Nov. 18- 25, 2012: backhoes and hydraulic hoses

This past week was thanksgiving. I was able to get some work done before I went on break. I learned more about backhoes, Z60's hydraulic routing and propane regulators. I started with a checkin on a john deere backhoe. Nothin stood out in terms of problems, but it did give me a good refresher on going through them because I hadn't had the chance to check one in awhile. The next was a case 580. This unit needed some parts and small repair, but in the end turned out that I learned how the backhoes joystick system works. It had a bad gas shock that was supposed to keep the joysticks where you wanted. The Z60 had a bad hydraulic hose and when I went to take the cover off and replace it it had more hoses that needed replacing. As you can see in my pictures I also learned about how propane regulators work, backhoe hydraulic routing, bad PCV hose and air intake. Another good week!

Hours: 30
Hours to date: 419

Nov. 12- 16, 2012: The light board and learning new machines!

This past week I learned not only a lot, but of many new skills. I completed the truck and trailer board at school. I had pictures of it, but unfortunately I misplaced my phone that had the pictures. The task was to completely light up all of the lights so you could operate the board just like a truck. I had made some few mistakes, but after those mistakes  I was able to learn from them and complete the board. I was actually surprised how fast I did it in. One of those mistakes was hooking up to the turn signal switch. It was amazing to figure out that almost all the lights are ran through the turn signal switch. I also how some brands use relays to work the headlights and they are controlled on the ground side. Very interesting. You can see in the pictures that I worked on a Z60 at work this week. I am still marveled at how large this machine is and how all the components are run off of the hydraulic pump. Very cool week and I can't wait to get back to work!

Hours: 45

Hours to date: 389

Nov.5-9, 2012: starters, lab scopes and the Modis

This past week I completed all of my written assignments. I learned a lot about cmp's (camshaft position sensors). As you can see in some of the photos that show the lab scope function of the snapon Modis, you can see tdc with the different pattern. I also learned a lot about how to use the diagnostic tools like finding the trouble codes on the Modis. In some of my photos from work you can see a 9'' diesel chipper with a damaged ring gear and starter just like what my truck has. Overall this was a great week and I learned a lot.

Hours: 45
Hours to date: 344

Oct. 30- Nov. 2, 2012: Computers, Brakes and Hydraulics

This past week was quite the learning experience. To start with, I finished my computer diagnostics assignments. We were told to work with a laptop and software to identify trouble codes and working sensors on a series 4600 international engine. It was intriguing to see all the movement on the screen after seeing it run at idle, high rpm, shutdown and the engine off. We also tested some sensors by unplugging them and seeing if a trouble code would arise on the laptop. I also learned about the brakes on this international. The truck we were working on was a Penske rental truck with hydraulic brakes. Whenever we wanted to use the software to interface with the vehicle we had to turn the key to on and it would always make the sound of an electric motor running. It's kind of hard to see in the photos, but it turns out that in the event of a engine failure it has an electric motor that creates hydraulic pressure for the hydro boost brakes. This enables safe operation of the brakes even if the engine isn't working. Very interesting to find out and learn about. I also did some hydraulic troubleshooting at work. I was working on a scissor lift that had a hydraulic leak. I was soon to find out that it had a old o-ring around on of the many valves on the manifold. I also was able to open my tilt sensor from a boom lift and see how it works. More pictures will be up soon.

Hours: 40
Hours to date: 299