Here - TAT - The Automotive Technician

Motorsport
wins with the
Andy Goodall formula
April 2013
Issue 32
www.tat.net.au
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‘s a fact
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• Holden Astra - not cranking • BMW E46 - faulty ignition electrics
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with Ken
UP Newton
FRONT
No matter how old you
are, you can do with
a mentor.
Even though I am now in
the ‘experienced’ category
of wordsmithing, I still feel a
great comfort to have a much
more experienced person
looking over my shoulder.
Let’s understand what a
mentor is: someone who
imparts wisdom to and
shares knowledge with a less
experienced colleague. You
can have many mentors.
These days, most of my
mentors are unknown to me.
Their wisdom is mostly in
print. I absorb good advice,
wherever I find it.
I’ve come to realise that all
the good advice about how
to run your business or look
after your customers has
already been written, but
sometimes it’s the way it’s
expressed that makes an
impact.
In one of my clean-outs
recently, I came across some
pages that I had copied
many years ago from a little
booklet, published in 1985,
called Blood, Brains and
Beer, the autobiography of
David Ogilvy, the man Time
magazine called ‘the most
sought-after wizard in today’s
advertising industry’. Ogilvy
died in 1999.
I would like to share some of
his wisdom with you, not just
because it’s good to hear,
but it is incredibly simple and
understandable. I hope David
excuses me for changing
[advertising] agency to auto
workshop.
His take on office politics
(read workshop politics)–
work hard to minimise office
politics because they absorb
energy which can better be
devoted to our clients.
Here’s his four-point policy on
this subject:
1. Always be fair in your
own dealings, unfairness
at the top can demoralise a
workshop
2. Never hire relatives
or friends (don’t fire your
wife/partner who runs the
workshop office – that’s a
partnership)
3. Sack incurable political
types
4. Crusade against paper
warfare. Encourage
your people to air their
disagreements face-to-face.
David’s view was that if you
plan to give superior service
to your customers, you need
to make the most of your
own people. You do this
by giving them challenging
opportunities, by recognising
their achievements, giving
them job enrichment and the
maximum responsibility.
Treat your young staff as
grown-ups and they will
grow up. Help them when
they are in difficulty and be
approachable and human.
And probably the most
pertinent advice for an auto
workshop was never allow
two people to do a job which
one could do.
When you are looking for
staff, hire people who are
bigger than you are. If you
follow that policy, your
workshop will become a
business of giants.
If you hire people who
are less than you are, you
will become a business of
midgets.
And learn to have fun.
David’s advice, ‘Get rid of sad
dogs who spread gloom’.
Finally, take heed of this old
Scottish proverb: Hard work
never killed a man. Men die
of boredom, psychological
conflict and disease. The
harder people work the
happier they are.
Thanks David Ogilvy. I’ve
passed it on. Does that make
me a mentor?
THE TAT TEAM
Publisher
The Automotive Technician
Pty Ltd
ABN 27 121 589 802
30 Dale Street
BROOKVALE NSW 2100
tat@tat.net.au
1300 828 000
Fax 1300 828 100
Editor in chief
Ken Newton
knewton@tat.net.au
0438 569 517
Fax 1300 828 100
Editorial and online
assistant
Tony Wragg
twragg@tat.net.au
Technical editor
Jeff Smit
jsmit@tat.net.au
1300 828 000
Technical research
Deyan Barrie
dbarrie@tat.net.au
Technical advisers
Jack Stepanian
Sam Nazarian
Nick Murphy
Gil Sher
Jason Smith
Anthony Tydd
Gerry Marson
Maurice Donovan
Wayne Broady
Alex Cowie
Columnists
Julian Hentze – Georgia USA
Hayley Windsor – Australia
Reader
Bron Robinson
Advertising inquiries
Janene Champion
champads@westnet.com.au
03 5862 3090 0403 226 770
Graphic design
Russell Jones Graphic Design
0411 817 012
rjdesign2@optusnet.com.au
Printing
McPherson’s Printing Group
5–7 Dunlop Rd
Mulgrave VIC 3170
www.mcphersonsprinting.
com.au
Affiliated associations
VASA secretary@vasa.org.au
AAAA member
info@aaaa.com.au
Capricorn Society Alliance
Supplier
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The Automotive Technician Pty Ltd
The Automotive Technician Pty Ltd publishes
technical advice and actual case studies for the
purpose of educating technicians.
These advices are given in good faith, and are
based on actual workshop repairs. No guarantee
is given, nor any liability accepted in respect to
any published advice.
The Automotive Technician Pty Ltd is not
responsible for the accuracy of any information
contained in material submitted by third parties
and published in this magazine and accepts
no liability in relation to such materials or their
content.
Newsworthy articles or comments are welcomed,
and should be submitted to the editor in chief.
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Technician is copyright. Reproduction in whole or
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Audit period 1 April to 30 September 2012.
Average net distribution 9,971.
CONTENTS
Cover story – Andy Goodall..……………4
German cars head for CO 2
..……………8
Tat assist...….…………………………9
Some people don’t deserve a car………11
Volkswagen poltergeist?……..…………12
Street Cred with Hayley Windsor..………13
Choice of repairer moves closer..………14
Too many distractions…………………16
Nissan didn’t like the cold……………18
Customer buys, but you pay……………21
Where a/c technicians should spend winter..22
Conditions that set trouble codes………24
TaT’s a facts...…………………………27
The worthiness of the roadworthy………31
Training event a knock-out…………….32
Top Tools - battery charger…………….34
Letter from America with Julian Hentze…35
TaT at AAA Expo.………………………36
Brakes depend on good fluid intake……38
Top Tools – Smoking out the leaks……41
The trade getting a bad name…………44
Knock, Click – who’s there?……………46
Strong case for regular servicing………48
Magic wand that fixes cars……………50
Motorised bathtub……………………..51
Commercial news……………………...53
Tat’s interesting..………………………54
Geoff Mutton’s business column………54
The Automotive Technician 3

Cover Picture: Andy Goodall with his 19 year-old daughter Michelle. Both have
written themselves into Australian motorsport history through their unique brand
of training and qualifications. Michelle is believed to be Australia’s only female
motorsport manager, being in charge of Andy Goodall Racing and the Australian
Institute of Motorsport racing teams. Michelle is also the curriculum writer for the
Institute. Other uncaptioned photographs in this story are of racing cars being
built by students and supervised by Andy Goodall at the Institute of Motorsport.
All photography by Dean Trounson Media Development, Andy Goodall Racing.
Michelle’s thesis for her motorsport qualifications is based
on her design and construction of a Formula Vee racing car,
which is just six months away from going on a track. Checking
her progress with the chassis of the racer is (from left) Andy
Goodall, Brett Dickie and Shaun Trounson
Cover story Andy Goodall by Ken Newton
Motorsport wins
with the Andy
Goodall formula
Andy Goodall was driving around the spacious
paddocks in the Keilor district of Victoria in his own
car at age 11. It was very rural back then and nearby
Tullamarine airport hadn’t been thought of, so there was
plenty of room and besides, these were the days when boys
could be boys.
We mention this only because it provides something of an
explanation for a young country lad moving on to lead a
fascinating life around motor cars and motor engineering and
ultimately running one of Australia’s most prestigious academies
of automotive technology and motorsport. But like all stories of
successful people, much of what happened to Andy was a bit of
sheer luck and a lot of hard work. He certainly had a talent, but
it helped being in the right place at the right time and being seen
and nurtured by the right people. And when doors opened, Andy
usually stepped inside.
He recalls some of his great mentors who, he said, were ‘flat out
writing their own name’, but who could do amazing things with
their hands and their minds. It’s not that he thought any less of
people who could articulate and pump out great documents, but
he quickly learnt that it was a well-balanced combination of the
two that worked best.
In Andy’s classrooms today, you will find that same philosophy. As
one of his students, Craig Shepley from Adelaide, said recently
(TaT cover story Issue 31, February 2013), ‘Andy doesn’t believe
in a lot of bookwork. He believes you learn by practice and that
you have to do it until it is perfect.’
Andy Goodall is the owner of Andy Goodall Training and the
Australian Institute of Motorsport, a rather unique Australian
amalgam of a privately-owned automotive college and TAFE.
His is a perfect partnership with Goulburn Ovens TAFE, one of the
largest in regional Victoria. Andy has his own staff and so does
Go TAFE, but students can share the facilities at both campuses
and when specialist training of teachers is required for particular
motorsport and advanced automotive subjects, Andy can provide
that too.
Andy Goodall as a brand name first appeared in 1979, when
he was barely 18 years old. He was already forging ahead in a
factory-backed team as a team member, but took the plunge to
become a privateer as well.
His training career started much later, after he had already
accumulated his own impressive set of qualifications, which he
spends a lot of time upgrading to retain his teaching status. He
holds diplomas in Motorsport, Automotive Mechanical Technology,
Automotive Management and Education. He is an automotive
engineer and holds a Graduate Certificate in Management.
Andy Goodall encourages
motorsport talent through
his Institute of Motorsport
scholarships. Two of his
stars are in this picture (from
left) Shaun Trounson, team
driver and trainer, Andy
Goodall, and Brett Dickie,
team development test driver
and trainer and a national
sports sedan champion
driver. Both were previous
students of the motorsport
program who gained
Diplomas in Motorsport and
are currently scholarship
recipients of full-time drives
in the racing team.
The Automotive Technician 4

But back
to the
beginning
As a teenager he couldn’t get enough of hotted-up cars. So he
started tinkering. ‘I had a great ability to pull things apart, but I
didn’t have much talent putting them back together. Let’s say I
was inquisitive,’ he recalls.
At secondary school, now aged 15, Andy joins a mechanical
appreciation class. One of his teachers senses talent and advises
Andy to sit for a Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce
(VACC) scholarship, which he wins.
So he becomes a VACC student and this is where coincidences
begin to fashion his career.
Part of the VACC deal was that he spends four years working
alternately with the four Australian car makers of the time.
His first role is helping out on an engine assembly line. One of
the people in charge of the line also senses his talent, and asks
Andy if he would like a job working with the race team. ‘It turns
out he was more than the foreman I thought he was. He was the
production manager and he had some influence,’ Andy says. ‘I
told him I was interested in engineering and race cars.’
Andy was offered a role as a trainee trade-qualified engineer
working with the race team.
The job included an active involvement in what was then one of
the most successful racing teams in Australian motorsport. He
was now only 16 years old.
That started in 1977 and Andy worked on the motorsport program
until 1984.
He recalls his great mentors. ‘I was taught by men whose
philsophy was – bite off more than you can chew and chew like
hell.
‘It was about this point that I realised my career had taken shape.
This is where it all really started,’ Andy recalls.
He was then invited to be a trainer, training apprentices and
dealership mechanics from time to time, and that experience
whetted his appetite for education. But his taste for his own
business was when he started Andy Goodall Racing in 1979.
‘It was a significant thing to be able to do,’ Andy said. ‘We were up
against some pretty professional teams, but we had our share of
success.’
Andy not only owned the team, but was one of its drivers as well.
They raced in the Group C class of touring cars in the junior
categories.
‘I had many great sponsors back then. I worked with a factory
team by day and prepared our own race cars in my spare time. It
gave me a good insight into how things worked in motorsport.’
With his racing team still ticking away in the background, Andy
freelanced for a number of years, mainly building historic vintage
and racing cars for clients who he said had more money than
sense.
‘I think they treated these cars like jewellery because some of
my creations cost more than a million dollars. That was a lot of
money in those days,’ Andy said.
‘One of the most famous I rebuilt from scratch was a Bugatti Type
40 racing car which should have won the first Australian Grand
Prix back in 1928, but didn’t because of a fuel issue. It took 6,000
hours to build and I started with very little but a pile of original
drawings. It had been left to rot for about 60 years and what the
rodents didn’t eat, the rust did.’
The Automotive Technician 5

The economic downturn of the late 1980s put a stop to that type
of work, so Andy became a manager with the RACV in road
service, as part of the team with the responsibility of training and
technical support for the club’s 230 patrolmen.
This lasted about eight years, and Andy reverted to his first love,
building racing cars.
‘Back then, I designed and manufactured the whole car. I built
everything from open-wheelers to prototype sports cars and
touring cars and several that were built for Asian and European
championships. These are cars that needed multi-million dollar
budgets to keep on the track.’
It’s now almost the turn of the century and Andy finds himself
back with a vehicle manufacturer for another four years working in
the experimental department. Andy Goodall Racing was still alive
and well.
In 2005, Andy Goodall Training became a fully fledged education
consultancy. He worked with schools, was an education
consultant and in a short time had established seven automotive
colleges.
Andy’s unique training style, a flexible blend of theory and
practice, has earned Andy Goodall Training and the Australian
Institute of Motorsport a special place in automotive education
after only a few years.
The completion and retention rate at his college is one of the
highest of any school in Australia. Students complete many
qualifications in a year, and while it’s not a large number
compared with most of the big colleges, his institute does not lose
any along the way.
The institute covers the entire automotive curriculum, but is best
known for its motorsport and automotive technology qualifications.
‘The students design and build all of our racing cars, and they
have just completed a huge project to turn a 25 year old truck
into a state-of-the-art motorsport transporter. Three racing cars
are currently in various stages of completion, two will be on the
track in Formula Vee events later this year, racing in both the New
South Wales and Victorian state championships and the national
championship and title.
‘Our education formula succeeds because, unlike other attempts
to run a motorsport college, we have current resources and our
own racing team. Our students produce cars that actually race,
so we are able to offer the total experience of engineering, engine
performance, building, racing and business management,’ Andy
says.
The Automotive Technician 6

Visit the SACHS stand at
the Australian Automotive
Aftermarket Expo,
Sydney, 11-13 April
Stand D26
The full range for the local market
From Mini to Mack
Shock Absorbers by SACHS
SACHS Shock Absorbers are trusted by leading vehicle
manufacturers in both passenger and commercial
vehicles. With the full aftermarket range for cars, utes,
buses and trucks, SACHS has the application for your
vehicle.
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The Automotive Technician 7

