Jim Warman

When you first get your IDS, the price includes your first two years (or is supposed to) and after that you pay a yearly subscription. Not sure what kind of a case you are going to make out of that... Doesn't your dealer supply the IDS?

Several years ago (maybe 4 or 5 give or take) I saw a news article on TV or the web (it was a video) where some outfit was proposing a drive-up kiosk... plug in the DLC, swipe your credit card or debit card and receive a printout with codes, code definitions and "diagnosis" - this would be that vague kind of 'radio talk show' type diagnostics, I imagine. Recently a customer (Dwayne knows him - he has a BIG truck with a stovepipe) had trouble trying to clear a P1000 - he suggested that I reflash his truck to get rid of it.....

Used to be the SAs would never put the licence number on the RO... (they do now, but more and more trucks have RKE anyway).. "It's the white Super Duty - you can't miss it". White is the favourite company colour these days - and on any given day we can have up to 40 or so Super Duties out back - very few of them NOT WHITE!!! One of our SAs, a wonderful lady who get's teased mercilessly some days, remarked that she had gotten a new clock... I ask if the one on the stove was broken and ran like hell.

I'm often handed customer calls from those that spend a lot of money in our store. I'm caught betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea. I am "supposed" to be affiliated with the service department yet answering a phone call might benefit the sales department or the parts department - depending on the customer and/or the question. I do my best to avoid "wasting" time... but I have written "SCHMOOZING" on my time card more than once.

Same shit happens to me... all too often. Something I often tell people faced with problems... "THINK SIDEWAYS". Sometimes the shortest distance between two points is around a couple of corners. We have become so driven that we see only the goal and not the path. There are times I do stuff that leaves others scratching their heads (sometimes I do stuff that leaves me scratching my head). One of the beautiful things about being this old is having the ability to watch someone struggle with something only to walk over and let experience "kick in". One strike with a hammer - one push with a pry bar - look at it as if I were cross... I have "tricks"...I can't tell you what they are because sometimes I do them with no thought of what I'm doing (the result seems to "just happen" - even to me)... I can't tell you where I learned them because I can't remember... I can't tell you where to use them without immersing myself in your problem and letting instinct take over. Often, I can't tell you what I did because sometimes (and I firmly believe this) - sometimes, it seems to have more to do with how you hold your tongue (you might call that "Lady Luck") than what you actually do. Now that I have stolen yet another thread... I have only ever read portions of "Zen and the Art Of Auto Repair"... so I'm not sure that this hippy driven tome could be called influential. But I do sometimes feel that you need to "become one" with your patient. Recently, we replaced the alternator on a 550 with a 6.4 WITH a V-MAC compressor (this changes the complection immensely - or so we thought)... 16 hours into that job.... Friday, I did the same job, I feel bad because it shouldn't have taken as long as I took... With the usual interruptions and the failure to see that the FEAD belt slipped off a pulley when I was testing the PAS, I was done in about 6 hours.... The original tech thought straight ahead... I thought "sideways". This isn't to say that the original tech is a "bad tech". But, in the abscence of a published step by step procedure for alternator replacement with the V-MAC modifications, he lost sight of his path and focused only on his goal. Word of warning... some techs spend too much time thinking of the path forgetting the goal. This is fodder for another thread. To paraphrase Spock... "Think sideways and prosper".

Actually, your razzin' fit in too good with another different thread to pass up... Phuque.... now it's starting to look like I have an agenda... My wife has, at various times, called me a "perfectionist". A misnomer if there ever was one.... Perfection is a rare and wonderful thing... mostly unattainable but sometimes easily missed. Me? I'm fussy with aspirations to perfection, smart enough to know I will never be perfect, anal enough to be pissed about it. Ohhhh, if you could see the world through my eyes....

