52 | February 2016
Some diagnostics
hurt your brain...
Fixing diffcult and perplexing problems
By Jeff Taylor
Jeff Taylor boasts a 31-year career in the
automotive industry with Eccles Auto Service
in Dundas, Ontario, as a fully licensed pro-
fessional lead technician. While continuing
to be "on the bench" every day, he is also
heavily involved in government focus groups,
serves as an accomplished technical writer
and has competed in international diag-
nostic competitions as well as providing his
expertise as an automotive technical instruc-
tor for a major aftermarket parts retailer.
I
enjoy working through diagnostics,
with my favorite being driveability
concerns. The most common diagnos-
tics that I perform relate to check engine
lights, and lately some of those have been
very challenging. I still get pattern failures
that are for the most part easy to solve and
diagnose, but I don't shy away from the
more demanding problems that other shops
or techs claim can't be fxed. I have never
been afraid to take on these tasks, maybe
because I have a different attitude toward
these repairs. I want to be the guy who can
say, "I fxed it."
I have had many of these issues come
into my bay for diagnostics over the last 12
months. A couple really stood out as dif-
fcult and perplexing, and both had had lots
of time spent on them by other shops or
other techs.
2007 VW Beetle
The frst vehicle was a 2007 VW Beetle 2.5
(BPS engine code). The problem: The check
engine light (CEL) is on, and the car is due
for its emission test. This car had been at
The Tech Bench
The check engine light was glowing away on this troublesome Volkswagen Beetle.