One of the biggest changes in my confidence at MHC Kenworth came when I realized I didn’t need to immediately recognize every truck problem.
There will always be a symptom I haven’t seen before.
A strange noise. An unusual warning. A problem that appears only under certain conditions. Something that doesn’t behave the way I expected.
The important skill isn’t instantly knowing the answer.
It’s knowing how to approach the unknown without turning it into a guessing game.
I Start With What I Actually Know
When something is unfamiliar, it’s easy to immediately start building theories.
I try not to.
First, I separate the situation into facts.
I ask:
- What was reported?
- What can I actually observe?
- When does the problem occur?
- When does it not occur?
- Is it consistent?
- Did anything recently change?
That gives me a clean starting point.
I Separate the Symptom From the Cause
If someone says:
I think it’s the sensor.
I don’t automatically begin with the assumption that the sensor is bad.
The useful information may be the symptom they noticed before reaching that conclusion.
I want to understand:
What is the truck doing?
before deciding:
Why is it doing it?
That distinction has saved me from going in the wrong direction more than once.
I Try to Reproduce the Problem
An unfamiliar issue becomes much easier to understand when I can observe it.
When appropriate, I want to know whether the symptom appears:
- At startup
- After the truck warms up
- Under load
- At a certain speed
- During a particular operation
- Randomly
The conditions surrounding the problem can be just as important as the problem itself.
I Look for Patterns
Once I have a few facts, I look for relationships.
For example:
It happens only after the truck has been running for a while.
That’s different from:
It happens immediately every time.
Each additional pattern helps narrow the possibilities.
I Check the Simple Things
An unusual symptom doesn’t automatically require an unusual explanation.
Before going deep, I make sure I haven’t skipped something basic.
It’s surprisingly easy to spend time investigating a complicated theory when the actual issue is much simpler.
I try to earn the complicated diagnosis rather than starting there.
I Don’t Replace Something Just Because It Could Be the Problem
This is one habit I became much more careful about.
A component being capable of causing a symptom doesn’t prove that component is actually responsible.
Before recommending or replacing something, I want evidence connecting it to the problem.
Otherwise, I’m testing theories with parts.
That’s rarely an efficient approach.
I Use Current Technical Information
Memory is useful for familiar situations.
For something I’ve never encountered, I don’t want memory to become my only reference.
I check the appropriate current technical information available for the truck and situation.
That can help me understand:
- System operation
- Relevant procedures
- Specifications
- Diagnostic direction
- Configuration differences
Knowing where to verify something is part of technical knowledge too.
I Write Down What I’ve Already Checked
When a problem takes time, this becomes extremely useful.
My notes might look like:
Observed: Symptom appears after warm-up.
Checked: Initial basic items.
Result: No issue found there.
Next: Verify another area.
Now I’m moving forward instead of accidentally repeating the same checks.
I Change One Variable at a Time When Possible
If I change several things simultaneously and the problem disappears, I may not know which change mattered.
When the situation allows it, I prefer a more controlled approach.
Check something.
Observe the result.
Then continue.
That makes the information I’m gathering much more useful.
I Know When I’m Stuck
There’s a difference between working through a difficult problem and spending another two hours repeating the same ideas.
If I’m no longer learning anything new, I stop.
I review what I know and decide whether I need:
- More information
- Another technical resource
- Another test
- A second opinion
- Someone with experience in that specific area
Getting stuck isn’t the problem.
Staying stuck without changing the approach is.
I Bring Useful Information When Asking for Help
If I ask an experienced technician for another opinion, I don’t want to say only:
This truck is doing something weird.
I summarize:
Reported symptom
Conditions when it happens
What I’ve confirmed
What I’ve already checked
What I’m uncertain about
That gives them a much better starting point.
I Pay Attention to Their Reasoning
When someone more experienced helps solve an unfamiliar problem, I don’t only want the final answer.
I want to understand:
Why did you check that first?
That’s where a lot of useful experience comes from.
The reasoning can apply to another problem later even when the exact repair is completely different.
I Verify the Result
Finding a problem isn’t the final step.
After the appropriate work is completed, I want to know whether the original symptom is actually resolved.
I compare the result with the starting condition.
If the original problem still exists, I haven’t finished simply because something was changed.
I Save the Lesson, Not Every Detail
Once an unusual situation is resolved, I make a short mental or written note about what made it interesting.
I don’t create a novel about the entire job.
I remember things like:
Similar symptoms can appear only after warm-up.
or:
Don’t overlook this configuration difference.
That small lesson may save a lot of time the next time I encounter something similar.
What I Avoid With Unfamiliar Problems
❌ Immediately choosing a favorite theory.
❌ Treating the customer’s suspected cause as confirmed.
❌ Replacing components to test guesses.
❌ Skipping basic checks.
❌ Repeating the same diagnostic steps.
❌ Using outdated information.
❌ Asking for help without explaining what’s already been checked.
❌ Assuming the problem is solved without verifying the original symptom.
My Unfamiliar-Problem Checklist
When I encounter something new, I ask:
✅ What exactly was reported?
✅ What can I confirm myself?
✅ Under what conditions does it happen?
✅ What basic possibilities have been checked?
✅ What does current technical information show?
✅ What have I already ruled out?
✅ Am I still gathering new information?
✅ Would another opinion help?
✅ Can I reproduce and verify the final result?
I Don’t Need to Have Seen Everything Before
Experience at MHC Kenworth has made familiar truck problems easier, but I think the more valuable improvement has been getting comfortable with unfamiliar ones.
I don’t need an immediate answer.
I need a reliable process.
Start with facts.
Understand the conditions.
Check the basics.
Use current information.
Keep track of what you’ve ruled out.
Ask for another perspective when you’re stuck.
Then verify that the original problem is actually gone.
Every unfamiliar problem I work through makes the next unfamiliar problem a little less intimidating.