Auto 132 Lab Experience Report Score: Difficulty _____ X Quality_____= ______

Part 1: Vehicle Information

Student name(s):Lance Boerup Dax Peterson

Vehicle year, make, model: 1996 Ford Taurus

Customer’s name & repair order number:Nicholas

Customer’s concern(s):

Check Engine light on with a lean condition code.

Part 2: Documentation 1. First we test drove the vehicle to see how

it was currently running and also to check the freeze frame data on the scan tool. We were able to see that the car was running really lean on the freeze frame but our current PIDs showed that the Fuel trims were normal. At one point we did see the fuel trims go up really high so we thought that the problem was an intermittent problem

2. Next we took the vehicle into the shop and started a visual inspection. During this inspection we were specifically looking at the vacuum lines to see if there were any leaks that could be causing us to run lean. we were not able to see any problems with the vehicle vacuum lines and we continued on.

3. After our visual inspection we started to gather Data about the vehicle. We

Looked for any TSBs and specifics about the P0174 code that we received. We couldn't find any TSBs that were related to the cause of the car and we also didn't find much on the code that we received as well.

4. We decided to check the MAF sensor readings by running a test on it by letting the car idle at its 800 RPMs and we noticed the reading was around 7 Lbs/M we doubled the RPM and the reading on the MAF sensor doubled as well. We also tripled the RPMs to 2400 and the reading on the MAF was also tripled at around 21 Lbs/M We knew that the cars MAF sensor was getting good readings.

5. Next we looked at Identifix to see if there was any information on there. we saw that the most replaced part was an Intake manifold Gasket and we decided to run a test to see if there was any vacuum leaks that could be due to the Intake manifold gasket.

6. We took a look at our Freeze frame and noticed that the code was most likely set when the customer was letting the vehicle warm up, knowing this we thought that the intake manifold gasket was most likely not sealing well when the car was cold but after it warmed up it started to run fine.

7. We then decided to let the car sit outside over the weekend and when we came back on monday we went out with a propane bottle and started up the car. With a scan tool hooked up we watched the RPMS of the vehicle and sprayed around the gasket with propane. We did not see any change in RPMs and determined that the gasket was fine on the vehicle.

8. Because we couldn’t find any leaks in the air intake, we took the car out for a drive, and performed a manifold air pressure test using the computer. The system seemed to be running as it should, and the graph and the right shows that there was a proper amount of pressure in the air intake during all periods of acceleration.

9. Since the MAP test did not show any results at an issue, we decided to go further and run some other tests using the computer. We decided to check the efficiency of the Catalytic Converter. The test on the right shows that the Catalytic Converter failed the test on bank 2.

Part 3: Reflection & Analysis● What parts of this process went well? The parts of this process that went well was learning how to do all the different tests on the vehicle to try to diagnose what could have caused the lean condition. Learning how to do all the different

● Which steps were most critical in your diagnosis process?The steps that were most critical in our diagnosis process was test driving the vehicle and seeing if the problem was still occurring. Seeing that we were not able to get the readings that were on the freeze frame we checked for leaks in the intake manifold by using propane and were not able to find a leak anywhere. Finally we decided to test the MAF sensors to see if it was reading properly

● What kept you from being as effective as you could have been?

The steps that kept us being as effective as we could have been was the step that includes repeating the problem with the vehicle in order to understand the problem to be able to repair the problem.

● Now that you can look back on how this project unfolded, what would you like to do differently next time?Looking back at our project, next time we have a similar issue, we would like to talk with the customer and have him or her come and show us the circumstances that the car would malfunction.