This actually happened to me this morning. I am still in a state of utter bemusement and annoyed that my time was wasted. I sincerely hope that the staff at your local garage are not also devoid of any clue.

Plagued with a constant P0045 DTC, I asked a local indy garage to do a simple check to verify that the turbo's servo motor actuator on my 2007 FL2 TD4 was actually moving. "No problem – I’ll book it in - it'll be a vacuum issue!" the receptionist said. “Oh!” I replied, “I think you’ll find that it’s motor-driven on this model.” The alarm bell rang after she referred the matter to the senior mechanic who, she insisted, knew best.

I turned up early this morning and the senior mechanic instructed his lad to check the turbo under the bonnet. The poor lad came back very quickly to say he couldn't find one. Looking bemused, the senior mechanic then got the car up on the lift and stood under it for two minutes with a vacuum tester dangling forlornly in his hand. He then presented me with the results of his exhaustive testing: "It's electrical!"


Three other pearls of greasy wisdom:

The turbo vane actuator can only be tested on a rolling road.
The car will easily do 90 mph because the turbo doesn't affect the power.
It can't be a poor connection at the ECU because everything else is working.

Always remove your Stetson when working under a vehicle.
Always get off your high horse when trying to demonstrate advanced technical knowledge that wouldn't fool a horse.
Always assume that the customer you are attempting to blind with science is actually a professor of physics and an ophthalmic surgeon.

These days if the car doesnt actually tell them "its that screw there thats loose" they dont have a clue, the old school hands on approach has long gone in most cases unless you can find a proper old car mechanic,

Wait until you see a modern technician trying to find the diagnostic socket on a Mk 1 Ford Escort then you know youre better off doing it yourself.

so where is the OBD socket on a MK1 ?? I know where it is in a MK2... its that big slot in the middle of the stereo