Frustrations of working as a Motor Vehicle Technician.

[philw696]

Been in the Motor Trade most of my working life but have to say I'm glad I no longer have to worry about going to work thankfully.
Had many apprentices over the years and the last one in the UK was in Weston super Mare and he was the Best and we still keep in touch.
He's no longer working in the Automotive sector but gone into Factory machinery maintenance.
He did nearly 20 years and decided he didn't want to continue for quality of life and he was good too.
I've been picking his brains over this Mercedes Benz Adblue problem I'm try to sort out.
This is the last message and I've already decided no new stuff anymore for me.
Already this week I've spent money getting the latest software for my Launch and bought the specific Adblue software to no avail.

 

[Wack61]

Modern car electronics are a nightmare , my abarth 595 has a problem , intermittent limp mode, for 1 second EML on loss of power , then , no i'm fine, as you were for an unspecified amout of time , cod be 5 minutes could be an hour , it's had new plugs, lambda sensor which was the only code but no fix
Took it to an abarth specialist who was stumped so I took it away hoping it would break down but 6 weeks on it's still the same

It's going back to the abarth specialist with £500 in it which buys 10 hours of his time , if that doesn't fix it It'll be getting part exchanged

Then there's the dirty work , my L322 had a noisy OSF wheel bearing but in the last few weeks it's developed a problem at speed on the motorway , turn to the left and it's like driving on a rumble strip so I took it to my mate's garage
Swearing , hammers, more swearing , penetrating oil, swearing , and it was off , then a press, more swearing


New wheel bearing , and , it's still the same , like driving on a rumble strip ffs

 

[CatmanV2]

Been in the Motor Trade most of my working life but have to say I'm glad I no longer have to worry about going to work thankfully.
Had many apprentices over the years and the last one in the UK was in Weston super Mare and he was the Best and we still keep in touch.
He's no longer working in the Automotive sector but gone into Factory machinery maintenance.
He did nearly 20 years and decided he didn't want to continue for quality of life and he was good too.
I've been picking his brains over this Mercedes Benz Adblue problem I'm try to sort out.
This is the last message and I've already decided no new stuff anymore for me.
Already this week I've spent money getting the latest software for my Launch and bought the specific Adblue software to no avail.
View attachment 120284

So what I *think* you're saying is that neither you, nor your best apprentice, can understand computers (sorry retaliation for the dig about the earth line, and I *did* work out how to program my car to accept new keys at minimum cost).

Maybe you need to upskill

C

 

[philw696]

So what I *think* you're saying is that neither you, nor your best apprentice, can understand computers (sorry retaliation for the dig about the earth line, and I *did* work out how to program my car to accept new keys at minimum cost).

Maybe you need to upskill

C

Not that at all Chris had a fair bit of practice over the last few years reprogramming for Toyota and Lexus but it's easy with the Factory gear and every bit of information you need then if you have a problem it's phone a friend in the Brussels HQ and if they can't sort it straight onto Japan.
Problem I have is that there's no faults in the SCR module and going through everything it's all as it should be.
I've paid another Garage for their time and diagnostic gear and no further ahead.
Diagnostic work is becoming extremely complex and I admit I don't find it exciting to me.

 

[Oneball]

I thought this was going to be about a Robin Asquith film

 

[conaero]

In contrast I’ve been working on Maseratis full time for 5 years next April and absolutely love it.

Did 25 years in graphic design and hated the last 5-10 years.

So I think 15-20 years doing any job and you will hate it.

In 10 years time I’m going to retrain as a gigalo which should see me out to retirement

 

[Phil H]

Modern car electronics are a nightmare , my abarth 595 has a problem , intermittent limp mode, for 1 second EML on loss of power , then , no i'm fine, as you were for an unspecified amout of time , cod be 5 minutes could be an hour , it's had new plugs, lambda sensor which was the only code but no fix
Took it to an abarth specialist who was stumped so I took it away hoping it would break down but 6 weeks on it's still the same

My daughter's relatively basic 500 had power loss and a 'christmas tree' on the dash yesterday, and the AA man fixed it with a new coil pack (which has apparently been upgraded from the original). If it's not been considered on yours it might be worth checking before spending too many £'s elsewhere.

 

[Wack61]

The alfa 8C coil packs fit the 595 so I might go down that route first , thanks for the info

The 500 does have ECU faults which result in a misfire but it usually stores a code

 

[mjheathcote]

The alfa 8C coil packs fit the 595 so I might go down that route first , thanks for the info

The 500 does have ECU faults which result in a misfire but it usually stores a code

You have had that problem for how many months?
That would really, really **** me off!
To be honest I had a similar, as a really **** me off issue, with my Lotus Elise.
Something had dropped into the aluminium chassis, and when you drove it enthusiastically it would slide and knock, slide and knock. It really got to me to the point you would be listening for it! It wasn't the sole reason why I sold it, but as no one could offer a solution for it as the chassis was fully enclosed and sealed, it did contribute.