A 3/8ths drive flex head ratchet with a longish handle and a short length of EMT tubing to act as a snipe (let's not forget I am a feeble old man). For the AC belt, add one or two 1 inch extensions. Access the tensioners from below - not sure if I should have said that since accessing either tensioner from the top makes no sense at all.

In another thread in another forum, I mentioned that we have the SuperStarII tester handy and ready to use... with the note that I still get the joy of working on Lincoln air suspensions (you need the SS2 right up to 1997 for air suspension). Anyway, that triggered another train of thought. It seems that there isn't a week goes by that I don't see at least one tech working in an independent shop berate dealership techs in general and quite often they even seem to specify FORD dealership techs... This usually gets my attention since I am proud to a fault of where I work, what I do and where I am. The usual diatribe indicates that we couldn't fix a sandwich if our life depended on it, we are thoughtless and inconsiderate and, if there are bandits in the trade, it is the dealer tech that is a bandit while Mr. Independent "I can fix anything without proper tools and manuals" has only his customers best interests at heart... Up until you see the gem that will eventually come - sometimes not very often, but always bringing delight. From the keyboard of an independent tech on iATN - "If I can't figure this one out, I will have to send it to the dealer. I hate doing that because those guys don't know anything". Not only that, he is calling down the very people that would help him... Insert adage about making sure the boot you piss on today isn't attached to the ass you kiss tomorrow. Sidebar... much of the (there's a better word but I can't think of it right now) 'disdain' that other techs feel for dealer techs is generated, in part, by the fact that we wont babysit them through a repair that they are ill equipped (skills or manual wise) to perform. In our town we have a "big box" auto repair facility... In western Canada, we lovingly call it "Cambodian Tire". Now and again, they will undertake something they shouldn't and their service manager will suddenly feel that, since he knows my name, him and I are "buds". Phone call number one will dangle a few "treats" for him - like a carrot on a stick for a donkey, I try to lead him to the realization that he needs a better scan tool, factory manuals and someone on staff that can read. Phone call number two will get a slightly larger carrot or (more often) be designed to send someone in the wrong direction. Phone call number three has me on a road test or with a paying customer. Hmmmm, maybe dealer techs are hateful.

Awwww.... c'mon, Kieth. Keeping anything in decent shape/closed/open/turned on/turned off/full/empty or what have you is impossible for any one individual to police. I can't speak every shop but I am sure that every last one of you has "Not Me" on the payroll. I've been after management to can his ass for a long, long time but he is everywhere and he is nowhere. The drum of 0W30 is empty - who was the guy that emptied it? Yep - "Not Me". Who left the compressors turned on all weekend? "Not Me". Who used the lastof the toilet paper and left you too find out AFTER IT'S TOO LATE? Oh yeah, your best buddy, "Not Me". This kind of disrespect happens constantly - yet not one person in the store did it. Well, I might be wrong because everyone tells me that"Not Me" did it. Trying to stay on topic... We have a working NGS, a WDS I can press back into service with little preparation... a SuperStarII tester (I still get saddled with the odd Town Car air suspension... more on that in another thread) - and this is our "newer" tools

