September-October 2009 identifix.

com 1-800-288-6210

Time To Order A New

Decoder Ring
multiple versions of schedules based on special operating conditions. It’s also
an option for the car owner to be offered factory recommended ‘premium’
maintenance services.

The A-135 code comes from a 2008 Honda Accord and is generated by the
vehicle’s on-board computer. It is based on how the vehicle was driven and is
not tied to mileage. Here is how you decode what is on the dashboard.

Bill Sau
Founde
er
r
Jeff Sweet
President

It is a given that the automobile manufacturers will

continue to add new technology to vehicles and
to make existing systems more complex. The only
question is: Are they trying to keep us in business or
torture us?

Let’s say a vehicle comes into your shop for service.

You go out to the vehicle and you bring back the
following code: A-135. Since it is not a P-code, it is
clearly not an OBD-II code. Since it is not U-code, it
is not a problem with communications or bus. Not
a body code since that is a B-code. And finally, not
an ABS or traction control problem since it is not a
C-code. So is it a new manufacturer specific code? In
fact, this code wasn’t pulled using the scan tool. No,
this code was illuminated on the dashboard. It is a
maintenance code.
Remember when all maintenance schedules were
mileage-based and the only option was whether you
recommended the services based on the ‘Normal’ or
the ‘Severe’ schedule? Not anymore. Welcome to the
new generation of maintenance schedules generated
by Maintenance Minders, time driven schedules and
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
Maintenance Minders are much more common, now that they are being used
on many GM, Chrysler, Honda, BMW, Mercedes and Isuzu vehicles. While you
have to decode the maintenance reminder, at least all of your decisions on
what maintenance to do are based on just the Maintenance Minder code. But
it doesn’t stop there. Some manufacturers combine Maintenance Minders with
time. For example, on the 2007 Saab 9-3, if the Maintenance Minder does not
come within 12 months (because of fewer miles being driven), Saab provides
another maintenance schedule to be followed. So you not only need to know if
the Maintenance Minder light is on, but when the last service was done.
You may not see many Saab 9-3’s in your shop but you are likely to see a Buick
Lucerne. The 2007 Buick Lucerne combines Maintenance Minders with mileage.
The Maintenance Minder will show either Maintenance I or Maintenance II, and
you can then find a schedule of maintenance activities in the owner’s manual.
But wait, there’s more! There is also another schedule of maintenance activities
based on mileage that must be found and followed.
- continued on page 2
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 -from page 1
Printing one maintenance schedule for the Maintenance Minder
and another for the mileage is going to be burdensome and
confusing to the customer and technician performing the service.
That is not the only ‘improvement’ manufacturers have made in
their maintenance schedules. To car manufacturers, more is better,
so they have decided that the way vehicles are driven no longer
fits into two categories, ‘Normal’ and ‘Severe.’ Take a look at this
schedule from a 2006 Nissan Sentra that has replaced ‘Normal’ and
‘Severe’ with three options:
Imagine a new category of ‘Premium Maintenance’ which just
happens to be suitable for ‘all driving habits and local conditions’
and just happens to include ‘more maintenance items.’ Maybe
this is the ‘Good, Better and Best’ approach now being applied to
maintenance schedules.
Ford has also adopted the ‘more is better’ approach as well. For
example, the 2007 Ford F-150 makes you determine what ‘Special
Operating Conditions’ apply to the vehicle. You select as many as
apply. This will change both the items and recommended time
since the last service.
TO CONTACT US
1-800-288-6210 Repair Hotline
1-800-288-6220 Identifix Customer Support
1-800-745-9649 Direct-Hit Sales & Support
This city is said to be the
Auto Trivia
most popular for filming
movie car chase scenes.
a) San Francisco b) Chicago
c. Daytona Beach d) Long Beach
Answer is in this issue.
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
Since each of the ‘Special Operating Conditions’ has its own
maintenance schedule and mileage, this means you could be
laying out FIVE maintenance schedules in front of the car owner.
What does all this mean to you? According to a recent study by
Frost and Sullivan, the largest proportion of vehicle owners relies
on vehicle dealerships to perform their maintenance. Most shops
we talk with want to do scheduled/preventive maintenance. With
the quality of vehicles improving, they can no longer depend on
vehicle repair as their only source of business. Further, most shops
want to follow the glove box recommendations. They don’t want
to give the car owner any less or any more maintenance than is
actually required.
Is the new complexity in maintenance schedules going to make it
easier for you to get the maintenance business which is now going
to the dealers? Absolutely not!
We know when your customers drop off or pick up their vehicles,
they just want to get in and out. So unless you can record the
vehicle mileage, get answers to some questions, and be able to put
the correct list of maintenance activities in the customer’s hand
fast, you aren’t going to do it.
At Identifix, we build our products to help technicians ‘Find Fixes
Faster.’ December 1st, we will release an updated Preventive
Maintenance feature in Direct-Hit, which is designed to ‘find the
correct manufacturers’ recommended maintenance activities
faster.’ We are excited to offer you the ability to provide your
customers with the right maintenance schedule in less than a
minute, even for the most complex versions.
If you are not yet a Direct-Hit subscriber—before you order that
new decoder ring—please take a Test Drive of our new feature at
www.identifix.com and let us know what you think.
—Jeff and Bill
Come See Us At CARS! November 5, 6 & 7
Mandalay Bay Hotel Las Vegas
2