 

[CatmanV2]

You have had that problem for how many months?
That would really, really **** me off!
To be honest I had a similar, as a really **** me off issue, with my Lotus Elise.
Something had dropped into the aluminium chassis, and when you drove it enthusiastically it would slide and knock, slide and knock. It really got to me to the point you would be listening for it! It wasn't the sole reason why I sold it, but as no one could offer a solution for it as the chassis was fully enclosed and sealed, it did contribute.

C

 

[mjheathcote]

I remember now, there was also another thing that was more worrying I found before selling my Elise. It developed a slight amount of play in the steering, which if you have ever owned or driven an Elise, its direct steering feel is legendary.
The steering column joins a splined UJ before passing through the bulkhead. I discovered that the bolt and nylon nut that squeezed the UJ onto the splines was loose!! The consequences of the UJ slipping completely on the steering shaft...

 

[midlifecrisis]

You gotta keep current. When I started we learn about thermionic valves as they were still present in many airfield radars for the high power stuff. Nowadays everything is basically a node on an isolated network. Linux is pretty much the software of choice now and learning it has become quite an enjoyable challenge. I've still got 10-15 years to work and I'm refusing to be the grumpy old sod who says 'in my day' stories, but relish in the fact that most technological advancements have been better for the engineer.
No more nasty kilovoltages (killer voltages) and using debollocking sticks, no more nasty x-rays off thyratrons and no more nasty alpha particles off tritium filled receiver protectors (TR Cells) . Worklife is good but don't talk to me about keyless entry.

 

[Wack61]

You have had that problem for how many months?
That would really, really **** me off!
To be honest I had a similar, as a really **** me off issue, with my Lotus Elise.
Something had dropped into the aluminium chassis, and when you drove it enthusiastically it would slide and knock, slide and knock. It really got to me to the point you would be listening for it! It wasn't the sole reason why I sold it, but as no one could offer a solution for it as the chassis was fully enclosed and sealed, it did contribute.

At least 5 months

I've ordered some alfa 8c coil packs , I can convince myself they're an upgrade if it doesn't fix it

I was hoping it would break down but it just seems to be a never ending problem.

 

[2b1ask1]

I get the need for change thing; these days I absolutely detest doing inspections, even more so repeat visits, reporting the same $hit every time. Being a practical and hands on engineer, I am in my element fixing stuff, new location every day. Been inspecting on and off since 1981 but continuously since 2002, the industry sucks too which doesn't help morale when your trade body is so pathetic and petty. Apparently I still have to attend CPD events! Given I wrote the bl00dy standards they are telling me I need to train on!!!

 

[midlifecrisis]

Apparently I still have to attend CPD events! Given I wrote the bl00dy standards they are telling me I need to train on!!!

AHH but you didn't write in those standards that the author is duly competent and doesn't require training...

Cue tirade...

 

[Gazcw]

In contrast I’ve been working on Maseratis full time for 5 years next April and absolutely love it.

Did 25 years in graphic design and hated the last 5-10 years.

So I think 15-20 years doing any job and you will hate it.

In 10 years time I’m going to retrain as a gigalo which should see me out to retirement

Is gigalo new hr job role speak for a teaboy in a giga factory?

 

[Mattmaser]

Had a 4 year old Cayenne 3.0 diesel - filled with adblue , didn’t register and mileage was counting down, would get to the point of non start - £3k repair at Porsche

 

[zagatoes30]

Like Phil I think there is too much tech in cars these days and not all really necessary.

Our 13 plate 525 Touring is brilliant, it drives great, carries everything we need it to, is spot and economical in fact in almost all cases the perfect driving machine.

However its ECU has a mind of its own, it randomly logs error codes, never triggers any warning lights just error codes. We started by dealing with the error codes, glow plugs replaced them, swirl flaps removed them both known issues so no worries but every time we replace something it logs a new fault or in some case multiple faults. We have taken to just clearing them and see if they return, some do randomly but most don't. Last time we checked it had logged 21 different faults. Needless to say we are suspicious, it's being plugged into BMW diagnostic next week to see if they can find an issue.

 

[midlifecrisis]

I agree with not putting on technology for the sake of technology. As mentioned above, keyless entry is a security issue.
I worked on a new solid state radar, a few years back, that was great to work on as it had no nasties. But it had sensors everywhere that threw up a fault here and there. When we asked the manufacturer what they meant they came back with, you don't need to worry about that or, that alarm is for the developers...my response to that was, why have it then? They soon learnt the acronym of KISS... keep it simple stupid. And yes it was Italian...

 

[Scaf]

My late Jaguar XJ developed a “cold start” problem last winter, not a massive problem but it was odd having to press the start button mor than once to get going.
No faults recorded, not a known problem, Jag mechanics say there is nothing wrong.
Its intermittent so they could not reproduce the fault, I expect it to be the same and will have k capture it on video to price a point.
At the moment, if it doesn’t throw a code, they have no idea where to start.