College goes green in auto shop

PUHI — A new building is part of the greening process in automobiles.

Tante Azares, the AMT program head and instructor at Kaua‘i Community College, said the new building that was erected over the summer is the wash building for the Automotive Technology program.

“The building features lifts and hoists where a car can be lifted and power-washed from underneath,” Azares said. “But more importantly, the water from the resulting wash is no longer channeled into drains.”

Instead, the wash water, many times containing grease and oil buildup, is channeled into a sump which is periodically cleaned out to remove all the oil for proper disposal.

“It doesn’t just go into the drain anymore,” Azares said.

That is only one of the green features that are making their way into the automotive field. Azares said another facet of automotive maintenance is the fact they no longer can use air when working on brakes.

Instead, they must use liquids. The brake dust and other residuals are washed off and suspended in the liquids which is then collected, filtered, and wrapped before being disposed of.

“It’s not like before when people used compressed air to clean out the brakes,” he said. “Now, it’s all about monitoring and recording before disposing.”

Used oil and antifreeze, two of the more commonly used fluids in automotive maintenance, are now periodically picked up by vendors in the community for disposal.

Azares said Unitech and Speedie Lube are the two primary vendors who collect the used fluids and solvents for disposal. Additionally, when students work on cars belonging to private individuals, Azares said if an oil change is involved, the used oil is given back to the automobile owner for proper disposal.

“You can’t just dump it anymore,” he said. “Everything needs to be done in accordance with the new environmentally friendly standards.”

One of the easiest and cost-effective methods for automobile owners to help the environment is to make sure the cars are in tune, Azares said.

There are many benefits, both to the car owner and the environment, when a car is properly maintained.

“Some of these benefits include a more efficient vehicle, better gas mileage, and less emissions,” Azares said.

KCC automotive students are trained using some of the modern scanners which can work through some of the problems that plague automobile owners.

Wilmark Geronimo, one of the students, was using a scanner to find the root of the problem for a late-model car which its owner said can start, idle, but won’t run.

“Those scanners cost a lot of money,” Azares said. “Most people think it’s a simple thing, but with all the computers involved in making engines run efficiently and cleanly, it’s not just hooking up a machine, anymore.”

Azares said the scanners work with the car’s computerized network and provide the operator with data that needs to be analyzed so the proper corrective measures can be taken.

In the case of Geronimo’s vehicle, the scanner came back with a “Too lean fuel mixture” reading which led the student and a helper to start checking the fuel system in order to pinpoint the source of the car’s problem.

“That machine cost about $7,000,” Azares said. “Another student, Ben Swain, is working to scan another vehicle that had its “check engine” light on in addition to the air bag warning light coming on intermittently. His scanner cost between $3,000 to $5,000.”

Azares said things can add up quickly when it comes to working with computerized cars. But what is important is how the operator (technician) is able to interpret the data and get to the root of the problem.

Additionally, Azares said the college students recover all the refrigerant when working on automobile air-conditioning systems, and when an old battery is involved, it goes back to the vendor.

“Today, all of the air-conditioning refrigerant is ozone-safe,” Azares said. “That, and the fact that a properly-tuned car gives off less emissions makes it better for the ozone, and that is good.”