Read UDS diagnostics with confidence. Taught live by a working engineer.
A four-hour live course for engineers stepping into diagnostics, validation and integration roles. Understand how diagnostic testers talk to ECUs, then watch it happen on a real module with Vector CANalyzer Pro.
Dates being confirmed. Register and we'll tell you the next one first.
Live online over Microsoft Teams · Foundation to intermediate · Four hours · Taught by Scott Lindsay · Live demonstration on a real ECU · VTS, automotive engineering since 2009
Is this course for you?
You've moved into a new role and the ECUs won't wait. Diagnostics, validation, systems integration... whatever the job title, you're expected to read the traffic between a tester and a control unit, and nobody has slowed down to show you how it works.
This course is for you if:
You've just stepped into a diagnostics, validation or integration role and need to read diagnostic communication you've never been walked through.
You're a graduate automotive engineer building the practical knowledge a degree doesn't cover.
You're logging CPD and want four focused hours that stick, not a recorded lecture you half-watch.
It's not for seasoned diagnostics leads. The level is foundation to intermediate, built to get you reading and following, not to make you the department expert in an afternoon.
What you'll be able to do afterwards
By the end of the session you'll be able to:
Explain why diagnostics run through the whole vehicle lifecycle, from development to aftersales, and why UDS became the standard for ECU communication.
Follow a diagnostic request and response between a tester and an ECU, and know what you're looking at.
Recognise the core UDS services in use: diagnostic sessions, reading ECU information, fault code management and routine control.
Interpret Diagnostic Trouble Codes and follow a structured approach to fault finding.
Watch real diagnostic communication with an ECU and understand how these techniques get used in everyday engineering.
Outcomes, not a topic list. You leave able to do the thing, not just having heard about it.
The live demonstration
This is the part you can't get from a spec document. Scott runs live diagnostic communication with a real automotive module using Vector CANalyzer Pro, the same class of tool engineers use in the field. You watch actual requests and responses move between the tester and the ECU, in real time, with a working engineer explaining what's happening and why the module answers the way it does.
It's a demonstration, not a hands-on lab. You watch rather than drive the tool. That's deliberate. In four hours you get more from following a practising engineer's method on real hardware than from fumbling through an interface on your own. Questions are welcome throughout, so if something on screen doesn't make sense, you ask and get a straight answer.
Your tutor: Scott Lindsay
Founder and Director of Vehicle Testing Solutions. He brings over 20 years of hands-on automotive engineering experience, applying UDS diagnostics in systems integration, vehicle testing, fault finding and build support, plus over five years developing and delivering UDS-based engineering diagnostics training inside a major global automotive OEM.
The course is grounded in work VTS does daily. Since 2009 the company has done validation, integration and diagnostics for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. You're learning from someone who reads this traffic for a living, not someone reading it off a slide the night before. It sits alongside the other automotive training courses VTS runs for engineers.
Why learn it this way
You could read the ISO standard. It'll tell you how UDS is meant to behave, but it won't show you a live ECU answering, and it can't tell you why a real module did something unexpected.
You could sit a generic online course. Most run off slides and stock diagrams, with no real hardware and nobody in the room who's chased a live fault.
You could learn on the job. That works eventually, but it's slow, it's public, and the mistakes happen in front of the people who moved you into the role.
Four hours with a working engineer and a real module gets you past the awkward first weeks faster than any of those. The tool Scott demonstrates is part of the range VTS supplies and supports, so you're seeing kit backed by engineers, not just a product listing. See our diagnostic tools and wider engineering services.
Format and logistics
Delivery: Live online over Microsoft Teams
Duration: Four hours
Level: Foundation to intermediate
Format: Live session with a real-hardware demonstration and questions throughout
Price: Enquire (pricing confirmed on request)
Dates: Being confirmed. Register your interest and we'll tell you the next available date first.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need prior diagnostics experience?
No. The course starts at foundation level and builds up. If you understand the basics of automotive electronics, you'll follow it comfortably. It's aimed at engineers new to diagnostics, not experienced specialists.
Is it hands-on or a demonstration?
It's a live demonstration. Scott runs real diagnostic communication with an ECU on Vector CANalyzer Pro while you watch and ask questions. You don't operate the tool yourself, but you see exactly how a working engineer uses it on real hardware.
What diagnostic tool do you use?
Vector CANalyzer Pro, running against a real automotive module. You watch genuine requests and responses, not a simulation or a screen recording.
What do I need to take part?
A laptop or desktop with Microsoft Teams and a stable connection. Nothing else. You don't need any software or hardware of your own.
How long is it and when does it run?
Four hours, live online. Dates are being confirmed. Register your interest and we'll let you know the next available session before it's advertised.
Can I train a team?
Yes. If you want to put several engineers through the course together, ask about a group session over Teams and we'll sort a quote for the numbers you need.
Is this suitable for CPD?
Yes. The course suits engineers logging Continuing Professional Development and covers practical, current diagnostics knowledge you can apply straight away.
Register your interest
Dates are being confirmed. Tell us you want in and we'll get you the next available date before anyone else, along with pricing for individual or group places.
More than testing. Real solutions. Real results.