A few words of caution about the network test and "U" codes. When performing a network test, if a particular module isn't installed on a unit, that module may be listed as a "fail" rather than a "module not present". The results of the network test need to be considered carefully to determine what it is really telling us. As an example, if we see "PAM (park aid module) - Fail network test" kind of message, the first thing we need to do is determine if the truck has a park aid module. You don't say what module(s) failed the network test making it a little difficult to offer too much help. That you are communicating with the truck and can read ICP_PRES, one would assume that the PCM is functioning and, in the abscence of any od demand FICM codes, that the FICM is also capable of responding to the network ping. Similarly, network codes can be a little worrisome. If a network code isn't repeatable or isn't accompanied by a symptom, I'm not too likely to spend much time on it. Comm codes ("U" codes) can be set simply because a module took a little long to boot up or a module momentarily sent out some "unexpected" information. ("Noise" on a sensor circuit, RFI, loose connection, that kind of stuff.) Your U1262 indicates a concern has been present with communications on the SCP network - you don't say that this is an Excursion (which would have PATS) so that leaves something to do with the instrument cluster - not too likely that this is going to be the cause of a no start. The "no codes" thing is a bit bothersome... not even a P1000? or a P0603? You'd expect "something" if it was one of the usual suspects. I'll caution against using ICP_PRES when looking for a no start/hard start cause. ICP pressure is a computed value... that is to say if the PCM doesn't like what the ICP sensor is telling it, the PCM will make up shit... and even display it back to you. ICP_V (ICP volts) is what you want and you need to see IPR% along with it for it to make any real sense. There are some other PIDs to monitor listed in section 4 of the PC/ED. If this is an early build '04, I'd begin by looking for ICP sensor bias KOEO - should be 0.18 to 0.24 volts - and/or an oil leak at the back of the motor... Good Luck. Before I forget... When looking in the online WSM for codes and such, there is a search box near the top of the window (right beside the printer icon) - you can enter your search term there (in the case U1262) and it will display the results in a popup window.

Yes... the monkeyhouse is the diesel stop... these guys are unique - that is about all I can say. I've been kicked off there more times than you can count. Under no circumstance should you mention GrampyJim.... he was banned for character substitution... no, not like "@$$h01e". He was banned for ** *. Powerstroke.org? That's where Rex Umney went to learn about HEUI injectors... Must be a good place because he phuqued some poor shmuck out of a truck over it.... FWIW, it appears that Rex's daddy wont hire him but will let him work out of his garage...

Hook up to a vehicle and do an OASIS Quick Start - I think they now call it "read VIN and DTCs". IDS lights up like a damned Xmas tree. I am sure that there is shit being sent down the pipe that we can't imagine. My own desktop PC is chock full of *.log files, *.tmp files and variations on the theme. I am sure that there are modules on the modern automobile that have these sorts of information just waiting for the mothership to glean them. Call me paranoid if you like... after understanding what the VIDblock is all about and seeing what happens when programming SYNC... You'd have to be a fool to think that "they" aren't gathering nformation. It wasn't that long ago that we were replacing the cluster on an vehicle not well known to us. One of the affected items was the odometer reading. I asked hotline if there was a way to look at miles or kms (at this time, Dodge had such a PID available to anyone with a suitable scan tool). I was told that they felt if we could see it, we could change it. And now.... Thank God I have my back-up plan.... Available to all HERE . Happy constructing....

From "<on> to "<off> was snatched from the monkeyhouse and is delivered with no spelling or grammar modifications. Unlike most of the paranoid types that seem to populate TDS, this boy actually identifies his location as Kansas... (though this could be a ruse to make the government beam their mind control ray in the wrong area). My biggest concern is that somebody like this WILL vote...

A word of caution... the online manuals should always be our first choice. These manuals are the first to have any information updated and, should there ever be a question or a dispute, following the online manuals will absolve the tech of any blame. FWIW, you don't need any virtual drives... copy the DVDs to your hard drive, make a simple change to the appropriate *.ini file and you are done. A show of hands, gents... how many of you check broadcast messages with any regularity?

"What's wrong with this Piture?? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guys like us have spent 40K, 50K, and even 60K dollars on these trucks and we still have to invest another 3 or 4K on programs, exhaust, and air intakes just to get the performance we need and want. You'd think Ford would get the hint and build them that way at the factory. ------------------" Squeezes bridge of nose and shakes head.... <SIGH>

Stinky dentists taking the mixed shit out of someone elses tank and putting it in theirs. Customer... "What did you do with the old shit?". GreaseMonkey... "Ah putted it inh muh own tank... HYUK HYUK...". Customer,,, "Well... that makes me feel better about the bill you gave me. But why is it bad for me and good for you?". Make that "stinky bald dentists with good barbers".

