In this technical tip clip from the Electronic Stability control training program, Dave Scaler talks about some tips and tricks to consider when working with ESC systems on Lexus vehicles. He discusses the reset procedures and the tips that you need in order to get those vehicles properly rest and on the road again.

By Gary Goms. Most of us working in the automotive service trades are very familiar with Murphy’s Law and how it affects our shop’s cost of doing business. Murphy’s Law says, “Everything that can go wrong usually will go wrong.”

By Joe Marconi. How many times during the day does a customer stop by or call, and ask to only speak with you, the shop owner? Do you know why? It’s because in general, the experience the customer has when dealing with the owner of a business is much different than when dealing with an employee. The owner goes out of his or her way to make the customer feel special and important. The owner has a vested stake in the customer relationship, and an attitude of appreciation is expressed toward the customer. The customer picks up on this, and thus the tendency is to seek out the owner. You, the shop owner, have a culture of ownership.

In this tip clip excerpt from Bob Pattengale’s training course ‘Getting to know VCI,’ Bob demonstrates the usefulness of the tool’s demonstration mode. Demonstration mode’s power lies in its capability to allow you to go anywhere in the tool just as if you were connected to the car allowing you to check ahead of time to see if your software will perform a specific function before the vehicle even arrives at your shop, saving you and the customer time and headaches.

Dave Hobbs of Delphi Product and Service Solutions talks to us about the benifits, concerns and procedures involved in splicing and repair A/C lines and hoses in this tip clip excerpt from AVI’s A7 HVAC Test Prep course.

By Gary Goms. During the past century, ignition coil configurations have evolved from oil-filled canister to epoxy-filled to e-core to waste spark and to the most modern coil-on-plug or “pencil” coils. Whatever the configuration, an ignition coil creates a spark by transforming amperage into volts.

By Frank Walker. As you may know, the air conditioning compressors in many hybrid vehicles are operated by an electric motor instead of a drive belt. The motor’s insulated windings are immersed in the compressor’s lubricating oil. The oils used in these compressors are formulated to have high dielectric properties, that makes them non-conductive.

Join Dave Hobbs of Delphi Product and Service Solutions as he discusses some signs of low refrigerant in moodier automotive AC systems. He goes on to discuss how environmental factors such as ambient air temperature, and the AC system’s ‘cycling switch can cause low refrigerant like symptoms.

Bill Fulton presents this tip clip video on what would seem to be a basic, simple problem. A 2.4 liter Toyota in a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with an intermittent misfire under load. You can feel a slight hiccup, jerking, bucking type sensation and know there are a lot of things that could create that problem– dirty injectors, contaminated mass airflow sensor, lean density misfire, excess of EGR, secondary ignition problem. Watch to find out.

By Scott ‘Gonzo’ Weaver. By the early 1990s, almost all import automotive manufacturers had a successful variable valve timing (VVT) system in production. These systems offered higher performance from smaller displacement engines at higher rpm. As these vehicles exceeded their new car warranties, technicians learned the ins and outs of these systems and how regular oil changes could increase the life of VVT components. Now, the VVT is playing a direct role in vehicle emissions and the way gases are burned in the combustion camber.

By Jim Piraino. Over the past couple of months, it has come to my attention that auto repair professionals are seeing a rise in the failure rate of the wheel sensors that supply the signal to Tire Pressure Management Systems (TPMS). Most of these failures are due to dead batteries, as each of the four sensors has a non-replaceable battery built into them. In most cases, these batteries have a life expectancy of 5 to 6 years. Although some upscale vehicles, such as BMW, have sophisticated systems that allow the technicians to monitor battery life as a percentage (using a scan tool), most will give no warning of pending failure. For the millions of vehicles rapidly approaching this 5 to 6 year age bracket, it’s not a question of if the sensor will fail, but rather when it will fail.

Years ago, the common thing was hook up your AC machine, or hook up your apparatus that you have–a scale and a refrigerant canister, let’s say a 30 pounder of 134a–and give it a half a pound, just to ‘top it off.’ You can’t do that nowadays because these newer AC systems have changed so much. Join Delphi Instructor Dave Hobbs for a short tech tip for you guys out there servicing A/C systems.

By Sergio Fernandez. Real-life repair scenario: 2003 E320, with 3.2L V6 engine and 120,000 miles. A customer brings his car into the shop with a “strange vibration.” After we scanned the vehicle, we found the following DTCs: P0305, misfire on cylinder #5; and P0301, misfire on cylinder #1.

By Scott ‘Gonzo’ Weaver. So many manufacturers are now running the brake lights through BCMs, Integrated Power Modules, bulb detection systems, or the anti-lock brakes. Along with just about every other system in today’s cars, computers are doing a lot of the work for us.

By Tom Ham. What do you say when your customers ask how many miles are on your car? Are you a member of your state’s automotive trade association? When is the last time you checked your shop for heating and air conditioning leaks? Check out the latest Auto Shop Monthly Management Tips from the Automotive Management Network to get inside secrets on managing your shop and increasing your bottom line.

