JLR Workshop fun

[Ubique]

More random photos - nothing really of interest work-wise going on, the timing chains are done and gone, back to run-of-the-mill stuff.

A pile of DC-DC converters, about six weeks worth - circa £650+vat each.

A 4.4 TDV8 looking upwards, the sump has been removed to replace the oil level sensor (the engine oil cooler is also being replaced), the sump was very heavily encrusted with soot and burnt oil deposits, sign of lack of timely oil changes - 177k miles and 14MY

I've also bought myself a new diagnostic device, a Topdon One Plus to replace the Topdon Xlink I've had for two years. There's nothing wrong with the Xlink, it's a great bit of kit and I tend to use it in preference to the SDD & Topix Cloud laptops we have as it's faster and more flexible - bringing up live data takes seconds rather than the minutes the official tools take. Part of the justification in replacing the Xlink was the cost of a years worth of software updates (it came with two years included) is just under half the cost of the device itself, so changing to an updated platform for the cost of two years of updates made man-maths sense.....

I'll post more about it once I've used it for a while.

I've contacted Topdon prior to purchase and they confirmed JLR expanded functions would be added by the end of Q2 2026,
I'm not sure about the 'AI' - it seems a bit lightweight and, as with most 'AI', just regurgitates information already in the public domain in a summarised format, so OK for DiY'ers and general workshops but it adds little to the combined experience within the workshop, anyway, it wasn't really a 'need to have' for me, just one of those things that you try, think 'meh...' and don't really bother with again.

TOPDON ONE Plus | The One You Can Trust

Built for professional repair shops and diagnostic specialists, the TOPDON ONE Plus delivers true OE-level performance. From advanced ECU programming and coding to 50+ essential service functions, it gives technicians the control, speed, and access today’s vehicles demand.

www.topdon.com

 

[Mick Annick]

More random photos - nothing really of interest work-wise going on, the timing chains are done and gone, back to run-of-the-mill stuff.

A pile of DC-DC converters, about six weeks worth - circa £650+vat each.
View attachment 540441

A 4.4 TDV8 looking upwards, the sump has been removed to replace the oil level sensor (the engine oil cooler is also being replaced), the sump was very heavily encrusted with soot and burnt oil deposits, sign of lack of timely oil changes - 177k miles and 14MY
View attachment 540440View attachment 540439

I've also bought myself a new diagnostic device, a Topdon One Plus to replace the Topdon Xlink I've had for two years. There's nothing wrong with the Xlink, it's a great bit of kit and I tend to use it in preference to the SDD & Topix Cloud laptops we have as it's faster and more flexible - bringing up live data takes seconds rather than the minutes the official tools take. Part of the justification in replacing the Xlink was the cost of a years worth of software updates (it came with two years included) is just under half the cost of the device itself, so changing to an updated platform for the cost of two years of updates made man-maths sense.....

I'll post more about it once I've used it for a while.

I've contacted Topdon prior to purchase and they confirmed JLR expanded functions would be added by the end of Q2 2026,
I'm not sure about the 'AI' - it seems a bit lightweight and, as with most 'AI', just regurgitates information already in the public domain in a summarised format, so OK for DiY'ers and general workshops but it adds little to the combined experience within the workshop, anyway, it wasn't really a 'need to have' for me, just one of those things that you try, think 'meh...' and don't really bother with again.

TOPDON ONE Plus | The One You Can Trust

Built for professional repair shops and diagnostic specialists, the TOPDON ONE Plus delivers true OE-level performance. From advanced ECU programming and coding to 50+ essential service functions, it gives technicians the control, speed, and access today’s vehicles demand.

www.topdon.com

I don’t want to hijack your thread, and if it’s a question you don’t want to answer that’s fine, but where is the line drawn between tools that you’re expected to provide and what the company supplies? When I did my apprenticeship (started 1974!) any tool over 1”, special tools and all diagnostic kit (there wasn’t much then) was for the company to provide, anything else was up to us.

 

[Ubique]

It's fine mate - most tech's have their own diag. kit, primarily for their own use outside of work but increasingly as a first-line 'triage' before either handing over to diag/ MT's in dealer workshops or cracking on with the 'full' diag kit in indie workshops. Mostly, the tech's kit is mid range, although some do buy traded-in kit from the few tool vans that are left. I tend to go big, mainly as I got into the habit of buy once, buy right when I was self-employed (and had dealer-level kit as part of my regional tech. work for LR at the time), I've kept up with that as it stops me getting frustrated that I don't have the kit to go further with the diagnosis.
Yes, it costs me and benefits the employer, but it makes for a less frustrating day at work so benefits me in cracking through stuff with little or no wasted time.

