Breakdown Troubleshooting Guide?

[TroySmith80]

I've been putting together a toolkit and recovery items and it occurred to me that since i'm not a highly experienced mechanic probably one of the most helpful items I could carry would be some sort of handbook to walk me through troubleshooting and diagnostic processes in the event of a breakdown. Is anybody aware of such a thing? Have any recommendations?

I suppose a clymer and/or factory service manual for my vehicle would be a good thing to have.

some quick googling turned up:
Troubleshooting With Your Senses - Your Roadside Guide

How to Diagnose and Repair Automotive Electrical Systems (Motorbooks Workshop)

I've done a fair amount of repair work in the past, even swapped a subaru engine into my '84 westfalia, but i'm not great on diagnosis, especially without the aid of the internet.

 

[NatersXJ6]

The factory service manual for your vehicle is a really good guide to have. I prefer paper for a number of reasons but for newer vehicles they're less available so a pdf works too, provided you have a big enough screen to make use of it. Tablet or laptop, not going to be a lot of fun on a phone. Wiring diagrams are a must have.

The most challenging part of the question you've posed is that a lot of troubleshooting practices are learned by doing - an inconvenient way to gain a skill . If I have any mechanical know-how at all it arrived by way of walking, sweating, bad choices, awkward conversations and other difficulties.

I like the premise of that "Troubleshooting with your senses" guide you linked. It's good to keep in mind that complex mechanical systems are just a collection of simple systems and if you work inward from the edges you'll generally arrive at the fault. May not be able to repair it in the field but knowing the problem puts you way ahead of not knowing.

I just dropped about $220 on the factory service manual and wiring diagrams for my 2014 wrangler. Came on 2 USB sticks.

Great... now I have to diagnose my computer in order to diagnose my Jeep in order to....

Anyway... sometimes paper is better... everyone at work looks st me funny for buying the printed building codes, but they are far easier to read.

Of course, USB goes nicely in a glovebox.

 

[NatersXJ6]

I've been putting together a toolkit and recovery items and it occurred to me that since i'm not a highly experienced mechanic probably one of the most helpful items I could carry would be some sort of handbook to walk me through troubleshooting and diagnostic processes in the event of a breakdown. Is anybody aware of such a thing? Have any recommendations?

I suppose a clymer and/or factory service manual for my vehicle would be a good thing to have.

some quick googling turned up:
Troubleshooting With Your Senses - Your Roadside Guide

How to Diagnose and Repair Automotive Electrical Systems (Motorbooks Workshop)

I've done a fair amount of repair work in the past, even swapped a subaru engine into my '84 westfalia, but i'm not great on diagnosis, especially without the aid of the internet.

The number one thing you can do to troubleshoot is understand how things are SUPPOSED to work. Probably 80% of the time I get “that dang thing ain’t working” at work... the translation is “That equipment did something I didn’t expect.” And the cause is “I didn’t know what to expect in this situation.”

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

One of the best buys I've made is a code reader. It can help identify the issue. Now, whether I'm able or capable of dealing with that issue out in the boonies is another matter.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Not sure about your swap, I don't know anything about it specifically. With mine I have my own wiring diagram of the stuff I added/changed that I drew up on draftsight so I can actually track what goes to where and what does what. Also marked what relay does what with a paint pen.

A good scanner will go a long ways for diagnosing the base vehicle if it is fairly new. If we are talking about your crossbred westfalia I don't know The '80's stuff is really basic, not sure about the VW or Subaru though. FWIW I have a cheap wireless one and it struggles to connect with my phone at times in my OBDII F-150 (so I usually use my Superchip programmer instead) so I would be tempted to get a good cable one.

If you have any weird irregularities like different ignition or something like that I would have all that in a binder with the vehicle. If you do have a problem don't get in over your head and mess up more, having your irregulatries documented and with the vehicle will help a shop fix it.

If I went into a shop and told them "I have an ignition for a '85 Mustang GT in my '85 Ranger and I need you to fix it" chances are their eyes are going to glaze over (my ignition was old when most current techs were born) and nobody is going to have a book on how to fix it on the shelf now. So "and here, this is from the Ford tech manual on it and the EVTM information to go with it" should make things go easier.

I have never had to do that though and my ignition is stupid simple to DIY but that is just an example.

 

[rayra]

A good basic understanding of what makes an engine work would at least give you an idea of where to start looking when it doesn't. Lack of spark, lack of gas, knowing what the likely causes of different sorts of cranking without starting can mean. I can't advice on a book or manual for it, I grew up holding a flashlight for my father as he worked on old cars and rolled right into fixing my own dirt bikes and junker pickups. So I kind of picked it all up as I went along. Hard to convey nearly 50yrs of mechanical troubleshooting experience.
I'd suggest also getting a basic Haynes manual for your vehicle. There's always some rudimentary troubleshooting and basic maintenance specs in them.

