Jim Warman

SVB 2011-41N and Technician Inquiry Survey (1194). I'll post the body of the bulletin at the end. The survey offers an area for comments from the respondant. This is your golden opportunity to tell Ford what you think of flat rate and the way that the system penalizes talented techs with multiple certificates while rewarding those techs with inadequate skill sets. Certainly, the current move towards 'technician competency' is going to help, but it isn't a cure and it may come too late. Service Bulletins can be found on the inford dealer connection page that you are brought to after you log in. Accessing the SVB will take you to a link for the survey... _____________________________________________________________ <Subject: Technician Inquiry Survey Purpose: The purpose of this communication is to acquire information about the Ford Technician demographic and current career attitudes to support a Company study to understand the need in recruiting future Technicians by promoting this role as a positive career choice. Secondly, in understanding the needs of the present Technician as to stature and recognition that continues to promote this role as a long-term career. Background: Technicians play an essential role in the Ford and Lincoln customer’s ownership experience. In past years the Ford Technician has supported timely and quality repairs as measured by key metrics like ‘Fix it Right, the First Time’. In order to ensure that the Dealer Technician workforce remains at a viable population and is skilled to support the quickly advancing technology in our products, as well as maintaining the trust of the customer, we must understand the critical needs of the Technician, both present and future. Recently Ford of Canada has begun a study on Technician recruitment, retention and recognition. For the reasons listed above with respect to our vehicle technologies and changing skill sets (in line with a focus on Technician Competency), it is essential that we take stock of current status and what is required to support the Ford Technician base in the next 5 years. Action Required: Please have all of your Technicians complete this online survey (see attached link) by July 29th or earlier including any verbatim comments as it relates to this role as a positive career choice that can be seen as a long-term commitment. This information will be used to demonstrate the importance the recruitment, retention and recognition initiative that is currently in progress. All survey replies will be kept confidential and only the aggregate results will be reviewed with other stakeholders. Questions: Please direct any questions via e-mail to lricha97@ford.com in Technical Training (NSO).

I saw that too....be interesting to know the "rest of the story". This afternoon we got a call from a 6.7 owner with a glow plug code - can he drive this on his holiday (glow plugs are no stock USA). "We can't answer that at this time... we haven't seen any glow plug problems with these engines so we just don't know....". That's the story and we're stickin' to it.

Aw... c'mon... you know the guy must be right... When I go to work all I ever see is a shop full of broke down Fords... What's that you say? I work at a Ford dealer and what else am I going to see?........ oh.

Interestingly.... On the coil spring trucks, the relays were in front of the left battery... (caution, memory thing). I've seen a lot of these relay boxes unclipped and laying in an unnatural state. I don't ever recall having to unclip one of these relay boxes On leaf spring trucks.... the relay box is closer to the BJB. Never seen a concern with those... In our region, damaged wiring and/or the aforementioned motor problem are major concerns. One thing we can agree on... I can't imagine your rust issues.... and you need to spend a few days in the oil patch...

I get the feeling there's stuff you haven't said....

I'm approaching only my 9th anniversary with my employer... this is my version of a long term employment relationship. Like a mature marriage, 25 years with the same "anyone" is cause for celebration of a sorts. One cannot expect the entire 25 years to be without it's ups and downs.... Introspection, navel gazing... whatever you choose to call it is going to be a natural state of affairs... The armchair philosopher in me tells me that disappointment or frustration or the feeling that you thought you'd be in a different situation than the one you find is going to be normal... unless, of course, your job turned out to be the equivalent of winning the lottery. I have found that merely being doomed to being a human being is cause enough for disappointment. Cheer up, Kieth... things are never so bad that they can't get worse... Just think, you could have that "in the toilet" attitude like so many on FRT. FWIW, I turned 61 the other day... 61.... I'm not doing it gracefully... I'm not where I thought I would be... But at least I'm still on the sunny side of the grass. The fire didn't get me and the near flood didn't get me. Kieth, the feelings you are having are normal feelings... I think we all have them at some point in time... how we deal with them is what makes the difference. I been putting one foot in front of the other for over 60 years... I don't see any reason to change now...

