As the world becomes increasingly conscious about the environment, electric vehicles are becoming more popular. In 2022, more than 750,000 new all-electric cars were registered in the United States, which was 57% more than in 2021 and 5.6% of the total market. According to a report by the International Energy Agency, the number of electric vehicles on the road globally reached 26 million in 2022, with the United States accounting for 1.8 million of those cars. The rise of electric vehicles has led to the development of charging stations, such as Electrify America charging stations. These charg ..read more

Kilovolts or kV is the unit used to measure the output of an ignition coil. Some coils can output 20kV to 40 kV. So, how does an ignition coil turn system or battery voltage into these huge voltages? The answer is inductance.  The ECM provides the voltage to the primary coil winding. The primary winding might have 100 turns around the coil’s core or plates. When the voltage to the coil is turned off, a magnetic field collapses. The collapsing field will generate more than 100 volts thanks to inductance. The energy is transformed by the windings in the secondary with inductance again, but ..read more

Here is a diagnostic puzzle: An owner comes to your shop complaining that it takes longer than expected to start his car’s engine in the morning. There are no codes for the crankshaft and camshaft sensors. And, the oil pressure is within specifications. If you are lucky, you might have a code for low fuel pressure on the high side of the direct injection system. What could be the source of the problem? If the engine is direct-injected, the issue could be the high-pressure fuel pump. This pump is precision-machined to generate fuel pressure to the rail up to 2,500 psi. Some new systems generate ..read more

To achieve a smoothening effect of the displayed outside ambient temperature, the value shown does not instantaneously follow the temperature sensor measurement. The display won’t change any faster than 4° F per minute. This concept applies to both falling and rising temperatures. A programming strategy is also implemented to avoid incorrect readings on a parked vehicle, due to the temperature sensor being affected by outside influences such as radiant heat from the engine bay, elevated road surface temperatures, etc. Incorrect readings are avoided through the following logic:  After swi ..read more

AAPEX has announced the schedule of technical and business-management training to keep shop owners, service advisors and technicians ahead of the curve and prepared for the future.  Many of the industry’s top trainers have been selected to lead the training that will take place in Joe’s Garage, an entire floor of The Venetian Expo dedicated to meeting the needs of today’s service and repair professionals. AAPEX will take place Tuesday, Oct. 31, through Thursday, Nov. 2, in Las Vegas.  Technical training topics include advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) calib ..read more

LIQUI MOLY announced the release of its A/C System cleaner designed to improve the efficiency and lifespan of HVAC systems, as well as create a healthier environment inside the vehicle, the company says. The A/C System Cleaner solution is specially formulated to remove bacteria, mold and other contaminants from the evaporator and its casing. The A/C System Cleaner also cleans the A/C unit’s ducting which helps remove foul odors, restores the system to optimal performance, extends the life of the A/C components and reduces energy consumption, according to LIQUI MOLY. It is available from LIQUI ..read more

For the BMW 7 Series E65/E66 manufactured between 2001-’08, engineers went with an innovative rear ride control system. The Dynamic Drive system that uses active anti-roll bars to keep the vehicle level was standard on these models. Some of these vehicles have optional Electronic Dampener Control (EDC) that tunes the compression and rebound of the dampener to the movement of the wheels and body for the best possible ride. BMW E65/E66 Front and Rear Suspension All E65 and E66 models have the Dynamic Drive system working with the air ride system to level the vehicle. The system uses two active ..read more

he benefit of R-1234yf is simple: the new refrigerant lasts only 11 days in the atmosphere, compared to 13 years for R-134a. This is why the EPA required R-1234yf to be installed in all new systems by 2021. So, what does this mean for independent shop owners and technicians? It is not a question of if, but when, your shop will have to deal with one of these systems. While working on R-1234yf systems is not that different from the R-134a variety in operation or theory, identifying the refrigerant and recharging the system has some new twists. CREDITS AND MANDATES FOR R1234YF TRANSITION R-1234yf ..read more

Tire wear patterns are visual representations of how the vehicle is performing and how owners maintain their vehicle. Tread patterns reveal the condition of alignment angles, suspension components and ride control components. Learning how to read the tire and communicate your findings to your customers is the key to selling ride control. What is tire wear? The perfectly worn tire would have a perfect contact patch with the weight evenly distributed shoulder to shoulder. But, to get ideal tire wear, its toe, camber and caster angles would never change. In the real world, a tire must go around c ..read more

You can probably remember opening the hood on a 1980s car or truck if you are an older tech, where most parts were covered in a sea of semi-gloss black paint. Hoses, wiring looms and intake manifolds were naked in the engine bay. Under the hood, it was monochromatic, like a black and white movie. In the 1990s, the engine bays got a makeover or at least a new wardrobe in the form of plastic engine covers. These covers are becoming a plague for technicians, and it is only getting worse. In my opinion, every year they get bigger and more difficult to remove. They used to “clean up” the engine bay ..read more