The saga of the world’s new
refrigerant for mobile air
conditioning systems has taken
a dramatic turn, although it won’t
come as a big surprise to many.
All of the major German car makers
have now banded together to oppose
the adoption of HFO-1234yf on safety
grounds, flagging that they are now
determined to go straight to CO 2
systems. They’ve told the European Union they need two years to
design and change over to CO 2
. It was common knowledge that
the German factories put a lot of money and effort into developing
CO 2
systems some years ago, but they abandoned this when
news that a new refrigerant that met the emissions criteria and
would be a safe drop-in for R134a was announced. Another factor
was that the new alternative did not require a comprehensive and
costly redesign of air conditioning systems.
But in their new act of defiance of the EU directive that all vehicles
must stop using R134a from this year, they now have the support
of the German environmental authority UBA, which has made an
application to the EU to grant an extension to 2015.
The EU, until now, has stood firm and threatened the car makers,
particularly Daimler, with heavy fines if they did not comply. A
previous application to delay the directive had failed. Whether
the EU position will weaken now under the combined onslaught
from all German car makers as well as the German environmental
authority remains to be seen.
Daimler originally challenged the safety of HFO-1234yf with tests
of its own which, the car maker said, proved beyond doubt that in
a real-life crash scenario, the refrigerant would ignite and release
toxic hydrogen fluoride gas. Daimler has been joined now by
BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes Benz brands in the move
towards CO 2
systems.
The UBA, in its pitch to the EU for an extension of time, claimed
that a switch to CO 2
would reduce the global warming potential
by 75 per cent over HFO-1234yf, and that this alone would
justify allowing a longer transition time for those car makers that
committed to the switch.
Opponents of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant, however, argue it
is not just the comprehensive and costly redesign of a/c systems
that needs to be taken into account.
Stalemate as
German cars
head for CO 2
They cite safety concerns resulting from
a possible leak, claiming that enough
CO 2
escaping into the passenger
cabin could cause drowsiness among
occupants, increasing the risk of an
accident.
They also point to indirect carbon
emissions. Because more petrol or
diesel fuel is needed to power a CO 2
based a/c system it requires more
energy to maintain sufficient internal pressure to keep carbon
dioxide contained and in a liquid state.
At press time, there had been no official EU response to the
current situation, but back in November the Climate Action
Commission took a tough stance, insisting that all member states
comply with their refrigerant directive immediately.
Commissioner Connie Hedegaard was reported as saying that
car makers had had enough time to get their act together on the
directive.
The EU passed its directive governing the phase-out of the
automotive air conditioning refrigerant R134a in 2006. The phaseout
began this year.
Driving the death of R134a was its known potential to warm the
climate 1,400 times more than normal carbon dioxide.
The world’s car makers agreed to adopt HFO-1234yf which was
jointly developed and produced by Honeywell and DuPont.
Earlier this month, BMW joined Daimler and Volkswagen’s
Audi and resigned from an industry research group looking into
the safety of HFO-1234yf, due to concerns over the scientific
thoroughness of the investigation.
Daimler said its own tests not only proved the company’s fears
were justified, but that they may have underestimated the risks.
If Daimler stands firm and refuses to use the new refrigerant
it risks losing its ability to sell the cars in the EU, including the
Mercedes A-Class.
Volkswagen patriarch Ferdinand Piech told Auto Bild magazine
in November that a CO 2
based air conditioning system was the
better solution since it is inherently non-flammable. He said VW
would continue to use the existing R134a refrigerant until it can
make the technological jump on an industrial scale.
German car makers in
perspective
On a world scale, the German car
industry is a massive force. It is the
third largest car-producing country
on earth, beaten only by China
and Japan, and German company,
Volkswagen, is the second biggest
car maker.
In 2012, for the first time ever, the car
makers of the world produced more
than 60 million passenger cars.
That’s 165,000 new cars off assembly
lines every day.
Here is a list of the top ten countries
and their production of vehicles for the
top ten car makers in 2011 (per cent)
China 24
Japan 11.9
Germany 9.7
South Korea 7
India 5
USA 4.9
Brazil 4.2
France 3.2
Spain 3
Russia 2.9
Zooming in on Germany, the third
highest car-producing country in the
world, here are the 2011 production
figures for the companies that have
defied the order to change over to
HFO-1234yf:
Volkswagen, with 8,157,058 cars is
the second biggest car maker on the
planet (eclipsed by General Motors).
BMW, with 1.7 million cars produced in
2011 was the world’s 13th biggest car
maker while Daimler, with 1.5 million
was the 14th.
(Source: International Organisation of
Motor Vehicle Manufacturers)
Australia was 29th on the list
with 0.3 per cent
The Automotive Technician 8

assist
technical support
The TaT assist service
is a valuable benefit
for TaT magazine
subscribers.
TaT assist is an internet based service for subscribers
to provide detailed information about their problem
using an online form.
TaT technical specialists will research the problem
and perhaps seek advice from other experts on the
TaT Tech Team.
Here are the 10 Commandments of TaT assist.
1. The online form is the only way to lodge a TaT assist
request.
2. You must be a TaT magazine subscriber to request
help through TaT assist. We will talk only to the
person whose name is listed as the TaT subscriber,
and that person is expected to be the one working on
the problem vehicle.
3. TaT assist is just one of your research tools. As
trained technicians, subscribers are expected to
follow a logical diagnostic sequence and do some
homework before seeking help from TaT. Sources of
data may be car makers’ websites or the extensive
TaT’s a facts files on the TaT website – your problem
may already have been solved and documented
there.
4. TaT assist can help you develop sound diagnostic
principles. We cannot help you through a routine
service or installation.
5. Wiring diagrams cannot be provided by TaT assist.
All workshops are expected to have access to a data
provider and wiring diagrams are part of your tools of
trade. We would be breaching copyright if we passed
on any OEM or data provider’s printed information.
6. To lodge an online form, click on the TaT assist link.
Follow the prompts and give as much information as
possible – all fields are mandatory.
7. If a form is incomplete it cannot be sent. You will get
an email asking for more information. So please
provide all the information correctly the first time.
8. TaT assist requests are usually handled on the day
they are received but timing cannot be guaranteed. If
your request requires discussion, we will send you an
email or a phone call.
9. Be patient. Problem vehicles can be frustrating and
time consuming. Note that on the TaT assist form,
we ask if your problem is really urgent. That helps us
prioritise the calls for help.
10. Please let us know how you finally resolved your
repair problem so that we can share your solution
with your fellow technicians.
The Automotive Technician 9

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The Automotive Technician 10

YOU
SAID
IT!
Some people don’t
deserve to have a car
2008 VW EOS
Why is it some people
think cars will run forever
without the most basic of
servicing.
The vehicle was a 2011 Hyundai i45.
It has never had a service and with
39,000 kilometres on the clock, it has
developed a big-end knock.
Hyundai have wiped any warranty
and rightly so.
You have to ask why? Is it the
money? I think not because this was
a car owner with the money to buy a
new car.
I can only put it down to the current
busy lifestyles many people lead,
where looking after a car, as long as
it stays running, is a low priority in
the fast lane of life. People don’t like
to be without their cars but until they
stop working, they have little concept
of the inconvenience of not having
transport.
This is not a rare case. We are
seeing more and more instances of
people over-extending their service
intervals.
These pictures reflect a deliberate
disregard of valuable property. We
can educate customers about the
need to look after their cars. But will
they all listen?
Maurice Donovan
Allstate Auto Imports
GEEBUNG QLD
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The Automotive Technician 11

2008 VW EOS
YOU
SAID
IT!
Volkswagen poltergeist?
This vehicle, with a BWA engine
and KPU transmission, came in
with the customer complaining
that when starting to drive, and
sometimes while driving, the windows
move up and down by themselves.
And when starting the car, the radio
screen flickers.
Scan data revealed faults at the steering
wheel module 00576 terminal 15:
00883 ignition switch terminal s
00884 ignition switch terminal x
01744 ignition switch terminal p
All codes were intermittent.
Other codes were:
Driver side electric window 01034
thermal protection active
Passenger door window 01035 thermal
protection active
Radio 03138 open cicuit to aux input
Research on Ross-tech Wiki indicates this
is a common issue with the ignition switch,
especially with codes 00883, 00884, 01744
and describes windows moving up and
down without human intervention.
The ignition switch was replaced (VW had
a number in stock) and this was a two-hour
job.
Gil Sher - TaT Tech Team
The Automotive Technician 12

Now that TaT is five years
old, I thought it would be
interesting to speculate
what’s in store for the
automotive industry in the
next five years.
The following ten trends are based on
my own, self-imposed exclusion criteria
and bias, so don’t expect the list to be
exhaustive.
1 Energy efficient cars: They’re not
going away. As the infant market for hybrid
and electric cars matures, there will be
new opportunities for businesses to cater
to these ‘green vehicles’, such as an
increased demand for specialised parts
and repairs.
2 Aging cars: We’re keeping them for
longer. While this fact comes from the US,
where consumers are holding their cars on
average for 63.9 months (up 4.5 months
from the previous year), the economic
conditions in Australia suggest we’re
probably doing the same. Good news for
the aftermarket.
3 Car accessories: When we can’t
afford to buy new cars, we decorate and
modify them. With consumers holding their
cars longer, auto accessories become a
prudent investment for car owners.
4 ‘Appification’: Ford and GM have
announced they’ll open their cars to the
application development community,
offering supplier development kits,
application programming interfaces,
testing and review resources, and
revenue-sharing programs for apps
that make it to release. The idea is to
leverage the creative community to dream
up features for cars that manufactures
wouldn’t come up with themselves.
Street Cred
with Hayley Windsor
Lovely car, but
where do I put
my handbag?
5 Satellite radio’s slow demise: Out with
the old and in with the new. I remember
my father coming home with a six-CD
stacker that you filled and stored in the
rear of the car. This was cool. Now we
plug 8-gig iPods into our cigarette lighters
or, better still, use a smartphone to
stream customised playlists via a cellular
connection and get our weather and
traffic updates on-demand using digital
applications.
6 Driverless cars: Major automakers
are devising ways to put some form of
autonomous driving into production.
Whether government regulations allow
them on our roads within the next decade
will be another story.
7 Vehicle-sharing: Sharing or pay-touse,
rather than ownership, could be the
answer for growing urban areas, and an
opportunity for new players. More than half
of respondents to a recent UK automotive
trends survey believe that on-demand
vehicles will account for between six and
fifteen per cent of market share over single
vehicle ownership by 2025. I wasn’t so
sure about this reality in Australia until I
recently noticed GoGet vehicles parked
throughout Sydney’s city centre.
8 Online purchasing: The demise of
the shiny showroom in the developed
world is predicted, as online activity
and intermediaries increase. As car
manufacturers build up their customer
relationship databases, the combination of
online vehicle purchasing and connected
cars will place pressure on the traditional
dealership model.
9 Plastic windows: Polycarbonate has
been used in race cars for some time,
but only recently has it made the
move to regular road vehicles
thanks to Fiat, Porsche
and Audi.
When each gram of weight affects fuel
efficiency and performance, the move to
the lighter material will not only enhance
the driving experience, but also have an
effect on vehicle repairs.
10 We still love a Ferrari: The automaker
was recently named the most powerful
brand in the world by Brand Finance
Global 500. Indicators such as average
revenue per customer and brand loyalty
put Ferrari at the top of the list ahead of
other auto or technological competitors
pulling significantly higher revenue.
A lot has happened in the automotive
industry over the past five years –
economic crises leading to the bust and
bail-out of big automotive names, a shift
in Asian market dynamics with the rise
of China and the Chery, the decline of
the Japanese motor industry, and the
emergence of Korea as a big player.
We struck a happy medium between big
car demand and small car practicality.
Diesel became fashionable again. Hybrids
became available. Re-gassing was
banned. The Australian Ride-On Lawn
Mower Racing Association (AROLMRA)
carried on (see March 2012 issue).
And still, no one has worked out how to
accommodate the omnipresent request
from females for a space to place their
handbag.
Wheelnote:
Ferrari pushed Google, Apple and
Coca-Cola aside to take the gong as
the most powerful world brand earlier
this year. And that was despite Ferrari’s
brand value being only $5.4 billion,
compared with Apple’s $130.95 billion.
The judges said Ferrari made up
ground on the others through qualitative
measures such as brand affection
and loyalty. Ferrari of course is over
the moon. It’s chairman, Luca di
Montezemolo said the achievement
proved that even in very tough
economic times, Italy could still offer the
world businesses of excellence.
Ferrari has also recently posted its
best financial result ever. The Italian
brand recorded an annual revenue of
AU$3.138 billion for the 2012 calendar
year, which translated to a 17.8 per cent
increase in net profit. A total of 7,318
road cars were delivered to the Ferrari
dealership network in 2012. Australian
sales, though, slumped by about
30 per cent. Only 98 Ferraris were sold
in 2012.
Ferrari will unveil its fastest car yet, the
F12 Berlinetta, in June and a successor
to the legendary Enzo is also due soon.
Hayley was photographed by Stu Riley
choosing her next car at Euromarque,
Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. TaT thanks
Euromarque for their cooperation.
The Automotive Technician 13

