Mechanical Repairs and Diagnostics at Ali Motors
Ali Motors, with the latest vehicle diagnostic equipment, offers a full range of mechanical and electronic repair services for all makes and models.
As a former main dealer, we are able to offer a variety of products and services, including:
- Servicing
- Mechanical repairs
- Fully body and engine diagnostics
- Key re-programming
- Wheel alignment
Before diagnostics tests were readily available, identifying problems and their causes was a time-consuming process. This was even trickier for mechanics when the car had broken down suddenly. Thankfully, computerised systems can detect problems before they cause a breakdown. Diagnostic tools are able to access the car’s computer system for stored information regarding the car’s history and manufacturer notifications. This provides our technicians with a bigger picture of the issue at hand allowing for a quicker solution.
There are lots of reasons why you might book your car in for a diagnostic test. Sometimes it’s the engine management light, it could be a new noise that had just appeared, a loss of power or slipping gears. There are so many different reasons to book in for diagnostics! Realistically, it’s recommended to have a diagnostic test each year. This can uncover any minor issues before they get worse.
How to perform a car diagnostic test
Let us just say, that diagnostics is not just “plugging it in”. We’d love for it to be that easy but there’s a lot more to do to get an accurate answer!
- Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the diagnostic testing process.
- Gather information from the customer about the issue/fault
- Road test to see if the issue occurs and get a feel for the vehicle
- Fault code scan
- Visual inspection
- Vehicle serial data
- Technical service bulletin
- Basic system checks
- If fixed, another road test to confirm. If not fixed we’ll contact the customer for more investigation hours
We ask you for as much detail as possible relating to your issue
The more information you can share with our technicians, the easier it will be for them to resolve the issue. So please don’t think that we are grilling you, we just want to have all the information! We’ll be asking questions like, have you had any recent repairs, any other issues, how long has this been happening etc.
We’ll take it for a road test
Our trained technicians will pop out for a quick drive in your car to see if we can replicate the issue. This gives us a clearer idea of what you have been experiencing and gives us a good starting place to solve the issue.
Perform a fault code scan
This is where we start to get techy and where some people would suggest we are ‘just plugging it into a machine’. Please know that when you say that, every technician in the country rolls their eyes!
The best way to describe this step of the process would be to liken it to a trip to your doctor. You speak to the doctor about pain in your knee describing when it hurts and what seems to trigger it. The doctor will take a look but might not see any tell-tale signs. They then need to take you down for an x-ray, or maybe an MRI. Perhaps they’ll take some blood tests too. Each step the doctor takes is in a logical order, eliminating possibilities each time. This is how our technicians diagnose issues with your vehicle.
The visual inspection
Now that the diagnostic tools have shown us where the fault lies, we can get in there for a visual inspection of the components. If everything looks fine, we will continue to look for an answer.
Check the vehicle serial data
The car contains a control module which is like the brains of the car. We are able to review the data from the car brain for anything which might look out of the ordinary.
Technical service bulletins
Often called TSBs, these are updates direct from the manufacturer of any known faults.
Basic system checks
We are able to activate components within the car and test that all are working as they should.
The second road test
Sometimes we are able to diagnose the issue and fix it within one session. We’ll make sure the car is definitely running as it should be with a second road test before handing the keys back to you. This also ensures that we can spot any other issues.
If you have any issues you would like to discuss with our fully trained service team, please call 0121 3267459