Diagnosis and Investigations
Analogies are helpful for understanding different concepts and one way to think of a mechanic, is like a doctor for your vehicle.
Great communication, honest pricing, excellent customer service. These are some of the comments our customers use to describe their experience with us.
Accurate diagnosis requires knowledge and experience
Doctors have access to tools and reports like blood pressure monitors and various test results to help put together a picture of what might be wrong with our bodies.
Similarly, mechanics have diagnostic scan tools that can help identify the location of problems in your vehicle.
But in both examples, tools only provide part of the picture. The knowledge and experience of a doctor is often necessary to form an accurate diagnosis of a health condition.
And the knowledge and experience of a mechanic is often required to accurately diagnose an issue with a car. It's not a skill that can be taught overnight.
There'll be no unexpected items on your invoice. There will be no unnecessary repairs.
You and your vehicle will be treated with respect. We'll explain things without technical jargon.
We use the best quality parts and Penrite oils whenever possible. We want you to get the most out of each service and repair.
Trouble codes and warning lights
As you are most likely aware, modern vehicles have a network of computers that monitor all the different systems.. These days, our cars are clever enough to tell us when something is not right.
When there's a problem, the computer triggers a trouble code, and a warning light will appear on the dashboard to alert the driver.
Diagnostic scan tools
This is where diagnostic scan tools come in. These are connected to the car to read trouble codes. Scan tools show specific trouble codes which indicate a fault in the area related to the code.
But that's only the beginning of a diagnosis. It's Step 1 of the process.
The mechanic now knows where the problem might be found, but not what the problem is.
Determining the problem
Now the mechanic needs to use their diagnostic process and run tests to figure out the cause of the fault, that has triggered the code.
Here's an example from our workshop:
P0420 is a very common trouble code. Catalyst efficiency below threshold (bank 1). Our most recent experience of this was on a 2008 Suzuki Swift. Our customer had reported the engine “not running right at times” but by the time we saw the vehicle, the problem had gone away.
Unfortunately we commonly see that oxygen sensors have been replaced to try and fix this specific problem, and the most frustrating part is that replacing oxygen sensors is usually not the correct solution.
Based on our previous experience, we removed the ignition coils, leads and plugs for a visual inspection. One of the ignition coils showed evidence of “arcing” which will cause a misfire. Fairly simple solution in this case but the aftermath also included a failed catalytic converter. This could be seen on the live engine data through understanding how an oxygen sensor works.
Engine investigations
Another thing to take into consideration when it comes to diagnostic work is engine investigation. Diagnostic scan tools can't tell us much when it comes to older cars and engine problems. Often, we need to take some things apart to have a proper look. This is where things can get tricky, because we tend to not like pulling engines apart to 'take a look' unless we really have to.
Not only that, we'd prefer to diagnose issues with cars that we regularly service, because that way we have a head start. We have a better idea of the history of the car, the work that's been done to it, and how it's been looked after. This helps to give more confidence in a diagnosis.
Got an issue with your vehicle?
If you've got an issue with your car, in the first instance you can message our team and describe the issues you're experiencing.
We are a small but busy workshop and our appointments are often booked up 2-3 weeks in advance. It's not safe or viable for us to interrupt our mechanics to offer advice over the phone.
Not only that, we need to do a visual inspection, listen to, and in many cases drive the car before we can make any assumptions about the cause of a problem. So please give us as much info as possible via our contact form or get quote form so we can determine if we can help or not, and an estimate of the fee involved to carry out an investigation and diagnosis.
Please note, we don't take on all diagnostic jobs. As a result, if the problem you're experiencing is not a good fit for our workshop, we'll let you know right away, and recommend someone else if we can.
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