Choice of repairer
moves ever
closer
Reports coming in to TaT indicate that some car
makers are tightening their grip on their vehicle
information, making it even more difficult for
the aftermarket to fix the vehicles that arrive in their
workshops.
But help is on the way.
The Australian Automobile Aftermarket Association (AAAA) is
leading the charge on behalf of Australia’s aftermarket industry
and, from recent reports, is making good headway.
The Association began its campaign in 2009, calling it Choice of
Repairer. The objective was to protect choice and competition
in the vehicle, repair, service and replacement parts sector by
eliminating technical and legal barriers to Australian consumers’
right to have their vehicles serviced or repaired at competitive
prices in the workshop of their choice.
Issues that impact the car industry include the need:
• to ensure that independent aftermarket businesses
have equitable and practical access to the vehicle
manufacturer-controlled technical and diagnostic
information required to repair and maintain today’s
technologically advanced vehicles
• for public education about consumers’ choices in relation
to parts and servicing without impacting vehicle warranties
• for a campaign to highlight the importance of regularly
servicing modern vehicles to keep them safe and to
reduce emissions, for example, in Australia, unlike many
other countries, there are no requirements for testing the
emission compliance of vehicles.
AAAA Executive Director, Stuart Charity, sums up the difficulties
faced by aftermarket workshops. ‘In 1986, the VL Commodore
had only electronic fuel injection, 10 fault codes in its basic
computer and a 1,200 page workshop manual. In 2011, the
VE Commodore incorporates a dozen sophisticated
technologies, 709 fault codes and a 19,400 page workshop
manual. We are only now seeing the tip of the iceberg with
a raft of new technology in development that will need to be
maintained for the life of the vehicle.
‘To add to the complexity, in Australia we have 62 brands and
320 models with total sales of just over one million vehicles
a year. In the US they sell 17 million vehicles, but only have
32 brands, making our car parc one of the most diverse in the
world for its size,’ Stuart added.
A recent critical meeting with Federal Assistant Treasurer, David
Bradbury, has validated the Choice of Repairer campaign.
He was the Minister who launched the Commonwealth
Consumer Affairs Advisory Council Inquiry into the sharing of
repair information in the automotive industry following AAAA’s
approach to him in 2010.
‘We put it to the Minister that the aftermarket simply wants
the barriers to OEM repair information eliminated. We are not
asking for access to intellectual property and the industry is
prepared to pay a fair price for the data,’ said Stuart.
The Advisory Council report is expected to be released soon.
The Automotive Technician 14

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The Automotive Technician 15

An Australian study
on the state of the
automotive industry,
just released, points to some
disturbing trends, the main
one being that cars are losing
their appeal among today’s
youth.
The days of boys wanting to
tinker under the bonnet are
gone.
The drop-out rate of apprentices
in automotive training is among
the worst of any trade and it is
alarming educators.
There are even signs in
Australia and the US that the
social media behemoth is
pushing young people away
from driving altogether. Why
drive to work when you can stay socially connected sitting on the
bus or train.
The impact of this and many other trends will profoundly affect the
way aftermarket workshops cope with the future.
And as in all such reports, there’s bad news and there’s good
news or, put another way, there’s little joy in the future for some
and enormous opportunities for others who want to look for them.
A knowledge of how the industry is tracking, and the social issues
that are having an impact on the industry, will become essential
study for workshops that want to survive. Reading this report from
Auto Skills Australia will be your starting point.
First the good news – as the number of workshops
and skilled technicians fall, the opportunities for those
who hang in there and maintain their skill levels will be
astounding and profitable, with a very real possibility that
in the near future, people will be waiting in long queues to
have their vehicles repaired or serviced.
Now the bad news – workshops will close at an
accelerating rate as the experienced mechanical and
technical workforce ages
and replacement staff will
become very difficult to
find.
These trends may not be
startling news for many
workshop owners and
technicians with their ear to
the ground, but the Automotive
Environmental Scan 2013,
conducted by Auto Skills
Australia, helps to quantify what
this loss means and it puts
substance to what, up till now,
might have been theories or pub
talk.
The study points to dramatically
changing trends in many
aspects of car ownership and
driving habits and concludes
that, despite the fact that
working on vehicles has become
almost a white collar trade, the
perception persists that it is a
‘dirty’ trade.
Older people with skills acquired
from years on the tools will
The Automotive Technician 16
Too many distractions?
Today’s youth aren’t interested
in tinkering with cars
become precious to the industry
very shortly, if not already.
As employers realise this, they
will use whatever incentives
they can to keep people in the
workforce.
The Scan points to the fact that
the Australian labour force grew
by more than two million people
since 2003, but the participation
of automotive apprentices in
the labour force, as reflected
by the number of apprentices
in training, has remained flat
at an average rate of 29,500
a year over the period. This
suggests that, progressively,
more and more young people
are choosing not to enter into a
career in the motor industry.
Today’s youth are less attracted to the automotive culture of
previous generations.
Two and three generations ago, boys thought their mates who
didn’t spend their weekends tinkering under the bonnet of their
first car were quite odd. Fiddling under the hood of a car is not an
interest or passion for many young people today.
‘Personal mobility and interaction for young people has been
redefined through the use of the internet, social media and smart
phone technology,’ the Scan asserts.
The cultural shift among youth is not just unique to Australia. In
the US, for example, a larger number of young people are opting
to stay away from driving cars, citing road congestion and cost.
As well, young people travelling on buses and trains can stay
plugged into the social networks without the distraction of driving
a vehicle. The proportion of people in the US under 35 years of
age without a driver’s licence has risen to 26 per cent.
In Australia, there are 37,000 automotive tradespeople employed
between the ages of 55 and 64, a rise of more than 18 per cent in
that age group since 2006–07. Additionally, there has been more
than a doubling of people employed who are 65 years or older.
Current Australian
Apprenticeship
Ambassador Craig
Shepley sees nothing
but opportunity in an
automotive career
(TaT cover story issue
31, February 2013)
It follows that thousands of older
people will be retiring in the
next few years and that trend is
already noticeable.
Many business operators intend
to retire or close their business
in the very near future.
Since 2008, there has been
an average of 450 business
closures per year within the auto
industry and most of these have
been small businesses in auto
repair and maintenance. The
rate of closures will escalate
over coming years.
The attrition rate for auto
apprentices and trainees is a
major concern to educators.
About half of all apprentices
and trainees withdraw from their
training over the first three years
and more than one-quarter
withdraw from training within
the first 12 months. Turning
young people off working in
the car trade are the negative
perceptions concerning the

Training will be
the key factor
in keeping
workshops
open and
profitable
Auto technician
Anita Boughen
relishes the
technology
available for
automotive work
(TaT cover story
issue 16, August
2010)
industry as being dirty, low-paid work. As the Scan points out,
this in fact is not the case. Modern automotive workshops are
clean and have sophisticated equipment to diagnose and service
modern vehicles. Students today are required to have maths,
IT and science skills in order to be able to conduct vehicle
diagnostics and work with such technology.
‘There is a serious lack of contemporary information about the
automotive industry among students, parents and school career
advisors,’ the Scan says.
‘There has also been limited promotion and marketing of the
industry towards schools and parents. Positive changes can
be achieved by the development of national industry career
and apprentice support programs, such as the Australian
Government’s Apprentice Advisor and Mentoring initiatives
released in 2012.
Auto Skills Australia has been heavily involved in the creation
and promotion of Certificate I and Certificate II qualifications in
Automotive Vocational Preparation.
These qualifications are targeted at school students to enable
them to better understand the modern-day requirements of the
automotive industry and the career paths that are available.
Technology remains the main driver in the development of
automotive qualifications and units of competency. Vehicle
manufacturers continue to produce vehicles that are evolving in
both their technical sophistication and functionality. Modern motor
vehicles are more than just a transport mechanism.
They now offer connectivity with the rest of world through
integration with smartphone technologies, navigational systems
and the internet.
The line between mechanical and electrical componentry is now
blurred as vehicle manufacturers merge components of vehicle
systems into interconnected units.
Manufacturers are also developing new battery electric and hybrid
vehicles, which demand a new level of technical familiarity and
competency among aspiring mechanics.
TaT recommends the 2013 Automotive Environmental Scan as
essential reading for every workshop owner and technician.
It can be downloaded electronically and hard copies can be
ordered from the ASA website www.autoskillsaustralia.com.au
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The Automotive Technician 17

2009 Nissan Navara D40
YOU
SAID
IT!
The Nissan that
didn’t like the cold
This was the Nissan with the 2.5 diesel engine.
The complaint was that it cut out when starting cold
but once warmed up it’s OK.
Sometimes it feels down on power like ‘limp home’ on
limited revs.
If the revs are held above idle it keeps running. Let it return
to idle and it stalls.
We checked for codes and there were none.
It was run with a clear fuel hose to check for air entering the
system or draining back and it looked OK.
We fitted a one-way check valve to the fuel line and
replaced the exhaust gas recirculation valve because it had
a small crack which was found when smoke tested.
Ultimately, the problem ended up being the timing chain
which had stretched, causing the computer to shut down.
With new chains away it went.
The system must not be smart
enough to log a code for crank/
cam correlation, as no codes
were present when we tested it.
Peter Hinds
Brisbane Mobile Mechanics
BRISBANE QLD
YOU
SAID
IT!
Now let’s see
what’s in here!
By now, most technicians will have replaced
an oil pressure sensor on the V6, VZ or VE
Commodore, because the customer had
complained about the ‘check engine light/service
required’ warning.
Some time ago I decided to make an adaptor for my master
oil pressure gauge with one of the old oil pressure sensors I
had removed.
When I broke the old unit apart, to my surprise I found a lot
more to these oil pressure sensors than the old fashioned
type of oil pressure switches that had a spring and contacts
inside.
Inside the modern sensor is a small printed circuit
board and an integrated circuit (IC) chip. It’s
no wonder these sensors give trouble
from time to time, considering
the under-bonnet conditions they
operate under.
Jason Smith
JDS Automotive
MOOROOLBARK VIC
(TaT is a great believer in pulling
things apart to see what’s inside. It’s
amazing what you find, and it broadens
the mind. Ed)
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The Automotive Technician 18

Some people need more than help
Some of the requests for help that TaT receives can be a
lot more than a call for help.
TaT’s Research Director, Deyan Barrie, says some technicians
expect to be led by the hand through a step-by-step
replacement of a timing belt and a cam resetting after doing
the head, plus torque settings.
‘It looks a bit tricky,’ complained one technician. He said he
had bought the specialist tools for the job, but the instructions
didn’t give him enough information.
This technician didn’t subscribe to any data provider and had
no idea how to find a workshop manual, probably because he
realised he would have to buy it.
When it dawned that TaT was not going to guide him through
what would normally be a routine job if you had the right
information, he said he’d phone a mate who subscribed to a
data provider.
‘Sorry, but this is not the way to go about fixing cars,’ says
Deyan.
‘It’s about time technicians wised-up to the fact that vehicle
technology has overtaken most of our basic skills and that
wiring diagrams, technical data, searching the web, talking to
TaT and others, are essentials in reaching a relatively quick
diagnostic conclusion.
‘It has become obvious from some of the TaT assist forms
we receive that too many technicians try to avoid any kind
of job which might involve spending a fair amount of time on
research.
‘What an odd attitude. If you are in the business of fixing cars,
you are obliged to know how to fix them,’ said Deyan
This magazine is just the
tip of the iceberg!
www.tat.net.au
This is where you find the database of repair
solutions, stories from all TaT issues, training
programs and much more.
This is where you reap the real benefits of
your subscription to TaT.
Visit our sister site www.ozwidetools.com.au for Australias largest online
range of quality hand tools and specialty tools
The Automotive Technician 19

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The same performance can be expected from
Gates belts and components installed by reputable
mechanics today.
In fact, Gates also provide you with the added security
of a warranty that is exactly the same as that offered
on new vehicles.
For more information visit www.GatesAustralia.com.au
Stand No: Q14

As a small business owner I’m
always looking for ways to
improve that bottom line.
This can be done in two ways – make
more money or just spend less. The
second option is usually quicker and
easier.
Having to rework a job is a small yet
annoying cost to any business. We all
make errors and sometimes parts fail
prematurely.
Parts quality and cost are generally
driven by consumer requirements as well as by a manufacturer’s
profit margin.
Most suppliers offer a warranty on the parts they supply, and
many of us have had parts fail and replaced at no cost by the
supplier. Suppliers who don’t replace failed parts would no doubt
realise that small aftermarket workshops would hardly keep
dealing with a supplier who refused to replace parts at no cost.
But how do workshops recoup the hours spent for remove and
refit (R&R).
A failed water pump can take between 1.5 to 4.5 hours and
there’s the cost of new coolant as well. Sometimes the
pump is the cheap bit.
I once worked in a dealership, and I am sure they will all
tell you the same story, whose labour rates for warranty
are not enough to sustain a business, but they are not
meant to be. They represent compensation of sorts.
In the years I have conducted a business I have just
accepted this as a part of being in business.
However, I have seen an increase in parts failure. I
have seen aftermarket parts with genuine names and
numbers buzzed off for a quarter of the price of genuine
parts. I have fitted parts I believed to be good quality and
had them fail on more than one occasion.
Most part suppliers and manufacturers will only stop
selling a part if its cost versus profit scale tips in the
wrong direction.
If all workshops wear the cost of R&R the parts suppliers
and manufacturers will continue to sell lower quality
parts and therefore make more profit. And this profit is
effectively coming from the profit of small to medium
aftermarket workshops.
If workshops were reimbursed for R&R time relating to
faulty parts, the suppliers and manufacturers may have
greater incentive to provide higher quality parts.
Now I didn’t start this article to drive a wedge between
parts suppliers and businesses. I have worn the cost of
faulty parts for years, so the plan is to help businesses
reverse the trend and reap some benefit from my
mistakes.
If a part fails you are well within your rights to ask for
compensation.
Attitudes might vary, but most good suppliers will honour
a compensation claim at an agreed rate for the time you
spend to replace a failed part. I have been told that $55
an hour is the starting point but I’m sure this is a far cry
from your regular labour rate.
I believe you should be paid at your normal labour rate.
If you were not redoing a job you would be selling your
time at your normal rate.
A cheap job? Sure.
The customer buys
but you pay by Anthony Tydd
If your supplier won’t pay for your
labour it’s time to talk to them or vote
with your feet and buy elsewhere.
Some parts suppliers may prefer to
offset the cost by supplying extra parts
to cover the labour cost. This saves
them money and at the end of the day
compensates for your time. Win–win!
While writing this article I thought
it might be beneficial to peruse the
Australian consumer laws. After hours
of lost time trying to grasp the laws and
interpret them, I concluded that the best solution is to negotiate a
reasonable compensation for labour with your parts supplier.
I believe that every business owner needs to determine the level
of quality of the parts they want to fit and maintain. Quality parts
save money for both the workshop and the customer.
When customers demand that we try to save them money by
using cheaper parts, my business partner, Neville Briggs, and I
just look at each other, shake our heads and smile because we
both know that every time we try to save the customer money, we
usually end up paying for it ourselves.
The moral is: don’t cut your own throat.
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The Automotive Technician 21

