The Technology
Vehicle electronic systems these days are complex mobile computing devices. They consist of hundreds of electronic modules and kilometers of wiring to interconnect these systems. You may sit in the driver seat but most of the sophisticated vehicle these days are the ones in control. These electronic systems relay data to each system in micro seconds but when the system receives data that does not correlate to its predetermined program value it registers this in its memory. Should this fault reoccur constantly then the electronic controller (ECU) registers this as fault code which normally illuminates the check engine light or another related to its system. This could be in a matter of seconds, days or even weeks
The Process
Now a lot of people believe that if you run a diagnostic test on the vehicle and clear this fault the vehicle will be fine but in most cases it’s not. It like a surgeon thinking that an ECG test is going to fix your heart problem. It is only a tool that gives the user a visual representation of the fault identified by the ECU.
Now I am not going to bore you with a whole lot of information because I can speak for hours on this topic. But when this type of fault is identified most technicians fail because of a lack of understanding and insufficient equipment to conduct testing and interrogation of these systems
What we do best
We apply our 5 golden rules steps to all diagnostic faults
- Identify the fault and the system in which it occurred
- Verify customer’s issues and validate the faults found to the issues mentioned
- Conduct a test 10 times replace once approach on these faults
- Rectify faulty components and test. Thereafter simulate faults by retracing your steps
- Validate repairs & data to identify cause of failure
We have found that over the years these testing methods have worked wonders in our business because it takes the guess work out and allows our technicians to test, understand and repair just about any electronic system. But this obviously requires state of the art diagnostic equipment and training. Remember that the best equipment is only as good as the person using them.