The Automotive Blog

The easiest way to prevent any prohibitions from VOSA however serious is to consider regular Brake Testing and Tyre Pressure Monitoring. By using a Brake Tester like BrakeCheck you can demonstrate that you’ve been testing on a regular basis. Similarly a Tyre Pressure Monitor such as PressurePro allows you to check you have the correct tyre pressure for your vehicle.

One Staffordshire firm recently discovered the consequences of not regularly maintaining their vehicles. Stoke-on-Trent firm, Dime Metal Services had its licence revoked from 7 August, and its boss disqualified from applying for a new licence for 15 months.

The operator has had its O-licence revoked after a Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) described their vehicles as a “significant danger to other road users” due to lack of maintenance and regular testing of brakes and tyres. West Midlands Deputy Traffic Commissioner Roger Seymour said the company had shown an “almost total disregard of the law and obligations of operator licensing”.

VOSA inspectors carried out maintenance investigations into the company and identified eight prohibitions – three of which were S-marked – were imposed on the firm. They are related to “very serious” brake and tyre issues.

The DTC summarised “Looking at the evidence overall, I find that this operator has failed to discharge his responsibilities and undertakings to maintain his vehicles in a roadworthy condition to the point where the continued use of his vehicles constituted a significant danger to other road users.”

Check out aide automotive for our full product range.

Brake Tester

Trailer Diagnostics for EBS - Electronic Braking Systems

A new trailer diagnostic product by aide automotive ltd.

TrailerCheck with EBS Diagnostic Code Reader is the latest product to achieve a high interest in the commercial vehicle market.

Trailer repairers have been searching for a cost effective diagnostic tool to communicate with commercial trailers.

Reading and clearing codes on trailers at service intervals is good practice to keep records and possible fault reports.

TrailerCheck will also read ABS codes and complete a full intelligent trailer lighting test.

Trailer Check will soon have the ability to read Electronic Brake Systems.  Coming soon from aide automotive this new version of TrailerCheck will not only look at ABS diagnostics but also consider EBS diagnostics too.

Trailer Check is already a popular product and an ideal cost effective test gauge to quickly determine the electrical integrity of a braking system.  This new version just takes it a step further to ensure that the EBS codec reader is working correctly too.

Check out the aide automotive website later this year for the new version or visit it to find out more about all the other automotive products that we supply

The EBS/ABS Sensor Master is the ideal workshop tool for detecting and clearing EBS or ABS Faults.

Since the start of 2010 aide automotive have seen a major increase in sales, Matthew Burke Stated “This product is simple and cost effective, sometimes you just need to easier tools than the more expensive techincal diagnostic tools. I beleive the increase in sales is down to the products word of mouth and customers looking for more cost effective ways to solve brake faults.”

The ABS Sensor Master is an easy to use device which will confirm each EBS/ABS sensor is operational and effective. By connecting to the sensor socket on each wheel, individual sensor faults can easily be identified. The Master also tests the exciter ring and the distance between the ring and sensor.

Contact aide automotive ltd for further information.

Sensor Master EBS ABS

Just Car Clinics the nationwide car boby shop repairer with over 20 sites has recently invested in the Launch X431.

Supplied by official distributor aide automotive ltd, Matthew Burke stated “Just Car Clinics recently purchased their first diagnostic tool for the Sheffield branch, with an increase in boby repairs due to the icing conditions at the start of the year they also saw a need to clear and reset engine codes in house, with this a reported £3000 was saved by not out sourcing diagnostic work. Since Sheffields purchase further tools have been supplied to Mansfield, Nottingham and Hinckley.”

The X431 covers a large range of vehicle manufacturers around the world, making the X431 an essential tool for the independent automotive expert. The X431 tool package will allow your business to expand by providing ready diagnosis of all types of manufactures, including Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, and many more! All in all, the X431 coverage spans over 37 manufacturers and 148 vehicle systems.

The Launch X431 Is the Ideal Diagnostic Tool for any Car Workshop

It only takes 5ml of Diesel to 20 litres of AdBlue in the AdBlue tank to turn it all into paste.

This effects the SCR systems dosing unit and catalytic converter which puts the truck into limp home mode.

Even minimal damage means the replacement of the dosing unit, more extensive damage can result in the replacement of the SCR system.

A leading UK manufacturer has indicated that 50% of call-outs are as a result of cross contamination the other 50% being accidents.

AdBlue Key is a built-in mechanism which only opens when the AdBlue nozzle is inserted (manual fill or pumped), the Key has been designed so that if you do try to put Diesel into the Key and any Diesel is released, it will run off through the drain off holes and none can enter the AdBlue tank .Adblue Key is made of the same polyoxymethylene (POM) materials as the rest of the SCR system, conforming to the same rigorous testing.

W ith a guide RRP of 89.00 + VAT, AdBlue Key this a cost effective guard against massive repair costs!

Contact aide automotive ltd for further information.

AdBlue Key to Stop AdBlue Contamination

Kuehne and Nagal  have purchased 1,000 Air Alert devices to implement tyre pressure monitoring on the vehicles they use for their Waitrose contract. Jas Sittre, Fleet Manager stated “We originally trialled the device to review improved fuel economy, we did see a small improvement but found the major benefits to be alerts to slow punctures and loss of pressure, this device will save down time and stop potential blow outs”. The product has had such an impact on this contract that they’re now looking to roll it out across their other contracts!

AirAlert is a cost saving device that helps eliminate the guesswork out of determining the correct tyre pressure. This device is simple to install directly onto your tyres and sends a reactive warning, by blinking when a loss of PSI occurs (4PSI for cars & 8 PSI for commercial vehicles), so just walking up to the vehicle will highlight an under inflated tyre.

Matt Burke, sales director of aide automotive the suppliers of Air Alert says “Checking tyre pressure on a regular basis is an important health and safety procedure.  Not only does it give peace of mind knowing that your tyres are inflated properly for optimum performance and handling it also assists in lowering maintenance costs, reducing fuel use and saving tyre tread. The life of your tyre is extended due to less tread wear and protects and saves the tyre casing, reducing the chance of blowouts.”

Tyre Pressure Monitor Air Alert

BrakeCheck is probably the number one decelerometer for MOT garages as back up to the roller brake tester.

It is by a legal requirement for all MOT garages to have a back up to the roller brake tester and to have facility to test brakes of vehicles that cannot be tested on the roller brake tester. Such vehicles are 4 wheeled drives and vehicles with low suspension.

BrakeCheck is also approved for Class 1 & 2, quad and tri bike MOT testing.

BrakeCheck replaces the old traditional mechanical meter such as Tapley.

With over 10,000 brake testers sold, BrakeCheck is the number 1 decelerometer for an MOT Garage.

aide automotive market the BrakeCheck.

BrakeCheck the MOT Garages Number 1 Decelerometer

Each tester applies a low load test to prove the function of your Black 12N & Grey 12S sockets.

Easy to use and quick, these testers offer a service garage the option to quickly offer customers an extra test to prove the tow bar electrical sockets are working correcrlty.

As most towing people never check or test this socket, a garage can hopefully prevent inconvience to the customer by identifiying a fault before they need the system to tow trailers or caravans.

Priced at £15 + vat each aide automotive are happy to offer a special deal of both testers for £25.00 +vat.

aide automotive also offer a caravan electrical tester and a 12 volt trailer testers.

12 N Tow Bar Tester