Autoparts

Back in sunny September we secured Frank Massey for a weekend of Diesel Diagnostics training. Along with 10 other 'pupils' we headed to the brand new workshop at M. & M. Garages, Taffs Well. Robert MacNamara was kind enough to lend us use of the corner of his new workshop, being described as a corner may sound a little tight, but this place was huge... and clean, we were spoilt.

After waiting for the oversized kettle to heat up we all settled down to the first coffee of the morning and Frank telling us of his background, reassuring us he was the real Frank Massey, if anyone had their doubts. Much  of the first half was spent running through the basic theory, tools, techniques and discussing unusual faults everyone had experienced over the past few weeks.

One hearty lunch later we jumped straight into the practical side of the course. Our demonstration vehicle was a 2004 Ford Transit 2.0L (FWD) kindly supplied by Bakery Garage, Pontypridd. Frank recomemded that we used the FWD Transit as the wiring and ECU were easy to access, they were.

Frank used the latest Pico 4424 scope and Techtronix P2220 passive probes, meaning that with his laptop, the Transit was soon being covered in wires. Frank offered his friendly advice and adaptions he made to make things easier around the workshop. After a quick test on the crank sensor, the day was over faster than it had begun.

Sunday began in the engine bay of the Transit, again using the Pico Scope and probes. Soon after we got stuck into Autoparts rep, Nicky Porters trusty Audi A6. The A6 is a 2009 2.0TDi engined vehicle, one of the latest deisel engines to have a lambda sensor fitted... and notoriously hard to measure a with a probe. Frank got to work investigating, but simiarly to what everyone else had experienced, no luck. No doubt, several weeks down the line, he's sorted it. We'll soon hear.

January 2010 sees the launch of our technical training courses at Merthyr College. 10 weeks, one night a week, after work covering a range of courses, from diesel diagnostics to ABS. Call Brian for more information.