Tech Tips - Know the Condition of Your Tools Before You ... · TECH TIPS | Know the Condition of...

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.