How to save, organize your diagnostics data for future repairs

Aug. 1, 2018
Every car you connect a scan tool or scope to may be the key that helps you fix another. Learn how to manage all that data!

We live in the information age. We have smart phones, smart homes and smart cars. Some new cars have just as many and sometimes more lines of code than a modern jet fighter! Diagnostics have become more intuitive due to all the enhancements in information systems and scan tools. We now can do all module scans for DTCs, view log files of all the module part numbers and calibrations, view time stamp code information, record movies or snapshots while doing test drives and perform tests of components electrically using a digital storage oscilloscope or DSO. But what do we do with all this data after we record it? Hopefully we are saving some, if not all, of it.  In this article we are going to investigate the archival of our precious diagnostic data so we can easily access it later.  We will also investigate some programs and apps that will aid us in that ability.

Google Drive offers a free 15 gig cloud storage service to anyone with a Google account. This allows you to access your files wherever you have Internet service.

Save your hard work

Most diagnostic techs who have been to any class I have taught know one of my pet peeves is doing a diagnostic test drive without a scan tool hooked up to the DLC. My second pet peeve is having the scan tool hooked up and NOT recording a snapshot or movie of the test drive or capturing the failure. The information recorded gives the tech vital diagnostic information that can be reviewed safely when the tech returns to the shop.  But what do we do with data when we are done with it? Do we store it solely on the tool? Do we share it with the front desk or customer? Do we share in forums or social media? I remember, years ago, Jorge Menchu of AESwave.com had the forward vision to create a software program that was years ahead of its time. The program was called Annowave® and it was was my first exposure to a systematic way of archiving data for later use.

The good news is all this information is digital and can easily be archived on a scan tool, a thumb drive, a hard drive or in the “cloud”. Digital storage and cloud drive storage has never been more affordable. Often, there is a lot of information that goes into diagnosing a modern vehicle; vehicle DTC scans, freeze frame info, scan data snapshots, service information (SI), technical service bulletins (TSBs), wiring diagrams, scope captures etc. But what do you do with all of it?  Moreover, how do you manage it? 

I like to create a folder on my computer’s desktop named specifically with year, make and model (YMM) and the nature of the problem – “2010 Silverado 5.3 P0171 rough idle” for example. I drop all my digital data in there and sort it out after the vehicle is fixed and retain the folder for later viewing. This gives a centralized location for my data and simplifies accessing it whether on my laptop, another computer I “push” the folder to or if I upload the folder to a cloud for remote viewing elsewhere.

Want an efficient way to transfer files from one device to another? Need to share a photo or DTC record with your service writer? Try the app Pushbullet.

 “Pushing” a folder or file refers to the process where a digital file is transferred through the ether via an app. Think of this as emailing an attachment to one self without having to go through all the steps; open your email account, compose an email, attach the file and send - then open the email and download the attachment to the second device. Pushing the document is seamless - you simply click on the file and “push” it to another device using an app such as Pushbullet®, Google Keep® or something similar.  Practically any digital file or image can be “pushed” or shared between devices. Devices can include laptops, computers, tablets, and phones. Examples of data that one could push include a photo of a grooved rotor taken by a tech’s cell phone and pushed to the service writer’s computer, a TSB sent from the service writer’s computer to a tech’s tablet or a wiring diagram sent from a tech’s laptop to a second tablet. 

Saving Snap-on files

Most tool manufacturers use a specific file extension and have their own programming for viewing and storing their data. Snap-on scan tools, for example, save their movies and scope captures on the drive inside the tool. They have file extensions like “.scm” or “.vsm”.  If you tried to open this file by itself, you would receive the “Windows cannot open this type of file” prompt. Snap-on has a solution for viewing files separate from your diagnostic tool. They offer a little known free downloadable program called Shopstream Connect®. It is available for download at their website,  https://www.snapon.com/diagnostics/us/SSC

Snap-on data files use dedicated file extensions, meaning you can’t view them on your laptop without help. This is the help – Snap-on’s Shopstream Connect – and it’s free to download.