Multiplexing
Bob Mordorski, Ford Team Leader
is certified ASE Master + L1.
From an engineering standpoint, most
technicians can see the logic behind
module to module communication.
In theory, it makes sense to have a single
input such as a vehicle speed sensor feed
just one module, and then have that
module share the information over a
pair of data bus wires to other modules.
Unfortunately for the technicians faced
with the challenge of diagnosing and
Evap Leaks
Terry Clennon, Ford Specialist,
is certified Ford Senior Master, ASE Master + L1.
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
Ford
Challenges
repairing these problems, module to module communication often makes our job
significantly more difficult. Not only does it increase the requirement of diagnostic
equipment, since many of these problems can only be diagnosed with factory
scanners, but it requires today’s technicians to be computer network diagnosticians
as well.
Of course with increased module to module communication, comes increased unique
and multiple simultaneous problems, and any one module shutting down can affect
everything from interior lights malfunctioning to the vehicle not starting.
Recently I took a call on a 2007 Ford Crown Victoria. The complaint was that the
ABS light was on and the power steering was lacking assist. This vehicle model uses
a variable assist power steering system that defaults to minimal assist in the event
of a system failure. While trying to retrieve codes from the ABS module, we found
there was no communication to the scanner. The first plan of action was to check the
powers and grounds to the ABS module; the ignition power feed to the module was
not showing battery voltage as it should. The fuse was checked and found to be OK.
Further tracing of the circuit found a broken wire in the harness (yes, a broken wire on
a vehicle just one year old!). Once the wire was repaired, communication was restored
to the ABS module, the ABS light went out, and the power steering returned.
When dealing with a multiplexed vehicle with multiple problems that began at the
same time, the best plan is to pick one problem and concentrate on resolving it. If too
many problems are tackled at once, it’s very easy to lose direction and start going in
circles on a diagnosis. Trivia: Long Beach. One useful test, if available, is to perform a
‘network’ or automated test, where the scan tool attempts to communicate with all
the modules on the vehicle’s networks. If a particular module is not communicating,
addressing that concern is normally a good place to start.
Some pointers from a Ford technician’s perspective ... When first diagnosing
evaporative emissions system leaks on OBD-II vehicles, I have noted that many times
the code P0442 or ‘small leak’ actually turns out to be a leak so large that there should
be no need for diagnostic equipment. In contrast, however, a P0455 or ‘gross leak’ can
often be like finding a needle in a haystack. The fact is, there are good reasons for the
codes setting as they do. An explanation of why these codes set can be very useful in
completing an accurate diagnosis.
Let’s start with code P0442. This code does not necessarily mean it detects a small
leak; it simply means that the evaporative emissions system is capable of pulling the
correct vacuum on the system but it is not able to hold this vacuum for a long enough
time. When the evaporative system does its own self-test, it tries to pull a vacuum
on the fuel tank and uses the fuel tank pressure sensor voltage to see if it is affecting
tank vacuum. It needs to be able to pull the fuel tank pressure sensor voltage down
to, or below, 0.8 volts within one minute. Then it closes the purge valve and needs to
be able to hold this vacuum within 0.4 volts for at least one minute. If it meets the 0.8
volt threshold, but does not hold the vacuum, this is referred to as a ‘small’ leak.
- continued on page 4
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Arlen Mauland, Chrysler Specialist,
is certified Chrysler Master, ASE Master + L1.
OK, so maybe it’s not silent, but you may
have noticed that the Dodge 6.7L high
pressure common rail (HPCR) diesel is
much quieter at idle than the older diesel
system. You may or may not know why the
older system diesel engine was so noisy
at idle. With the mechanically injected
system, injection was timed by adjusting
or turning the pump housing. At higher
engine speeds, fuel has to be injected
into the cylinder early enough so that
combustion is finished as the piston reaches
top dead center (TDC) or slightly after
TDC. At idle, piston speed is much slower
so that combustion is finished sooner and
the piston is still traveling upward in the
Silent Diesel
cylinder. This produces very high peak
cylinder pressure and causes the knock that
is characteristic of a diesel engine at idle.
With electronically controlled injectors,
the injectors are pulsed up to five times
per four-stroke cycle. There are two pilot
injection events, one main injection event,
and two post injection events. But there is
much more going on here besides a quieter
idle.
The two pilot injection events slightly
raise the pressure in the combustion
chamber before main injection occurs. This
shortens the delay of the combustion of
main injection, reducing peak combustion
pressure at idle, and causing the reduction
of noise. Pilot injection also reduces diesel
particulates in the exhaust.
Main injection occurs after the pilot
injection events, and provides the major
amount of the torque and performance
of the engine. The engine control module
(ECM) varies the amount of fuel injected
according to the various inputs.
Post injection 2 injects a small amount
of fuel during combustion and causes
any soot to burn off. Post injection 2 also
adds slightly to the torque of the engine.
Post injection 1 occurs 40 degrees or later
after TDC. It does not add to the torque of
the engine but adds hydrocarbons to the
exhaust needed to raise the temperature
of the catalyst to cause an exothermic
reaction. This exothermic reaction further
raises the temperature of the exhaust gases
to trigger the regeneration of the diesel
particulate filter. Regeneration is simply the
burning of particulates trapped in the diesel
particulate filter.
The beauty of this system is that the ECM
can monitor the power pulses of individual
cylinders and increase the amount of fuel
to the weaker cylinder. Each injector is
calibrated and coded. This code number
must be entered into the ECM. If a new
ECM is installed, these numbers need to be
read with a scan tool and recorded before
removing the old ECM. If this cannot be
done, the valve cover needs to be removed
and the codes read off each injector.
That is a brief description of this diesel
system that is not only much quieter but
also a much cleaner burning diesel engine.
If you need any diagnostic help, just give us
a call.