If you test the system with a new motor and it is just as motionless as the old one, remove the switch from the new motor and perform my simple test. Remember, if the module controlling 4X4 function in the ESOF Super Duty (since 1999 it has moved a few times) doesn't know what gear the transfer case is in, it will not attempt to move. We do, on occasion, replace gearmotor controllers - sometimes because it is always neat to fuck up... but if the gearmotor has failed, it is usually a dead spot in the electric motor portion. FWIW, the 2011s no longer have CW or CCW relays... instead, the module applies power and ground directly to the shift motor...

If you are repairing a concern with ESOF 4X4 and you are at that point where you need to test the wiring for the plate switches, here is handy trick. Start with a switch (known good) from an old shift gearmotor. These switches rarely fail so it shouldn't be hard to rescue one that works.... On earlier trucks, simply plug the switch into the appropriate plug under the truck and use datalogger to monitor the plate switches (there are four - A, B, C, and D). With the switch unplugged, all the plate PIDs will display "open". Plug in your known good switch and turn the armature. It doesn't matter what order your PIDs change to "closed"... it only matters that each of the four PIDs can change in response to the movement of the switch. If one or more plate PIDs can't display "closed", you will find a problem with that circuit (or your "known good" switch ain't all that good). For 2011, you will notice that the plate pids will only display momentarily and then revert to "open" when using the dash mounted MSS (manual selector switch). Yes, 2011 uses the same gearmotor encoder as earlier trucks.... For these, select the "PLATE_PWR_OS#" PID and use output state control to toggle it "on". If you don't do this, it will not display the plate PIDs properly. In either case, if you have a PID that can not change state, you have a concern. Testing this way takes only a fraction of the time that testing each circuit individually will take.

Almost 6 pounds of R134a? That must be quite the system..... I'd maybe check the manufacturers website and see for sure... I was looking at a motorhome today and the motorhome manufacturers tire placard said 45kPa.... 6.5 PSI of air sounds a tad soft so I imagine that there may be a misprint on the placard... 450kPa might be more like it. Just a thought... isn't it odd that they'd both be doing the same thing?

This is a fleet truck (drilling rig tool bit salesman) - his worst sin is visiting Kwikee-Loob. I would doubt he even knows how to open the hood.

During the course of maintenance oil changes, we top off the Add Blue tank. Trucks that are driven lightly rarely take any more than 3 or so liters of DEF. Being that the SCR dosing system is a feedback system (akin to the relationship between fuel injectors and O2 sensors in a gas engine), I would consider that there is a base strategy of look up tables in ROM and that this is where the adaptive strategy begins learning from. Problems with the SCR system can drop the engine into a derate mode... one can imagine that this will be two fold... The intended reaction would be to ensure that tailpipe emissions limits aren't exceeded. The unintended yet beneficial reaction would be to provide impetus for the owner to repair the system to regain lost power. I have yet to discover if the SCR system has closed loop or open loop operating conditions but I currently must assume that the NOx sensor has a temperature range. Looking at the wiring diagrams, we see that it has a heating element like an O2 sensor... making me assume that my assumption might be assumably correct. What we need to consider is that the manufacturers haven't added SCR systems to their trucks because they want to... but because this is the easiest way they could meet the new and tougher emissions requirements. A brief sidebar on adaptive strategy. For several years, gas engines have had a toggle called MP_LRN.... misfire profile learn. For the uninitiated, the PCM was given the opportunity to learn the profile of the crankshaft tone ring in order to more accurately map any manufacturing deviations in the tone ring giving a more accurate measure of variations in crank speed that would indicate a misfire. On older engines, you would have to perform a series of closed throttle, no brake coast downs on the highway watching for the MP_LRN PID to toggle to YES. On new engines, all that is required is the IDS and a couple of brief WOTs - adaptive strategy at it's simplest.

I have one that has, amongst several other concerns... NOx sensor, DEF heater, P0405 included.... a problem with hoses going to the EGR cooler bypass actuator and solenoid. The rubber elbows at the ends are all swollen and don't grip the nipples (for some reason that didn't sound real right). Nothing obvious under the hood...

