I remember the first time my curiosity led me to a fix and it was when I was starting to get into more challenging diagnosis work. A few years ago, I had a diagnosis where a 2013 Lexus RX350 didn't started and it didn't go into accessory or ignition mode either. Basically, the vehicle wouldn't turn on. I did a health check with the scan tool on the vehicle and there was only one history code of Lost Communication with the Power Management Control ECU. My shop foreman told me that code meant nothing and after about 5 minutes of diagnosis from him, he was dead set that is was the ID code box and possibly the certification ECU and steering lock ECU. I was told to provide a quote on the ECUs and move on to the next vehicle. I had a gut feeling that the diagnosis given by the shop foreman wasn't correct, so when I had some free time in the afternoon I looked up in service information what the lost communication code was about. I remember not seeing the power management control ecu on the health check, so I became more curious about the power management control ecu. This ECU provided power to several relays that provided power to several systems on the vehicle. I connected the scan tool to the vehicle and I could NOT communicate with the power management control ECU with the vehicle off (I couldn't turn it on). I worked at a dealership, so I connected the scan tool to another same year RX350 and I was able to communicate with the power management ECU with the vehicle off. I showed my findings to the service manager and he agreed to have me further diagnose it. I checked power and ground to the ECU and it was missing power. I used a jumper wire to connect battery power to the power terminal on the ECU and the vehicle turned on and started. I checked the fuse powering the ECU and it was good. I did a voltage drop test from the fuse to the ECU and it was showing 12 volts. I checked the connector between the fuse and ECU and found corrosion in the connector. The connector had gotten wet and corroded from a leaking windshield. A bypass or overlay wire was soldered in and the vehicle turned on and started. I could've just went with the shop foreman's diagnosis on the vehicle, but it was my gut feeling and curiosity that led me to the right diagnosis.

Hello all! I'm Kelly. I live in Kansas and I'm a technician at a Lexus dealership. I don't always get them, but I do enjoy diagnostics that challenge me. I've been an automotive technician for 10 years and after like the first 6 years I was kind of actually disappointed in my lack of knowledge in diagnosing and repairing vehicles after attending OEM training. The OEM training was good, but it only taught me the basics and the dealership expectation was that I was supposed to know everything and diagnose quickly. I wanted to try and fix that so I started attending training conferences like Vision in the midwest and Super Saturday on the east coast and that's when I saw my knowledge improve quite a bit. I now find it difficult though to retain the knowledge and use it. I don't use that knowledge daily and when I do need it I've basically forgotten it which often leads to longer diagnostic times. I think a plus side of the training is that I've become familiar with using the Picoscope and I'm the only one that uses it where I work. Occasionally, I get called by other technicians in the shop to use the Picoscope for them. I'm hoping that by joining this community I can improve my diagnostic skills and also help others learn something.