Welcome to the OnDemand5.com/ShopKey5.com newsletter.
This newsletter is provided to share information about our users, their shops, automotive industry news, things going on at Mitchell 1 as well as tips for using the OnDemand5.com and ShopKey5.com products. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, or ideas for what you'd like to see in it, please .
Missed a previous edition or want to read an article again? Just go to the Newsletter Archive page for a list of links to past headlines.
NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ProDemand™ and ShopKey®Pro Now Available
FASTER, EASIER, SMARTER
ProDemand and ShopKey Pro are now available to all OnDemand5.com and ShopKey5.com subscribers at no additional charge. For more information and to request ProDemand™ or ShopKey®Pro to be added to your account, click the link below:
FASTER - eliminating the need for multiple information look-ups. By returning relevant content in one look-up, ProDemand and ShopKey Pro quickly give the technicians everything they need to complete the job.
EASIER - allowing the technician to effortlessly navigate from procedures to TSBs to specifications to wiring diagrams and more. ProDemand and ShopKey Pro bring the information to the technicians so they can focus on the vehicle.
SMARTER - intelligently cross referencing components, phrases, and codes in the database. Technicians don't have to know the OEM specific term because ProDemand and ShopKey Pro will find the information regardless of term entered.
Want to know more before you sign up?
Join us at one of our training workshops where we show you how the new product works. Workshops are held twice per day, every weekday at 12pm Eastern/9am Pacific and 5pm Eastern/2pm Pacific. You only need to attend one 45 minute session. Click the appropriate link below to visit our training site and to sign up for a workshop.
Now Includes Improved Estimator/Quotes module, VIN Decoder and SureTrack Preview
Click here to request access to ProDemand or ShopKey Pro.
New Mitchell 1 Shop Connection Blog
Mitchell 1 has a new blog site dedicated to providing the latest updates on our products as well as interesting and informative industry news and stories. Much the same content as you're used to getting here in the OnDemand5/ShopKey5 newsletter but expanded to cover more products.
Contents include:
Product Highlights
Product Update Information
Product Tips & Tricks
Quick Product How-To Videos
Industry News and Insights
Automotive Repair Articles from Motor Age and Other Sources
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Diagnosing an electrical problem with an A/C compressor, blower or cooling fan? The first step is to figure out which of two circuits you need to focus on.
Motor Age -- The automotive A/C system has several high current components that the electronic control units (ECU) manages, including the A/C compressor coil, blower motor and fan motors. Current flow through these components can run from three amps or so, to better than 20 amps. Current flow of that kind would spell almost certain death if it passed directly through the driver of a typical ECU, so a neat little electrical device known as the relay acts as an intermediary.
The current required to turn a relay on or off usually is no more than a few tenths of an amp, a level the controller can handle. While the use of relays to control high current devices is certainly not limited to the A/C system (fuel pumps and window motors jump to mind), because this is our A/C issue, we'll focus on those applications.
One Fault, Two Circuits?
If you remember your electrical fundamentals, you know that every circuit has five basic elements: a source (typically the battery), a load (the component that the circuit is designed to operate), a circuit protection device (a fuse, circuit breaker or fusible link), a control (a means to open or close the electrical pathway and turn the load on or off) and a complete path that connects all of them together. When a load doesn't work the way it's supposed to, the fault has to lie in one of these five areas. Easy, right?
How does all this apply to a relay-controlled circuit? The relay is an electrically operated switch that closes and opens the current path to the primary component (the compressor coil, blower or fan motor) we're trying to operate, doesn't it? That makes it a control in the primary component's circuit.
But it is electrically controlled. Something else is turning the relay on (the electronic control unit that is managing the primary component). Doesn't that make the relay a load, too? That's another circuit entirely.
The first step in diagnosing a problem in a relay-controlled circuit is to figure out whether the problem is on the primary component side of the relay or the load side of the relay. Most of us understand this instinctively when we glance over the schematic. The relay marks an electrical crossroads of sorts. I know I'm not the only one who has stolen a relay from another section of the fuse box and swapped it with the suspect relay. If the primary component now works, though, does that mean it was the relay's fault? And what did we learn if the component the relay is supposed to control still doesn't work?
Battery/Starting/Charging System Testing Tips - The Trainer Video Series
Motor Age -- Not too long ago, I got a call late in the evening from my youngest son's girlfriend. Her Ford Explorer wouldn't start, she said, and could I please come and help? What was I going to do, say no?
I grabbed a meter and some basic tools and drove over to see what the problem was. It didn't take long to discover that the negative battery cable end had been replaced with one of those aftermarket clamp-style ends and it was spinning freely on the battery's ground post, a classic case of voltage drop. The connection was enough to allow the lights to work, but as soon as the high current demand from the starter tried to make its way through, the connection gave up and went open. I removed the clamp and cleaned the connection, then reattached the cable to the battery and tightened it up. She started the truck right up and I told her to stop by the next day so I could make a more permanent repair and check out the rest of the system.
Did she listen? Of course, not...she's a kid.
The next night I got another call from her, with the same complaint. Only this time the fault wasn't a matter of voltage drop but of voltage period. When I arrived the battery only read 8.64 volts, nowhere near enough to start the Ford's 4.0-liter engine. Heck, not enough to start my lawn mower's engine! But why is there a problem with the battery now, just a day later, when the truck started fine last night and all during the day?
When you have a problem with the "no crank" or "slow crank", you need to make sure you test both the battery and starting system to see where the culprit lies. And if the battery is weak, you need to know why. Is there a problem with excessive resistance in the cables, like I had the first night? Is the charging system doing its job to keep the battery healthy? Or did the battery just die of old age or neglect?
Would you or one of your techs like to be profiled in the newsletter? How about your shop? We're looking for techs and/or shops to feature in this spot. This is an opportunity to let other techs know about you and your shop. You can share information on what your specialties are, what special conditions you have to deal with in your area, anything interesting about your shop or even what you like to do in your free time.
We will also list your shop's information such as location, phone number, web site, or any other information you'd like to provide.
Send your story and photos for consideration to . Please also include your account number.
Did you know... When you post a tip or question in the OnDemand5/ShopKey5 Live Tips system, there is a spell checker available. It is the right-most button on the tool bar above the text box. Just click the button before you click the post button.
Click here for more hints on using OnDemand5 and ShopKey5.
Mitchell 1 is running a tip contest for a limited time in OnDemand5.com and ShopKey5.com. Below are the latest winners of the contest. Each of these tips earned the tech a $100 prize. Click the links below to see the complete tips and for more information on how you can enter.
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Would you or one of your techs like to be profiled in the newsletter? How about your shop? We're looking for techs and/or shops to feature in this spot. This is an opportunity to let other techs know about you and your shop. You can share information on what your specialties are, what special conditions you have to deal with in your area, anything interesting about your shop or even what you like to do in your free time.
When you post a tip or question in the OnDemand5/ShopKey5 Live Tips system, there is a spell checker available. It is the right-most button on the tool bar above the text box. Just click the button before you click the post button.
