When I first started working on cars they were simple. Points closed up, plugs fouled, carb floats sank,plastic timing gears stripped etc.
Stuff like that.
I'm finding it harder and harder to diagnose the newer stuff.
IE: A good customer calls and says that her "ck gauges" light is on and that her ammeter is showing low voltage. She's driving an 04 dodge pickup. She gets to Barstow,ca and the truck dies.
Gets towed to me. Battery is dead. Sounds simple... Its not charging the battery.
I put the charger on the battery and send the Alternator out to be tested. AutoZone calls and says the Alternator test is inconclusive. He thinks it has a bad diode.
This means that it will charge but not like it should.
So I throw an Alternator on it. Truck wont run!
Now I check fuel pressure and its dead. So we pull the bed and put a pump in it which fixed it. truck started up and runs fine.
I asked some other shops and they all agree that the fuel pump shorted and confused the computer and it stopped sending a signal to the Alternator!
How am I supposed to figure that out?
The customer left unhappy. Does not understand why I put an Alternator on it when the fuel pump was what kept it from running.
Stuff like that.
I'm finding it harder and harder to diagnose the newer stuff.
IE: A good customer calls and says that her "ck gauges" light is on and that her ammeter is showing low voltage. She's driving an 04 dodge pickup. She gets to Barstow,ca and the truck dies.
Gets towed to me. Battery is dead. Sounds simple... Its not charging the battery.
I put the charger on the battery and send the Alternator out to be tested. AutoZone calls and says the Alternator test is inconclusive. He thinks it has a bad diode.
This means that it will charge but not like it should.
So I throw an Alternator on it. Truck wont run!
Now I check fuel pressure and its dead. So we pull the bed and put a pump in it which fixed it. truck started up and runs fine.
I asked some other shops and they all agree that the fuel pump shorted and confused the computer and it stopped sending a signal to the Alternator!
How am I supposed to figure that out?
The customer left unhappy. Does not understand why I put an Alternator on it when the fuel pump was what kept it from running.
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