The GM Field Service Engineer (FSE) Technician Recognition Awards (U.S.) celebrate the skill and dedication of dealership technicians who have recently worked with FSE’s on challenging repairs.
Technicians at GM dealerships are selected for recognition based on a variety of factors, including their focus on safety, customer satisfaction, personal accountability, training achievements, diagnostic abilities, and the level of repair documentation.
Each recognized technician receives a Service Excellence magnetic plaque and an Excellence in Service Award certificate. (Fig. 4)
Fig. 4
2nd Quarter 2022 Technician Recognition Award Winners
Technician: Harold “Hop” Colegrove
Dealership: Langway of Manchester, Manchester, Vermont
FSE: Gustav Cariglio
Service Excellence: Harold “Hop” Colegrove is in his early seventies but is a young GM technician at heart. Since GM had three wires connected to its engines, Hop has served our customers, and continues to do so. Hop has survived the elimination of mechanical ignition, the introduction of computer-controlled carburetors, front-wheel drive technology, multiple module data communication and more.
Recently, Hop worked on an intermittent high-speed CAN bus issue. He was energetic, knowledgeable and engaged. Hop had completed the correct diagnostic process for this type of concern and finding the cause was proving not to be an easy task.
Hop personifies all the traits that we in the auto service industry hold dear. He cares about his customers, coworkers, the dealer, and is an asset to surrounding communities. It’s a good bet that folks going in for service ask for him by name.
Hop has a thirst for knowledge about leading-edge diagnostic technology, and when he asked for help on using the PicoScope for electrical diagnostics, it was easy to say “yes.” There are many great technicians in the northeast, but none are more deserving of this award than Hop Colegrove.
Technician/Shop Foreman: David Hedgpeth
Dealership: Stillwater Motors, Stillwater, Minnesota
FSE: Joe Moyer
Service Excellence: David is a real asset to his dealership, their customers, and General Motors. He always puts taking care of the customer first and goes above and beyond to root cause and correct vehicle concerns. A good example is with the DEF tank concerns on the current full-size Chevrolet and GMC trucks. David has been instrumental in assisting with some of these trucks in the field, including identifying some errors in the SI schematics for the second-design tanks, and putting extra time and work in to get some of these vehicles back on the road. His dedication to help GM identify problems and come up with creative solutions is a real asset and deserves our recognition.
Technician: William (Chris) Coombs
Dealership: Jerry Ferguson Buick GMC, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
FSE: Scott Kohart
Service Excellence: Chris is always focused on safety, demonstrated by how he immediately cleans up trash and spills, and keeps hoses and cords picked up in his stalls. Chris doesn’t hesitate to contact TAC on challenging vehicle issues and will seek FSE assistance when not making progress, keeping in mind that customer vehicles need to be repaired as quickly as possible and returned in proper condition. When Chris runs into a concern with a new and low-mileage vehicle, he sends in an FPR or contacts his FSE about the problem so the right engineers get engaged quickly.
Recently, Chris helped find a software update omission on a 2022 Yukon that caused the vehicle to have inoperative wipers. In working with Chris and engineering, it was discovered that a software update for the 2021MY to fix this issue had been omitted from the 2022 MY. Chris is growing in his ability to diagnose vehicles within the areas he specializes in and quickly arrives at a diagnosis on his own without assistance most of the time. Chris exhibits the GM values “Think Customer” and “It’s On Me” every day.
Technician: Mike Tondre
Dealership: Victory Buick GMC, Victoria, Texas
FSE: Jorden Ellis
Service Excellence: Mike is always looking out for safety (for example, using jack stands when lifting a vehicle even for a brief moment, cleaning up water on the slippery floor from testing for a water leak, and keeping his area clean/walkways clear). Mike is the shop’s diagnostic technician and he receives a lot of urgent cases. He is always focused on the customer and doesn’t hesitate to communicate with them when trying to help resolve difficult concerns. He is a wealth of knowledge on the vehicle repair history and the customer’s concern when contacted about cases. When an issue or potential issue is found, he always insists on trying to manipulate or duplicate the concern or have a good and explainable reason as to why it is happening. He spends the time to verify a vehicle is fixed after each repair, such as making sure DTCs run, test driving the vehicle, and double checking his work. Mike has basically all of his GM training and ASE certifications. Some of the cases he has resolved include:
- A very intermittent concern where the vehicle would go into limp mode. Mike had been working on diagnosing the vehicle for quite some time. The concern was narrowed down to the Telematics Module connector, which had a loose ground and CAN + connection.
- On a vehicle that kept stalling out, Mike took it upon himself to keep trying to resolve the issue multiple times. He noticed it would only stall when it was in closed loop. He thought to look at the O2 sensors and found a corroded O2 sensor harness that was causing incorrect readings.
- Customer stated there was a water leak. Mike found that if he sprayed the back sliding glass it would shoot water in. He compared it to two other like vehicles on the lot and they did the same thing. He asked if he should submit an FPR. Looking further into it using the PicoScope with the microphone, we found a body seam that was split by the rear glass. The FPR submitted was a great help to engineering.
Technician: Eduardo Santana
Dealership: Marten’s Chevrolet, Reedley, California
FSE: Leonard Tunstall
Service Excellence: Recently, Eduardo was tasked with diagnosing a “…harsh erratic shift and door locks cycling” concern on a 2021 GMC Sierra. Using his excellent diagnostic abilities, right away he suspected the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS), given that the door locks were cycling, and, following SI diagnostics replaced the TRS. Unfortunately, this did not fix the vehicle. Going through all of the preliminary circuit checks again did not provide a solid direction on where to go next. Eduardo decided to connect the PicoScope to the TRS circuits and captured a noticeable fluctuation on TCM signal circuit 3338 while duplicating the concern. The fluctuation was resulting in an erratic shift and causing the BCM to cycle the door locks. Restringing circuit 3338 repaired the concern. Eduardo demonstrated very impressive diagnostic abilities on this case. It’s an honor to have the opportunity of working with great technicians and Eduardo is one of the best.
Technician/Shop Foreman: Rob Wyttenbach
Dealership: Marvin K. Brown Cadillac, San Diego, California
FSE: William McAuliffe
Service Excellence: Rob Wyttenbach is a World Class Technician. His willingness to mentor other technicians at the dealership is outstanding. He freely shares his knowledge and insight (either good or bad) that he has gained in his 25+ years with anyone. Rob is an example to all at the dealership too. He maintains his work area; it is always clean and organized. He keeps his tools, the dealership’s tools, and the clients’ vehicles in pristine condition. His work ethic is positive and he truly wants to keep the clients happy. He’s truly a great gentleman and technician.
– Thanks to Hank Poelman
