Alternator Altercation Electricity Fundamentals
Electrical principles, like voltage, amperage and resistance, can be described as cars passing along the roadway. Voltage was referred to as the vehicle’s speed, amperage as the number of vehicles on the road at the same time, and resistance as potholes in the road’s surface. Basically, electricity is a supply of atoms with an excess
Tech Tip: Understanding Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems
Are a good number of the vehicles on the road today equipped with underinflated tires? Look down at the tires on the car in front of you in traffic, and the answer may be obvious. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted an inspection of 6,240 vehicles within a 14-day period in August of 2001. They did this at service stations with the cooperation from motorists who stopped to refuel.
Servicing Import ABS Systems
Import anti-lock brake systems (ABS) are pretty much the same as domestic ABS systems. In fact, the same OEM suppliers who make the ABS system components for import vehicle manufacturers also make them for domestic vehicle manufacturers. The differences that do exist are typically limited to calibration, diagnostic codes and procedures, and wiring. The ABS
Selling Services: Selling the Scope to Your Customer
While replacing a blown head gasket and re-torquing the head bolts, you reach into your tool box and grab your 1/2-inch impact and rattle the bolts down. Just kidding! You would reach for your torque wrench and accurately follow the manufacturer recommendations for torque patterns and values. To guarantee a quality repair, an accurate torque
Handling the Load
It takes a lot of amps to power the lights, electric defrosters, wipers, power windows, power seats, power liftgates, the ignition system, fuel injectors, fuel pump, cooling fan, A/C compressor, heater fan, heated seats, audio system and navigation systems on today’s late-model vehicles. Since alternators can generate only so many amps, their output may depend
Replacing Oxygen Sensor: Saving the Environment and Your Customer’s Catalytic Converter
The oxygen (O2) sensor is the master switch in the fuel control feedback loop. The sensor monitors the amount of unburned oxygen in the exhaust and produces a voltage signal that varies from about 0.1 volts (lean) to 0.9 volts (rich). The computer uses the O2 sensor’s signal to constantly fine tune and flip-flop the
Ignition Control Modules
Their Important Role in Creating Voltage at the Spark Plug Electrode
Battery, Charging & Ignition System Diagnosis: Getting Around those Difficult-To-Diagnose Faults
What do you really need to know about diagnosing and repairing starting, charging and ignition systems? Basically two things: that electrical and ignition problems are often difficult to diagnose (especially intermittent faults), and that a lot of electrical and ignition parts are unnecessarily replaced in an attempt to repair problems that are hard to diagnose.
Carley’s Corner: Sorry Charlie, No More Free Auto Repair Advice
As technical editor for Babcox, I frequently receive e-mails and letters from readers who ask me for free auto repair advice. Most of these requests are not from professional automotive technicians, but from motorists who have seen one of our publications while visiting a service facility somewhere. One guy in particular seems to think I’m
Yes, It is Rocket Science!
W hen I was a young man, I remember my dad saying something to the effect that working on cars wasn’t exactly rocket science. He was right. In the days of carburetors and contact point ignition systems, a mechanic didn’t need much diagnostic equipment. All you needed was a timing light to check spark timing,