TOPIC : Jeff Taylor
Can We Trust Oil Life Monitors?
If you ask most automotive technicians if they trust an oil life monitor, or OLM, they will typically say “no way” and the reasons for this view will come fast and furiously.
SRS Diagnostics and Repairs: Service Can Be Intimidating, But it Doesn’t Need to Be
The Supplemental Restraint System (SRS); or in GM jargon SIR (supplemental inflatable restraint system) uses more components than just airbags: modules, crash sensors, seat weight and position sensors, seat belt switches, warning lights and pre-tensioning devices are all used to protect and enhance the safety of the driver and passengers.
Scan Tool Wiper Diagnostics: Service in Today’s Networked Module-Based Wiper Era
Windshield wipers are an integral component on almost anything that moves, including planes, boats, trains, cars and trucks. And if you think they really haven’t changed much since Mary Anderson invented them in 1903, you are mistaken.
There’s No Stopping the Electric Parking Brake
The advent of electronic parking brake (EPB) systems offers advanced technology but can pose challenges for the service technician. This article explains the current systems and provides insight regarding understanding and troubleshooting these non-mechanical approaches.
Fuel Trim: Finding a Vacuum Leak and Performance Issues Using Fuel Trim Data
A customer doesn’t generally care about whether their vehicle is in fuel control, but they certainly care if it’s not running correctly or the service engine soon (SES) light is illuminated. Accurate fuel control is needed to maintain the correct air-fuel ratio (AFR) that is supplied to the engine’s combustion chambers for ignition.
Understanding Vehicle Stability Control
Just what is stability control? And why do we have it? My GMC pickup caught me totally off guard when I was going up a familiar hill on a damp morning recently. I was accelerating normally when the rear end started to break loose. Before I could react, however, the StabiliTrak light started to flash, the rpms dropped, and I could hear the anti-lock brake system (ABS) pump running and the solenoids cycling. I never hit the brakes but my immediate reaction was to let off the gas... but by then my truck had already returned to the direction that I’d always intended. Almost before I lost control, I had it back again.