It’s that time of the
year again when those
workshops that specialise
in climate control system
maintenance and repair get
ready for their endless holiday
– sorry, I mean the winter months.
But while you are fishing the mothballs out of your cardigan
pocket, you really should be preparing for
the next summer by instituting a program of
routine maintenance of the equipment that
keeps your business in business.
For example, charging stations new and old
are prone to leaks just like some of the cars
we work on. And you can’t expect to be able
to do your best work, unless your equipment
is operating at its optimum level.
Servicing a charging station begins with
changing the vacuum pump oil, a simple
task, but so important. All vacuum pumps
will have a sight glass on their reservoir
to indicate the fill point. Another important
service requirement is to change all the seals
and O-rings in all the lines and to check the
general condition of the charging hoses.
Remember that with the cost of refrigerant
being so high, even a small leak is going to
cost you more than a couple of O-rings.
Where air conditioning
technicians should
spend the winter
by TaT specialist HVAC writer Benjamin Perry
Checking the vacuum
pump oil level
Look at the picture of the
high side hose that blew out
while testing a vehicle. About
$35 worth of refrigerant was
lost, so do that often enough
and you are just blowing your
money away. So the moral is, servicing your equipment does
indeed save you money.
Although winter has traditionally been
a slow period for most of us in the air
conditioning world, there has been a
noticeable change in the repair and
maintenance pattern that could eventually
help to even the workload out over the
whole year.
Air conditioning systems have improved
greatly in the newer vehicles. This has
tended to increase the workload of skilled
HVAC technicians all year round simply
because many vehicles are now dependent
on the HVAC units for tasks such as
demisting, with heating and air conditioning
become increasingly integrated.
Take the VZ Commodore. A recent car in
our workshop would randomly switch vent
directions when accelerating and then
return to feet and face when at idle, making
it impossible to demist the windscreen.
The Automotive Technician 22

On further investigation we found the vacuum-controlled actuator
for the demist flap was faulty. The internal diaphragm was not
sealing, causing the flap to open only under hard acceleration and
strong vacuum.
Another example is the infamous Mercedes C200 HVAC unit,
renowned for breaking the heater flap and vent control arms. The
arms fitted on the assembly line wear thin around the connection
point, causing them to snap when loaded by the stepper motor.
This common problem, often described by the customer as a
ticking sound from the dash, is repairable using the improved
genuine arms from Mercedes.
Workshops can use any spare time over the winter months for
many things. Once you’ve got your equipment in tip-top order,
why not introduce some extra training for yourself and staff. Do
whatever you can to keep up with the advancement in HVAC
technology because if you don’t, one day you will find that the
technology has passed you by.
www.coolcompressors.com.au
ben@mrcool.com.au
VZ Commodore vacuum actuator
Mercedes vent control arms
Split high pressure hose
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The Automotive Technician 23

Subaru Outback 2006
Conditions that
set diagnostic
trouble codes
by Jack Stepanian and Sam Nazarian
A
Subaru Outback 2006 with an
EJ25 engine was presented
to the workshop with a check
engine light (CEL) glowing brightly
on the dashboard.
The diagnostic trouble code (DTC)
P2021 was noted as being an intake
manifold runner position circuit, low
voltage. Since the DTC was reported
as present (not history) the cause of
the symptom, being intermittent, was
disregarded and the DTC was cleared.
The vehicle was taken on a test drive
to validate whether the code was a real
present code or perhaps a phantom
code. Given that the CEL remained
anonymous, the vehicle was returned
to the owner, only to see it back the
following week.
It quickly became obvious that the
humble test drive was not enough to
simulate the appropriate conditions
that were required to activate the DTC.
We were now faced with the need
to:
a) analyse and rectify the cause of
the DTC within the feedback loop of
the intake manifold runner control
circuit (IMRCC)
b) create the conditions that activate
the DTC, so that when the vehicle is
being test driven we would be able
to state with almost 100 per cent
certainty that the cause had been
rectified.
How to diagnose the
operation of the IMRCC
Types of DTCs
There are three types of DTCs – A,
B and C – and these are stored and
categorised as either ‘history’ or
‘present’.
The conditions that give rise to setting
the DTC, such as a driving cycle
and engine operating conditions, are
paramount not only in isolating and
rectifying the symptom but also in
confirming that the symptom has been
rectified under the specific operating
conditions that caused the DTC to set.
Although conditions that set DTCs are
readily available on most commercially
available DTC listings – under
the heading of conditions that set
diagnostic trouble codes – it seems
this is largely ignored during diagnosis.
Basic principle of the IMRCC
In an attempt to improve the volumetric
efficiency of an engine, most design
engineers have opted to change the
length of the breathing path of the
intake manifold in harmony with engine
RPM. This is done by placing a blade
within the intake manifold runner,
which rotates one way or the other,
thereby increasing or decreasing the
breathing length of the runner path.
As a result of this change in geometry
the volumetric efficiency of the engine
is improved. As a rule of thumb, at low
RPM the runner would exhibit a longer
breathing path and a shorter breathing
path from 3,000 RPM onwards. Since
this vehicle is equipped with two
separate intake manifolds, it has two
runner blades, left and right (pic 1).
Feedback loop
So while the electronic control module
(ECM) may command the runner
blade to rotate via a DC motor fitted at
the end of the blade (pic 2), the ECM
will never know whether or not its
command has been executed unless
a position sensor feeds back the
rotational information to the ECM in the
form of voltage change (pic 3). This,
in essence, is a closed loop where
the ECM commands, blade rotation
1.
2.
3.
and the new position is confirmed by a voltage
change. Indeed, if the blade is manually rotated,
the voltage does change linearly based on the
position of the blade – opening or closing (pic 4).
The Automotive Technician 24

4. 5.
8.
6. 7.
DC motor runner control
In order for the ECM to physically rotate
and actuate the runner blade, clock
or counter clockwise, a DC motor is
employed where the polarity of both wires
changes status from positive to negative
and reverse.
For example, when the ignition key
is turned to the on position, the ECM
commands the DC motor to fully extend
(pic 5).
To reverse the rotational position, it
reverses polarity by changing the status
(pic 6).
As can be seen, the earthing and supply
pulses have changed status, similar
to an electric window motor winder.
Diagnostically speaking, the leading and
trailing edges of the DC motor pulses are
imperative (pic 7).
Prognosis of symptom
On the initial inspection, all waveforms
seemed to be good.
The symptom begged a closer examination
of the sensors or actuators mounted on the
block and connecting to the ECM. These
were all OK (pic 8).
The feedback potentiometer was
examined for external physical damage
and it appeared that the cover had been
tampered with and had been heat-glued
back on (pic 9). The sensor was replaced
and the vehicle test driven.
Test drive
Having attained the conditions that
set the DTC the vehicle was test
driven again, only to log a different
code, P2011 – intake manifold
runner control circuit.
The DC motor/actuator was then
physically dismantled and closely
examined for damage (pic 10).
While it seemed OK, the debris and
rust marks did, in part, inhibit the
free roll of the gears (pic 11) despite
all attempts to clean and free the
actuator mechanism.
The actuator was replaced and the
vehicle test driven again.
Everything was OK.
Conclusion
While every effort is made to rectify
the cause and effect of DTCs, it is
imperative that the conditions that
set the DTC are attained prior to any
test drive.
This will, invariably, minimise the
possibility of the vehicle being
returned with the original DTC and
the prolonged repairs and confusion
that will result.
Happy DTCing,
Sam and Jack
9.
10.
11.
The Automotive Technician 25

The Automotive Technician 26

‘s a fact
problem solving
HOLAS05450
HOLDEN
ASTRA AH
2005
4 Cylinders
Customer Complaint
Vehicle intermittently fails to crank
over.
Problem Summary
The engine intermittently fails to
crank over. It does not matter if
the vehicle is hot or cold. Both
sets of keys were tried with the
same result.
Diagnostic Sequence
The scan tool was hooked up to
check for fault codes. There was
only one fault code in the system
and that was P1614 (immobiliser
signal incorrect).
The wiring and connections to the
starter motor were checked. All
good and secure. The starter relay
was checked and it looked OK.
The owner was asked to
provide both sets of keys.
Some data and wiring information
was acquired. The PCM sends
an earth to the starter relay once
the immobiliser has given the key
recognition OK.
Fault Description
After doing a bit more research,
we found a report that had
the same code but also two
others (P1616 and B3055).
The description of the fault was
different however. The vehicle did
crank, but did not start with the
SVS light flashing.
Our information outlined
problems with earlier CIMs
(Column Integrated Module)
and/or programming update
requirements.
The CIM is the module
behind the steering column.
It does a bunch of things,
including housing the
airbag clock spring.
3
The vehicle had a
previous mod carried out
to the CIM. There was a
steel clip clamping down
the outer housing (bottom
left). This was because
the earlier modules had
some poor solder joint
issues and this was the
first step to rectifying it.
Convinced we had a problem
with the CIM, and knowing
we could not reprogram it,
we booked it in for the dealer
service.
Fault Solution
The vehicle was dropped off to
the dealer for fault confirmation
and to make sure it was not a
warranty issue.
The service
department tried
updating the
software as a
first step but
this didn’t work.
A new CIM
was supplied
and fitted.
The CIM was
reprogrammed and
the vehicle was
returned to us with
the old unit to show
the owner.
Recommended
Time
Labour time was
2.5 hours, taking into
account research time,
location of parts and
actual time spent fixing
the problem.
This is about where the
clip/clamp was situated
The Automotive Technician 27

‘s a fact
problem solving
ALFSP01410
ALFA
SPRINTER
GTV 2001
4 Cylinders
Customer
Complaint
Battery going flat.
Problem Summary
Charge light on, not charging
and battery flat.
Diagnostic
Sequence
Check wiring and
connections. OK. Problem
identified as an internal
problem inside the alternator.
Major job to access
alternator.
Remove driver’s
front wheel, inner
guard and drive shaft
assembly to make
room to manipulate
the alternator. Even
at this point there was
not enough room to
remove the alternator.
It did give us enough
room to move and
turn the alternator
around and work
on the back of it.
Removed the rear
cover and the internal
regulator in situ.
Fault Description
This vehicle had only done
some 30,000kms and the
alternator appeared in good
condition. The slip ring had
no wear.
3
To verify it was the
suspect regulator, the
regulator was fitted
to another alternator
and bench tested and
found to be faulty.
Fault Solution
New regulator fitted to
alternator on the vehicle.
Alternator reassembled in
situ and remounted.
4
Vehicle then started
and complete
charging system
checked.
Recommended
Time
Labour time was 5 hours,
taking into account research
time, location of parts and
actual time spent fixing the
problem.
4
3
The Automotive Technician 28

‘s a fact
problem solving
AUD8094434
AUDI 80 V6
2.6E
1994
6 Cylinders
Customer
Complaint
No electric window
operation.
Problem Summary
None of the electric
windows are working and
no blown fuses.
Diagnostic
Sequence
Rechecked fuses and
power circuits.
Removed driver’s door trim
and checked for power
supply to the main switch
assembly.
Checked the wiring
between the pillar and door
at the hinging point for any
wiring breaks.
Had no main supply
getting to the main switch
assembly. Wiring was
traced back through inside
the driver’s kick panel.
Removed some underdash
covers to access
the area and the problem
was isolated to a control
relay that supplies power
to the main window switch
assembly.
This relay is situated
deep behind the
upper end of the
driver’s side dash in
the top right corner.
Fault Description
This relay is a timer relay
that will keep power up
to the switch for a period
of time after the ignition
switch is turned off and
removed.
The power window
supply control relay
was removed. The
cover was removed
and the circuit board
inspected.
A couple of fractured
solder joints for the
internal power relay
were noticed.
It was suspected that this
was most probably an
intermittent problem to start
with, but the owner did not
advise his service provider
and just put up with it until
it failed altogether.
Fault Solution
Cleaned and soldered all
the bad connection points
and any suspect area.
Reassembled and refitted
the control relay and
reassembled the panels.
Tested operation and all
checked OK.
Recommended
Time
Labour time was 3 hours,
taking into account
research time, location of
parts and actual time spent
fixing the problem.
tips for
ideas division
When invoicing, TaT
recommends you split the
labour times and charges
for diagnosis, remove and
refit, and repairs.
In this case we charged
two hours for the diagnosis
including the remove
and refit, but charged
a separate hour for the
electronic component
repairs.
This makes it cleaner as an
outcome if there are any
problems or disputes in the
future.
Itemising your invoices
should be a very important
part of your final process.
Power window module
The Automotive Technician 29

‘s a fact
problem solving
BMW4699714
BMW
E46
1999
6 Cylinders
Customer Complaint
Horn not working.
SRS light on sometimes.
Radio not working but not as
important.
Problem Summary
SRS light was on, and horn
had no trigger circuit to
relay.
Hooked up scan tool, would not
communicate with SRS.
Suspected that it may be a clock
spring issue but because the radio
did not work and communication
errors, further investigation
required before parts ordered.
Diagnostic Sequence
Using scan tool we could not
communicate with majority of the
systems.
The interior light circuit was also
playing up and would not turn right
off all the time.
Tested fuses in fuse box
and found some of the
accessory circuits had a
poor voltage supply.
After turning the ignition switch on
and off a number of times on one
occasion the audio fired up for a
short time.
Fault Description
Trace the problem back to the
ignition switch electrics.
3
The purple wire is the
accessory supply feed to
many of the accessory
circuits including the control
modules.
This was affecting the horn also
and many other circuits.
By supplying a good supply to the
purple wire the SRS light went out,
horn worked and the audio system
functioned correctly and the
interior light came good as well.
Fault Solution
4
Removed the outer covers,
removed faulty switch and
replaced with new ignition
switch electrics.
Reassembled and checked, all
circuits now OK.
Recommended Time
Labour time was 2 hours, taking
into account research time,
location of parts and actual
time spent fixing the problem.
tips for
ideas division
When checking multiple circuit
malfunctions don’t start at the
deep end, go for something more
basic so you can easily get your
head around it, the chances are
there is a common point.
4
3
The Automotive Technician 30