In dealers, you're expected to have hand and power tools (and a multimeter as a minimum) sufficient to carry out service & maintenance tasks - diagnostic tasks or major component repair/replacement will have supplemental tools provided by the dealer. It's pretty much the same in an indie, except by the time you get to a 'specialist' you'll have amassed your own 'special tools' to make the job easier for yourself - either bought, made or adapted. Being electrically biased, I have about £8k in 'in-depth' diag kit, it all gets used and you could probably muddle through without some of it - but it makes the diagnosis more reliable and therefore the day less stressful...

 

[Onoff]

A pile of DC-DC converters, about six weeks worth - circa £650+vat each.

All knackered?

 

[Mick Annick]

It's fine mate - most tech's have their own diag. kit, primarily for their own use outside of work but increasingly as a first-line 'triage' before either handing over to diag/ MT's in dealer workshops or cracking on with the 'full' diag kit in indie workshops. Mostly, the tech's kit is mid range, although some do buy traded-in kit from the few tool vans that are left. I tend to go big, mainly as I got into the habit of buy once, buy right when I was self-employed (and had dealer-level kit as part of my regional tech. work for LR at the time), I've kept up with that as it stops me getting frustrated that I don't have the kit to go further with the diagnosis.
Yes, it costs me and benefits the employer, but it makes for a less frustrating day at work so benefits me in cracking through stuff with little or no wasted time.

In dealers, you're expected to have hand and power tools (and a multimeter as a minimum) sufficient to carry out service & maintenance tasks - diagnostic tasks or major component repair/replacement will have supplemental tools provided by the dealer. It's pretty much the same in an indie, except by the time you get to a 'specialist' you'll have amassed your own 'special tools' to make the job easier for yourself - either bought, made or adapted. Being electrically biased, I have about £8k in 'in-depth' diag kit, it all gets used and you could probably muddle through without some of it - but it makes the diagnosis more reliable and therefore the day less stressful...

Thank you!

 

[Ubique]

All knackered?

Yep, we did send a few for repair in January, their claimed unrepairable rate of 15% is very optimistic.... they charged us to send back the unrepairable units with the good ones, the cheeky so-and-so's https://turnermechatronics.com/inde...repairs-defender-evoque-range-rover-discovery
Since then, we've only used LR units due to the warranty exposure.

 

[Robotstar5]

Yep, we did send a few for repair in January, their claimed unrepairable rate of 15% is very optimistic.... they charged us to send back the unrepairable units with the good ones, the cheeky so-and-so's https://turnermechatronics.com/inde...repairs-defender-evoque-range-rover-discovery
Since then, we've only used LR units due to the warranty exposure.

When I worked for ABB in the 80's we would repair some PCB's in house, usually a handful of diodes for a few pence and half an hour of my time (£6) to repair a board that would go back on the shelf as a service exchange worth £400+

 

[Ubique]

When I worked for ABB in the 80's we would repair some PCB's in house, usually a handful of diodes for a few pence and half an hour of my time (£6) to repair a board that would go back on the shelf as a service exchange worth £400+

Personally, I think they started off replacing a few FET's and caps, now the faults are involving SMT components and logic controllers, they don't have the skills or equipment to properly diagnose & repair, program & test - could be wrong, but the ones they did for us successfully were all FET replacements....

 

[Onoff]

Personally, I think they started off replacing a few FET's and caps, now the faults are involving SMT components and logic controllers, they don't have the skills or equipment to properly diagnose & repair, program & test - could be wrong, but the ones they did for us successfully were all FET replacements....

I've used Lektronix a few times successfully for inverter and hmi repairs. They do "power supplies" too. An offshoot of Rockwell.

 

[Robotstar5]

Personally, I think they started off replacing a few FET's and caps, now the faults are involving SMT components and logic controllers, they don't have the skills or equipment to properly diagnose & repair, program & test - could be wrong, but the ones they did for us successfully were all FET replacements....

We would only repair I/O, PSU and drive boards, computer, axis control, memory boards etc. would go back to Sweden for repair.