Secondary Ignition: The Art Of Spark by Scott Weaver This article describes the components of a conventional distributor ignition system, and how they produce a spark. Scott also shows what a (secondary coil) ignition waveform looks like, and describes its different parts. Read Article at Tomorrow’s Technician Maintaining Engine Spark by Mac Vandenbrink An explanation […]
Spark Ignition Diagnostics Article Roundup Read More »
Corrosion is an unfortunate and inevitable effect that attacks most metals. There are a few common causes of corrosion, and you’ve probably encountered all of them, even though you might not have recognized or identified them at the time. Understanding what’s going it can help you detect and prevent it in the future. This post goes through the most common causes of corrosion, the factors which speed it up, how you can slow it down, and what you should do about preventing it.
Types of Corrosion Found on Cars, Trucks, and Boats Read More »
This video is a demonstration of how to connect and disconnect the flex-arm and the sensors to the GTC505.
GTC505 Connecting the Flex-Arm and the Sensors Tutorial Read More »
Most call them ‘outboards’, some call them ‘outboard motors’, and a rare few call them ‘outboard engines’, but what are these enigmatic beasts sitting on our transoms?
You can make a case for any or all these names, but which one’s right? We’ll go through some arguments for and against each one, to see if we can come up with a definitive answer!
Is an Outboard an Engine or a Motor? Read More »
Diesel engines are notoriously smoky, producing much more blue, white, and black smoke than their gasoline-powered counterparts. The fundamental reasons for this are that diesels operate at higher pressures, with lower-purity fuel, and variable fuel-air ratios. This post covers the different types of smoke, and their (complicated) causes.
Why Diesels Blow Smoke, and What it Means Read More »
As you may have noticed, things are a lot brighter around our website these days! Our old ‘too blue’ design lasted for a little over five years, but the web moves quick, so we decided to move to a more modern design and framework. We hope this new site is just as easy to navigate
We’ve Got A New Look! Read More »
The short answer is that it’s our modern take on an old type of tool. The long answer is… longer.
What the Heck is an Engine Ignition Analyzer? Read More »
Almost every compression testing guide tells you to hold the engine’s throttle wide open during a compression test, but most won’t tell you why it may (or may not) matter.
Why Hold the Throttle Open During a Compression Test? Read More »
Long and short-term fuel trim are very useful indicators of engine performance relative to the manufacturer’s specifications, but before we get into what they tell you, we’ll go over what they are.
Long Term Fuel Trim and Short Trim Fuel Trim Read More »
There are a few different tests for oxygen sensors (also known as lambda sensors), some of which can be run without dedicated tools. The most effective tests tend to be done under normal operating conditions, on a sensor installed on an engine system, though there are some tests which can be done off-vehicle.
Testing Oxygen Sensors Read More »