The worthiness
of the
roadworthy
by Anthony Tydd
QUALITY & CAPABILITY
FOR THE PROFESSIONAL
At the risk of upsetting my trade brothers, it is
my view that today’s professional aftermarket
technician needs more tools, more information
and more training than electricians and plumbers
put together.
I choose these trades because it’s common knowledge
that they make good money with their undoubted skills.
A plumber once told me all you need to be a plumber
is the knowledge that water runs downhill, pay day is
Thursday.
Now before I have every plumber hunting me down I
know there is more to a good job than that. The secret is
that their industry is regulated. Our trade will never get
paid its worth until it is regulated.
And on the subject of regulation, probably the closest
thing to regulation in our industry is the state-controlled
roadworthy certificate inspections, which many
technicians are qualified to do.
I have heard that a lot of guys have given up doing
roadworthy work in Victoria. But why?
Every year we have had to buy new equipment, do more
courses and be put under the microscope even more. Is
this why they give it up?
I don’t understand – it’s one of the greatest value-formoney
earners you could have in this business. You
don’t need to keep parts on the shelf and it’s not hard to
charge the hours, unlike some big diagnostic jobs. It’s
clean compared to most auto work and generally the
hardest part of the job is finding the engine numbers on
some vehicles.
The best thing about roadworthy certificates is that they
don’t sell them at Super Cheap or other parts outlets and
the backyarders can’t do them either.
The only threat is the small number of technicians who
just pump out roadworthies, but the Victorian authorities
are slowly closing the door on these guys.
Doing roadworthies we have to take pictures of speedos,
chassis numbers and cars on the hoist. At first I thought,
what a pain, but I’ve changed my tune. It eliminates the
shonksters who used to do them over the phone and
when you get pressure to turn a blind eye to the
blacked-out windows, you have the best comeback in
the world, ‘Sorry mate. I have to take a happy snap so
the 22-inch rims and the black windows have to go.’
A quick ring-around in my area put the price of
roadworthies at anywhere from $100 to $250. I don’t
doubt that different overheads, trade rates and age of
car will influence the price, but like everything you do in
the workshop, it is important not to sell yourself short.
Now I am not saying let’s all charge the same amount
for everything but I think some guys try to cut short their
roadworthy inspections and as a result don’t charge their
worth.
And apart from increasing the earning capacity of your
business, it’s one of the few ways to get the junk off our
roads making them safer for everyone.
The Best Technology
in Workshop Equipment
GET THE ANSWERS TO GET YOU
BACK ON THE ROAD FASTER...
To find out more phone
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TM
The Automotive Technician 31

Training event was a knock-out
more please!
Two groups of
Australian auto
technicians have
just completed advanced
workshops on electrical
fault-finding with leading
American specialist and
trainer Dan Sullivan.
Author of a 200-page
electrical diagnostics book
used in technical schools
in the US, Dan has
trained more than 4,000
technicians since 1996.
He is specifically skilled in
electrical theory and practice. His training concepts are based on
the peculiar nature of electrical systems, why they fail, and how
they should be diagnosed.
Dan was brought to Australia by electronic tools importer and
wholesaler, Dayle Thomas of OLTC, for only two courses, one in
Ipswich, Queensland and one in Murray Bridge, South Australia.
TaT was well represented at both courses. Research director
Deyan Barrie attended both, and TaT technical editor Jeff Smit
and technical writer Jason Smith were in the South Australian
audience.
Both training sessions were highly successful and voted tops by
all attendees.
Deyan Barrie said he found the courses most rewarding, and that
he learnt much from Dan’s training technique.
The Queensland session was a full four days of learning about
electrical circuits and how to diagnose faults correctly and
efficiently. The South Australian session over two days at the
Murray Bridge TAFE covered logical electrical trouble shooting.
Organiser Dayle Thomas said his decision to bring Dan to
Australia had been fully vindicated by the enthusiastic response
to both sessions.
‘The highlight for me was to see experienced technicians like
Deyan Barrie rubbing shoulders with newcomers to the industry
who barely understood multimeters and yet both technicians
came away with new knowledge about testing and diagnosing
faults in electrical circuits.’
Jeff Smit, himself an accomplished technical teacher, was equally
impressed. ‘Dan
teaches that there are
only three possible faults
in an electrical circuit
– open, short and high
resistance.
‘His training was
hands-on and he had us
working on training boards
and constructing our own
circuits to which faults
were introduced – and
then we had to diagnose
those faults,’ Jeff added.
TaT’s Jason Smith, from Melbourne, said he thoroughly enjoyed
the training and picked up a lot of knowledge just by working
together with other technicians.
Other technicians said the training session had helped to push
their thinking on electrical fault-finding in new directions, which
would ultimately play out as time saved in the workshop.
Trainer Dan told Jeff Smit that he would happily return to Australia
as a result of the great feedback he received. He said he found
Australian technicians worked quicker and seemed more
confident than their American counterparts. He believed that
those who rolled up to his Australian courses seemed surprised at
how much they could do with their multimeters and the influence
of ghost voltages.
Given the warnings issued in another story in this issue, ‘Too
many distractions’, TaT directors Jeff and Deyan, said that training
events like Dan Sullivan’s should have been swamped with
participants.
‘Trainers should be turning people away,’ they said. ‘Instead, we
often wonder if enough people will show up to justify the expense
of putting them on.
‘It’s also interesting to note that you will see the same faces at
most training events. Organisations like VASA, for example, which
has been running annual training events for many years, believes
that 80 per cent of their audience are the same technicians who
turn up year after year. They never seem to tire of training, even
though sometimes they’ve heard it all before.
‘TaT is dedicated to training and is working at programs to
encourage younger technicians to join in and discover what an
exciting world automotive diagnostics can be,’ they said.
practical theory
hands on
skills
The Automotive Technician 32

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The Automotive Technician 33

The importance of the battery
in a modern vehicle cannot be
underestimated.
In my 35 years on the bench, I cannot
begin to tell you how many times
complex issues on modern cars can be
linked back to poor or undercharged
batteries.
Maintenance of 12V batteries demands
a good quality, functional battery
charger. In fact, a good charger is as
important as the quality of the battery
itself.
You might have the best 12V battery
on the planet, but unless the battery
is fully charged, it isn’t going to deliver
its full potential in power output or life
expectancy.
The Projecta Workshop 3000 is a handy
charger designed for the everyday
workshop that needs a reliable 12V and
24V charger with an automatic function.
The automatic three-stage charging
feature delivers a complete and
thorough charge, giving the battery
better performance and longer life. Once
the battery is fully charged, the charger
will continue to monitor the battery
without the risk of overcharging.
The manual setting is more for the
experienced technician who may want to
monitor the battery voltage. This setting
is used when delivering an equalisation
charge.
Calcium batteries have become popular
in later model vehicles, the main reason
being its extended shelf life – about four
times longer than a conventional battery.
These batteries
can also
withstand the high
under-bonnet
temperatures
better than most,
even though
many of them
are mounted in
the boot. Their
cranking output
is also increased.
Vehicles fitted with
Top
Tools
with Jeff
Smit
Projecta
Workshop 3000
Battery Charger
Setting up the charger
calcium batteries have a different type
of charging system compared to older
vehicles and it is controlled externally
by an electronic module or ECU. The
charging technique is also different on
these vehicles so the charging methods
we use in the workshop must also
change.
To charge calcium batteries with
the Projecta Workshop 3000, the
instructions in the manual must be
followed. There is a good reference
chart to work out the manual charge rate
to ensure a fully charged battery (pic 1).
A good feature of this charger is the
engine start function which starts
a vehicle with a flat battery after a
controlled five minutes charge. This
charger is not a battery booster pack
and you will need to be careful not to
overuse this feature.
If a vehicle has a problem with a starter
motor or engine, you may need to use
a good jumper battery while diagnosing
and fixing the vehicle’s problems.
There is a good LED display on the
charger which shows the battery’s state
of charge, battery voltage (pic 2) and
amperage (pic 3) readings together with
correct connection and other warning
messages (pic 4) during operation.
The charger has a built-in fuse for
reverse polarity protection – in the rush
of the day, anyone can make a mistake
and this fuse protects the charger.
The instruction manual is well laid
out and includes a great section on
important safety information. Sometimes
we all need to be
reminded that
batteries emit
explosive gases.
1
Our vote was that
overall, the Projecta
Workshop 3000 is a
great little charger
with some good
features.
www.projecta.com.au
info@projecta.com.au
Ph: 1800 113 443
2 3 4
The Automotive Technician 34

...and they’re
racing!
Letter from
America
by Julian Hentze
The Commodore wearing
the Chevy badge
Australians are bloody everywhere and
making big names for themselves.
It’s pretty hard over here not to love an
Aussie, especially in the automotive arena.
Look at Mark Webber in Formula One,
Casey Stoner in motorbikes and now, joining
Marcos Ambrose in NASCAR, is the Holden
Commodore.
Yes, you read right. The good old Aussie
Commodore, better known in the US as the
Chevrolet SS, is on the NASCAR track.
Just think, NASCAR has a bigger television
audience than any other motor sport, even
more than Formula One. If only Ford had sent
over a Falcon, it would be V8 Supercars on
steroids.
NASCAR sees a few changes this year, the
most noticeable being the generation six body
style. Generation five, also known as ‘car of the
future’ was a generic shell that manufacturers
would turn into a car that looked like theirs,
using just paint or stickers. From a distance,
they all looked the same.
NASCAR, like every other sport, has been
losing revenue because the economy has
dragged their ticket sales down, so they have
released the generation six. This allows the
vehicle manufacturers to change front and rear
end components to make the shell look more
like the car they sell.
So a Commodore looks like a Commodore, with
the exception of that Chevy badge.
They also took each car, as it came from the
manufacturer, to a wind tunnel and tested
the death out of them so that no one had a
competitive advantage. Larger roof and bonnet
flaps have been added to cars. These will flip
up if the vehicle finds itself in reverse at high
speeds. The flaps are designed to force the
vehicle down on the race track. Last year some
cars flipped when hit from behind under speed,
so I am not surprised to see this change.
On the personality front, there are two new
drivers in their rookie season. Danica Patrick
has won herself a full time drive this year in
the major NASCAR category and has thanked
her team by taking out pole position for the first
race of the year. In doing so, she makes history
as the first woman ever to take pole position in
NASCAR.
Darrell Wallace Jnr also joined the Nationwide
series (one bracket lower) for his rookie
season. He is the fourth African American to get
a full-time race and he is hoping to earn a spot
to race in the NASCAR. It’s a big deal because
African Americans are under-represented in
NASCAR but not in the love of motorsport.
NASCAR may have found two new market
segments as a result of these rookies.
The other major change is that Dodge will
not have a vehicle on the track. That’s major,
since Dodge has been pushing the Charger as
the poor man’s sports car over here. It’s also
upsetting to me because, in my humble opinion,
they make mediocre a/c systems, so it may
equate to a reduction in aftermarket a/c sales.
Who am I kidding, they still have the Voyager
minivan and all the Jeep products, so a/c jobs
are safe (that’s a joke).
So Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet are on the
starting grid this year. There’s one manufacturer
less and everyone is scrambling to make it
interesting enough to put bums on seats without
compromising safety.
My TV will be on. I’ve got mates on their way
over. Can someone please send me some
VBs?
Aussie Marcos Ambrose
Rookie Danica Patrick
Rookie Darrell Wallace Jnr
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The Automotive Technician 35

Meet the
TaT team
at the AAA
Expo
Jack Stepanian TaT Research
Centre and senior writer
Ken Newton Editor and
TaT director
Jeff Smit Technical
Editor and TaT director
Deyan Barrie Technical
Research and TaT director
Wayne Broady TaT writer
and advisor
Maurice Donovan TaT
writer and advisor
The Automotive Technician 36
Sydney Exhibition
Centre 11-13 April
A
big welcome to this
special edition of
The Automotive
Technician magazine,
distributed earlier than
usual to coincide with the
forthcoming Australian
Auto Aftermarket Expo
at the Sydney Exhibition
Grounds, Darling Harbour
from 11 to 13 April.
This special edition will be
distributed by members of
the TaT team who will be
out in force to meet and
greet, as well as to check
out all the displays at the
show.
Our home base at the Expo
will be on the Capricorn
Society stand B16. The
Capricorn Society and
TaT have a professional
relationship through its cobranded
business training
agenda, 9 steps to a better
workshop, now in its third
year.
The TaT squad at Expo will
comprise its three directors,
Jeff Smit, Deyan Barrie and
Ken Newton, the company’s
advertising consultant
Janene Champion, and
its specialist technical and
business writers. Watch out
for them in their new black
shirts with gold trim and
make yourself known.
We will be looking for
feedback on our popular
magazine, and hoping
to meet as many TaT
subscribers as possible.
The new online TaT assist
program will also be on
show. This will be a great
improvement on the current
email based system of
sending requests for help
on ticklish technical issues.
As usual, TaT will be
looking forward to meeting
its advertisers.
The Expo judges will be
releasing their awards
for the best stands,
technologies and tools, and
TaT will feature those in its
next edition.
But for the first time, TaT
will do some judging of its
own, and the entire team
will be scouring the Expo
looking for the tool, service
or idea that they believe is
the most useful thing that a
technician can add to their
workshop toolkit.
The chosen exhibitor
will receive a framed
TaT award, together with
a package of ten TaT
subscriptions, worth $1,300,
which they can present to
ten of their own customers
who are not already TaT
subscribers.
The Expo is the biggest
event on the Australasian
technicians’ calendar and
with its seminars covering a
variety of topics and product
presentations, it has all the
promise of being another
winner for the Aftermarket
Association, which TaT fully
supports.
Gil Sher TaT advisor
Geoff Mutton TaT Biz
director and trainer
Gerry Marson TaT
advisor
Janene Champion TaT
advertising consultant
Jason Smith TaT writer
and advisor

