troubleshooting definitions

[slag]

To anyone who is somewhat knowledgeable about vehicles, it can be frustrating to try to help someone troubleshoot their vehicle when incorrect terminology is used. For example, how many times have you heard the phrase "It wont turn over" when in reality, it turns over fine, it just isnt starting. To some people, turning over means starting, whereas to me, turning over means the engine is rotating. You can discard a lot of things to an extent, such as battery, locked up engine, starter, etc, when you know it turns over, or at the very least, you know that these things are operating to some extent which helps the process of elimination. Maybe its a regional thing, I dont know.

Another one I hear is "Its not firing". I then ask if only certain cylinders are not firing or all cylinders are not firing and get back a "huh what?" To me, Firing means spark, so if its not firing, its not getting a spark.

Any others that you have come across that dont mean the same thing to you as they do to the person with the problem?

 

[SearchMaster]

It's no different than trying to troubleshoot anything else (like computers). How often do you hear "my computer is down" - my next statement is always "define 'down'".

 

[LTC8K6]

The most common one I hear is "It won't crank." when they really mean "It won't start."