Professional Distributor - 48

Find out what
shop owners are
reading about in this
month's pages of

DIAGNOSTIC DISCOURSE

Are you
prepared to program?
To keep current with manufacturer software
subscriptions and updates, begin by ensuring
your intel and hardware are up to the task.

W

hen it comes to programming, coding,
and reflashing, there's a bit more to it
than just having access to the manufacturer's information; your equipment has to be able
BY SCOTT "GONZO" WEAVER to process the information provided. I'm referring
AND PTEN STAFF
After owning an automotive electri- to your PC, your laptop, your smartphone, or, for
cal repair shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that matter, your scan tool. Are they up-to-date
for more than three decades, ASE and able to handle the next job that comes in the
Master Tech Scott "Gonzo" Weaver
door? The last thing you want is to find out your
now writes and teaches about the
latest automotive technology. As a software or hardware isn't up to the challenge
storyteller, Weaver has hundreds of when you need it the most.

published humorous and anecdotal
stories that can be found on his website, gonzostoolbox.com. He is the
author of the book, "Hey Look!
I Found the Loose Nut."
Email Gonzo at gonzosae@aol.com.

ANOMALIES IN THE SHOP
Several years ago, a 2003 Hummer came into my
shop with a battery drain issue. The drain was
found to be in the instrument cluster. Usually I
would either do an in-house repair or have the cluster sent out, but this one was a bit too far gone. The
lens was cracked and the faded fuel gauge looked
like it had seen better days, so a new replacement
cluster was in order.
In those days, when I ordered a replacement
cluster, I could rattle off the VIN and mileage for
the parts person at the dealership and they would
have them downloaded onto the cluster. Once in a
while I might have to do the old "10-minute security
relearn procedure," but for the most part, all GM
cluster installations were basically the same. A few
days later the cluster showed up, and low and behold
the mileage wasn't entered. I did a little research
and found that this particular cluster could only
have the VIN and mileage entered after the cluster
was installed.
To make things even stranger, in the instance
above I found the engine has to be running the
whole time during the installation and download.
This was a first for me. Normally, you will have a
battery tender on to keep the battery charged while
performing a program or reflash. In fact, this was
the only car I've run across where the engine had
to be running in order to do the reflash.

48 Professional Distributor I October 2019 I VehicleServicePros.com

In this case, the usual concern of having the
battery charge level up to full during the procedure
wasn't as important as how much gas was in the
tank. I also had to consider that the gas gauge is
part of the cluster, and couldn't be sure of its accuracy until the programming had been completed.
Note to self: Add fuel to the customer's invoice for
cluster replacement.

TIME TO REPAIR
Now it was time to get down to the repair. The scan
tool was warmed up and ready to go. It was a late
Wednesday afternoon by the time I was able to get
everything lined up to do the download. Rather
than close up shop and head home, I figured I'd
pop onto the GM website and get it done.
This is where I encountered my first problem. I
found out (after buying the three-day pass) that my
cable adapter wasn't 'adapting.' I needed a different
adapter which I didn't have, and it took me three
days to find one. By this point my subscription had
run its course, so I'd have to set this whole thing up
one more time ... this time with the proper cable
and adapter.
But wait ... there's more to this story. I also found
the laptop configuration wasn't quite up to snuff.
I could only go so far before I got an error message
that brought everything to a screeching halt. By
now, I had resorted to making the call to technical
support, and thankfully a fabulous team of experts
walked me through the final steps to toggling the
correct 'yes' and 'no' tabs in my settings.
Once all this was done, it was just a matter of
waiting for the computer to move the completion
bar across the screen to indicate all was well with
the digital world, and the VIN and mileage would
miraculously appear on the replacement cluster, all
while the engine was running.
Was the experience frustrating? You could say
that. Did I learn something? I always do in these
situations. The lesson I learned on this cluster


http://www.gonzostoolbox.com http://www.VehicleServicePros.com

Professional Distributor

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Professional Distributor

Editor's Note
Reliable Sales
2019 PTEN People's Choice Award Winners
Show Me Your Truck
Most Wanted
Sneak Peek
Product Training
Go Sell Something
In Focus Products
Diagnostic Discourse
Driving Sales
Tales From the Road
Heavy Duty Diagnostics Supplement: Welcome
Heavy Duty Diagnostics Supplement: Diagnostic Tool Usage
Heavy Duty Diagnostics Supplement: Diagnostic Tool Functionality
Heavy Duty Diagnostics Supplement: Participant Details
Professional Distributor - 1
Professional Distributor - 2
Professional Distributor - 3
Professional Distributor - Editor's Note
Professional Distributor - 5
Professional Distributor - Reliable Sales
Professional Distributor - 7
Professional Distributor - 8
Professional Distributor - 9
Professional Distributor - 10
Professional Distributor - A1
Professional Distributor - A2
Professional Distributor - 11
Professional Distributor - 2019 PTEN People's Choice Award Winners
Professional Distributor - 13
Professional Distributor - 14
Professional Distributor - 15
Professional Distributor - 16
Professional Distributor - 17
Professional Distributor - 18
Professional Distributor - 19
Professional Distributor - 20
Professional Distributor - 21
Professional Distributor - 22
Professional Distributor - 23
Professional Distributor - Show Me Your Truck
Professional Distributor - 25
Professional Distributor - Most Wanted
Professional Distributor - 27
Professional Distributor - Sneak Peek
Professional Distributor - 29
Professional Distributor - 30
Professional Distributor - 31
Professional Distributor - 32
Professional Distributor - 33
Professional Distributor - 34
Professional Distributor - 35
Professional Distributor - 36
Professional Distributor - 37
Professional Distributor - Product Training
Professional Distributor - 39
Professional Distributor - 40
Professional Distributor - 41
Professional Distributor - Go Sell Something
Professional Distributor - 43
Professional Distributor - In Focus Products
Professional Distributor - 45
Professional Distributor - 46
Professional Distributor - 47
Professional Distributor - Diagnostic Discourse
Professional Distributor - 49
Professional Distributor - 50
Professional Distributor - 51
Professional Distributor - Driving Sales
Professional Distributor - 53
Professional Distributor - 54
Professional Distributor - 55
Professional Distributor - 56
Professional Distributor - 57
Professional Distributor - Tales From the Road
Professional Distributor - 59
Professional Distributor - 60
Professional Distributor - S1
Professional Distributor - S2
Professional Distributor - S3
Professional Distributor - Heavy Duty Diagnostics Supplement: Welcome
Professional Distributor - S5
Professional Distributor - Heavy Duty Diagnostics Supplement: Diagnostic Tool Usage
Professional Distributor - S7
Professional Distributor - S8
Professional Distributor - S9
Professional Distributor - Heavy Duty Diagnostics Supplement: Diagnostic Tool Functionality
Professional Distributor - S11
Professional Distributor - S12
Professional Distributor - S13
Professional Distributor - S14
Professional Distributor - S15
Professional Distributor - S16
Professional Distributor - S17
Professional Distributor - Heavy Duty Diagnostics Supplement: Participant Details
Professional Distributor - S19
Professional Distributor - S20
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