diagnosticsupplement-1223 - 18

SCAN TOOL TECHNIQUES
A step-by-step guide with expert insights
on mastering ADAS tech recalibration
As vehicles become more complex and interconnected, the ability to perform accurate
and thorough diagnostic scans will remain a cornerstone of effective maintenance and
repair practices.
By Duane " Doc " Watson, Scott McKinney
A
s new vehicle innovations, including
ADAS technology, become
more prevalent, so too will the
need for diagnostic scan tools with
advanced capabilities. The importance
of performing a diagnostic scan cannot
be understated and is excellent for establishing
a baseline of the vehicle's condition
and identifying the problem areas
that need to be diagnosed and repaired.
In this article, we'll walk through the
step-by-step process of performing a diagnostic
scan and leading into a dynamic
recalibration of an ADAS system.
STEP 1: CONNECTING TO
THE VEHICLE
Let's set the stage and say that a customer
comes into the shop saying the lane-keeping
assist on their 2019 Chevrolet Equinox
isn't working properly and would like your
shop to take a look at fixing the issue.
At first glance, this may seem like a
standard job since this Equinox will most
likely need a dynamic recalibration to
repair the issue. However, it's important
to perform a pre-scan to be thorough and
check for any other issues that may be
hiding in the vehicle.
To start, the technician will need to
connect to the wireless vehicle communication
interface (VCI) into the vehicle's
OBD-II connection port. The VCI will
show the technician that the power is on,
the quality of the connection to the vehicle,
and the wireless connection to the scan
tool. A wireless VCI is important to allow
18 DECEMBER 2023 VehicleServicePros.com
Photo courtesy of Bosch Diagnostics
the technician to have mobility throughout
the shop and work comfortably.
At this point, you will only need to
turn on the vehicle electronics and leave
the engine off until a later point in the
scanning process.
STEP 2: IDENTIFYING THE VEHICLE
Once the VCI is plugged into the vehicle
and wirelessly connected to the scan tool,
you'll want to identify the make and model
of the vehicle on your tool. Vehicles newer
than 2005-2006 model years have mode
9 pre-installed on the vehicle's onboard
computer system.
Simply put, mode 9 identifies the
vehicle by VIN number and sends that
information to the scan tool. If a technician
is working on a vehicle older
than 2005, or a specially built vehicle
(police cars, cabs, etc.), they can identify
the vehicle by manually entering the
vehicle's information.
STEP 3: PRE-SCAN AND
IDENTIFYING CODES
A pre-scan is the first step in actually
diagnosing the vehicle's issues, and it
should be run on all modules to ensure
all issues in the vehicle can be properly
identified.
This process, while seeming unnecessary
on the surface given we're only fixing
the lane-keeping assist, is important
to make sure all the modules exist on
the vehicle and are communicating. Too
often, technicians will run into a problem
while diagnosing an issue with ADAS
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diagnosticsupplement-1223

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