The secret behind Top Technician: Process
John Batten lifts the lid to show you the secrets behind Top Technician, and the route to a first time fix in 20 minutes
By John Batten |
Published: 27 June, 2019
I guess it’s just human nature to want to take a peek behind the door that says ‘Private, Members Only’. What could be so special, and what are we missing out on? It’s with that in mind that I’m writing this article. In the next four minutes I’ll reveal what goes on behind the scenes in the Top Technician technical tests, and what it takes to diagnose a vehicle in 20 minutes. You’re going to love it!
I first became involved with Top Technician as a judge in 2008, I was hooked from the start as it epitomised everything I loved about the industry. Watching dedicated technicians work progressively through each technical test was a thing of beauty. Not knowing who would win, as so few points separate most entrants, would keep me on a knife edge throughout the day.
Here’s the deal though; While this is a competition, the skills used to win are exactly the same skills that need to be displayed in your workshop every day. These skills ensure your diagnosis happens in a timely manner, and you can bill all of your diagnostic time. Not only that; Anyone considering taking a Diagnostic Technician or Master Technician assessment needs to display the same skillset. There’s a blueprint for diagnostic success, and if your follow it then you’ll progress in leaps and bounds.
What’s in a technical task?
There are a few core skills that a technician should possess, so each technical task is designed so that a competitor can display the following:
- A logical and methodical procedure
- Core understanding of a common system
- The capability to gather information and understand it
- Quickly rule out what’s good, and focus on what’s bad
- Complete a core range of common tests specific to the fault
- Confirm the fault/s
- Accurately document the process
It’s a straightforward process, the real challenge is the time limit. To nail each task and score full points in only 20 minutes requires a technician that does not have to stop and think about the process. There’s not enough time to think. You only have time to act.
Ready, steady, go!
Over the last couple of years some of the technical rounds have been held at Auto iQ – my training centre. I’m akways keen to create a relaxed atmosphere when training, and put everyone at ease. It’s just what we do. However, the relaxed happy-go-lucky demeanor of each contestant disappears when the words “You have 20 minutes to complete your task, please start,” exit my mouth. A technician at this point becomes a focused diagnostic sniper with only one thing in his sights; finding the solution to the fault.
On this occasion I was judging a rough-running petrol engine on a Vauxhall. A standard range of tools and test equipment were at each technician’s disposal, as was I just in case they needed some assistance, were they not familiar with a particular user interface of a tool. The technician could also request tooling was it not in plain sight. So, there I am eagerly awaiting a technical superstar. Let’s take a look at the route one technician took on this sick Vauxhall.
Process, process, process!
There are many routes to timely diagnosis but each should use a logical process. This process was indeed logical. See what you think.
The job card was read to ascertain the problem at hand. “Customer reports car lacks power up hills” was the main item of concern. Unfortunately the customer was not contactable to ask further questions
A quick visual inspection was undertaken and nothing of note found
The vehicle was started and the tech found it to be running rough. It could be described as an unhealthy stumble. He noted that it clearly had a misfire
There was no hesitation at this point and GDS (GM’s on-serial tool) was connected to the vehicle
45 seconds later and fault codes we’re in hand. P0404 (misfire cylinder 4) and Pxxx (injector 4 control circuit malfunction). Codes were documented and the tech swiftly moved on
Serial data was the next port of call, and it was straight onto misfire counters. It was clear that the codes were pointing to the correct cylinder as the cyl 4 counter had non-stop activity with all other cylinders at zero. Now this is where it gets a little more interesting as this tech took a route that was out of step with the other contestants. He didn’t go straight for the injector
He requested a 2000 amp clamp and proceeded to carry out a relative compression test. Cranking speed was good and all current draw was equal. He noted that the likelihood of a mechanical fault would be low
Next a spark gap tester was used. While secondary ignition could have been scoped it would have sapped time due to the system this vehicle used. It was a sensible choice given the circumstances. Spark output on cylinder 4 was found to be sufficient to consider the problem was elsewhere At this point the technician was swiftly ruling out the good (or at least less likely options), and honing in on the possible causes remaining. Just one thing. He only has eight minutes remaining.
An oscilloscope was now used. A low current clamp was applied to the common injector power supply while the switched side of the injector was inspected on each of the four cylinders. There was much pondering, timebases and vertical scales we’re changed while all elements of the various channels were compared between good and bad cylinders. All injectors (including cylinder4 with its fault code) were clearly being switched on and off, so why the misfire? As a judge I’m not sure what was louder. The cogs going round in the tech’s head or his heartbeat! We had 180 seconds left. Would this guy find the fault? With a sudden burst of action the pondering ceased and more tools were requested
A pressure transducer was applied to the fuel rail (manifold injected vehicle). A timebase was selected so that one cycle of all injectors was displayed. This test was the key to the fault on this vehicle! By comparing injector current and rail pressure it was clear to see that rail pressure did not drop as number four injector was commanded to open. The fault was found. It had to be a blocked injector. The technician requested tools to move the injector to another cylinder for confirmation, but time was up and the task was over
A job well done
I’m sure you’ll agree that to complete that range of tests in unfamiliar surroundings, with tools that aren’t your own, in 20 minutes while being observed by me is no mean feat, so hats off to that particular technician. Here’s a fact for you though. It’s within your grasp as well. I’ve been teaching the skills required for accurate and timely vehicle diagnosis for a very long time, and there’s just two things you need to achieve the skills articulated in this article. These are the will to learn and a little practice. Get started on those and whether you want to become a Master Technician, win a competition, or just increase your competency in the workshop, you’ll be set for success.
