Greg StuartEngineering Manager

Welcome to the April 2001 issue ofour “Live Wire” newsletter.

The weather extremes of this winterare melting away, but thanks toexisting and new customers, busi-ness is surprisingly good here atPPR. Increased business is the typeof challenge we are thankful to have.

In our Marketing section, Mike Sloandiscusses financial stability of yourproduct suppliers in the rapidlychanging field of automotive parts.

Greg Stuart’s “Unit of the Month”column offers part two of detailedadvice on TOA500, which can be achallenging application on 1989-92GEOs, and 1989-1993 Toyotas.

Hot Stuff on page 4 discussesproduct warranties, changing automo-tive technologies, and changes in thework force in automotive repair shops.

For more information on these articlesor other information, I can be E-maileddirectly at:

gstuart@pprok.com

I look forward to hearing from you.

THANKS.

By Phone:1-800-654-3846 ext. 243Mon - Fri 7:00-4:30 Central Time

Precision Parts Technical Support cananswer your questions on catalogingand technical issues.

By Fax:New!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-->1-405-685-7215Mon - Fri 7:00-4:30 Central Time

Precision Parts Technical Support canprovide you with technical informationvia fax line. Call or fax in your requestand we will respond by fax. We cansupply catalog information, copies oftechnical articles and copies ofservice bulletins.

By Email:techsupport@pprok.com

Combined, our technical staff hashundreds of years of experiencediagnosing and correcting electricalsystem problems. We also havenumerous resources available to helpresearch and solve your toughestproblems.

Welcome Contact UsApr. 2001

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Volume 3, Issue 2

Inside this Issue

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Precision Parts & Remfg. Co.4411 S. W. 19th StreetOklahoma City, OK 73108U.S.A.

Technical Support:(800) 654-3846, X243

E-mail:techsupport@pprok.com

Website:http://www.pprok.com

Welcome

Contact Us

Unit of the Month

4 Hot Stuff

LIVE WIRE

Marketing

Page 2

Mike SloanNational Sales Manager

Marketing

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I just heard of another automotive re-builder declaringbankruptcy in Southern California. So I thought it mightbe a good idea to talk about financial stability. Some-thing everyone should want and needs is a healthysupplier.

How would it feel if one morning you called an importantsupplier and you got a message that the phone had beendisconnected? Of course, you would probably be callingfor a warranty replacement for a valued customer. Whatwould be the consequences? Missed warranty credits,core credits, and/or missed sales due to a panic changeover to a new supplier, just to name a few. And no matterhow you spell it, the bottom line is you’re talking money.

Here at PPR we pride ourselves on being financiallyhealthy and stable. We plan to be here for the long haul.We have over 29 years in the industry specializing inforeign manufactured alternators and starters. We have a60,000+ square foot factory on 5 acres. We have over$4,000,000 dollars (at acquisition cost) of equipment, allwith minimal debt. We pay our bills and take any fastpay discounts (even if it’s only 1%) offered by oursuppliers. You are probably asking “well, if you’re sohealthy, why are so many re-builders going out of busi-ness?”. The answer is easy.

One, we eat, sleep and breath quality. We are ISO9000Certified, which means we are a world classremanufacturer that took the time made the effort andspent the money to get this certification and keep it.We have a quality control program as well as qualityassurance programs and personnel. We believe onlycompanies that supply quality products will survive in thefuture. Quality saves money, warranties cost money.

Two, we invest in our company. We do things otherrebuilders (by the way we are a remanufacturer, not just arebuilder) don’t, like writing our own software. We havedoubled the size of our information services departmentin the last year. This in-house programming and softwareinvestment reduces our overall office staff requirementsbecause many traditionally manual operations are nowdone by computer. We are constantly developing newsoftware to monitor production, quality, customerservice,etc. We believe in constant improvement.

Three, we engineer and manufacture many of our owncomponents. Prime examples being starter drive

pinions, pulleys, rotors shafts, rotor bobbins, solenoidbobbins, rectifier terminal posts, starter armature shafts,pulley spacers, pulley nuts, bushings, alternator end frames,starter end frames, etc. This allows us to make a bettercomponent for less money. Manufacturing our own compo-nents has three other advantages: first, when cores arescarce, we can manufacture end frames, pulleys, etc, anduse internal components from other part numbers to ‘seed’our unit inventory. Secondly, manufacturing componentsthat are not readily available elsewhere in the after-marketincreases our production yield (i.e. fewer cores dropping outof production). Fewer losses equal fewer core purchaserequirements, and over-all, lower unit costs. Three, when wediscover a component design failure, we can reengineer thiscomponent and stop the failure. This reduces warrantiesand reduced warranties mean reduced costs.

