Four Myths About AGM Battery Service
Packing a lot of power for their size and weight, AGM batteries offer many benefits. Because they are relatively new to the market, we dispel a few AGM battery service myths.
Finding the ‘Right’ Scan Tools
The wrong scan tool can slow your progress. Stumbling through complicated menus, inputting VINs and waiting for the tool to connect is valuable time that could be spent diagnosing the problem. Here’s how to find a tool that’s right for you.
Profitable J-2534 Reprogamming
Reflashing is a necessary service for repairing your customers’ vehicles, and its importance is only going to increase. Here are some of the items your shop needs to invest in to perform more reflash/reprogramming jobs.
Aluminum Suspension Hacks: Tool Up & Torque Up
The most important benefit of aluminum is the reduction in unsprung weight. This is why more and more vehicles entering your shop will have more aluminum suspension components today than ever before.
Breaking Out the Box: DLC Diagnostic Strategies
An OBDII connector or DLC is designed to test emissions and create a standardized method and language of communicating with the emission control system. The connections in the OBDII DLC represent networks, power and sensor (signal) grounds.
Brake Lathes: Change Your Mindset To Maximize Brake Service
It has often been said that you should never machine new rotors. But, what if the runout exceeds the manufacturer’s specifications? This is when it’s time to machine a new rotor with an on-the-car brake lathe.
Leak Detection Equipment & Tools
Get the low-down on the tools and equipment you need to help you find leaks in four main vehicle systems.
Fuel Pumps and Scan Tools – A Match Made in Heaven
With a scan tool, it’s possible to verify if the modules controlling the fuel pump are receiving the correct data, such as oil pressure, crank position and key position. Some late-model imports have even turned the fuel pump into its own module or node on the high-speed serial data bus.
13 Alternator & Battery Testing Tips
If only battery voltage is present at the battery on a running engine, does this mean the alternator is “bad”? No, it does not. All too often the alternator is condemned by technicians due to this test alone. And that’s just tip No. 1. Check out the other 12.
Machining Rotors – Are You Giving Away This Service?
You may believe that machining rotors is unprofitable when compared to installing new rotors, but the opposite is true. Labor in a shop does not take up inventory and does not have to be delivered by a parts store. You just have to make machining a line item on the repair order, instead of giving it away with every brake job.
TPMS Update: Servicing Imports Starts with the Right Tools
There is only one trick to servicing TPMS systems in imports, and that is to buy the right tools. A TPMS tool that can interface through the OBD II port is necessary to profitably perform TPMS relearns and sensor replacement. For this article, we’ll use Nissan as an example. TPMS systems began appearing in Nissans
Change Your Mind, Not The Rotors
Is there profit in machining rotors? Yes, but you have to be willing to change your thinking and procedures. Brake & Front End Editor Andrew Markel explains how an investment in equipment and training can make for a profitable service.