- Evap Leaks from page 3

The P0455 code does not actually mean a large leak
is detected. This code simply states the evaporative
system is not able to pull the fuel tank pressure down
to 0.8 volts. Therefore, since it could not meet its
target vacuum, it considers this a ‘gross’ (or large) leak.
So how does this affect the diagnosis? It has been
my experience that small leaks are easier to diagnose
using a vacuum system rather than smoke. One
effective method is to block off one piece of the
system at a time, such as a charcoal canister, fuel tank
and sections of evap lines, then pull vacuum on the
system and recheck its leak down rate.
I have found the smoke machine does a better job on
the large leaks. Be aware, however—you may have
to smoke the system for several minutes before the
entire system is filled enough to see the leaks.
To confirm your repair, some scan tools have their
own evaporative tests. But a simple way to do it
yourself is to ground the purge solenoid driver wire
and the vent solenoid driver wire. This will activate
both solenoids. Then start the engine, watch the fuel
tank pressure sensor voltage, and ensure that it drops
to 0.8 volts or lower. Next remove the ground from the
driver wire at the purge valve and ensure the voltage
stays within 0.4 volts for at least one minute. This test
should confirm that you have correctly diagnosed and
repaired the evaporative system.

4
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987

Guy Dibble, Asian Team Leader,
is certified Mazda Master, Isuzu Master
and ASE Master + L1.
As a rotary engine fanatic, I couldn’t
wait for the release of the Mazda RX-8. I
thought that Mazda had finally worked all
the bugs out of this modern marvel, but
unfortunately I’ve learned the engine and
A/C systems aren’t manufactured quite
as nicely as the exterior of this machine.
We have been answering Hotline calls
regarding A/C units with blank display
screens in the center of the dash, along
with a totally inoperative A/C system and
audio unit. The buttons won’t even light
up on the center panel.
The center dash panel on this car is a
‘modular’ unit, consisting of the push-
button circuit board panel with system
buttons for the radio and A/C system, an
audio unit, climate control unit and an
LCD display panel.
Fig 1
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987
Mazda RX-8
A/C System
All of these components plug into the
center panel and become one. A separate
air conditioning control unit, the A/C
amplifier, communicates with this center
panel assembly via data communication
lines.
The wiring diagrams of this system do not
really accurately represent what you find
when testing begins. One bit of confusion
is that the display unit is only shown as
a part of the audio system in the wiring
diagrams and appears to plug directly
into the audio unit. The display unit
actually plugs into the center panel via a
circuit board called a ‘bracket’ (see Fig 1).
- The audio unit attaches to the center
panel using circuit board connectors.
Several connectors plug into the audio
unit.
- The temperature/mode/fan control
dials, attached to the bottom of the
center panel, is an assembly called the
climate control unit (not to be confused
with the separate A/C amplifier control
unit).
- The climate control unit panel has a
connector plugging into the back of its
connector G1-10. The wiring diagram
shows this connects to the center
panel.
Fig 2
- Connector G1-10 houses the center
panel power and ground circuits and
also contains the A/C amplifier (control
unit) communication wires.
- The climate control unit panel has
