Hi. Would like clarification on an ASE practice test question.
Q: The customer complains that the engine cranks, but does not start; the first thing to check should be?
A. Valve train operation
B. Battery voltage
C. Compression
D. Engine vacuum
I said C. Compression but the answer is A.
There is no specific test that I know of for valve train operation, other than,
Compression, Cylinder Leak-Down or Relative Compression Test.
That would be back probing cam and crank sensor signal wires and cranking engine which verifies engine timing and valve train operation. This is just done to prevent unnecessary tests when the motor could very well be "fubar" and is non intrusive.
It does not however guarantee compression is good and you would have to have a known good cam crank scope file to compare to as well. As for a compression test that only answers if it has compression not if it is in time or too advanced or retarded. Where an in cylinder waveform can show both timing of valves and compression but not exact timing like a cam crank correlation waveform where you see timing notches and operation of the sensors with the pulses of the sensors. Now one thing being in theory if valve train operation is good you should have compression but we know that's not always the case. (Burnt valve, Bent valve, valve seat dropped, rocker arm came off, broken valve spring, shifted timing gear at crank/cam..... etc) can skew a diagnosis solely based on a verification of valve train operation and to be quite realistic some valve covers require a lot of stuff to be removed to do a physical inspection of valve train operation.
For what certificate is this practice test? Also, where did you get this practice test? Some of the practice test questions out there are flat out horrible! That's one of them, lol.
I guess you could pull the oil cap and look inside to see if things are moving, but who wouldn't put a scanner on it or check spark and fuel pressure first? You would hear it if "the valve train wasn't operating" in the cranking cadence.
Very poorly written question....
When I was studying, I used the Motorage training material to study for A6 and A8. The content was good, but the practice tests were BAD. I would get so many questions wrong that I didn't think I would ever pass.
The free online ones I found were even worse!
Then when the time came to sit down and take the tests, it was a breeze. Knocked them both out in no time with perfect scores.
That's exactly what I came to find out.
I just wanted some verification that my education wasn't too old.
I got my automotive repair degree back in 1982.
I ordered a book from the library that is supposed to be an ASE study guide, so maybe that will help me.
The test this was for is the A8 Engine performance practice test.
Also, where did you get this practice test? Some of the practice test questions out there are flat out horrible! That's one of them, lol.
Came here to say this. I've used most every brand of ASE study guide at this point, and NONE of them seem to get practice questions right. A lot of them are just terrible.
The actual questions on the test (or the practice ones available from ASE themselves) are almost always very well written and thought out. In that sense, the practice questions you get can easily make you think the test is going to be harder than it is.
Short answer, don't let the practice questions trip you up. Learn the material, learn the format, but don't let the poorly written ones bog you down.
My problem is when they are using terms I am not familiar with and the question is wrong.
I sure hope, as you say, that the real questions are correct and not deceiving. Thanks for the info.
On the real test, you can flag questions and return to them. I found that if there was something I didn't understand, I couldn't infer the answer from a similar question later on in the test.
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