The Automotive Technician 37

An average car travels between
15,000 and 20,000 kilometres
a year and during that time the
engine oil and coolant levels should
have been checked, the wiper blades
replaced and maybe the brake pads and
rotors checked.
Of all the essential working parts of a
vehicle, the brakes are all too often taken for
granted. How many times does a driver step on the brake pedal in a
year? And do service technicians pay the proper respect to that most
essential of fluids, the brake fluid.
Brake fluid needs to be checked and replaced regularly. In fact many
car makers and maintenance experts recommend that brake fluid be
replaced at least every two years.
Brake fluid is a hydraulic fluid that actuates the car’s brake system
when the brake pedal is depressed.
As a fluid that transmits force, its important property is that it should
be non-compressible so that it effectively transmits braking force
to the wheels at all times. As brake fluids are exposed to very high
temperatures during braking, they should have very high boiling points
so that they remain non-compressible even during extreme braking.
The DOT standards by which brake fluids are identified were
established by the US Department of Transportation.
In this part of the world, there are two main standards, DOT 3 and
DOT 4. There are other types of brake fluid in use but most vehicles
use one of these two standards, so only these are covered in this
article.
The table shows the boiling
point standards. Note that
the Australian standard has
a more stringent boiling
point requirement than the
internationally accepted
American DOT standard. It
is also worth noting that the Bendix line of brake fluids conform to both
the DOT standards and the Australian standards and in fact exceed
these standards by a wide margin.
The ERBP referred to in the table stands for equilibrium reflux boiling
point, which is the boiling point of a brake fluid as determined by a
special test procedure. The test was devised to show that brake fluid,
when first produced, has a boiling point significantly higher than the
operating temperature in the braking system, thereby ensuring an
acceptable lifetime of service in a vehicle.
The tests are broken into two segments, dry and wet. The dry tests
cover normal operations, but the wet boiling point reflects the fact that
the brake fluid, over a period of several years, will pick up about
3.7 per cent of water which brings down the boiling point.
Brake fluid is a glycol-based fluid that remains fluid even when
freezing and remains effective as a hydraulic fluid even at high
temperatures. It is expected to work in freezing winter and in
extremely hot summer months.
However, brake fluid by nature absorbs moisture from the atmosphere
through the microscopic pores in brake lines and through the small
vent in the reservoir. In fact brake fluid begins to take in moisture the
moment you pour it into your brake system.
After a year in service, brake fluid would have absorbed about 2 per
cent water and will have progressed to 3 per cent water after only 18
months. These figures would be a lot higher in places that are humid
and wet. Moisture in brake fluid decreases its boiling point – 2 per cent
water will reduce the brake fluid’s boiling point by 75°C. The boiling
point drop becomes more pronounced as more moisture is absorbed.
The Automotive Technician 38
Brakes depend on a
good fluid intake
Moisture contamination heightens the risk
of brake failure especially during extreme
braking conditions like driving downhill,
in constant stop and go in heavy traffic
or when carrying heavy loads. Constant
braking transmits a lot of heat to the brake
fluid from the pads and rotors.
If a considerable degree of moisture were
present, this would easily boil off and form
vapour which is extremely compressible and this is when the pedal
starts feeling spongy.
This is the reason why there have been many cases of brake failures
even if the braking systems were found to be mechanically in order. In
fact, the brakes worked perfectly again after the system cooled down
and the vapour condensed.
Presence of vapour in the brake fluid also affects the performance of
the anti-lock brake systems (ABS). The ABS pulsates about 15 times
a second and the brake fluid’s viscosity is an important factor for the
proper operation of the ABS. The presence of moisture and/or vapour
in the brake fluid alters its viscosity characteristics and will result in
improper operation of the ABS.
The main difference between DOT 3 and DOT 4 brake fluids is that
DOT 4 brake fluids have higher minimum dry and wet boiling points,
and this is why the majority of car makers recommend DOT 4 brake
fluid over DOT 3 as it provides an extra margin of safety.
Both are made from glycol ethers but DOT 4 brake fluids contain
borate esters to improve their dry and wet boiling points. DOT 4
maximum viscosity specifications are also slightly higher than those of
DOT 3.
Often not mentioned is
the effect of the different
DOT 4 formulations on
the brake fluid behaviour.
DOT 4 absorbs moisture at
a slower rate than DOT 3
but is more susceptible to
suffering a drop in its boiling point. Typically a DOT 4 brake fluid will
suffer a boiling point drop of 50 per cent once it takes in 2 per cent
moisture while a DOT 3 brake fluid would only lose 25 per cent of its
boiling point at 3 per cent moisture contamination although it takes in
moisture at a faster rate. This suggests that DOT 4 brake fluids offer
more stability and safety for longer but would need to be replaced at
the car makers’ recommended intervals before it suffers a substantial
drop in boiling point.
ERBP tests International standards Australian Standard 1960.1 Bendix standard
(minimum
boiling points)
DOT 3 DOT 4 DOT 3 DOT 4 DOT 3 DOT 4
Dry test °C 205 230 230 260 230 260
Wet test °C 140 155 140 155 140 155
Some brake systems were designed before DOT 4 brake fluid was
introduced. Their hoses, with inner linings made of SBR rubber,
were found not to be compatible with some DOT 4 formulations in
laboratory tests. It was claimed that DOT 4 brake fluid permeates the
inner lining and then reacts with the outer PVA reinforcement braiding
producing a viscous liquid which could build up between layers of
rubber, considerably weakening the hose.
Attempts to reproduce this problem in real life conditions have proved
to be difficult though. Some Australian vehicle manufacturers may still
use brake hoses made with SBR rubber, hence their recommendation
to stick with DOT 3. Most vehicle marques today use a different
rubber called EPDM in their brake hoses which is much less subject to
permeation. Most car makers have taken the view that the extra safety
offered by DOT 4 more than outweighs the miniscule risk of hose
failure caused by the reaction described above.
TaT acknowledges the assistance of the Bendix Brake Advice
Centre in the preparation of this article.
Bendix advice centre 1800 819 666 or +61 3 5327 0211
brakeadvicecentre@bendix.com.au
www.bendix.com.au or www.bendix.co.nz

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The Automotive Technician 39

VIVA SEMA
LAS VEGAS
See the bright
lights of Vegas with
Century Batteries
How To Enter
Resellers with a Century Yuasa trading account will
be entered automatically upon meeting your minimum
Century and/or GS Yuasa growth targets. The greater
your achievement, the more entries you receive!
New Trading Accounts Welcome
Not currently trading with Century Yuasa Batteries?
Establish an account and you are invited to join the
competition for your chance to win!
WIN the ultimate travel experience for two
in one of the world’s most vibrant and entertaining cities with
Century Yuasa’s Viva SEMA Las Vegas competition!
A package for two including:
• Return economy airfares to Las Vegas
• 5 nights twin-share luxury accommodation on the Strip
• Return airport transfers in Las Vegas
• Event Registrations & entry to the SEMA Trade Show
• Welcome dinner and drinks on arrival
• Tickets to an evening show and local tour
Competition commences 2nd April and closes 28th June 2013.
Get Started Today!
Contact your Century representative or call 1300 326
287 for details regarding targets or to establish your
new account. For more, email sema2013@cyb.com.au
or visit www.centurybatteries.com.au/vivasemalasvegas.
Selling Century Batteries
has never been easier!
Our consumer promotion Check-In. Recharge
also commences April 2nd 2013.
13 fantastic prizes up for grabs!
www.centurybatteries.com.au/checkinrecharge.
For more, visit
Terms & Conditions: Participation in the Viva Sema Las Vegas promotion is open to resellers who purchased a minimum of 15 Century and/or Yuasa and/or GS Yuasa (combined total) branded batteries in the
2012 calendar year and hold a current Century Yuasa Batteries Pty Ltd trading account. Promotion commences Tuesday 2nd April 2013 at 8:00AM AEST & closes Friday 28thth June 2013 at 5:30PM AEST.
The random prize draw will be conducted 2nd July 2013 at 11am at Century Yuasa Batteries, 17 Shale Place, Eastern Creek NSW 2766. Winner’s details will be published 6th July 2013 in the Public Notices
section of The Australian. Winners will be contacted by telephone and written confirmation will follow. Winner(s) who cannot be contacted within 10 business days will be disqualified. A re-draw will take place
16th July 2013 at 11am at Century Yuasa Batteries, 17 Shale Place, Eastern Creek NSW 2766. Redraw winner(s) details will be published 20th July 2013 in the Public Notices section of The Australian. Entry
is automatic upon qualification. To qualify for entry into the prize draw, participants must purchase a minimum of 15 Century and/or Yuasa and /or GS Yuasa batteries (combined total allowed) AND achieve
% growth targets for the same product range during the promotion period . Purchase targets determined by the promoter at time of launch and are available on request. Bonus entries will be awarded to
qualifying entrants who achieved annual growth of 3% or greater in the 2012 calendar year. Annual growth is measured on comparative historic purchases of 15 Century and/or Yuasa and/or GS Yuasa product
(combined total). Bonus entries determined by the promoter at time of launch and are available on request. New trading accounts established before or during the promotion period are eligible for participation
subject to targets established at the sole discretion of the CYB representative. Century PS, Yuasa NP, Yuasa Powersport, Enersun, Forklift and Intelepower products are excluded from this promotion. Winners
must be available to take their prize from 3rd November 2012 to 10th November 2013; be minimum 21 years of age; and hold a passport valid for travel to the USA at the time the prize is taken. A total of 15
prizes (double tickets) are available to be won. 5 prizes for independent customers (1 x NSW & ACT combined, 1 x VIC & TAS combined,1 x QLD, 1 x SA and NT combined, 1 x WA.) 10 prizes for National
Major Account customers, as categorised by Century Yuasa Batteries Pty Ltd. Each prize includes 2 x return economy airfares to Las Vegas departing Sydney, connecting domestic airfares from the nearest
capital city, entry into the SEMA 2013 trade show, twin share accommodation for 5 nights, and return airport transfers in Las Vegas. ESTA Visa Waiver and Travel insurance at passengers own arrangements.
Total prize pool is $150,000.00 ($10,000.00 per twin-share). Prize is non-transferable, and not refundable or redeemable for cash. The promoter is Century Yuasa Batteries Pty Ltd, ABN 66 009 685 232, 37-
65 Cobalt Street, Carole Park QLD 4300. VIC Permit No 13/274, NSW LTPS/13/00967, ACT TP 13/00448, SA T13 / 155.
The Automotive Technician 40

TopTools
by Jack Stepanian and Sam Nazarian
Smoking out the leaks
For this review of the Smoke Pro
leak detector, the TaT research
workshop approached the job
while pretending that we knew nothing
about smoke leak detectors.
As busy technicians we wanted to quickly
assess the ease of use as well as the
effectiveness of the machine.
Our encounter began with unwrapping the
kit and that was impressive enough. The
main smoke-generating unit was bundled
with nearly all imaginable accessories,
down to a hex key for the fill plug on the
reservoir that needs to be filled with the
approved smoke agent.
Included was a halogen inspection light,
an assortment of cap plugs, an accessory
storage case, oversize and undersize
cone adapters, and a universal filler cap
connector, to name just a few (pic 1).
Ease of set up
The operating manual was very simple to
follow. The set up was straight forward, but
supressing our desire to press the button
and run with it (pic 2), we thought we
should have a look at the accompanying
DVD.
That was useful. It effectively illustrated
the countless diagnostic procedures that
can be simply executed with the help of
the Smoke Pro. These varied from intake
systems and vacuum leaks such as
vacuum lines, manifolds, EGR valves, oil
seals, gaskets, solenoids, O-rings, ducting,
throttle shaft, diaphragms, cannisters and
more. It also included evaporator, muffler
and dashboard leaks.
To get it going, all we had to do was
connect the workshop’s air hose to the unit
and its electrical cable to a battery supply.
A green light came on (pic 3) indicating
the machine had adequate power to start
producing smoke.
When the button near the green light was
pressed, a red light came on (indicating
that smoke was being generated) and it
1.
2.
3.
4.
then began to produce smoke (pic 4).
At the centre of the smoke-generating
machine there is a centre-balanced
pressure gauge (pic 5). It is calibrated
in negative and positive pressure of one
psi (pound per square inch) on either
side, directly reflecting pressure held or
decaying in the air passageway. To one
side there is a flow meter that is calibrated
such that it reflects the amount of smoke
flowing into the system (pic 6).
Effectiveness
Now that we were producing smoke it
was time to find a vacuum feed line and
pump the smoke into the vacuum pipeline
(pic 7). Since we were pretending we
knew nothing about smoke tests, we were
surprised to see smoke pouring out of
the throttle body (pic 8). So we promptly
sealed the throttle body with a plug
selected from the supplied assortment of
cap plugs (pic 9) and began to look for
leaks. To our genuine surprise we found
many unrecognised faults that needed
extra work. We tested this on car after car,
in other words, real case scenarios, and
we unearthed many faults.
Examples of faults included:
• throttle body shaft seal leak (pic 10)
• vacuum hose that had dislodged itself
and was sucking air (pic 11)
• exhaust gas recirculating (EGR) valve
leaking and logging misfire diagnostic
trouble code (pic 12)
• unmetered air leak at the intake
manifold rendering the vehicle with a
massive dead spot in take-off (pic 13)
and there were many more.
While all the testing was done on real
customer vehicles it is important to note
that none of these vehicles exhibited any
audible hiss or a symptomatic side effect
of engine imbalance after spraying with
enhancing sprays. Indeed, without the
5. 6. 7.
The Automotive Technician 41

8.
9.
10.
Smoke Pro we would never have known
the actual whereabouts of the leaks.
Diagnostically speaking, while we might
acknowledge the fact that some vehicles
may be running lean due to a vacuum
leak and that attempts to listen for hisses
while the engine is running, or feeling for
vacuum leaks may be inadequate, it is
reassuring to know that using a
Smoke Pro will make the invisible ‘visible’.
And it does this by simply converting a
leak into a smoking port.
Smoke Pro will effectively smoke out the
cause.
In conclusion
Remember that even if you don’t hear
a leak hissing, you will definitely see it
smoking. And if you don’t see it smoking
you will definitely smell it, especially under
the dash.
Whichever way you search for a leak, you
will never realise how much money you
are losing by not using the Smoke Pro.
Just imagine those many repair
opportunities that might have passed you
by. The Smoke Pro is simple to use and it
gets results. If improving your business is
important to you, we can only recommend
that using a smoke machine as a
diagnostic tool on every car that comes
in for servicing or repairs could open up
a whole new avenue of business. You’ll
never look back. The Smoke Pro can also
be used for locating exhaust leaks, testing
fuel tank evaporative systems and looking
for water leaks in cabins. The possibilities
are endless.
Till the next review, happy smoking!
Part no. 95-0003B
Available at Repco
Technical inquiries 1300 137 753
11.
12.
13.
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The Automotive Technician 42

