Preventing unintended consequences from routine service on ADAS-equipped commercial vehicles
Technology can be a wonderful thing–when it works. When it doesn’t, that same wondrous technology can lead to unintended consequences, including complete mechanical failure. Having a deeper level of understanding how the pieces work together can help us navigate more effectively around all those devices to deliver the benefits we had hoped to achieve. The
A Common sense approach to prevent tool loss
Looking through engine service information recently, a caution statement to “remove all tools after work is completed” brought about a reflection of loss, namely the loss of hand-tools. No technician wants to lose any tools. Not only are tools expensive, the tech depends on them to get the job done. Nevertheless, when working on vehicles,
Mitchell 1 assesses top technicians at the Arkansas Trucking Association’s Return of Champions event
Mitchell 1 joined the Arkansas Trucking Association in their return to an in-person trucking championship that brought together 108 of the best drivers and 50 of the top technicians in the state. Mitchell 1 operated the Service Information Skills station at ATA Return of Champions event, held June 23-25 in Rodgers, AR, which tests competitors
Truck service to smooth out a harsh truck ride
Those yellow rubber bumps on the curbside of a grocery store can be annoying, but they’re there to let the visually impaired know where the sidewalk ends and the roadway begins. These bumps can also serve as shoe scrapers, decorative talking points, or shopping cart speed bumps for shoppers in a rush. The bumps can
Five truck trend takeaways from May
June marks the official start of summer, but before we jump right into the deep end, here’s a recap of some of our most popular stories we think made a big splash! So, if you’re looking for some easy reading after the long weekend, take a look at this month’s most popular stories that you
Getting back to the basics with truck maintenance data points
My wife, Janet, loves to count lines contained in road sign letters. This is a habit instituted by her grandmother during long road trips, no doubt to occupy the time of an energetic and bored young girl. How she determines what constitutes a line in each letter remains an analytical metric that continues to escape
Is Your Truck Cab Smelling Fishy? How to Stomp out the Stink
The sky is clearing. The sweet smell of blooming flowers fills the fresh Spring air. The warming air serves as a welcoming announcement that the cold closeness that winter demands is slowly fading into history for another year. As the days grow warmer, a strong fish smell, reminiscent of the fish drying racks in a
The fool’s gold of truck service
More decades ago than I care to remember, some movie or folklore led me to start panning for gold in the dirt road outside our home. Slushing a pan full of dirt around in a pan with water from the garden hose rather quickly revealed the road to be a mother-load of GOLD. The bright
Mitchell 1 debuts tools for electronic system service, technician management
Mitchell 1 showcased next-generation electrical diagnostics software and time management tools for truck service operations. Ben Johnson, director of product management, noted that it strengthens Mitchell 1’s focus on preparing technicians for the challenges ahead in servicing the ever more complex and technologically advanced vehicles they will be seeing in their shops–from vehicles equipped with
Take the charge out of static electricity
Remember when you were a kid and first discovered that under certain conditions you’d get a little electric shock when you touched an object with your finger? This spark was rather exciting as well as somewhat painful—as the backs of tens of thousands of friends’ ears will attest. These sparks are the result of static
Do you hear the truck service problems I hear?
A phone call into the shop goes something like this: Driver: It makes a noise when I let the pedal up.Technician: What pedal? What kind of noise?Driver: The clutch. It makes a weird noise when I let the pedal up. Like a growl sound.Technician: When did it start?Driver: Not sure, I just noticed it. This
Mitchell 1’s Ben Johnson Joins HDAW panel focused on data usage in the aftermarket
Ben Johnson, director of product management for Mitchell 1 has been invited to participate in a panel discussion during Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW): Paving the Way: How the Heavy Duty Aftermarket Can Profit from Telematics and Predictive Maintenance. The session is scheduled for Tuesday, January 25 at 9 a.m. central time in Texas Ballroom A&B, at the
