OBD II and You

The emissions testing world is on the verge of change and it is a change that the independent aftermarket may not be ready for.

At the crux of the change is OBD II. On-board diagnostics have been a part of automotive technology since the 1980s, but the advent of the second generation of vehicle monitoring technology, which took the name On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) II, was the first to employ anything approaching a standardized protocol.

Created by a U.S. government mandate focused on keeping emissions and repairs from being locked up by proprietary trends as was the case with OBD I, the first models debuted around 1994, and the technology became all-encompassing south of the border by 1996.

Ever since, the proportion of OBD II-equipped vehicles rolling down the highway has been growing. Today, of the approximately 18 million cars, minivans, SUVs, and pickup trucks puffing down Canada’s roads, some 6 million of the total are between three and eight years old and are equipped with OBD II systems.

It is a fact that has not escaped those who create the emissions testing programs.

“For example, Ontario Drive Clean and B.C. AirCare are looking very carefully at this,” says Ray Datt, president of the Automotive Industries Association of Canada.

What he calls a “Plan B” for emissions testing removes the need to install rolling road dynamometers in bays to provide drive cycle testing. A relatively simple hook-up to the governing ministry or monitoring agency would be all that is required to determine whether a vehicle has identified failing components on itself.

“I know for example that B.C. AirCare spoke to this issue. They have already done some surveys to get a sense of what these vehicles represent. Ontario has been doing the same thing.

“At some point there will be a differentiation on these vehicles, where the OBD II-equipped ones would be exempt from a dyno test.”

Similar approaches are already in place in a few jurisdictions south of the border.

One program, in Illinois, has recently come under fire for its use of the OBD II data in place of tailpipe emissions testing. The American Automobile Association has weighed in with its opposition and, with specific reference to the Illinois program, called it “a debacle” that forced car owners to have unnecessary repairs done and that the majority of OBD II failures were in fact false failures.

In fact, there has been some data put forth to suggest that only a small portion of OBD II vehicles that fail the code-pulling inspection also register failing tailpipe emissions.

“The problem is that OBD systems are extremely complex,” Mike Right, vice president of public affairs for AAA Auto Club of Missouri told The Telegraph, an Illinois newspaper. “Even though all the guy had to do was turn his gas cap, the mechanic may end up replacing all kinds of things, either because he is ill-informed, untrained, or simply doesn’t understand the sheet of paper the motorist brings to him.”

While many in the aftermarket may object to this characterization of the automotive technician, his point regarding the complexity of the system is warranted.

“There are challenges in the repair of OBD II,” says John Cochrane, owner of Cochrane Automotive and co-chair of the Jobber/WD Council of the AIA. “I believe a lot of it is due to insufficient training.

“I would say a lot of it is a lack of understanding of OBD II. I think that is a big issue.”

He says that there are two key issues to address when considering the impact of OBD II. One is the emissions testing; the other is the repair. The I/M monitors that keep track of items such as the multitude of oxygen sensors on an OBD II vehicle require little more than a computer hook-up.

“It just tells you that there is something wrong, but the range of trouble codes is phenomenal.” Cochrane, who both runs a jobbing operation and a successful service business–he personally maintains his technician’s credentials with continual training–says that the concept of OBD II as a standardized protocol can be a bit misleading. On the whole, the range of scan tools available in the aftermarket does not provide the same depth of information as those units dedicated to the original equipment service channel.

“With OBD II one of the big things is the scan tool market. The scan tools are not currently up to date and it is forcing independent repair shops to go into vehicle-specific scan tools.”

The costs on these can range as high as $10,000 each, and a shop would need at least four separate tools to address the Big Three and at least some imports.

“Here is where the real issue is coming. Look at the cost of all those tools and the investment in that dyno, and where is the return? It’s pretty negative.

“But, if we’re not repairing vehicles to the standard the OE dealers are, the vehicle will end up in the OE arena.”

It is a complex issue, to be sure. Whether a shop is focusing on emissions testing-mandated repairs or a drivability repair mandated by a customer’s wallet, the imperative to understand OBD II is no different.

In the same way as a person’s headache may signal a back problem, a trouble code may not always point to the problem, just the symptom. Take a wonky oxygen (O2) sensor reading.

“On OBD II it should set a code, but the code may not always mean that it is the O2 sensor that is failing,” says Dave Pankonen, product manager for oxygen sensors at Robert Bosch Inc. ” It is not an iron-clad thing. It can certainly point to the system, but some codes that are set for oxygen sensors may be other problems that are making the car run rich.”

He points to a problem on his own car as an example. “I was getting a P code and it was saying that the O2 sensor was trying to drive the car rich, but it was because the air mass meter was faulty. The engine computer couldn’t make the change it wanted to because another component was failing.”

He says that as oxygen sensors have become more sophisticated, and more expensive, trial and error repairs are less of an option.

Chris Harrison, product manager, NGK Spark Plugs Canada, agrees.

“The vehicle may be reading rich, but the sensor is producing a voltage of 0.6 and 0.8 mV. The problem is that in many cases the injectors are dumping too much fuel, or there can be another condition, such as a problem in the fuel pump or the mass air fuel sensor.”

He says too that some vehicles require special procedures to clear codes–such as GM models that require three successive deceleration cycles to do so–and the ongoing bugaboo of misdiagnosis.

When a vehicle arrives at a repair garage with a check engine light glowing, figuring out what to do next is probably the greatest challenge facing the aftermarket in regards to OBD II. It is, as is so often the case, a training issue.

“The beauty about OBD II is that it is a standardized protocol,” says Doug Vidler, manager North American service, Delphi Product & Service Solutions. “The unique thing is that it does standardize how it works. Years ago you needed separate connections for Ford, Chrysler, and GM. Now it is standard across all models, but without the people going through the training. . .” he trails off.

“This industry needs to get real,” he insists. “If you get a brand-new four wheel alignment machine at a shop and you get some guy who has been able to define camber and caster but doesn’t really know what they are, you are dealing with two variables: the challenge of learning the equipment and of doing the alignment.”

The only way to ensure consistently accurate work is through continual training of each technician, he says.

“He has to have a minimum of 40 hours of training a year, especially if he is a drivability technician. There are new ignition systems coming down. They are going to take one look, do a 180 and run away and hide.”

“I think it is safe to say that, because of the vehicle age, what we’re seeing now is many of the OBD II applications coming into the aftermarket,” says NGK’s Harrison. “That is why it is in the forefront.”

The imperative for jobbers is to ensure that their customers are no
t left cowering behind the toolbox when a late-model vehicle arrives at their shop.

It is not so much about whether governments mandate OBD II-style emissions testing–which they probably will–as it is about dealing with a technology which is in vehicles all around you, and the diagnostic and repair processes that they require on the part of your customers.

“When you’re looking at [an OBD II] vehicle repair, if you haven’t done the research on the failure, you can just wade into it for a whole lot of time,” offers Cochrane. “And who is paying?”

He says OBD II diagnostics can be challenging at the best of times. Some days he feels he understands it, others days he feels lost.

“The people who are concerned and onto the Net and into service information and best practices are doing okay with it. The guys who aren’t embracing the technology and the hardware and the software aren’t making it in the OBD II world, that’s for sure.”

It is clear that Cochrane believes better access to tools and information for the aftermarket is critical for success, but he insists that you can’t simply throw technology at the problem.

“You can have all the tools known to man and God, but if you don’t have the training, you’re beaten before you start.”