June 2009 edition
In this issue
Moving Forward
Update your email Address
Don't Overlook that Marginal Battery
Help from your Fellow Technicians
Shop Owners is your Shop Name Correct
August 2009 Seminar Schedule
Articles Needed for eAir Repair
Moving Forward
From: the Illinois EPA Repair Industry Outreach Team
These are challenging times given the present state of the economy. Outreach has risen
to the challenge by working smarter and utilizing the DASHBOARD website to quickly
and efficiently access information that is vital to the repair industry. Everyone benefits
from this teamwork, which ultimately results in less pollution.
It is important that everyone associated with the repair industry sign-up on the
DASHBOARD -- not just technicians; but shop owners, service managers, and service
writers. Everyone has a role in the process.
Let us tell you why:
● AIR REPAIR is now only available by email, and you must register on the DASHBOARD to receive the monthly eAir Repair.
● You must be a registered DASHBOARD user in order to receive e-mails from the Repair Industry Outreach team.
● Everyone in the shop who interacts with customers has a role in the repair of vehicles that failed an emissions
test. Encourage your technicians, service advisors, managers, and owners to sign up!
● The DASHBOARD also provides instant access to:
m Report repair data
m Obtain detailed information about you shops’ grade in the Repair Facility Report Card
m Course descriptions and registration for our series of FREE seminars
m E-mail reminder notices, including directions to all seminars
m Print seminar attendance certificates
m The repair industry FORUM for technicians (see Forum article)
m Vehicle look-up
m Testing station locator
m Links to the Secretary of State and state of Illinois websites, the Repair Facility Report Card, manufacturer websites
and other helpful industry links.
m Message board
We think you’ll find the DASHBOARD very informative and easy to navigate. Join us on the internet and register today
at: https://www.ildashboard.com. (Don’t forget the letter ‘s’ in https://... -- this is a secure website.)
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Update your e-mail Address
From: the Illinois EPA Repair Industry Outreach Team
We have gone paperless! It is imperative that we have your current e-mail address so that you will continue to receive
eAir Repair. You can do this by simply clicking “Update Your Profile” on the DASHBOARD. We appreciate your
cooperation in helping us promote a greener environment and reducing our carbon footprint!
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Don't Overlook that Marginal Battery
By: Dave Alder from ApplusTechnologies, Inc.
Recently I have taken several phone calls regarding readiness monitors that are difficult to set. Specifically, the
non-continuous monitors set but then revert to “not ready” after the ignition key is cycled. That’s when my phone rings!
What I have been experiencing lately is a rash of vehicles with weak or marginal batteries that, when cranked, pull
the voltage down enough to reset the monitors -- just like a battery disconnect. It only takes a split second at “low” voltage
to change the monitors.
Before breaking out wiring diagrams or a lab scope and thousands of dollars worth of the latest software, do yourself a
favor and load test the battery. It really doesn’t matter whether you use the latest and greatest computerized gadget
for battery load testing or an old-fashioned VAT-40. Use whatever you have that works. The bottom line here is you need
to load test the battery.
Think about it, you are on a test drive and all the monitors set. You go directly to a testing station. The inspector gets
your car in the test lane and shuts it off before the analyzer is hooked up (the car is shut off during the test procedure
before the cable is plugged in and before it is unplugged.) Just then, the voltage drops and the car is now a monitor reject
-- and your score in the report card takes a hit.
Please save us all a lot of trouble and get in the habit of checking the battery during every emission repair. Your grade
and your customer will thank you.
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Help from your Fellow Technicians
From: the Illinois EPA Repair Industry Outreach Team
There are many great resources available to assist the automotive repair industry, but none has focused exclusively on
the Illinois vehicle emissions testing program -- until now! The DASHBOARD FORUM is a resource being used by
hundreds of repair industry professionals.
As you know, emission repairs can be challenging to say the least, given the complexities of diagnostic trouble codes
and readiness monitors. Technology advances so quickly that it’s difficult to stay on top of information needed to fix
today’s vehicles. When you have an emissions repair question, turn to the DASHBOARD FORUM for help. You can bet
that someone else has dealt with a similar issue. Post your comments, questions, and concerns on the FORUM, and you
will quickly recognize the value of the assistance and advice you will receive from your fellow professionals.