Too, especially if your vehicle is Used and new to you, I suggest 'baselining' all its maintenance issues. By 'baselining' I mean replacing all the fluids, all the wear parts, all the cooling system hoses, etc. Most vehicles never have their brake system flushed. Check you brakes, replace you wheel bearings of CV half-axles. Replace the suspension and steerign linkages. Get the servicing checklist from a dealer and do it all yourself. Or all of it that you can manage. Cooling system servicing, ignition servicing, review the electrical system, check all the fuses and ground connections etc etc. Become intimately familiar with your vehicle's condition but most importantly do that at a time and place of your own choosing. That way you control the costs and you learn at your convenience, instead of broken down on the road somewhere. And get at least a AAA Plus membership. It will pay for itself even before the first time you need to get towed somewhere.

Get familiar with the parts vendors in your area as well as sites like rockauto.com. Some people crap on the later, I've bought and installed a lot of parts from them in recent years and am a satisfied customer. Like all things, be a careful shopper. You can save a LOT of money with a little shopping around.

 

[TroySmith80]

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't have a swapped vehicle right now. The VW-subaru was something I had in the past, i mentioned it just as an example of mechanical work i've done. I once sprung a coolant leak on the line to the rear heater in an E350. I safety wired 2 pieces of tree-branch together to pinch off the rubber hose at the engine where it split off to the rear heater and was able to get home without loosing any more coolant. I was pretty proud of myself for that one, lol! I've done a fair amount of replacing parts, maintenance, etc. I also have a pretty good understanding of how most of the systems of a car/engine work (with the exception of auto transmissions!). Still, even being fairly comfortable with those things, diagnosing what's wrong when out in the woods, and fixing it, seems like a scary proposition. I was on a group outing recently when someone's had a mechanical failure and we quickly ran out of things to try and he had to get a tow. Fortunately it happened on pavement quite close to the highway, and not way back in the woods where we had been an hour or two previously.

Anyway, I would love to find some kind of handbook or army manual or something that walked through some clever diagnostic procedures and described improvised field repairs, etc.

 

[NatersXJ6]

The farthest I’ve walked for a tow, pre cell phone days, was 18 miles.

Always include good shoes and water in your recovery kit!

 

[calicamper]

Kid you not!! Rolling west on 80 about 12 miles east of Elko NV. Driver says uhh no throttle response, then Oh shhhh engine died were doing 75mph with a trailer... We coast about a mile before finding a shoulder we can safely get clear of traffic. Friend in back seat says “Siri - engine quit while on free way, Siri says fuel pump failure heres how to check. Yeah fuking Siri was right before we even came to a full stop!!! GMC Yukon classic fuel pump failure. Massive pain the ass to replace 4 hours later we were on the road again.

 

[llamalander]

What hasn't been mentioned about code readers is the ability to clear faults--most modern vehicles are as much electronic as mechanical, and those electronics behave much more erratically than one would want. Even without the tools to fix a problem, slapping an engine out of limp-mode can get you closer to someone who can help. It is a judgment call to override the chain of protective shutdowns that have left you stranded, but I've made of use of the option to both keep traveling and to get home safely, often without fully grasping what had gotten the ECU all bound up in the first place.
More broadly, try accumulating a sense of how things work/sound/smell and feel when things are going fine. Keeping track of the mileage you get out of each tank helps you reflect on your style of driving and the performance of your rig. When you see/feel a change from what you are used to, check your temps, fluids, voltage, pads and pressure in your tires. A good deal of failures have prior indications of wear or malfunction.
Basically, fall in love with your rig. Keep your mouth shut when she's talking and track everything she does. Give her the best you can afford, accept the shortcomings you find and graciously prepare for them. When you break something, apologize, take responsibility and fix it. Don't be an ass and you may be lucky enough to grow old together.

 

[NatersXJ6]

try accumulating a sense of how things work/sound/smell and feel

This. I still remember an exchange from my teen years, riding to school in a friends Celica, and smelling something horrible. He killed the stereo while we tried to figure out the problem. His little sister chimed in from the back and asked “Why do boys always have to turn off the music to smell something?” That was my first attempt to explain something to a cheerleader. Twenty five years later I’m still unable to accomplish that with my 3 cheerleaders, and I’m sure she has an exasperated husband somewhere.

The point remains though, diagnostics takes all five senses, and a sixth sense never hurts.