Check the road reports first... all three highways (to High Prairie, Edmonton and Red Earth) were closed at some point... It hasn't rained since about midafternoon and the water in town has receded some (but I haven't gone touring, either). On my last road test for the day - about threeish - Sawridge creek and the Flood control channel were very, very high and the highways I mentioned were still underwater. Not sure if the water had crested or not. They were predicting quite a bit more rain (another 40mm or so for Saturday was the talk this AM) but I see that the forecast has been changed. I haven't heard if any highways have been subject to washing out. This is out by Larry and Audreys.... This was taken at the turn off to Mitsue. Yes, that is highway 2. OK... I just saw that Highway 2 has re-opened in both directions. If it rains again tonight, all bets are off....

Where was this weather on May 14th? What didn't burn down just might float away... after this, I think the only thing left is "pestilence".

Oil patch consultants usually have the big trailers - their per diem would pay for a damned nice hotel room or the best of the best camp accommodations but they wind up with a tax shelter holiday trailer. Even rig pigs like my son can do well... He bought a 08 6.4 with a little over 200K kilometers for about $16G... ol' Dad helped him with some minor repairs and servicing all the diffs and such... all in the comfort of our store. He's not a full time driller yet but he has his BOP cert. and he spends a lot of time as relief driller until a rig comes free.... when he works as driller, the rig pays for the fuel for his truck... all the fuel for his truck. Plus he gets a per kilometer... something like 90 cents... On top of that, he just bought a 24 foot holiday trailer. He gets a hundred and some odd dollars a day to NOT stay in camp. Add that he bought the trailer just in time to have a place to live when we were evacuated from town. Talk about being in the wrong business. In the absence of ads, it doesn't hurt to freshen up your resume.... spruce it up some... remember, that three years you were the manager in charge of the deep frier at Mickey Dees doesn't rate real high but a minor diagnostic epiphany is a God-send.... You can be everything you want to be.... waiting for it to happen isn't as good as making it happen.

No... and I don't think many did. I'm told that they arrived in a bus with privacy glass. No matter who it is, I don't see much sense in waiting around so I can watch somebody go past. I heard the cheering on the radio as the bus past the crowd.. and I thought to myself after the bus was described to me... "Fuck, they didn't even know if these people were actually on the bus or not....". I'm not sure I like my town being "put on display" like that - especially when so many folks are having troubles with red tape.

That sounds like Fort MacMurray, Chris... it's always been way expensive up there. Back in the 70s when the tar sands were just starting up there were workers living in cardboard housing...

Western Canada is still in a labour crunch. I've heard of Edmonton dealers offering $20K signing bonuses to diesel techs and promising them as high a $150K a year. November will mark 9 years at my store. T'would be loverly to get half again my current pay but the devil I do know ain't as scarey as the devil I don't. Besides, I'm not sure I could find another shop that fits me as good as this one.

Not sure if I should thank you for remembering... or if I should tell you to mind your own business. As we speak, I have a dead bird in some brine. My first attempt at a rotisserie chicken on the Que.

What we went through in May has made me think that my small attempts at charity are pretty insignificant ( though I realize that every small donation helps the kitty grow and I will continue in my own small way ). We were extremely lucky in that we weren't counting bodies through our ordeal. There were stories of those taking advantage of the system.. I don't doubt that many were true (human nature being what it can be). At the same time, the kindheartedness and charity of those helping us became overwhelming. I was very lucky in my situation and I tried making sure that care-givers saved their best efforts for those less fortunate than we were. I have about three flats of bottled drinking water left from May... If you started to say "I don't need anything right now..." you might receive a crestfallen look in return. Helping was all most of these people wanted to do.. I didn't want to take a resource that someone needed more than I. When we were first stranded, we were asked to register with the government and the red cross so that they could keep track of us and count us amongst the survivors. When we registered, they already had a good supply of basic essentials for us. I didn't yet have the chance to go to a bank or ATM and a disposable razor and some shave gel would be real nice... I have a bag of 20 disposable razors destined for the local food bank when I empty out our camper. Food stuffs, clothing, pet supplies, reading material, movies, games... my God, I cannot list all of the ways and materials that help was offered. Childrens activities and help with missed school were readily available. But, as ever, I digress. My main thrust with this thread was people that have it hard without a natural disaster to "help" them find aid or solace. Seniors on fixed incomes (I will be one of those all too soon).. and people with disabilities. My wife hasn't been able to work for many, many years. As a single income householder, I can assure you that you need to be careful with every dollar and that a second income would be the difference between a healthy retirement and Alpo sandwiches. Any charity that we offer doesn't have to be restricted to mechanical repairs... but a free oil change or finding someone to help pay for the parts I will install for free is great. Look around your community... Does the old guy across the street have trouble cutting his grass or shovelling his driveway? The single Mom down the street (no, not the husband hunter)... is she carting kids around in a car with no brakes? How about dropping some shampoo or toothpaste or Kraft Dinner into the food bank hamper? We shouldn't wait for something terrible to happen before we open our hearts to our fellow man... Some folks have terrible shit happening as part of their every day life. FWIW.... more money is spent on AIDS research than IBD/Crohns research. This is curious because AIDs is largely a disease of lifestyle where IBD/Crohns is indiscriminate. AIDs can be prevented or avoided.... Crohns cannot.

