December 2023 - S18

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
http://www.VehicleServicePros.com

December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2023

EDITOR'S NOTE
NEW PRODUCTS
DIAGNOSTIC TECH
AAPEX/SEMA EDITOR’S PICKS
TOP 100 PRODUCTS
TOOL BRIEFING
TOOL REVIEWS
INNOVATION AWARDS PROFILE
CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT
BIG-TIME BOXES
A systematic approach to finding the right scan tool
Old tools, new tricks
Are you calibrating ADAS-equipped vehicles?
A step-by-step guide with expert insights on mastering ADAS tech recalibration
Diagnostic products
December 2023 - 1
December 2023 - 2
December 2023 - 3
December 2023 - 4
December 2023 - 5
December 2023 - 6
December 2023 - 7
December 2023 - EDITOR'S NOTE
December 2023 - 9
December 2023 - NEW PRODUCTS
December 2023 - RSC1
December 2023 - RSC2
December 2023 - 11
December 2023 - DIAGNOSTIC TECH
December 2023 - 13
December 2023 - 14
December 2023 - 15
December 2023 - 16
December 2023 - 17
December 2023 - 18
December 2023 - 19
December 2023 - AAPEX/SEMA EDITOR’S PICKS
December 2023 - 21
December 2023 - TOP 100 PRODUCTS
December 2023 - 23
December 2023 - 24
December 2023 - 25
December 2023 - 26
December 2023 - 27
December 2023 - TOOL BRIEFING
December 2023 - 29
December 2023 - 30
December 2023 - 31
December 2023 - 32
December 2023 - 33
December 2023 - TOOL REVIEWS
December 2023 - 35
December 2023 - 36
December 2023 - 37
December 2023 - INNOVATION AWARDS PROFILE
December 2023 - CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT
December 2023 - 40
December 2023 - 41
December 2023 - BIG-TIME BOXES
December 2023 - 43
December 2023 - 44
December 2023 - S1
December 2023 - S2
December 2023 - S3
December 2023 - A systematic approach to finding the right scan tool
December 2023 - S5
December 2023 - S6
December 2023 - S7
December 2023 - S8
December 2023 - S9
December 2023 - Old tools, new tricks
December 2023 - S11
December 2023 - S12
December 2023 - S13
December 2023 - Are you calibrating ADAS-equipped vehicles?
December 2023 - S15
December 2023 - S16
December 2023 - S17
December 2023 - A step-by-step guide with expert insights on mastering ADAS tech recalibration
December 2023 - S19
December 2023 - S20
December 2023 - Diagnostic products
December 2023 - S22
December 2023 - S23
December 2023 - S24
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