Professional Distributor - 36

DIAGNOSTIC TECH
* Instructor-led clinics - most
parts suppliers offer these
during evenings or weekends
* Online training - self-paced
curriculum
* Online webinars - due to
COVID-19 many companies
have pivoted nicely and are supporting the industry in an outstanding manner. Thank you!
* Video training - online,
DVD, etc.
* Diagnostic-based community
platforms such as diag.net
* App-based adaptive
micro-learning
Diagnostic technicians never
stop learning, partly because they
have an internal passion to be the
best that they can be and they realize
technology is ever-changing. Additionally, with new tools, equipment,
and techniques available, one wants
to make sure that their situational
awareness is at the highest levels. For
instance, about a decade or so ago I
began hearing chatter about how one
could remove a spark plug and insert a
pressure transducer in its place. Once
the sensor was connected to the scope,
the engine could be started, and with
the scope recording, a snap throttle
could be performed followed by an
idle event. After shutting the engine
down, the recording stopped. With the
recording now saved on the scope, the
technician could analyze the data and

Six fields of
training focus
Here are the foundational areas
that should be of high interest to
diagnostic technicians:
1. Sound electrical knowledge
2. Fluid dynamics -
fuel delivery systems
3. Electronics fundamentals
4. Combustion engine dynamics
5. Oscilloscope proficiency
6. Thermography

in turn learn a ton about the engine's
state of health. At that time, I made a
commitment to learn as much about
this new technique (to me), and I'm
still learning today.

CASE STUDY
The first kit I acquired was from
Automotive Test Solutions out of
Albuquerque, New Mexico and
while it's still in use today, we have
acquired their newer tool called the
eSCOPE ELITE4. If you haven't
looked into this in-cylinder pressure
testing yet, I highly recommend it,
especially for times where you suspect camshaft timing issues. One of
the early successes for us was on a
Mazda Miata.. We noticed that the
engine wasn't actually running very
well and since the vehicle wasn't visiting the shop for any performance
issues we engaged with the customer
about our observation. The customer revealed that the engine ran
like that since having the timing belt
replaced two years earlier at another
service facility.
We received authorization for
analysis. For reference, this engine is
a DOHC 4-cylinder. After removing
the upper timing cover, my technician
noted that the timing marks appeared
to be properly aligned. Normally
when one is presented with this level
of information, the focus goes elsewhere. I however wasn't satisfied, and
although I wasn't highly experienced
with using this method for diagnostics, I recommended that we collect
and measure an in-cylinder running
compression test.
We collected the data and made
note of the exhaust valve opening
(EVO) and intake valve closing (IVC)
events. Now with this info we needed
access to service information. Unfortunately, rarely will one find camshaft
timing specifications listed in service
information. So, our next step was to
do a little searching. What we found

36 Professional Distributor I June 2020 I VehicleServicePros.com

next was pretty cool; we came across a
website for Mazda Miata Racing which
had a rule book listing camshaft specification for the "Stock Class" racers.
Armed with these specifications, we
found that indeed our camshafts were
not in time.
After more investigation, we discovered that the camshaft gears were
on backwards. Without the ability to
measure these timing events with the
in-cylinder pressure tester, we would
have likely burned up a ton of time
trying to diagnose this issue. On V
engines, you'll find making comparisons pretty straightforward for cases
where you have camshaft timing failure indicators only on one bank. If
one started doing these measurements
regularly, they will soon learn where
the exhaust valve opening angle is
before bottom dead center, and where
the intake valve typically closes after
bottom dead center. To me, this level
of testing is truly revolutionary.

REMOTE LEARNING
WITH COVID-19
I recently had a conversation with
one of my great friends, and colleague, Steve Ford, A.K.A. "The car
guy." Ford's knowledge and dedication
to the automotive service industry is
truly astonishing. He's been heavily
involved with education throughout
his career and possesses a very unique
perspective on how our education system works. In a recent conversation, he
shared some interesting observations
as they relate to the COVID-19 epidemic we're currently in the middle of.
Ford commented that remote learning
has certain disadvantages, primarily
due to the fact that you're removed
from the learning "inertia" that a likeminded group of learners would be
contributing to. Moreover, the community or camaraderie found at training events can help one advance their
skillset. For decades, I have been part
of sidebar conversations in hallways

http://www.diag.net http://www.VehicleServicePros.com

Professional Distributor

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