Technicians make a living with their tools and those tools are rarely cheap. Due to their importance, and the replacement costs, it is imperative that techs take care of and properly maintain their equipment. Many shops designate a “maintenance day” during the week for technicians to clean and organize their shop areas. Technicians can usually also allocate time to their toolbox and tools to ensure their equipment is working properly. This time is important to ensuring the longevity of tools, but also prevents techs from discovering a problem at an inconvenient time. Working in a service bay is a fast-paced environment where time truly does equal money, which means it is not ideal to discover tools are not functioning properly during a repair job. In addition to cleaning tools and ensuring toolboxes are organized, technicians should test their test equipment. Ask yourself the following questions: • Are my cables and adapters establishing a proper connection with the vehicle? • Is my diagnostic and repair software up to date? • Have I tested the leads to my multimeter to ensure it is reading and working properly? • Do I have any hand tools that need replacing or updating? Within a tough shop environment, cables and connectors can break in ways the naked eye often cannot see. They are susceptible to being stepped on, slammed in a door, or even backed over by a vehicle. Basic maintenance can help ensure cables are secure and properly connecting with the vehicle. Know the Condition of Your Tools Before You Need Them

Tech Tips - Know the Condition of Your Tools Before You ... · TECH TIPS | Know the Condition of Your Tools Before You Need Them Software can take hours to update, assuming your shop

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Page 1: Tech Tips - Know the Condition of Your Tools Before You ... · TECH TIPS | Know the Condition of Your Tools Before You Need Them Software can take hours to update, assuming your shop

Techniciansmakealivingwiththeirtoolsandthosetoolsarerarelycheap.Duetotheirimportance,andthereplacementcosts,itisimperativethattechstakecareofandproperlymaintaintheirequipment.

Manyshopsdesignatea“maintenanceday”duringtheweekfortechnicianstocleanandorganizetheirshopareas.Technicianscanusuallyalsoallocatetimetotheirtoolboxandtoolstoensuretheirequipmentisworkingproperly.Thistimeisimportanttoensuringthelongevityoftools,butalsopreventstechsfromdiscoveringaproblemataninconvenienttime.Workinginaservicebayisafast-pacedenvironmentwheretimetrulydoesequalmoney,whichmeansitisnotidealtodiscovertoolsarenotfunctioningproperlyduringarepairjob.

Inadditiontocleaningtoolsandensuringtoolboxesareorganized,techniciansshouldtesttheirtestequipment.Askyourselfthefollowingquestions:

• Aremycablesandadaptersestablishingaproperconnectionwiththevehicle?• Ismydiagnosticandrepairsoftwareuptodate?• HaveItestedtheleadstomymultimetertoensureitisreadingandworkingproperly?• DoIhaveanyhandtoolsthatneedreplacingorupdating?

Withinatoughshopenvironment,cablesandconnectorscanbreakinwaysthenakedeyeoftencannotsee.Theyaresusceptibletobeingsteppedon,slammedinadoor,orevenbackedoverbyavehicle.Basicmaintenancecanhelpensurecablesaresecureandproperlyconnectingwiththevehicle.

KnowtheConditionofYourToolsBeforeYouNeedThem

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TECHTIPS|KnowtheConditionofYourToolsBeforeYouNeedThem

Softwarecantakehourstoupdate,assumingyourshopevenhasareliableinternetconnection,soitisimportanttoensureyoursoftwareisup-to-datebeforeyoudesperatelyneedtouseit.Ifyoudon’thavetimetoupdate,makeyourshopmanagerawaresoheorshecanarrangefortheupdatetobemadebeforeyouhavetousethesoftwareagain.

Withmultimeters,leadscanweardownovertimeandprovideinaccuratereadings.Itiscommonforatestleadtoaccidentallybeslammedinadoor,whichcanresultinacompletebreakinsidetheprotectiveshield,oftencreatingabreakthatisnotvisible.Withoutanaccuratereading,techniciansincreasetheirriskofmisdiagnosis,soleadsshouldbetestedbeforeeverydiagnosticsession.Asimplewaytotesttheleadsonyourmultimeteristotestcontinuity:

1. Plugyourleadsintothemultimeterandsetthedialtocontinuitymode2. Touchthetwoleadstogether–ifthescreenisdisplayingavalueofzero,orclosetozero,andthe

multimeterbeeps,thereiscontinuitywithlowresistance3. Grabthecircuitorcomponentyouwishtotestandplaceoneleadateachend4. Again,ifthevalueiszero,ornearzero,andthemultimeterbeeps,thereiscontinuity5. Moveandbendtheleadsaroundwhiledoingeitherstep2or3toensurethereisnotanintermittentbreak

inthewires.

Byensuringyourequipment,fromtoolstosoftware,isfunctioningproperly,youcanrepairfasterandearnmoremoney.Besuretostayorganized,keepyoursoftwareupdated,andtestyourtestequipment.