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The Automotive Technician 43

All too often we hear stories
of sick cars ending up
in good workshops after
other workshops have either
failed to fix the problem, or have
botched it.
Is it possible that our trade is
getting a bad
name? It’s hard
to ignore the fact
that the general
education of a
large section of
the trade must
be sadly lacking.
The dodgy brothers have
nothing on these workshops
A lady I know
told me her car was having problems, so she took it to her local
mechanic. The workshop had the car for four weeks, charged her
a ridiculous amount of money, fitted numerous parts that were not
required and the car still wasn’t fixed. By chance, a roadside tech
lifted the bonnet and found the coil pack arcing and that’s what
the problem was.
The workshop is being taken to the small claims court. I looked
up her car’s symptoms in the TaT’s a facts on the TaT website
and there it was, the fault and the solution. If only that workshop
had looked up TaT, if indeed they were switched on enough to be
subscribers.
Some friends of mine had a car for sale and the intending buyer
wanted a pre-purchase inspection. To keep the inspection
unbiased, the buyer booked an inspection and service with a
local independent workshop and my friends took the car there.
When they got it back there was no oil showing on the dipstick
so back to the workshop it went. But this time it came back with
oil everywhere under the bonnet because the engine oil cap had
been left off – it was sitting on the chassis rail. My friends refitted
it, degreased the engine, and kissed that workshop goodbye
forever.
We can all make mistakes, but not two basic ones!
Perhaps the worst kind of customer is the one who has been
burnt by a repairer and now mistrusts all workshops.
One of my good customers told me his cousin was on his way
from Darwin by car and it had a problem he wanted me to fix.
It had been hard to start on extremely cold mornings but now it
would only start with a push. I squeezed the car in to my very
busy schedule as a favour for my customer.
The car arrived in the morning as agreed and because I was very
busy working on two cars at once, I asked that they leave me the
car, I would do an inspection and contact them within two hours.
You need to know that cousin looked a little like Grizzly Adams,
and I’m just a little guy. The reaction I got from Grizzly was
unexpected. He came up really close, shoved his finger in my
face and said my offer was not good enough. ‘You city folk are
always in a big hurry and you mechanics are all the same –
bastards. You won’t call in two hours!’
Needless to say, I was shocked at this bloke’s attitude and I
suggested it might be a good idea that he take his car somewhere
else.
by Jason Smith
Then the story came out. He told
me that six months earlier his car
would not start in extreme cold. He
took it to some workshop where
the starter was replaced. When
driving it home he noticed a terrible
noise that wasn’t there before.
He checked
it himself and
found the wrong
starter motor
had been fitted.
The new starter
had the wrong
number of teeth
compared to
the original.
So he refitted his old starter and returned the new one and got
his money back. The mechanic blamed the spare parts guy and
everyone else. Grizzly, in the meantime, just put up with the cold
morning problem.
Now the car won’t start at all and he’s so cheesed off, he’s going
to drive non-stop back to Darwin. I had let him get all this off his
chest and he just wanted to leave…now! I had listened to his
raging for 40 minutes.
‘No dramas,’ I said, when I could get a word in. ‘But just before
you go can I please have a quick look at your car as a favour to
your cousin, my customer?’
He agreed. I spread out my guard covers, grabbed my test light,
volt meter and current clamp-out and did some basic tests. I
found a dodgy connection at the starter pull-in wire. I showed the
cousins the connector and I fixed it, but this was not the main
issue.
I concluded the problem was more than likely the starter and
I asked if they wanted me to help. By now Grizzly (no longer
grizzly, so I’ll use his real name, John) had changed his mind. He
said he was impressed with me now, because I seemed to know
what I was doing. He declared I was the right man for the job. I
went back to my previous offer – leave the car and I’ll call you.
They agreed.
I bench-tested the starter and it was faulty. I called my customer
with the quote on the parts and the repair and he was OK with
that.
When my customer and cousin John came to pick up the car,
I demonstrated the new starter. John was a different guy. He
apologised profusely for his actions earlier. He paid his bill and
included a large tip and told me how happy he was. I called my
customer a week later to make sure all was going well with John’s
car, and the report was good.
In case you were wondering, my invoice included John’s
40 minutes of anger-venting.
You’ve got to look at the bigger picture, haven’t you. If you do
your job properly you have happy customers and the word travels
fast.
If you don’t do your job properly the word travels even faster.
But not only that, you spoil it for other technicians and our trade
in general. Add to that the time and income lost, and it becomes
obvious that it pays to do the job right the first time.
The Automotive Technician 44

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The Automotive Technician 45

2005 Holden Vectra
Knock, Click – who’s there? by Jeff Smit
Two noises were irritating this
customer – a knocking noise and a
clicking noise.
The bad news was that the main clicking
noise was coming from a faulty lever within
the HVAC unit which lives under the dash. In
short, a major job.
The customer had to decide if he was going
to keep the car or get rid of it. He decided to
keep it and bit the bullet over the repair of
the noises.
The car, a Vectra ZC with only 47,800
kilometres on the clock, was very well
looked after and serviced regularly.
A lever kit for the HVAC system was ordered
from Holden so that job was ready to go.
Attention was turned to the knocking noise.
The first thing to do was to confirm and
isolate the noise. The knocking happened
when turning the car hard right.
In test drives, the knocking noise could be
heard when turning sharply left or right.
It felt like the noise was coming from the
passenger-side face-vent area. A second
road test this time with two technicians –
one driving and one tracing the source of the
noise.
Turning sharply left and right, the noise was
heard. This time there were two opinions –
was it coming from the driver-side face-vent,
or from the passenger-side face-vent.
In the back seat, listening from a different
angle, the noise seemed to be coming from
the centre of the vehicle up in the front hood
lining.
It didn’t take long to figure it out. In the
sunglasses holder was a pair of old heavy
glasses and they were sliding from one side
to the other on sharp turns and hitting the
hard plastic case.
That’s one noise down. The other won’t be
that easy.
The customer said the clicking noise went
on for about 10 to 15 seconds after he had
locked the vehicle in his home garage.
Sometimes it occurred when he opened
the door to get in the vehicle, even before
putting the ignition key into the ignition
switch.
We had already noticed a problem with the
blender motor and shaft so the dash needed
to be removed to sort that out.
In replicating the noise another issue was
noticed with the recirculate flap unit. It
made the noise after the vehicle was locked
because of its intelligent electronic climate
control with its air quality sensor.
This system enables the climate control to
activate the recirculate flap when it senses
the air quality is poor outside the vehicle, so
it closes the recirculate flap to ensure the
cabin air remains good. If this has occurred,
when a door is opened, the system will open
the recirculate flap.
The Automotive Technician 46
Also, when driving into a tunnel and it
senses the outside air quality as poor, it will
close the recirculate flap automatically and
reopen it when it senses outside clean air.
Because of this function the recirculate flap
operates quite regularly and as a result
would be putting a huge amount of stress on
the motor driving this flap.
Once it was confirmed that the noise
was coming from that area the fan unit,
recirculate flap and motor were removed
(pic 1, arrow points to recirculate flap
motor).
The fan unit and recirculate flap unit are
removable without having to remove the
complete dash pad unit. When these
were out and the motor removed the flap
operation was checked and it seemed OK.
Once the motor was opened up the problem
was found – a couple of broken gear teeth
in the motor (pic 2).
The new motor was fitted and everything
was put back together. The dash work
went very well because of the good overall
design. All the self-tapping type screws were
identical, so the job was much easier than
many others.
When everything was back together, one
more problem appeared. The indicators
would not self-cancel. This car was fitted
with a lane-changing feature – a light
force on the indicator arm will trigger three
flashes. A heavy touch activates the full
flasher operation.
These actions are controlled by the column
integration module (CIM) which, by the way,
is pronounced SIM.
There is no actual mechanical device to
cancel the indicators. The CIM does it
automatically once the steering is returned
to centre. It uses the steering angle sensor
for this function, so a recalibration of the
sensor was required. The CIM in this vehicle
is the gateway for the CAN Bus systems. It
runs both a high and low speed CAN Bus in
this model. Some say it was the first ‘smart
car’ that Holden brought to Australia.
For those who have not encountered the
headlight switches (pic 3) on this model,
here’s a little tip from our resident guru, Jack
Stepanian.
To remove these headlight switches, push in
the main knob (pic 4), then turn to the right
clockwise (pic 5) to retract the two locking
tabs (pic 6). The complete headlight switch
will pop out – easy when you know how.
Also note that the airbag unit is held in
the steering wheel by two plastic clips. To
remove the unit, use a thin screw driver,
slightly bent at the end works better, and
insert into the holes at the back of the
steering wheel and work against the clips –
the bag will pop out. This is a bit tricky but
not too difficult.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

The Automotive Technician 47

GU Nissan Patrol Turbo Diesel ZD30
A strong case for regular servicing
of turbo boost and vacuum plumbing
by Maurice Donovan
It came in on the back of a tilt tray,
running on two or three cylinders.
Before hooking up my high amp
probe to the battery cable to scope the
amperage draw off the starter motor for
each cylinder, I felt fairly sure that there
was no compression on one or two
cylinders.
Sure enough, my scope showed that
we had three peaks and then a gap and
another three peaks. One cylinder had
zero compression.
This turbocharger boost is controlled by
a vacuum solenoid using pulse-width
modulation. By rapidly switching it at
different pulse widths, it controls how
much vacuum gets to the turbocharger’s
actuator and in turn how much boost the
turbo produces at any given RPM and
load. When there is no vacuum the turbo
reaches full boost so as long as there is
vacuum the ECU lowers boost.
Our last two ZD30 engine rebuilds had
vacuum plumbing issues that stopped
to compensate. This can over-boost the
engine when it is not necessary. On every
engine rebuild we do we pressure-check
the intercoolers to ensure they do not have
any leaks.
MAF sensors can easily become
contaminated as a result of oily fumes
travelling up to the MAF sensor and
contaminating it with oil. A contaminated
MAF will send a lower voltage signal to the
ECU which can create a lean condition,
causing a power loss. The driver will
accelerate more to compensate for the
power loss and this will increase the
fuel load and increase high combustion
temperatures even further.
Hole in piston
I have lost count of how many engine
enquiries I get with people wanting a ZD30
turbo engine for their Patrol or Navara and
the prognosis is always the same – one or
more pistons have blown holes in their top.
We know this is a result of detonation, but
the big question is, what is causing the
detonation. I have some thoughts about
this and would welcome others.
After a number of early failures, Nissan
did increase the oil capacity and lower the
oil viscosity. This seems to have reduced
the number of engine failures, or at least
given the engines a longer lifespan, so one
would assume some of these failures were
oil related.
But I think there are many more likely
reasons that need to be considered.
 
The
ZD30 engine runs relatively high boost
levels. It also uses high levels of exhaust
gas recirculation (EGR). 
Due to high
boost levels, more pressure is built up in
the crankcase which pushes a fair amount
of oil past the crankcase baffle plates and
oil finds its way into the intercooler and
eventually into the inlet manifold.
When this oil mixes with EGR gases
it forms a thick black greasy soot that
substantially restricts the inlet manifold.
The turbo then over-boosts as it gets
blocked. (Reference: The next plague–
induction contamination, Issue 25
February 2012) 
While the ZD30 engine
has a boost sensor, it plays no part in fuel
mixture control. The ECU will reduce boost
when it gets too high, but this system is
very slow to react and boost spikes of up
to 25 psi can happen.
The Automotive Technician 48
vacuum getting to the boost control
solenoid. This means these engines had
been running on full boost. There is a
small vacuum reservoir mounted on top
of the engine and on one the small plastic
hose connector pipe had broken at some
time and someone attempted to glue it up.
The problem was that the glue had sealed
the internal opening and because of this
blockage vacuum could not enter the
reservoir or supply vacuum to the boost
control solenoid, which in turn controls
the boost for the turbo. Without this
vacuum the turbo will run at full boost and
eventually this was the reason for this
engine to fail. The second engine had
a different pipe connector broken and
suffered the same fate.
Another problem is the intercoolers seem
to be weak and it is not uncommon to
see oil leaking from them. Knowing the
turbo sensor is mounted in the intercooler,
the sensor is sensing a lower pressure
and the ECU is increasing turbo boost
In my quest to address some of these
problems one of my answers is to fit a
quality oil catch container on the breather
system of these vehicles.
There are some good oil catch systems
on the market and I recommend the type
that will allow the caught oil to return to the
sump.
The other thing I do is educate my
customers to have their vehicle regularly
serviced to include an induction intake
service to ensure the longevity of their
new engine. I also think it is a good idea
to fit a turbo boost gauge and educate the
customer how to use it.
There has been a lot of talk about
blocking EGR valves, and apart from
the legal aspect I do not agree with this
idea. Blocking the EGR valve will increase
boost with high boost spikes and the
possibility of over boosting.
Every time these vehicles come into
your workshop you should recommend a
check of the turbo boost and the vacuum
plumbing, as well checking for leaks in the
intercooler and its plumbing.
The MAF sensor should also be cleaned
and the intake checked for carbon
build-up. An induction intake service will
help combat the build-up in the intake
system.
I have been using the BG diesel induction
cleaning system for quite a while now with
great results.
It is important that as part of regular
services, technicians are aware of how
critical the vacuum system is for the
correct boost control on these engines.