Shopstream Connect® provides the user “a practical in-shop software tool to transfer, save, manage, review, annotate, e-mail and print files that were saved or recorded on your Snap-on diagnostic platform” per Snap-on®. In a nutshell, you download this program for free and keep your diagnostic information in one place on a device other than your tool. 

The trick as I see it is the same in every platform - label or name your files in a way that will allow you to quickly find them later. The tool may ask you the year, make and model when you save the file on the tool. When Shopstream Connect transfers the file from the diagnostic tool I want to name it something that I can easily search out and find quickly for later viewing. Often the default name may be “User” and the date.  Hovering the mouse over the file and right- clicking will give you the ability to rename the file. Moreover, if multiple files are from the same vehicle you may want to create a folder and name it after the YMM of the vehicle and the issue, say, “2003 F150 5.4 Misfire P0300”.  Another consideration is to label your file whether it is a “known good”, “known bad” or “undetermined” capture.  This is extremely helpful in archiving files for later use.

The key is taking the time to organize the data in a way you can find it later. For example, I have a parent folder for CKP/CMP captures, then subfolders by OEM, and finally by engine.

Perhaps, during some research or a play day with your scope you capture a CKP/CMP waveform from a vehicle with no codes or no driveability issues, you need to label the file something that lets you know it comes from a vehicle with no faults. I like to use “KG” or “KB” in the file name such as, “2003 Ford F150 5.4 CKP CMP KG”. This will allow me to quickly access this file later using a folder setup like CMP_CKP>Ford>F150>5.4 etc. or by simply using the Windows search feature in the start menu.

In Shopstream Connect, you can change the way you view data. You can pick how many scan tool PIDS are on the screen, pick the background and line colors and thickness, zoom in and out.  This allows the user to customize their viewing experience. The other thing that make this program very helpful is that it backs up the diagnostic tool and has a centralized location for your files.  This also allows the user to be able to share these files via internet or a jump drive with other Snap-on Shop Stream Connect users. Networking and “diagnostic share sites” like iATN or Diag.net are a great resource for techs to gain knowledge and share knowledge during this paradigm shift in technology of the modern automobile market. Once the diagnostic tool’s information has been transferred to a computer (non-internet tool platforms IE Vantage Pro, Solus, Solus Pro etc.) one can attach the file from SSC to an email or upload to a site such as iATN or Diag.net to share with others or network with industry peers to gain a second opinion.

The Shopstream Connect software allows you to manipulate the recorded scan tool data on your device. Note the file extension “.vsm” – this is a dedicated extension.

Share and network

Skype is another internet venue where people can communicate and share files across great distances. Groups can be for formed and “rooms” created for the ability to share knowledge to network with other industry professionals.  These rooms could be within your company, say a company that has multiple shops, or a group could be created from like-minded folks you had the privilege of connecting with at national training conferences such as NACE Automechanika or Vision. I am fortunate to be member of such rooms and daily communicate across this great country with some of the most talented techs I have ever met. I find it to be a great resource for peer to peer connectivity. 

Another helpful way of storing, sharing and remotely accessing your files is to leverage the technology of a cloud drive for your benefit. A cloud drive is an online storage drive that you can upload files and folders of data to for access anywhere you can connect to the internet. Cloud drive files can be shared with others and you can also control who has access to them. For example, you have a cloud drive and a folder for a CKP/CMP correlation capture that you want to share among all the employees of a company. You can send an invitation to access these files to whomever you wish, and you can also select who has access to modify the folder or contribute to it. Google Drive is one of the more popular cloud storage apps. If you have a Gmail address you have availability to 15 gigabytes of G-drive cloud storage for free.  You can purchase additional storage extremely reasonably, up to 1 Tb for under 10 bucks a month. Be sure to label your folders and files with as much information in the file name as you can, so you can retrieve them quickly for sharing and downloading using the Google Drive search feature. Google Drive is a secure place to store other files and images other than diagnostic tool data like photos, PDFs of service information (SI) procedures, TSBs or software. The price and availability of cloud drive storage has never been more available and affordable with other options like Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox apps.

