Who you gonna call? Leveraging tech support pros for tough diagnostics
Key Highlights
- Even the best diagnostic technicians need a little help sometimes, and when they do, diagnostic ghost-busters from OEMs and tool suppliers are a great place to start
- For instance, Virtual Technician from Daimler Truck North America can help technicians see fault data, recommended actions, and time estimates, as well as reach out to in-house diagnostic experts
- Meanwhile, Suppliers like AE Tools & Computers and Noregon also provide diagnostic software that includes the ability to call ASE-certified techncians for added help
When a truck rolls into the shop displaying various fault codes or won’t start at all, the technician isn’t always quite certain what the problem is. Something is up in the labyrinthine electrical system, but could it be a faulty wire, a bad sensor, or something else? It’s not like an air or fluid leak where you can visually identify the source.
It can take hours upon hours to diagnose a problem. Third-party maintenance and logistics provider Transervice, for instance, took weeks to discover the reason a dozen new 2020 Freightliner Cascadias would require a jump start to get going every Monday. After technician Curtis Hart ran a parasitic draw test on one during a normal preventive maintenance interval, he discovered the issue was a spliced trailer aux circuit drawing too much power. The fix was promulgated quickly to get all 12 trucks up and running.
But what if you don’t have a crack diag tech on staff who has seen it all and done it all? It should be noted that even the best troubleshooters can also have issues with new hardware and software that slow things down. How long might the ghosts in your machine be wreaking havoc on uptime? It’s hard to say, but the obvious answer is to turn to the experts, or rather, the OEM- and OE-trained technical support professionals. At several manufacturers and developers, these diagnostic ghostbusters are a phone call away, standing by and ready to jump in when there’s something strange under your hood. And more often, they know there’s an issue before you do. Spooky.
We caught up with some manufacturers and tool and software suppliers to better understand the diagnostic support they provide and how that has helped fleets reach higher levels of uptime.
OEMs
Launched in 2011 as a remote diagnostics solution for Detroit engines, Virtual Technician (VT) has expanded into several other areas—axles, transmissions, and more—providing real-time fault detection, detailed diagnostic codes, and prioritized repair recommendations for vehicles manufactured by Daimler Truck North America.
“Dealers have access to the VT system and can view fault data, recommended actions, and even estimate when the vehicle will arrive,” Vicente Torres, manager of remote updates, regulatory & vehicle health, explained. “This means technicians spend less time isolating problems and more time resolving them, reducing cognitive load and helping improve overall shop efficiency.”
Along with leading sensor technology and data analytics, fleet users also have access to in-house diagnostic experts and engineers at the Detroit Customer Support Center who can quickly identify the root cause of issues.
Torres said their OEM-level training and “unique access to engineering data, product development insights, and proprietary diagnostic knowledge” cannot be matched by external diagnostic teams.
You don’t even technically need to call Detroit, as fleets receive near-instantaneous customized email alerts.
“By the time a truck arrives at the dealership, VT has already provided a guided diagnostic path, allowing service teams to skip time-consuming troubleshooting and move directly into the repair process,” Torres said, adding service events on average are cut down by an hour or more.
And large fleets enrolled in VT have a fleet service manager to coordinate service and follow up to ensure everything is going smoothly.
Each major OEM has a comparable solution to support customers and get trucks in and out of the bay faster.
International Trucks uses Uptime Advocates who have access to OnCommand Connect data that can forecast potential critical issues and know where to find a dealer. Repairs, parts, and case info can be managed through the online portal.
Kenworth and Peterbilt customers have Paccar TruckTech+ remote diagnostics that detect problems and guide trucks to dealers. From there, dealer techs can get diagnostic help from OEM-trained engine specialists who work at the Paccar Parts 365 Center.
Volvo Group’s North American Uptime Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, handles calls and service for both Volvo and Mack customers, providing ECU programming and tech support, as well as parts, repair scheduling, and status tracking. In a given year, the center, which has about 600 employees, handles a quarter million incoming calls and makes another 350,000 to coordinate service. The Volvo Connect and Mack GuardDog Connect systems provide telematics and fault code data, respectively.
Suppliers
AE Tools & Computers supplies and supports tools from more than 100 OEMs and diagnostic and calibration tool providers, offering custom 2TB laptops that can run five different OEMs’ software. It’s unlikely a tech at a municipality can get up to speed on all of the OEM tools, which is where the company comes in. In addition to traditional tech support, AE Tools offers a managed services program called RedLine Support. Its 13 trained technical experts can guide a shop’s device to resolve issues ranging from a bad internet connection to restoring hard drives and programming modules or a set of keys.
Phil Hutchens, chief revenue officer at AE Tools, said the company handles an average of 2,000 remote events a month, all to help shops keep repairs in-house.
“The last thing that a fleet manager wants is to have to send a truck or a piece of equipment out to a dealer and have no certainty that they’re going to get the vehicle back in any quick time frame,” Hutchens said. “It’s usually weeks nowadays.”
Technician as a Service is Noregon’s answer to the question of how to keep up with the growing amount of highly technical troubleshooting while qualified labor dwindles more every year. Shops that sign up for the monthly subscription have virtual access to the expertise of JPRO and ASE-certified technicians. These master diagnosticians are a bit like the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi giving nuggets of wisdom to techs fresh off the moisture farm, helping them dispatch trouble codes, resolve phantom electrical system menaces, and move trucks out of the bay. “Use the forced regen, Luke.”
The monthly service, which includes the software, rugged laptop, cables, and a case, has more than doubled in call volume and subscribers since starting up in 2023, with Noregon reporting wait times are still brisk.
“TaaS has been an amazing time-saver for our shop,” said Wayne D. Garrett Jr., shop foreman at Van Cleef Auto Parts. “It gives me an added sense of security.”
When Diesel Laptops was in its earlier stages, founder and CEO Tyler Robertson pointed to the diagnostic tool and service provider’s in-house technical experts as a main strength. When a client’s tech gets stuck on a diagnosis or repair, these 20+ former diesel techs—who have more than 350 years of combined experience— walk them through issues via a phone call or virtual chat tool.
Robertson boasted that online queries are instant, while 85% of phone calls are answered (with callbacks only taking 15 minutes on average).
Now that “diagnostics are moving from ‘in shop’ to ‘in cab and in the cloud,” Robertson said, the company has evolved to offer WatchTower. The service monitors a fleet’s trucks 24/7 and uses both AI and people to give both reactive assistance (remote diagnostics, repair info, and parts numbers) as well as proactive assistance through predictive AI.
The proactive approach is key to saving techs’ time. As Robertson noted, before Diesel Laptops gets a call or chat, “customers have already spent a good hour or more trying to figure it out by themselves at this point.”
WatchTower, which monitors 1,300 vehicles currently, has proven to cut diagnostic time in half and prevent 20% of road calls. Meanwhile, the expert guidance and AI prevent shops from throwing parts at a problem, resulting in nearly a quarter less spent on materials.
Most importantly, the experts serve as remote mentors and “have the heart of a teacher and won’t just ‘do it’ for them,” Robertson asserted. Additionally, enterprise customers can obtain reports on what techs are frequently calling for help in order to provide more in-house training.
“It’s a great feedback loop and helps drive efficiency on the customer’s end,” he concluded.
About the Author
John Hitch
Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance
John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.
He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek and and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.
Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.
The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.