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Tel: (07) The 4755 Automotive 2111 Technician 49

I
have reached the conclusion that
everyone who is not an auto technician
thinks a scan tool has magical powers
and that it actually does all the work for
us.
Customers see us staring into scan tool
displays and immediately jump to the
conclusion that this magic wand will identify
the problem with pin-point accuracy and, with
another press of a mysterious button, it will
The magic
wand that
fixes cars
by Jason Smith
even fix the problem. ‘So why is the bill so high?’ you can imagine
them thinking.
An electrician was recently installing a smart meter at my house.
He asked about my job and he revealed that his Dad was a
retired mechanic. ‘You blokes have it so easy these days, don’t
you. You just plug in a computer and it tells you exactly what’s
wrong with the car.’ I corrected him as politely as I could.
Then there was a lady who brought her car in
because some warning lights on the dash had come
on. I plugged in one of the scan tools. ‘That’ll tell you
what’s wrong with it hey,’ she asked. I said, politely
again, ‘It will give me an idea of what the fault is and
what system to start looking into.’
And finally, I was on the phone to one of the spare
parts guys at a local dealership. We were discussing
how I had scoped a cam angle sensor and reached
the conclusion that the sensor was faulty. He wanted
to know why I was buying a new sensor. He told
me, ‘The boys in the workshop just plug something
in and it tells them exactly what the problem is.’ I
couldn’t help it. I shot back, ‘Maybe I should find me
one of them great machines.’
It is not good that the average person has this totally
wrong perception of what a scan tool does.
Maybe we need to consider a consumer brochure that tells
customers, in words they will understand, why we use the tools
that we do, and the diagnostic effort involved in every vehicle
that comes through the door. Some basic information to the
car-driving public could be part of the industry’s strategy to lift its
expertise to a level which more than justifies whatever fees we
charge. That’s surely a good thing.
I know I’m preaching to the converted here, but we all know that
most of the time a scan tool is just a guide to help identify the
particular vehicle system that might contain a fault. And that’s
about it.
Sometimes you may get away with just replacing a
sensor that has thrown a code, but this form of hit
or miss diagnosis will eventually bring you undone.
While live data is a great function within the
scan tool, you really need to know the difference
between a good and bad reading and that takes
practice and time. You must familiarise yourself
with the tool and the data.
I took it on myself some years ago to charge
for the use of my scan tools and other special
tools, and I include a brief description of the
charge. Only one person has ever asked for
an explanation. He happened to be a retired
mechanic and after I told him what the scan tool
was used for and why, he was more than happy to
pay the charge.
So don’t be scared to charge for the use of your scan tool or
special tools, but be reasonable with your price.
Regardless of how you explain it, the customer will still walk away
with the idea that the scan tool is some kind of magic wand.
The Automotive Technician 50

The motorised bathtub–
a nice design, but who wants it?
Story and photos by Ken Newton
Pride of place at the Denmark Design
Centre in Copenhagen is this cute,
one-person three-wheeler, dubbed
by the locals as the motorised bathtub.
It remains Denmark’s only attempt at
developing a vehicle manufacturing
industry.
The Mini-el (Ellert) is an electric moped
and was designed by the Scottish designer
Ray Innes who happened to be working
in Denmark, designing mainly agricultural
equipment. It went into production in 1985
and since then it has been a roller coaster
ride for every company that took it on as a
manufacturing project.
The Danes intended to use the Ellert just for
short distance commuting. A small battery pack
was sufficient since it only had to propel one
person to and from work.
The early models had a range of up to
50 kilometres with a top speed of 47 km/h.
While they were pretty common sights in the
late 1980s in Denmark, the early models were
not without problems. Because of electrical
design faults, cars regularly burst into flames
and there were many recalls.
In 1988 the company making them, El-Trans
A/S, went bankrupt. A new El-Trans rose from
the ashes, but it disappeared by 1995, marking
the end of Danish electric car production.
 Small
numbers of the little car, now called a CityEl,
are still being made by a German company,
Smiles e-Mobility, and as of early 2013 they
were looking for agents throughout Denmark to
boost sales in the country of its birth.
Only 6,000
Ellerts
have
been built
in just
under 30
years.
Smiles promotes
the car as the most energy
efficient production vehicle in the world. Its
power is stored in a lithium battery
giving the car a top speed of 63
km/h and a range of 100–150
kilometres. This curious and
ambitious little vehicle is obviously for
one person. Instead of conventional
doors, the whole top half of the
vehicle hinges upwards on gas struts
allowing access to the cockpit. The
car body is all plastic.
The Danish Design Centre
awarded the little car its design
prize in 1988, the judges justifying
their decision with the comment
that the car was ‘a good
solution to a complex task’.
They liked the design and the
good intentions behind the
creation of an environmentally
friendly alternative vehicle.
The Automotive Technician 51

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X431 Pad offers to the Automotive industry what the Iphone did for
telecommunications
LAUNCH DBS with ADMC and Central Cloud servers offers :
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• Pad can be remotely controlled by another pad (software pending)
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• LAUNCH “CC” Networking though Launch cloud servers
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Email: australia@cnlaunch.com
Website: www.launchtech.com.au
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VIC/SA/TAS 03 9532 3288
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1300 369 788
All the pictures are for reference only. All trademarks belong to their owners respectively. All features and price are subject to change without notice. Prices do not include GST, freight, training or installation.
The Automotive Technician 52
DTG #8362

Power cleaner
for cooling systems
Cooling systems can be difficult to flush completely due to
accumulated debris from parts erosion, system neglect, incorrect
or non-compatible coolants and electrolysis. Inadequate flushing
can ruin a newly installed water pump and result in warranty
problems.
The Gates Power
Clean Flush Tool
uses clean water
and compressed
air to ‘water
hammer’ sludge
and scale without
the use of harsh
chemicals or
solvents. It can
clean radiators,
heat exchangers,
hoses and engine
blocks more
effectively than conventional flushes.
The process used in the Gates tool allows air to pressurise the
cleaning fluid to scrub deep into corners and crevices, eliminating
trapped debris. While the pulse is intensified with some limited
back pressure, the pressure is immediately regulated to a safe
level if a hard blockage exists, eliminating the possibility of heater
core damage from excessive pressure.
www.youtube.com/gatesautoaftermarket 
+61 3 9797 9688
Bob Jane brings
training in-house
Training that leads to accreditation is usually done outside the
business, but tyre company Bob Jane T-Marts have greatly
improved their staff retention rates by bringing training inside their
own doors.
Their first graduates, comprising technicians, sales staff and
managers, have already received their accreditations.
Working with the Victorian Government and training organisation
Mint Group, Bob Jane T-Marts are now delivering leading-edge
training to their existing workforce ranging from a Certificate III in
Automotive Retail, Service and Repair through to a Diploma of
Management.
The immediate results of this initiative,
a first for the tyre industry, were
significant improvements in staff
retention and enhanced career
options for employees.
The company plans to extend the
program to its operations in all
other states and territories.
Ferntree Gully Bob Jane T-Mart
employee Robert Barfett
re-attaches a repaired tyre as
part of his training for the new
Certificate III in Automotive
Retail, Service and Repair
New training
At least nine of the big
automotive aftermarket
brands have recognised
group
the value of training
as an aid to business. They have
combined their resources to sponsor
an online training website called CarSmart. They intend to release
it at the AAA Expo in April this year in Sydney.
They claim it will provide web based, self-paced training for
workshop owners, mechanics, apprentices and office personnel
at a pretty low annual fee. Training modules will include such
topics as the service
checklist, efficiency tools
and maximising workshop
profitability. www.
carsmartworkshop.com.au
Valvoline
stand
LuK HD 30
friction linings
The latest generation of LuK friction linings, HD 30 PLUS, are
for the repair of clutch discs sized 360mm, 400mm and 430mm
and are available with the LuK RepSet range of all-in-one clutch
replacement kits.
These linings for commercial vehicle applications use of a twolayered
lining material strengthened by continuous filaments.
The lower layer is designed for high temperature resistance and
the upper layer will deliver the highest possible levels of frictional
strength.
The friction lining is regarded as the key component in every
clutch system. The LuK HD 30 PLUS friction lining not only fulfils
all quality criteria, but delivers first class gear shift comfort. This
can mean less down time and more road time, better operating
efficiency and up to 30 per cent better durability of the clutch
system.
Valvoline has a limited number
of space-saving display stands
which they call workshop
fluid centres, available for
independent workshops.
The stands will reduce clutter
and provide a better place to
store 20 litre drums.
They are built of heavy duty
steel.
The Automotive Technician 53

1. 90-degree coolant hose
Gates has introduced a 90-degree
moulded coolant hose range, comprising
21 hose sizes with inside diameters
from a quarter of an inch
(6.35mm) to two and a quarter
inches (57mm). All popular
hoses are offered in
two lengths to give
either a solution for a
known or tight fitting
situation suited to a
smaller length hose
or a longer length
hose that is able to cover
more applications and be 1.
easily trimmed to make an
exact fit.
www.GatesAustralia.com.au
2. A new flame
Hot Devil’s Propane Fast Flame
Torch Kit will produce a large and
strong flame. It features automatic
ignition, anti-flare, adjustable flame
control and a stainless steel burner
tube. It’s ideal for loosening rusted
nuts and bolts, repairs to exhaust
systems and brazing.
03 9775 0713
2.
www.hotdevil.com.au
3. PlusQuip range is
here
3.
Premier Auto
Trade’s PlusQuip
range of
specialised tools
and equipment
are suitable for
testing, repairing
and replacing
automotive engine
management and
EFI components.
The range includes
fuel injector and
fuel line repair kits,
ODB11 code reader and 4.
black box recorder, terminal
release and test lead sets,
fuel pressure and flow test
kits, multimeter and infrared
thermometer kit, coil over
plug and KV testers and
an oxygen sensor tester, a
common rail diesel injector
return flow tester, relay
bypass switch master kit
and a wheel speed sensor
and circuit tester that
can reduce ABS sensor
5.
diagnostic time.
www.plusquip.com.au
The Automotive Technician 54
‘s interesting
New products and equipment for the auto industry
4. Ignition coil catalogue
RAE’s new ignition coil catalogue contains
580 part numbers, representing more
than 3,000 vehicle applications.
Individual coil photos are
used to help identification.
New and OEM coils are
available.
Technical support 1300 30 80 60
or 03 8792 6999 sales@rae.com.au
5. Dayco expands
Dayco’s acquisition of a Brazilian
drive belt and timing tensioner
manufacturer is expected to
result in a bigger range of
parts in Australia, and faster
release of applications.
6. ZF 9-speed automatic transmission
ZF has launched the world’s first
9-speed automatic transmission for
passenger cars with front-transverse
engines. Volume production
starts towards the end of 2013
at a new ZF location in the US.
The transmission delivers great
efficiency thanks to a high gear
spread with close gear stepping,
compact design, a smart modular kit
principle, as well as high-speed and
comfortable gearshifts. Compared
to the standard 6-speed automatic
transmissions for front-transverse
installations, the
9-speed cuts fuel
consumption and
consequently
CO 2
emissions,
with small gear
steps enhancing
ride comfort
and ensuring
that the engine
runs at the most
economical
speed range. ZF
has prepared the
transmission as a modular
kit so that it can be used in
many vehicle applications.
6.
Get fleet-footed
by Geoff
Mutton
As
vehicles
continue to
improve, workshops
will see less of their
customers.
One way to keep the work bays full
might be to target commercial accounts,
called fleet accounts. A fleet account could
be a plumber with three utes or a multinational
with 100 vehicles.
Fleet accounts may not be practical
for some of you, but for those open to
servicing such accounts, here are some
tips.
Many shop owners shy away from fleet
accounts because they feel they’re not
profitable. But don’t forget that you set the
pricing, not the customer.
Many business owners are willing to pay a
fair amount for quality repairs and service.
Ironically, there’s a perception that in order
to be competitive in servicing commercial
accounts, you have to come in with the
lowest price. In reality, that’s not the case.
Most fleet owners and managers are
more interested in quick turnarounds and
quality repairs so that they can keep their
vehicles on the road. With commercial
vehicles, time is money, which is why
every fleet manager knows that vehicle
downtime costs them a fortune.
Fleet owners and managers are busy
doing what they need to do, so the
more hassle-free the service and repair
experience, the more open they will be to
your proposal.
Put your entire proposal in writing. I
call it a business information pack.
Include information such as your history,
services provided, your staff experience,
your guarantee, equipment, employee
discounts if you want to go that way, client
testimonials and explain what sets you
apart.
Have it professionally designed and
printed and send it out with a covering
letter. Follow it up with a phone call a
couple of days later when it is sitting on
their desk. Don’t worry if you don’t get
any immediate business. All it will take is
one of your competitors to do something
wrong and you will find yourself getting a
trial.
There’s a hidden bonus to a fleet account.
The fleet employees are exposed to your
brand, and the account’s brand is now
promoting you. How much more powerful
will your image and marketing campaigns
be when others in your community know
that prominent business owners turn
to you as the best choice for looking
after their vehicles. That kind of name
association is priceless.

Quality on hand through the generations.
Did you know that LuK set up its local OE business
with Holden way back in 1979? As the global leader
in clutch technology, we’ve kept the automotive
aftermarket moving for over 30 years. Needless to
say, we’re here for the long run.
Yes, times change, but what remains consistent is
our commitment to a wide range of industry-first
products – like self-adjusting clutch (SAC) and dual
mass flywheel (DMF).
Our advanced OE quality repair solutions, like
RepSet ® Pro and RepSet ® DMF, together with special
tools for easy installation, save you time and money.
LuK – Innovative products in OE quality!
Schaeffler Australia Pty. Ltd.
Automotive Aftermarket
T +61 1300 LuK INA FAG
F +61 (02) 9452 4242
E LuK-AS.au@schaeffler.com
W www.schaeffler-aftermarket.com
To find a LuK distributor, scan the code
with the QR reader on your smartphone.

TERRAIN TAMER suspension has
been proudly designed, modifi ed
and manufactured by a team with
decades of engineering experience.
When tailoring a suspension kit
to suit your needs, you can be
assured all that experience is built in.
Talk fl uent 4WD with us on
1300 888 444 or visit
terraintamer.com/suspension
YOU’RE IN GOOD HANDS.
TT012_TAT
The Automotive Technician 56