Looking through the cooling system and troubleshooting information in TruckSeries, a section caught my attention that served as a great reminder of one of the most important diagnostic tools a technician possesses. This priceless tool in diagnostics is the ability to ask the driver questions.
For example, for the Cummins ISX15, there is a series of questions that help the technician determine when, where, severity and how often a problem occurs. This is critical information, particularly with intermittent concerns. Something as simple as a water leak into the cab can drive the technician mad if they don’t have the knowledge that the only time the leak occurs is when the truck gets washed with a high-pressure washer.
Noise concerns are often particularly difficult to duplicate without specific information, like when the noise occurs, the frequency of the sound and other driving conditions. It is pretty difficult to accurately duplicate a noise when the only information you have is something, like “Makes noise while driving.”
Customers don’t like to hear the words “could not duplicate.” Of course, as a technician I don’t want to keep looking in the wrong place trying to identify a problem, nor do I really want to do it on multiple occasions. So, taking the time to ask questions can ultimately be a great timesaver as well as a way of reducing comebacks. Most of all, asking questions will help keep customers happy.
Also, be sure to refer to TruckSeries truck repair information for questions to ask when diagnosing Class 4-8 trucks.