The FORUM has helped technicians successfully repair vehicles that failed an emissions test, as evidenced by
subsequent retests where the vehicle passed. Be sure to check it out!
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Shop Owners is your Shop Name Correct
From: the Illinois EPA Repair Industry Outreach Team
We want your listing in the Repair Shop Report Card to include accurate and up-to-date information about your shop.
When checking your grade details for accuracy, be sure to check your shop name and address and let us know if
corrections need to be made.
If you find an error, e-mail us at epa.repair.outreach@illinois.gov.
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August 2009 Seminar Schedule
All Seminars are from 6-10 pm on dates below.
They are sponsored by the Illinois EPA for the repair industry and they are free!
● 2009 Complete Seminar Schedule
Diagnostic Techniques for OBD Failures
This seminar will focus on the use of OBD II scan data, freeze frame, and failure records as a means to a successful
OBD repair. The Illinois “Dashboard’ website will also be included in the diagnostic process. The overall goal of this
presentation is to emphasize efficiency in testing and repair techniques for OBD failures.
ID Date Location
K104 Aug 3, Mon College of DuPage
Communication Protocol Testing for OBD Failures
This seminar will review proper testing techniques for communication issues with the PCM and various modules as it
relates to OBD failures. The communication topology that will be discussed will focus on GM, Ford, and Chrysler systems.
This is a “must attend seminar” for serious OBD repair technicians.
ID Date Location
K202 Aug 4, Tues Moraine Valley Community College
OBD Code Repair Using Lab Scopes
This seminar is devoted to helping technicians develop a plan for successfully repairing OBD emission failures using
labscope testing strategies. OBDII testing will be reviewed and actual failure case studies will be looked at to help
understand the test capabilities of scopes and probes. Using computerized information systems and code charts will be
discussed to make diagnosing OBD code problems easier.
ID Date Location
S101 Aug 10, Mon Collinsville
OBD Repairs Using Scan Tools
This seminar will show repair technicians the capabilities and enhanced functions of a variety of aftermarket and factory
scan tools for system testing and OBD vehicle repair. Emphasis will be placed on bi-directional controls for testing and
diagnosis found in many of the scan tools available today. Graphing scan data analysis and testing strategies will be
discussed. The goal is to get the most from these tools and shorten diagnostic times. Actual vehicle case studies will be
shown to illustrate these points.
ID Date Location
S201 Aug 11, Tues Collinsville
Waveform Analysis
The emphasis of this seminar is on real world application of labscopes and graphing scan tools for driveability diagnostics.
Discussion topics will include scope features that aid diagnosis, waveform capture and storage techniques, graphing scan
tool and scope analysis case studies, and a live demonstration using PowerPoint to build a case study. Creating repair
files using PowerPoint is one of the best ways to build a repair database for later review or for in-shop technician training.
ID Date Location
S502 Aug 13, Thur Lake County HS Technology Campus
S503 Aug 27, Thur Prairie State College
Readiness Monitor Challenges
This seminar will address the growing problem of OBD emissions test rejects due to monitor status being “not ready.” The
new changes in the testing program will make first retest rejects count against a shop’s Repair Effective Index (REI), so
making sure monitors run to completion is critical. Case studies of vehicles with difficult to set monitors will be studied. A
strategy for addressing vehicles that won’t run monitors will be discussed along with using scan tools and Mode 6 to help
determine a solution to this often challenging problem.
ID Date Location
S405 Aug 18, Tues Universal Technical Institute
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Articles Needed for eAir Repair
From: the Illinois EPA Repair Industry Outreach Team
We are always looking for short articles of interest for eAir Repair. We all have information and tips on successful
emissions repairs. It is time to share them with your fellow technicians. Please help us all out by writing a brief story
(a couple of paragraphs) about your success or fix. Don’t worry about grammar or punctuation.
Those tips can be e-mailed to epa.repair.outreach@illinois.gov.
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