Lessons Learned Regarding ‘Old School’ Ignition Diagnosis
on. If the primary ignition is saturating the coil, the B- coil voltage will generally alternate from battery voltage to roughly nine volts voltage as the engine is cranked. To my surprise, this quick test yielded a maximum of 0.2 volts at the B- terminal as the engine cranked. Because the Mustang’s ignition harness contains
The Changing Face of Automatic Transmissions
By Dennis Madden, CEO of ATRA Did you ever wonder how automatic transmissions became a specialty, separate from general auto repair? For the first 40 years or so since automatic transmissions began rolling off the assembly line, the transmission was a completely separate entity from the rest of the vehicle. Back then, if the transmission
Charging System Diagnostics and Troubleshooting
Although checking charging voltage at the battery terminals is the most popular method for testing an alternator, a charging voltage test seldom reveals less common problems. One has to go much deeper to find problems like open or shorted alternator diodes, intermittent high or low charging rates, charging system wiring problems, intermittent cranking/no start complaints
Necessary Fluid Maintanance Services vs. Wallet Flushing
Good service shop managers stay on top of their annual workflow by placing jobs like timing belt and brake replacements into categories that can be tracked on a historic basis. If a tire dealer has faithfully tracked the kinds of work flowing through his service bays during the past 10 years, it might become apparent
Winter Starting and Charging System Maintenance
In addition to checking the strength of the antifreeze, a cold-weather starting inspection should also include testing and visually inspecting the battery and cables, starter, alternator and changing to the auto manufacturer’s recommended engine oil.Effects of Cold WeatherBecause cold weather slows down the chemical reaction between its electrolyte and its battery plates, the average battery
Servicing Electrical Problems: Invisible Targets
By Matt Dixon and Ben Komnick, assistant professors, Southern Illinois University Carbondale Automotive Technology A good electrical course covers topics including AC and DC voltage, resistance, current, frequency and capacitance along with opportunity for application. In the process of boiling coolant in the overflow bottle, it was observed that the electric cooling fan did not
Power Assist: Servicing Saturn VUE Hybrids
General Motors’ first foray into hybrid technology came in 2007 with the introduction of a hybrid version of the Saturn VUE.The hybrid version of the VUE was initially referred to as the “Green Line” model because of its improved fuel economy: 25 mpg city and 32 mpg highway versus 22/27 for the regular version of
Scan Tools Diagnose Modern Charging System Problems
Although checking charging voltage at the battery terminals is the most popular method for testing an alternator, a charging voltage test seldom reveals less common problems like open or shorted alternator diodes, intermittent high or low charging rates, charging system wiring problems, intermittent cranking/no-start complaints or intermittent dead battery complaints. In addition, testing charging voltage
More Demands Placed on Today’s Batteries
Vehicles today are equipped with advanced electronics that demand greater dual-purpose performance from the vehicle’s battery. Traditional wet-flooded, openly vented batteries can be either starting-lighting-ignition (SLI) non-deep-discharging or a deep-cycle type that gives up significant cold-cranking amps (CCA). Absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries promise longer life and greater capacity in the same size for starting
Wrong Pulleys Can Cause Belt Drive System Failure
Tire dealers and other auto repair businesses that install remanufactured alternators should make sure to verify that their units are equipped with overrunning alternator decoupler (OAD) pulleys, experts warn. OADs are becoming very common as a growing number of late-model vehicles now require this technology. Installing a non-decoupler pulley on an OAD application can lead