MACS Service Reports - 2015 - MAR1

Total Vehicle Climate and Thermal ManagementTM

March 2015

By Dave Hobbs, MACS Technical Correspondent

CYBER REPAIRS - HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE INTERNET IN YOUR REPAIR BUSINESS
When it comes to Electronic Service Information (ESI)
resources, a couple of my favorite words are free and cheap.
Although I've always been willing to spend money on information and resources to diagnose and repair vehicles, if I
find there are no-charge or inexpensive tools and web resources
available, I'm naturally interested in checking them out. I'm going to guess you may also be of a similar mindset, so let's take a
bit of time to identify various internet resources that are out there
to help us out, without breaking our bank accounts.
Today's aftermarket information sources are an excellent
value. Mitchell, Motor, ALLDATA, Moto Logic and Identi-

fix (to name a few) are typically accurate and easy to use.
On the other hand, the frequency of occurrences where these
service information providers contain apparent errors and
omissions is not small. In fact, the problem is great enough
to motivate any good automotive aftermarket technician or
shop owner to maintain those friendships with their contemporaries at OEM dealerships in order to ask for the occasional 'favor' in getting the latest OEM information. This isn't
always practical, so there are a few solutions to help you find
the true OEM service information and other helpful web resources at reasonable prices. ■

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS: THE ULTIMATE ESI AUTHORITY
NASTF

Sometimes the apparent mistakes in aftermarket
ESI systems are also in the OEM site.

The National Automotive Service Task Force
(www.nastf.org) contains a wealth of valuable service information. While NASTF's main attraction
is their OEM Service Matrix section containing live
links to all passenger car and light duty truck OEM
service websites, there is a lot more that they offer.
NASTF's site also has a wealth of other resources,
such as a spreadsheet affording an easy to browse
overview of pricing for various OEM ESI subscriptions. Pricing is sometimes as low as $20 for a week
long OEM ESI subscription. A general rule of thumb
for accessing OEM ESI is this: if you have spent
more than one hour of frustration trying to find an
accurate wiring diagram, component electrical pin
chart, service theory of operation, description or
specification with your aftermarket ESI, it's worth
the expense to pay for the OEM information in order to either find the accurate information you are
trying to locate, or at least determine if the mistake
or omission is the same with the OEM information.

An additional piece of valuable service information available from NASTF is on the subject of J2534
reprogramming. On NASTF's website, you'll find a
one hour free training video jammed with information on programming from leading industry experts.
Experts like Michael Herron from Drew Technologies (J2534 tool maker), Bob Augustine (director of
training for Christian Brothers Automotive), and
Bob Stewart (AC Delco) guide you through the
electronic module programming maze to help you
make sense of tool specifications and best practices
for this very technical service endeavor. To watch
this informative video, click on NASTF's home
page icon, then NASTF General Meetings and then
click on NASTF YouTube Channel to watch this video
and several others that are very helpful in educating you on how the OEM's are providing service
information access to the aftermarket.

ALSO INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
TECHNICIAN AND SHOP OWNER ASSOCIATIONS - WATCHING OUT FOR YOU! ........................................................... 6

MACS Service Reports is the official technical publication of the
Mobile Air Conditioning Society Worldwide, Inc., P.O. Box 88,
Lansdale, PA 19446. The material published in MACS Service
Reports expresses the views of the contributors and not necessarily that of MACS. Every attempt has been made to ensure

March 2015

the accuracy of the content of MACS Service Reports. MACS,
however, will not be responsible for the accuracy of the information published nor will MACS Worldwide be liable in any way for
injury, labor, parts or other expenses resulting from the use of
information appearing in MACS Service Reports.

MACS Service Reports

http://www.nastf.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MACS Service Reports - 2015