I commend your large heartedness... but I'm not sure I would have let that rolling abortion back out on the highway... even if I could figure out how to make 5.4 COPs fit it

I was going through some old, shoulda been deleted a long time ago e-mails and I stumbled across this "help request" from iATN... "Albert from Vermont writes: well we are still waiting for the customer to come up with some cash. she is disabled and funds are short. when we figure it out we will post the fix. thanks to all that have tried to help." In all of my years, I have always been aware that (while I am not exactly over-endowed with smarts and success) there are those less fortunate than I. I try to avoid taking cash out of my pocket to help those on fixed incomes and/or in unfortunate circumstances because I will give my time freely (notice "try" to avoid)... by the same token, I will try to find some other kind soul to equal my investment in a charitable act.. someone willing to pony up for parts at cost. Realize that this isn't a daily occurance. It happens, but only rarely in the grand scheme of things. I guess what really grinds me is that (and none of us knows all of the story) this guy is looking for FREE help so that he can charge someone less fortunate. For someone with a disability (my wife spent a lot of time in a wheelchair in the 90s), mobility can affect safety and the quality of life in ways that most of us cannot appreciate. If you think I'm wrong... please, set me straight. Me? I don't always remember to, but I try to make sure I have something to drop in the food bank hamper on the way out of Sobey's. FWIW, I've always felt and acted this way... being evacuated from my home has driven the facts deeper and more enduring than ever before.

Yes... and today is Canada Day as well... In the neener-neener department, just outside of town is the Slave Lake Concert of Hope. Evacuees get in free to this three day concert featuring the likes of Nazareth, Dwight Yoakam and the Stampeders (by coincidence a strange happenings, Rich Dodson of the Stampeders is uncle to none other than this lists own Adam Dodson... stand up and take a bow, Adam - this is your fucking 15 minutes of fame... ) along with who knows who else? Sunday is the anniversary of the single most important event of the entire 20th century.. yes, folks... this Sunday marks my 61st birthday.... come on now, you can get up off your knees Me? I'll be on my knees... laying laminate flooring... wishing I was brave enough to visit the chiropractor, knowing in my heart that, with my luck, we'd be ringing a bell that can't be unrung.... So... up yours mister chiropractor man... you can work your wizardry, evil or otherwise, on other unsuspecting souls. Feeling pain is a sure sign that you are still alive and still on the proper side of the grass....

I've suffered from lower back pain for many years... grit your teeth and avoid thinking about it. My wife is forever after me to see a chiropractor. My biggest fear is that he will make a <POP> that he can't un<POP>. The devil I do know is friendlier than the devil I don't. Kieth... cheer up - things are never so bad that they can't get worse.

My Dad was a career soldier and he was always planning on me joining the military... I was going to be Air Force... I was going to fly me some jets..... And then we moved... and then we moved again... and then we moved again... and we moved a few more times... through my early teens, we moved pretty much once a year... and not just across town.. My eyesight went for a shit and I became the boy you didn't want your sister dating... After I bought my first car, I discovered my lifestyle left no money for car repairs... the rest, as they say, is history.