Be more proactive with malfunction indicator lights to reduce cycle time

Aug. 20, 2014
Taking a more proactive approach to malfunction indicator lights can help improve cycle time and reduce the need for supplements.
Many emergency responders will cut the battery cables when there is apparent electrical damage. The storage facility that this Ford Escape came from tried to jump the “dead” battery several times, not noticing that the negative battery cable had been cut. No you are not missing anything — we repaired it so we could test the vehicle for other electrical issues.

For the collision shops I do diagnostic work for, often those annoying lights that scream from the dash are the final part of returning the car to pre-accident condition. I have a couple suggestions for taking a more proactive approach to malfunction indicator lights that should help not only your cycle time, but reduce the need for supplements.

From the moment the vehicle arrives at your shop, your staff is planning the path to repairing the damage and getting the car back on the road so while you are doing your teardowns and blueprinting let me suggest that you also record any diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) that are in the systems of the vehicle assuming the battery is still intact.

Most scan tools and vehicles can perform a test for all of the DTC’s and give you a list. Most scan tools can also print them for you. This will include your power train control module, supplemental restraint systems, security systems and any body related control modules that are on the network. Print out the trouble codes and if your tool does not have a definition for all of the codes look them up in your service information and note them on the print out.

When I teach my streamlined diagnostics class to mechanical technicians I recommend that they try to determine which codes are the root cause. In the case of an accident I think a different approach is called for. Looking at the damage, if you see a rear proximity sensor code for a damage rear bumper cover I think you can safely assume that you will be addressing that problem during body repairs. If on the other hand you see a code with a P or U in front of it such as a P1605 - PCM Keep Alive Memory Test Error you may have damage that you cannot see yet. These trouble codes should not intimidate you. Spend a few minutes looking at the possible causes and reconsider the type of damage. A P1605 can be caused by a lot of bad things but it can also be caused by the Battery Positive memory or “keep alive memory” circuit being open. Many of these circuits have fuses that could be damaged in a collision. Do a little investigation and make a note on the diagnostic print out letting your estimator know what you believe you are going to have to test or inspect and give it a labor time. Maybe you think it will take a half hour or maybe you see a lot of tests and it will take you two hours.

By looking to see how many codes may be related directly to damaged parts and possibly to one another you can make that sometimes daunting list of codes look much more manageable and give your estimator a clearer picture of the extent of the damage.

You don’t have to bring a high-dollar scan tool to the triage. Quality code readers are not expensive and much more portable than the big laptops and handhelds. Get your codes and put them on your check out sheet.

We can’t complete an article on this topic without talking about scan tool packages. If I don’t hear this question at least once during a class I assume they have all fallen asleep. “What scan tool should I buy?” There are a number of answers to that but let’s try to narrow it down a bit. First, you must consider what you work on. If your shop is a specialty shop that works on only a few brands you should look into a tool that gives you lots of OE tool features or the OE tool itself. There are services that will assist you with diagnosis when you connect the car for them over the Internet. You will have to check their policy but for the purposes of triage you will need to know if you will be charged each time they connect. There are fairly inexpensive tools that are laptop based or small handhelds that will give you a decent generic feature set. Where that can be limiting for the collision specialist is in body related codes that are not as generic across manufacturers as the emission/powertrain related DTCs are. Companies like Autel, Auto Enginuity, Auto Logic, Bosch/OTC, and Snap-On are just a few companies that make competent multi-line packages. One of the things you have to consider is that these tools and their OE counter parts are not buy it and forget it products. They require regular updates and there is a cost associated with updates.

It has become a reality of repairing cars that we have these tools on site. In my opinion the time you waste waiting on a mobile diagnostician, a dealer ship or a repair shop quickly offsets having a tool that allows you to do all but the most difficult diagnosis. By tracking these problems before you start repair on the body you are afforded the chance to pregame some of the parts you may need and if something looks really challenging, make an appointment with a repair shop that fits into your repair cycle rather than having an otherwise completed car waiting to go to mechanical before it can go home.

Oxygen sensor open. P0134 a quick visual inspection can tell you if the harness is damaged and give your estimator needed information to arrange for repair or further testing.

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