Failure to Start Problems and Diagnosing
A manager or technician in a repair shop has many different responsibilities. Some of the manager’s responsibilities are to make sure their technicians are handling problems professionally and fixing those problems responsibly. Another responsibility the manager has is to make sure the customer is satisfied when he/she leaves with their vehicle. The manager needs to make sure that technician is properly fixing the vehicle so that customer does not come back with the same problem. Some responsibilities a technician has is to make sure he/she not only satisfies the manager but also satisfies the customer. They want to satisfy the customer without any complaints to make sure they come back with any other problems with their vehicles. Common problems with vehicles that are being serviced are the ones that are having starting problems. There are many different factors that contribute to this problem such as a dead battery, bad battery connections, starter circuit electrical problems, and also defective starters. Below will be a set of procedures to diagnose why the vehicle is having starting problems.
If a customer brings their vehicle into the shop for a dead battery one of the first things that should be checked is the battery. The battery could be dead which will be the explanation to the non starting vehicle. There are many different ways someone can check the battery to see if it has charge or not. An easy way to check is to turn the vehicles lights on. Observe the lights to see if they are bright or dim. If the lights are dim, the battery is dead and he/she should either jump the battery or charge the battery with a quick charger. If the lights are bright, the battery is charged so he/she can move on and check the connections. Another way someone can check if the battery is dead is to use a multi-meter. Set the multi-meter to 20 volts and touch the ends to the battery terminals. The battery should read at least 12.5 volts, if it is lower charge or jump the battery. If the battery is 12.5 or above it is charged and he/she can move on to check the battery cable connections. Either test works just as well, it’s whichever test the technician prefers to use.
If the battery is charged, the next thing he/she should check is the cables that are connected to the battery terminals. There is a Positive cable (red) and a Negative cable (black). Check to see if the cables are secure on the battery terminals. They should be tight and they should not have any free play, if they do tighten the cables. It is common for battery cables to come loose on the terminals which are caused from vibration from the vehicle. Another thing he/she should check is if the terminals are corroded. If the terminals are corroded, clean them so it has a good connection. If the terminals are not corroded and the cables are tight, there is a good connection to the battery. Once the connection is good he/she can move on to the next step/test which is to check the starter electrical circuit.
If the battery is charged and there are good connections to it, check the starter electrical circuit. One way to check the circuit is to use a test light on the main connection. If there is no light on the test light or the light goes out when the key is turned, the problem is within the starter electrical circuit. One way to fix this is to remove the cables, clean