Scope captures

One of the most powerful tools in many diagnostic techs arsenal is the laptop based PicoScope®. I have been a big fan of this extremely powerful lab scope since John Thornton introduced me to it and Matt Fanslow put one in my hand. PicoScope captures or files are saved with a unique file extension “.psdata.” This means PicoScope software is required to open them. 

The cool thing is you do not have to own a Pico or have a software subscription to have this software on your computer. PicoScope software is downloadable for free at their website, https://www.picotech.com. The files being digital in nature, allows me to save, store and share these images across the internet via an email attachment, Skype, cloud drive, or to upload to websites like Diag.net, iATN.net or social media sites like Facebook. 

You don’t have to own a Pico to view Pico data files. The software is free to download on their web site.

Because the Pico software is free to download without any purchase, anyone can download it, open and view the “.psdata” files. iATN has a waveform database that has, in recent years, allowed the Pico “.psdata” and Snap-on “.vsm” scope waveform images. This is very useful because subscribers can download, open, view and manipulate the captured waveforms, as well as create a database of their own making. That can be something super handy to have!

Again, what is key is good record keeping skills! Use the notes function of the software to label your channels so a viewer can easily tell what they are looking at. I like to create a folder for the vehicle where the YMM and the nature of the problem is in the title. Inside the folder, I label and store all my subsequent waveforms. Name your capture files accurately with detailed information of what is in the capture. I also like to the start the file name with the number of the order in which the files were captured; that is, the first captured file number might be “1 CKP CMP sync 1” and the next capture “2 IC primary current sync 1” if this was my second capture and so on. I do this because while the files are time stamped, the Pico software will alphabetize the files based on the file names which could mix up the chronological order of the files. 

A lot of my folders have several captures. For example, if I have pre and post repair captures of the same type of waveform, let’s say, CKP CMP waveform post CKP replacement, that I forgot to annotate in file name I can look at the number and quickly determine which is which via the order the waveforms were captured.  This may sound silly but over the years you will accumulate hundreds, if not thousands, of Pico waveforms! I also like to make a habit of ending my file name with the suffix of “KG” or “KB” when possible. This lets me search out and recognize “known good” and “known bad” captures at a quick glance. For example, “3 2005 Grand Caravan 3.8 CKP CMP sync 1 KG” would be the third waveform I captured of this vehicle and it is a “known good.”

Name your files with a standard format – like year, make, model, engine – along with a capture descriptor and whether it was Known Good (KG) or Known Bad (KB). Use the notes section to detail what channel was tracing what and any other info relevant to the test.

In addition to capturing and storing waveforms in a manner that we can quickly identify and access, having a known good that we can reference is crucial. Perhaps we do not have the correct waveform I our stored database; there are resources available to us that do. I have been a member of iATN.net for many years and one of its most useful resources is the waveform database available to subscribing members. Pico has also allowed to integrate their waveform database provided we have registered with them and created a forum user ID and are online with the Picoscope software opened and a Picoscope connected.

Build your database

The amount of diagnostic information we gather to successfully diagnose a modern vehicle can be surprising large. This is not going to change. Having a systematic way of gathering and storing to a centralized location is a huge time saver for me personally. Also remember to have a system of filing that works for you. Naming your files and folders appropriately so you can quickly identify and locate them is mission critical to this process. Remember it could be months or even years later that you may want to revisit the data. Look into free programs like Snap-on Shopstream Connect and Pico’s waveform reference library if you own that equipment. It is simply foolish not to take advantage of something that can help you especially if it is free. If you have a Gmail address, I would sign up and use the free 15 gigabyte Google Drive® storage and add more if you need it. Remember to back up your files in several locations in the event of a HDD or a tool RAM failure. You worked hard to collect this data — work equally as hard at saving and archiving in a way that you can quickly source and interpret it later.

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