By Michele Winn
A recent group photo of "Guru" grads. Students receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course. |
Several times a year, Jim Linder, owner, Linder Technical Services (LTS), provides technicians with the latest in procedure-based diagnostics through a weeklong program at his Indianapolis facility. Considered by some to be the “boot camp” for serious automotive repair technicians, “Guru School” provides 48 hours of instruction, including hands-on training, multiple instructors and an array of topics.
As described by Linder, “The attention span of the technician is captured and kept fired up for the entire week.” Linder, who carries the title of “Injector Guru,” is a well-respected industry trainer and an ongoing contributor to AutoInc. When asked what “level” a technician must be at to benefit from Guru school, he said, “A high-level technician will leave on Friday afternoon with a basket of information. An entry-level technician will also leave on Friday afternoon with a basket of information. The baskets will both be the same size, but the contents may vary.”
Following is an insider's day-by-day summary of what technicians can expect at Linder Technical Service's Guru school. Michele Winn, an LTS employee, outlines a typical week for students - from the technical training presented to the daily menu.
You're up bright and early because the LTS van will be in front of your hotel at 7:45 a.m. to pick you up for class. Once you arrive, there is time for a light breakfast of coffee, juice, doughnuts, bagels and cereal.
The first morning, things are relatively quiet during breakfast since most of the attendees have never met before. (This will change as the week progresses!)
After a brief introduction of the LTS staff and a tour around the facility, Jim Linder starts off with the class titled “Direction Based Analysis.” This class has been recently changed to better suit the working technician. If a technician has the proper direction, every repair is improved both in time spent and actual repairs made.
Randy Dillman discusses digital storage oscilloscopes, power graphing multimeters and scan tool graphing, and covers tool selection options available to technicians when addressing driveability problems. |
This class sets the stage for a “direction-based” approach for the rest of the week.
After lunch, Jim turns the class over to Randy Dillman, who owns and operates Linder Technical Services North in Fort Wayne, Ind. Randy spends the rest of the day covering digital storage oscilloscopes (DSOs), power graphing multimeters (PGMs) and scan tool graphing (SCANGRAF).
When a technician first approaches a driveability problem, many options exist regarding which tool to use. The effectiveness of each scope, PGM and scanner are discussed. The class begins with basic scope knowledge and progresses rapidly.
The tables in the classroom are “wired” so that several times during the day, each student is asked to acquire a signal that has been sent through the wire. Randy can then walk around the room and help students individually. Everyone works with his or her own DSO and scanner in the classroom and on test vehicles. With class size being limited to a maximum of 12 students, this makes the hands-on portion of the class much easier to manage and beneficial to the students.
Class ends the first day around 4:30 p.m. Special note: This is the only day during the week that the class is dismissed early. We have found over the years that early dismissal allows everyone to rest up for the rest of the week.
After breakfast, Randy picks up again with DSO/PGM/SCANGRAF. Randy will have the entire day to finish this class. He will wrap up around dinnertime and then drive back to Fort Wayne, so he can be at work the next day. After dinner, Jim takes over again and covers oxygen sensor control and analysis. The oxygen sensor is one sensor that can read the engine's overall “health.”
During this class you will discuss the methods of O2 control testing to aid technicians in quickly determining a direction or next step to take. The class starts with
a basic sensor overview and includes today's multiple O2 sensor OBD-II vehicles. Depending on how things are going, class will end around 8:30 p.m. and a tired group is shuttled back to the hotel.
Not only has the breakfast conversation increased, but the students are walking around the building like they own the place! The teardrop trailer workshop and Jim's office are places with “lots and lots of things” students just have to check out!
After a hearty breakfast, the guys jump right into current ramping - a class that will last all day. First up is current ramping of fuel pumps, then current ramping fuel injectors, and finally, current ramping ignition coils.
Using a van as the test vehicle, Mac Vandenbrink discusses ignition systems. |
The use of the low-current probe has opened many doors to diagnostic testing. In some cases, a technician can determine the health and condition of all three systems from a single fuse! During each current ramping section, technicians will use their particular tool of choice to capture and print waveforms of each system. This is done both in the classroom with live “wired” tables and also on test vehicles. Current ramping is one of Jim's favorite classes, so 9 p.m. is probably a conservative guess on what time class will end this day.
This is also “field trip” day. We take everyone to a local restaurant (owned and operated by the same people since the 1930s) for their specialty: ribs. After lunch, everyone loads up and heads over to the Indianapolis 500 track for a tour of the museum. It comes as a welcome break during the middle of the week. Most visitors can't help but be sucked into the Indy 500 gift shop on their way out, so don't forget to pack a few extra dollars just in case.
In addition to everything that happens each day, Jim includes a section called “Internet Utilization for the Service Technician.” Instead of this class being designated to one particular day and time, a portion of each morning is spent talking about specific Internet questions, such as downloading pictures for viewing. Time is also spent visiting Web sites of particular interest to service technicians. Electronic service information (ESI), the latest hot topic, is also discussed.
On “Day Four,” Guru school students learn about ignition systems from John Thornton. |
Conversation around the breakfast table has slowed a little bit because many of the students are getting tired. By the end of the day, many have reached their saturation point. John Thornton, owner of Pro Tec Auto Repair in Naperville, Ill., joins us to teach ignition system operation and testing on today's vehicles.
Primary and secondary ignition voltages and control circuits are discussed along with actual case studies. During the early afternoon, John hands the reins over to Mac Vandenbrink of DATEC in Michigan, who will spend a few hours covering coil-on-plug (COP) ignition systems. Almost every manufacturer is now using these systems. Mac will demonstrate on-vehicle testing with his latest invention, the COP-III tester.
Meanwhile, Bubba (aka Jim Linder), is outside by the grill, cooking up rib eyes, shrimp, potatoes, corn and Polish sausage for the Thursday night cookout. There won't be any more official class time after the cookout, but you may get a special surprise.
Breakfast conversation is once again at a lively pitch with everyone discussing how they can't wait to get back to work and put their newfound knowledge to work.
Doug Garriott, Linder Technical Service's fuel injection “wizard,” will spend the entire day with the group. He begins in the classroom and covers a brief history of fuel injection systems, injector operation, operational strategies and fuel supply systems.
With live writing available at each station, Randy Dillman checks each student's scope to make sure they have acquired the proper pattern. |
After lunch you will find yourself in the fuel injection lab learning about the testing and reconditioning process and actually doing some testing yourself.
Different types of fuel injection systems are discussed, including the General Motors central sequential fuel injection (CSFI) and central port injection (CPI) systems. Doug will wrap up his fuel injection presentation early in the afternoon to give time for everyone to pack up and get to the airport.
Before everyone leaves, students are given a certificate of completion, along with a “Guru” jacket with their name embroidered on the front and LTS and ASE patches (if applicable) sewn on the sleeves. Now it's time for the group photo, which is everyone's favorite part of the whole week! By now, everyone from the instructors to the technicians is very tired. The students leave with an improved attitude and the confidence that they are prepared to tackle the tough problems new technology may bring.
Editor's note: The weeklong training program described in this article is offered four to six times per year. Anyone interested in attending the Indiana-based program should call Linder Technical Institute at (888) 809-3835 and ask for Peggy. Or, visit www.lindertech.com for more details.
| Michele Winn is a driveability analyst at Linder Technical Services, an ASA member-business in Indianapolis. Known at LTS as the analysis "sleuth," she has been working as a technicianfor six years. Winn holds an associates degree from Lincoln Technical Institute in Indianapolis and is currently ASE-certified in six areas.
|