I just hit 10,000 hours on my main scan tool and the data it showed me was a shock

It's a Snap-on Zeus, and I bought it new when I opened my shop in Spokane six years ago. The total fault code count was only 1,847, which means a huge chunk of my time is just chasing weird electrical gremlins and doing PMs, not major diag. Makes me think we're all getting better at building these things, or the problems are just getting sneakier. What's the ratio of diag to repair time look like in your bay lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan1003d ago

You think that's a low code count? My shop's main scanner shows a way higher ratio of faults to hours. Maybe it's the brands we see, but I swear every other car now has some module communication problem or a sensor failing in a weird way. The diag time feels longer than ever because the fixes are so specific, like replacing a single network resistor instead of a whole harness. It's not less work, it's just different and more annoying to pin down.

the_max3d ago

That network resistor fix @nathan100 mentioned is wild. I saw a job like that where the whole diag sheet was just "replace 2 cent part, 4 hours labor." It's getting crazy how much time we spend chasing tiny faults instead of actual repairs.

pat_moore3d ago

What about when the part is backordered for weeks? We had a car stuck on the lift waiting for a tiny can bus terminator that cost nothing but took a month to show up. The customer just sees the car sitting there.