Join instructor Bill Fulton in this tip clip excerpt from the AVI training program “GM Antitheft” as he talks about Pass Lock Systems Status and modes of operation of these systems.

In this tip clip excerpt from Running a Zoo, an AVI class for services managers and shop owners, AMI approved instructor George Witt discusses “Seagull Management.” George hates to tell you this, but there’s far too many business owners that do this to their workers. Watch the clip to learn more and find out how to avoid being a seagull manager.

Check out the latest tech tip from Delphi. Take a look at the engine management system and common types of oxygen sensors and how they work, as well as common failures and faults.

For all 2012 model year vehicles, stability control is standard. For model year 2008, the majority of vehicles sold were sold with ABS and optional stability control. Most of these systems have something in common, sensors that measure the dynamics of the vehicle and the intentions of the driver.

By Andrew Markel. A smoke machine may seem like an expensive piece of equipment if it is just used for testing EVAP systems. But, if you factor in other diagnostic tests it can perform, it is a worthwhile investment. The following are 10 tests for smoke machines not involving the EVAP system.

By Andrew Markel. While there are many times where you will be able to repair a vehicle’s brakes without a scan tool, you only have to run into one car that needs this to make it worth having. The reality is that if your customer’s vehicle is 10 years old or newer, there’s nearly a 100% chance that you could need a scan tool to perform some sort of test/repair on the brake system.

In this tip clip from the Vehicle Stability Control class, instructor Dave Scaler measures the DC bias voltage of a wheel speed sensor and shows you how understanding these sensors will make active wheel speed sensor testing much easier.

Bill Haas outlines how to develop an advertising strategy for Generation Y in this tip clip from Marketing to Generation X & Y. Bill tells you what media works best to reach Generation Y and why traditional media doesn’t successfully reach them as it did previous generations.

By Andrew Markel. The overall response to the 7 Brake Myths Busted article was huge. I took a lot of abuse, but that was the goal of the article. Too many times technicians get stuck in a mindset that leads to false diagnoses. The point of the article was to shake things up in your diagnostic thinking.

Training, that is. You’re going to get trained one way or the other. When it comes to business, you can do it the hard way or you can do it […]

In this short video clip from the A4 Suspension and Steering class, Delphi instructor Dave Hobbs discusses and shows some basic tips and knowledge to help you better diagnose alignment issues based on tire wear helping you more quickly and accurately use the alignment machine to put everything in spec.

Join Bob Pattengale in this video tip clip as he works on a 2007 FJ Cruiser with an EVAP code. He uses the scan tool to discover a leak in the system. Using a smoke machine, the Bosch SMT 300 to look for the leak he demonstrates and discusses how to quickly and efficiently use smoke to diagnose EVAP codes.

By Andrew Markel. There are some myths about brake pads, rotors and hydraulics that need to be busted. These myths can hurt and hinder a technician’s ability to diagnose and solve some brake problems and customer concerns. On the surface, some of these myths make sense. The logic can seem sound and explain a problem, but they do not resolve the real issues with a brake system.

By Tom Ham. Are you using the latest methods to send reminders to your customers? Do you share positives with your customers before you tell them what’s wrong with their car? Does your shop take photos of various failures? How do you share them with your customers? Check out the latest Auto Shop Monthly Management Tips from the Automotive Management Network to get inside secrets on managing your shop and increasing your bottom line.

Check out this tip clip video from instructor Bill Fulton’s class on Gasoline Direct Injection to learn more about GDI systems and components. He shows us around under the hood of a GM Equinox and talks about each of the components while pointing out service and safety procedures.

By Dave Hobbs. In addition to his work with Delphi, Dave Hobbs serves as an instructor for Indiana’s Ivy Tech Community College. He is also a frequent speaker at national training seminars, is a qualified hybrid instructor and writes for various industry magazines. Two decades of training engineers and service technicians around the world has provided Hobbs the unique ability to bridge the theoretical with the practical. Today, Hobbs talks with us about turbochargers and superchargers — what they are, how they run and what technicians can expect when servicing or installing these engine performance components.

By Tom Ham. Do you pay close attention to your Google Reviews? How do you keep up communication between you and your employees? How does your shop follow up on Estimate Requests? Check out the latest Auto Shop Monthly Management Tips from the Automotive Management Network to get inside secrets on managing your shop and increasing your bottom line.

In this case study–an excerpt from the MACS Quick Hits training video–Paul DeGuiseppi talks about a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica with a blend mode issue diagnosed to be a problem with the control head. The vehicle ended up being a comeback with the customer complaining about the same issue. Paul goes on to talk about how important the ability to diagnose electrical and electronic issues has become in HVAC repair and service.

In this tip clip from the Quick Check Diagnostics class, instructor Jim Wilson talks about some simple test you can perform to verify proper functionality of the PCV valve. He goes on to discuss what to watch out for and how fuel trim can be effected.