
many are interrelated, " he said. " For example,
if a J1939 active DTC is reported by the vehicle
controller and the forward-looking radar, we
would recommend troubleshooting the vehicle
DTC first; then rerun the software to see if that
also addressed the radar DTC.
" Diagnostic software can generate very comprehensive
reports that show important component
information, active and inactive DTCs, and other
event information, " Thomas continued. " The
reports can be run before and after troubleshooting
has been completed to enable a clear understanding
of some of the critical information on
the vehicle before and after it entered the shop.
This can be very helpful when reviewing vehicle
records for trends at a later time. "
Streamlining repair through
remote diagnostics
With the advanced communication and internal
diagnostics onboard modern trucks, the triage can
technically start even before the truck gets to the
repair facility.
" Remote diagnostics is the next evolution of
where our industry is going, " Robertson said. " In
the traditional model, everything is reactive and
repair shops make the decisions on when trucks
can be looked at, who looks at them, and what
procedural steps should be done. While OEM
dealerships can manage this for the brands they
represent, it gets far more complicated for them
when working on different makes, and at independent
repair facilities. "
In any case, all vehicle repair operations face
similar challenges, Robertson noted. This includes
having access to repair information, proper diagnostic
tools, knowledgeable technicians, and the
needed repair parts. The diagnostic procedure and
decision making process can start much earlier by
moving the information gathering and diagnostic
procedures to call centers. They are able to grab
the data as the vehicle is driving down the road,

october2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of october2021