West Ashley Center for Advanced Studies Automotive Technology students led by Teacher MacKenzie Heath have gone above and beyond their normal classroom instruction and hands-on class projects.

They partnered with Kyle Prothro from Roper St. Francis, who also oversees the Charleston County School District’s athletic trainer program, and the IC13 organization

When Mr. Heath received the ambulance the truck was running but the “box” in the back was completely dead. There were no lights, sirens, or any functions outside of the driver’s seat.

The ambulance body was built and installed by a group in Georgia on a preexisting Ford chassis. Mr. Heath reached out to them for wiring diagrams or other information that could help them with diagnosing, but they were unable to provide that.

Shared from Mr. Heath:

Most ambulances of this size have nearly 15 miles of wiring, fuses and switches throughout so it took about three days of testing, tracing and hunting to find the source of our failure. What we finally found was buried in the main electrical panel was a failed master relay. These master relays transfer large amounts of power and are controlled by the little buttons and switches in the dash. So after three days of diagnostic work we found a $100 dollar electrical component shutting down the entire system. After replacing that relay we found a few lights and the air conditioning not working as it had been sitting for quite some time. We repaired those items as well and the vehicle was back to life from front to back. A full functioning ambulance ready for a new home.

Once the ambulance was complete it was ready for it’s new home and mission serving communities in Honduras.

This special project continued to give these students and three 2025 graduates real-world hands on training. The extra special bonus, they were able to serve an international community in need.

Shout out to the superstars named from left to right below:
Axel Rodrigues, Colten Leto, Jesus Salazar-Garcia:Senior, Cole Maerlender, Christian Dawson
Colten, Jesus and Cole are all working at dealerships in West Ashley as Automotive Technicians. Christian has returned and is currently taking his 4th semester in Auto Tech.

What an incredible opportunity and accomplishment for our student and the West Ashley Center for Advanced Studies Automotive Technology Program.