And everything to do with how hung over and underachieving he may have felt... or how uncaring he might be on this particular day. Since my dentist is going to be "in my face" (well, not so much anymore... I can mail him my teeth) I would think that pleasant body odors would be a prime consideration... Think of it like "I don't smoke in a customers car or change his radio station and I try to return his seat to the same position I found it" kind of a consideration. The devil is in the details. On rethink.... the barber I go to doesn't talk politics, he doesn't stink and I am probably happy that I don't have to stare at my haircut - the barber I used to go to (until she moved) was cute and had big zoomers. And Meatloaf told us that "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"....

I wish I knew where my barber has his hair cut.... that's where I would go...

You guys are nuckin' futs. I have neither the time nor patience for driving around in unreliable, poor running junk. I refuse to send my wife out into traffic in some second rate death trap. And "yes"... when it comes to emissions controls, I put my money where my mouth is. I refuse to drive junk and I refuse to drive something that might appear to run poorly. This sends a powerful message to my customers.... I can't say how things run in the US but my customers are also my neighbours. I'm not about to dump anything in my tank that might make me look like I should have chosen a different career path... Your reputation is built on 25% what you do and 75% what you APPEAR to do.

I remember those days quite well... We have a lot of 6.4s in our area... some with extended warranty and some not. I haven't had the chance to flash this into my kids truck yet... but it will go there... He's at 250,000 kms and no warranty - advance warning of potential problems will be a good thing... Where I live, my kids truck isn't the only one over the miles. Once more, from the top (remembering that their Dad isn't a Ford diesel tech) .... I have no warranty left and ever since you flashed my truck the "check money" light has been on.... "What are YOU going to do about it". The perception will be, of course, that the truck was fault free before the flash and now it is broken. And some of you guys don't appreciate what your SAs go through. Perhaps this will add some balance to my post.

The ICP_PRESS PID is there for your convenience... If you are going to pay close attention to something, make it the ICP_V PID. FWIW... ICP_V is the actual sensor reading. ICP_PRESS is a computed value. If the PCM doesn't like ICP_V, it will insert a pressure reading it does like.... Everybody has to love a computer that will make shit up.... And if you think that is funny, wait until you take the EcoBoost course.

200??? There are 3 current red DVDs - These I just load the front end and let the guys have their way with them... they get replaced regular enough that a few scratches and marks don't seem to hurt (and I always save a few older ones in case). There are a few more of the yellow discs... 92-96, 96-01(?) and I think one a year after that up the about MY 2006. We are due for new PCs so I imagine I'll be reminded right away - yellow DVDs I copy onto the "shop" PC and hide the DVDs in the fiule cabinet. Yellow DVDs are the last time that manual will be presented. FWIW, these few discs all fit onto our leased computers with plenty of room to spare. There is absolutely no excuse for your employer not making these things available to you... even to the point that they are instantly available when more conventional means fail.

I can see it now.... "Ever since YOU reflashed my truck.....". And "What are ya gonna do about it?".

While you are doing all of this.... get as much Ford training as you possible can.... Classroom time is immensely important, but if you can print off as much web based training wall paper as you can..... Web based courses are chock full of proprietary info that you cannot and will not get if you aren't a memebr of the "flock". You can use the knowledge you gain here to develop an insight into the way all things run. Master that... It is your life and your career. To a point, you do have the ability to influence it's direction. Knowledge is power. Direct that knowledge wisely - develop the skills to enhance it - develop the customer relations to support it - and the jobs will come looking for you.

Alex... funny you should bring that up.... I have a poorly done PDF rendition of Mein Kampf that I've been trying very hard to blunder my way through (at one point in time, I set out to read Tolstoys "War and Peace"... this makes "Les Miserables" look like a grade school reader). My personal history is fairly unique (I am a product of WW2, we came back to Canada because of the Korean War and my youth was spent leaving people behind - a statement only a military brat can truly appreciate) and I don't really expect many others to share my views or tastes. Cool!!!