Heavy equipment and vehicles continue to add more complicated electrical systems. Technological advances have allowed people to use a variety of tools that include the following:
- Multiplexed control modules.
- Driver assistance systems.
- Safety systems (such as roll stability).
All of these data-linked systems for body manufacturers can be integrated into vehicles. Because these systems are becoming more complex, it’s more important to find a technician with a strong foundation in electrical diagnostics. Otherwise, you may end up getting the wrong diagnosis.
Many systems that were once mechanical are now being integrated with electrical systems. Automatic transmissions now use control sense, modules, and actuators to shift gears (which has always been a mechanical process). Many other tasks have also made the switch from mechanical to electrical control because of the added versatility that it can provide. Variable geometry turbocharger technology has replaced many of the standard wastegate actuators that were used in the past.
Wiring Repair
The Process of Electrical Diagnosis
Because they spend so much of their day working with nuts, bolts, and impacts, technicians will often apply the process of solving mechanical problems to diagnosing electrical systems. This is a mistake. Once you look at the differences in the time that each part of the process involves, the reason for this becomes clear. Diagnosing mechanical problems can take minutes. Even if you don’t know the exact part that’s broken, it can be easily identified after the unit has been disassembled. Being able to quickly identify the problem is enough to satisfy a technician’s ego, and there’s no mystery about what the technician has to do.
With diagnosing electrical problems, the process is different. A five-minute mechanical diagnosis can lead to a four-hour repair, but electrical problems can take hours to diagnose while the repair will only take a few minutes. Because people assume that it only takes minutes to perform an electrical diagnosis (which can be the source of all the pressure), very little time is spent reading about electrical systems on heavy machinery. A lot of emphasis is placed on repair, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. For mechanical problems, skills and knowledge grows from the repair experience. But, for electrical systems, skills and knowledge only increase during the diagnosis.
If you’re looking for one of the best companies to perform electrical systems diagnostics in the South Texas, be sure to get in touch with Rhino Equipment Services.