two small connectors that plug into
the center panel circuit board. These
connectors are not shown on wiring
diagrams but are shown on Fig 1.
When it comes to diagnosing this
modular center panel assembly, only the
main power and ground found in the
connector that plugs into the back of
the climate control unit can be tested.
So what happens when the whole thing
goes dead yet the power and ground
test good? In this case, the shop called
us, and we were able to determine that
the problem was a faulty audio unit that
connects to the center panel.
I believe that many of these units start
out with a temperature control problem
which leads to replacing the climate
control unit panel attached to the bottom
of the center panel. In the process of
removing the modular center panel from
the dash, damage can occur if you are not
aware of the hidden bolt to the side of
the center panel (see Fig 2).
All the cases we have dealt with have
had a cracked center panel circuit
board. There are companies that make a
replacement center panel that allows you
to install most aftermarket audio units,
but still retains the center display and the
climate control unit panel at the bottom.
This might offer your customers a less
expensive repair.
If you have any questions, just give us a
call.
5
 TO CONTACT US 1-800-288-6210 Repair Hotline | 1-800-288-6220 Identifix Customer Support | 1-800-745-9649 Direct-Hit Sales & Support

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Come See Us At CARS! November 5, 6 & 7

Mandalay Bay Hotel Las Vegas

Chrysler Group scraps paper
owner’s manuals, shifts to
DVDs
Automotive News
September 21, 2009
DETROIT --Chrysler Group is
replacing its traditional owner’s
manuals with DVDs and an
abridged printed guide in an
effort to reduce costs and save
930 tons of paper annually.
Chrysler will see “substantial
savings” from the shift away
from paper manuals, which
often had more than 500 pages,
spokesman Bryan Zvibleman
said. He declined to say how
much will be saved by the
change, which is taking effect
with 2010 models.
The searchable DVDs, designed
for viewing at home or on
some vehicles’ entertainment
systems, each contain an
owner’s manual, warranty
information, direction for
navigation and entertainment
systems and a guide for 24-hour
towing assistance. They also
provide video tutorials for some
instructions, such as folding
down a Jeep Wrangler’s soft top.
Information from the DVDs will
also appear on Chrysler’s brand
Web sites.
The abbreviated printed guides,
designed to be kept in the
vehicle, will typically have 60
to 80 pages, the automaker
said in a statement today.
They will provide instructions
for dealing with emergency
issues, such as flat tires, dead
batteries or flashing warning
lights. The guides also give
instructions for basic operations
of vehicle features such as
air conditioning, windshield
wipers and navigation systems.
Consumers may still receive a
full printed owner’s manual on
request.
Chrysler had been considering
the change for more than a year,
said Al Motta, head of service
operations. The automaker
conducted a consumer study,
solicited input through an
online forum and held four
focus sessions in Chicago
to help determine what
information to include in the
printed version.
Finally, Chrysler mailed 500
sample DVDs and printed
guides to customers who had
bought 2009 Wranglers and
sought feedback. The reaction
was mostly positive, Motta said,
especially to features such as
the soft-top video tutorials.
-Chrissie Thompson
Automotive News
cethompson@crain.com

6
Repair Hotline — Industry Leader Since 1987