Lesson 2 Understanding System Overview and Protocol Reports

In our last article we covered how users of the software can easily and efficiently select the correct vehicle, and the importance of retrieving reliable information on the vehicle being worked on.

In this short guide, we’ll dive into the detail of how System Overview feature can help you identify potential vehicle issues to arrive at the right diagnosis, faster than ever before. As well as how our Protocol Reports option can help you document the remediation action taken by your technician team in a professional report.

STEP 1

Open the Diagnosis main tab.

STEP 2

Click on the ‘System search’ F12 soft key in the System Overview sub tab.

STEP 3

The KTS will then perform a full‘Control unit search’ of all communicating systems.

STEP 4

Double click any of the system names in the categories for direct access to the ECU diagnostic functions for further information and testing. If a fault code is erased here, it will refresh when a user returns to it – enabling you to save and show the before and after status to show the vehicle owner.

STEP 5

Store the complete list in the job report with the F3 save button. You can also access a specific list of Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC’s) and any available descriptions via the F5 fault details button. Again, this can be saved to the job protocol with a tap of the F3 save soft key.

When the system overview is complete, you will see a list of all ECU systems that are communicating and an indication if any fault codes are present. This is particularly beneficial when users are analysing a vehicle prior to any in-depth diagnostic testing as some faults, for example ESP problems can log a DTC in more than one ECU.

Once you have retrieved the overview list, if necessary, any of the system names in the categories can be double-clicked. This will take the user straight to the ECU diagnostic functions for additional investigation and testing. From here, if the fault code no longer shows ups, the overview list will refresh itself once you return to it.

Alternatively, you can also select the “Delete All Faults’ button to delete all DTC’s across multiple systems or ECU’s – in a single click. It’s worth noting that many newer vehicles will now support a fast CAN Bus search of all of the ECU’s on the vehicle system communication network. In some instances, a vehicle brand can have up to 60 ECU’S that can all be checked in under a minute, speeding up the technician’s task of assessing the diagnostic state of the vehicle. Yet, for other vehicle brands, this process may take a little longer, due to the KTS checking each ECU individually for presence and fault status of each group. The new generation of KTS (560/590) is able to communicate simultaneously over two communication channels in parallel to significantly speed up the time required for a complete vehicle scan.

Lesson 3: Searching and running relevant service tasks

Join us for our next lesson to discover more about how you can make the most of the System Overview and Protocol Reports to quickly understand potential issues and deliver detailed reports – from end to end.