Four, we use technology as a tool, not a toy. Our web-site(www.pprok.com) is an example you can see for yourself. Inthe future our web-site will expand to offer even moredetailed technical information as well as order processing,order tracking, order inquiries, and much, more. We havemany CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine toolsfor component manufacturing. We also have the latestcomputer controlled equipment for testing components suchas rotors, solenoids, voltage regulators, rectifiers, etc. aswell as the complete alternator and starter.

Five, we provide more than just starters and alternators.When the unit (or vehicle) has starting or charging problems,we offer help via our technical support system, available viatelephone, fax, and email. When you sell PPR, your cus-tomer gets technical service when needed, not just analternator or starter!

Six, we understand our business, your needs as a customer,and your customer’s needs. After 29 years in theremanufacturing business, we better!

Seven, (and certainly not least), we have established a loyalcustomer base. You can’t buy customer loyalty, but throughproduct quality, pricing, customer service, and persever-ance, you can gain and maintain customer loyalty.

These reasons and others are why we are still in businessafter 29 years. With our continued efforts for quality andservice, and our loyal customers, PPR is here for the longhaul, you can count on us.

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TOA500 (Part 2)

Application: 1989-92 Geo Prizm

1990-93 Toyota Celica

Unit of the Month

Page 3

Typical Wiring Diagram 1989-1992 Geo Prizm Typical Wiring Diagram 1990-1993 Toyota Celica

Troubleshooting InformationCheck The following Items:A: Fusible Links AM1 & ALT in fusible link boxB: Engine Fuse Junction Block #1C: Ignition Fuse Junction Block #1D: Charge Indicator Light Instrument PanelE: Charge Fuse Junction Block #2 (1989/90 only)F: Key ON Engine OFF voltage present at connections 1,2,3G: Ground connection

Troubleshooting InformationCheck The following Items:A: Main Fusible Link (14ga BLU)B: Alt Fuse & AM1 Fuse fuse boxC: J/B 2 check for snug fit and corrosionD: ECU-IG Fuse and IGN fuse J/B #1E: Junction Connector -- check for snug fit and corrosionF: Charge Indicator Bulb combination meterG: Retract Control Relay -- check for excessive current draws and groundsH: Key ON Engine OFF- voltage present at all

connections I: Ground connection

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B

C

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GA

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HOT STUFF

Page 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Before we go any further, if you didn’t notice on page one, our Precision Parts Tech Support faxnumber has changed. It is now 1-405-685-7215.

We’ve probably been down this road before, but sometimes a road merits being traveled more thanonce. Supplying a warranty with remanufactured alternators and starters is pretty much a given inthis day and age. True, the length and conditions of a warranty may differ from company to com-pany, but any reputable supplier or retailer provides a warranty.

However, you probably have noticed that in automotive repair industry that massive changes in thefield are occuring. The most readily noticable changes include:

The technologies, particularly charging systems. The alternator traditionally was connected to theignition, the dash warning light, the voltage regulator, and the battery. With the advent of more com-puterized monitoring and control of more and more functions of the vehicle, the charging system hasbecome more strongly linked to the vehicle’s computer control functions. Even with state of theart test equipment, diagnosing charging (and starting) problems can be a daunting task.

The technicians. In an age where automotive electrical systems are increasingly complex, moreand more places are offering diagnosis and repair of charging and starting systems.While the tech-nology levels are skyrocketing, even the best technicians struggle to keep rolling with the changes.“I’ve been a mechanic for 30 years and I know what I am doing!” doesn’t always mean that he’skept up with the changes. And if the technician is new to the field, well, too often the ‘diagnostics’means that he has installed a new alternator or starter, it’s still not working, so, to his mind, it mustbe the unit, not the car!

Sadly, this type of ‘diagnostics’ increases warranty return rates, and decreases the profits of every-one involved. , including the shop. Now PPR does not mind supplying warranty replacement units,and I’m sure our customers don’t mind doing that either. And as long as it is a PPR unit, we issuewarranty credit to our customers even when the unit is found not to be defective.

This is one reason we provide our 1-800 Tech support line. While it may take time to properly diag-nose a problem on a vehicle, proper diagnostics will lead to correction of the vehicle problem athand. And replacing a unit when it is not the source of the problem does not lead to happy endings.

While the PPR Tech Support phone number is on every PPR unit box, it’s a great selling point tonew customers (and a good reminder for existing customers) to point out this phone number duringthe sale of the unit. Also explain that we are here to answer questions regarding any install or diag-nostic questions. And, by the time you receive this, you will be able to find the Live Wire (currentand past issues) on our website, www.pprok.com. Your customers may want to know that as well.

So use the PPR Tech support line as a selling point for our products! 1-800-654-3846, x243

See you in the next issue, and hope to hear from you and your customers too!