- Process, process and more process
People ask me what made the difference this year when I went from being a Top Technician finalist to a Top Technician winner, and my answer is my process. I have worked hard since last year’s final, refining my process, and learning from my mistakes and it thankfully paid off this year. This article highlights the importance of a great process not only in Top Technician, but also in everyday working life, and how a fault, which at first may seem overwhelming, can be simplified and confidently fixed.
The week after winning Top Technician, a 2016 Ford Ranger was booked in for me to have a look at from another garage. The garage’s complaint was that multiple warning lights were present on the dashboard along with multiple warning messages, the power steering was heavy and the indicators and windscreen washers didn’t work from their respective stalks.
As with every job, the first step of my process is to interview the customer and gather as much information as possible. When I questioned the garage owner, he said they had just completed fitting a galvanised chassis. He explained that the vehicle had been fully stripped and rebuilt in the process, and since the rebuild, warning lights, messages and other complaints were now present. The next step was to confirm the fault. Upon starting the vehicle to bring it into my bay, the complaint was verified. The engine management, traction control, anti-lock brake and airbag warning lights were illuminated along with multiple different messages, one of which was a steering assist malfunction warning (see fig. 1).
Complete picture
I then carried out a global scan of the vehicle to get a complete picture of what faults were present and also to see what modules were or were not talking to the scan tool (see fig. 2).
Straight away we could see that multiple modules could not communicate with the power steering control module (PSCM) and restraints control module (RCM). It was also noted that there was a communication issue between the body control module (BCM) and the steering column control module (SCCM).
As the instrument panel cluster (IPC) communicated and reported stored fault codes, I knew it was more than likely a historic fault code which wasn’t related to the issues present. Attempting to communicate directly to the PSCM, SCCM and RCM with the scan tool all returned a ‘no communication’ message, so we knew we were dealing with hard faults that were currently present. Following my process, I decided the next step was to do some research on this particular vehicle using Ford ETIS which is Fords online information portal. This allows me to access wiring diagrams, connector locations and anything and everything related to the vehicle in question. As many a clever man has said, “if you don’t know how it works how can you fix it?”
Thinking of possible causes, I decided to study the wiring for the PSCM and RCM, how the indicators and windscreen washers work and a network topology to allow me to see how all the modules communicate to each other and the diagnostic scan tool.
It was found that the steering column module controlled the indicators and washers and sent the message to the BCM to activate them. As the SCCM wasn’t communicating it now made perfect sense why those functions were not operating. Next, I found that all three modules worked on the high speed can data bus and all were powered by fuses. All the related information and diagrams were printed out and taken to the vehicle so that a test plan could be drawn up and executed.
Plans within plans
Before writing up my plan, I made a visual inspection of wiring under the bonnet and underneath the vehicle. Having had a major overhaul, something as simple as there being a connector left unplugged could cause some of if not all the faults present with this vehicle. Everything looked ok, so I laid out my wiring diagrams and proceeded to write a plan. My plan was to test the fuse for each of the modules to see if it gave me direction, then if all was ok I would look at the communication wiring and how the modules at fault linked into each other and the rest of the vehicle.
All three fuses tested fine so it was onto seeing if there was a common link. Looking through the topology, I found a page which had the PSCM and RCM joined by two connectors. This is where technical information is a must, as dealing with a fault like this it can be very easy to dive in full speed. I don’t want to go straight to a module, for example the RCM, and remove half the interior of the vehicle to find all is ok there and have to spend time reassembling everything! I speak from experience here, and I am sure some of you reading can relate to this.
Diagnostic direction
ETIS showed one connector inside the nearside front wheel arch and the other in the location of the bulkhead of the vehicle. This meant I could test the network without removing anything, saving time and gaining diagnostic direction. I inspected visually to see which of the two connectors was the easiest to access and it was the connector in the nearside wheel arch. Visually the connector looked correct and looked to be correctly latched. However, I decided to double check and upon squeezing the two sides together and audible click was heard meaning the connector was open (see fig. 3).
I then decided to scan the vehicle again to see if this had made any change and every module now communicated and it was also noted the dashboard warning lights had disappeared. I cleared all the faults codes in the vehicle. None returned, and the dashboard now had no messages or warning lights illuminated. The final checks proved the steering assistance now worked correctly and the indicators and washers operated completing the fix.
In the end then a fairly simple fix once it was established how the system worked and where everything was located but without the correct information and a well polished process this job could have taken a very different, and perhaps longer, turn.
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