A Technician A / Technician B question describes a situation, then gives two statements, one from each technician, and asks who is right. The four options never change: A only, B only, both A and B, or neither A nor B. The way to answer is to judge each statement on its own, as true or false against every fact in the stem, and only then pick the option that matches. In ASE's published study guides for A1 to A8 and G1, 19 of the 79 sample questions use this format, and every one of the four answers appears among them. One trap to avoid is treating it as a choice between the two technicians: they are not competing, and both, or neither, can be right.
01What is a Technician A / Technician B question?
The stem sets up a situation, usually a symptom, a test result or a repair. Two technicians then each make a statement, often that something could be the cause, or that a procedure is correct. The question ends by asking who is right, and the options are fixed:
- (A) A only
- (B) B only
- (C) Both A and B
- (D) Neither A nor B
So each question is really two true-or-false questions joined together. You get the mark only if you judge both statements correctly.
02How do you answer one?
Work in four steps. First, read the stem and list its facts, including the small ones: when the problem happens, what has already been tested, what the reading was. Second, cover Technician B and decide whether Technician A's statement is true given every one of those facts. Third, do the same for Technician B, without letting your verdict on A influence it. Fourth, map your two verdicts to the options: true and false is A only, false and true is B only, both true is C, both false is D.
Here is an example of our own, not one of ASE's. A headlamp is dim on one side. Technician A says high resistance in that headlamp's ground circuit could be the cause. Technician B says an open in that headlamp's power feed could be the cause. Taking A alone: extra resistance in the ground lowers the voltage across the bulb, so the lamp glows dimly. True. Taking B alone: an open stops current completely, so the lamp would not light at all, not glow dimly. False. The answer is A only.
03Two more worked examples
Both right. A brake pedal is low and has to be pumped to bring it up. Technician A says rear drum brakes that are out of adjustment could be the cause. Technician B says air in the hydraulic system could be the cause. Taking A alone: shoes that sit too far from the drum need extra pedal travel before they contact, and pumping takes up the slack, so true. Taking B alone: air compresses, so the pedal travels further, and pumping can raise it, so true. The answer is both A and B.
Neither right. All the power windows are dead, but the power locks work. Technician A says a blown fuse in the power lock circuit could be the cause. Technician B says a failed passenger window motor could be the cause. Taking A alone: the locks work, so their fuse is fine, and the fact in the stem rules A out. Taking B alone: one failed motor would stop one window, not all of them. The answer is neither A nor B.
Both examples are ours, written to show the method. In each one, it is a single fact in the stem (the pedal rising when pumped, the locks still working, every window dead) that decides the verdict.
04What does "could be the cause" mean?
Most A / B statements say a part or condition could be the cause. That is a weaker claim than "is the cause" or "is the most likely cause." A statement is true if the fault it names would produce the situation described, even if another fault is more common.
What makes a could-be statement false is a fact in the stem that it cannot explain. In the example above, the word dim is what rules out the open circuit. ASE's samples turn on details in the same way, such as a vibration that appears only with the front axle engaged, or a pedal that moves only as the engine starts. A statement can describe something that is true in general and still be wrong for this situation.
05How often do they appear?
Counting the sample questions in ASE's study guides for the nine tests this site covers: A1 has 1 of 10 samples in this format, A2 1 of 8, A3 2 of 8, A4 3 of 10, A5 2 of 10, A6 4 of 9, A7 2 of 8, A8 3 of 10, and G1 1 of 6. That is 19 of 79 in all, with A6 using it most.
All four answers appear among those 19: A only 11 times, B only 3 times, neither 3 times and both A and B twice. Do not read a pattern into that. It is a small set of published samples, and it says nothing about the answers on the tests themselves. Judge every question on its facts.
06What are the traps?
The traps in this format come from its structure rather than from the technical content.
- Treating it as A against B. The technicians are not arguing; both can be right and both can be wrong.
- Judging B by comparison with A. If A is clearly right, B still needs its own check.
- Dropping a fact from the stem. The qualifier you skim past is often the one that decides a statement.
- Reading could as must. A possible cause is enough to make a could-be statement true.
- Answering from habit. A procedure you use in the shop may differ from the maker's procedure the question is built on.
07How do you practice them?
Practice the method until it is automatic: two verdicts, then the option. When you check an answer, explain to yourself why each statement is true or false, not just which option was correct. Writing your own pairs from a test's task list also helps: pick a task, describe a symptom, and write one statement that fits it and one that a single fact rules out.
Each of our study guides notes how often a test's samples use this format and what they cover: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, G1.
08Questions people ask
- What are the answer options in an ASE Technician A / B question?
- Always the same four: (A) A only, (B) B only, (C) Both A and B, and (D) Neither A nor B.
- How do you answer ASE Technician A / B questions?
- Judge each technician's statement on its own, as true or false against every fact in the question, then pick the option that matches: A only, B only, both or neither.
- How common are Technician A / B questions on ASE tests?
- In ASE's study guides for A1 to A8 and G1, 19 of the 79 sample questions use the format, from 1 of 10 on A1 to 4 of 9 on A6. ASE does not publish how many appear on each test.
- Can both technicians be wrong in an ASE question?
- Yes. Neither A nor B is one of the four options, and it is the correct answer in 3 of the 19 Technician A / B samples in ASE's A1 to A8 and G1 study guides.
- Is ToolboxPrep affiliated with ASE?
- ToolboxPrep is an independent study site. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by ASE (the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence). Our questions are original practice questions written to the published ASE test specifications; they are not actual test questions.
09Sources
- ASE Automobile Study Guide (Tests A1 to A9), 2026: question counts, testing times, recertification test lengths, the unscored-question rule, the Master Automobile Technician test list, the work experience requirement and the sample-question formats
- ASE Auto Maintenance and Light Repair (G1) Study Guide, 2026: the G1 content areas, testing time, G1R recertification test and the student route to G1
- ASE (ase.com): the $34 registration fee per order, the $62 fee per test, the 5-year certification period and the 30-day retest wait
The question counts and testing times were checked against ASE's published study guides on October 11, 2026; fees and rules are as ASE publishes them on ase.com, and they can change. ASE is the final word. If you find one of ours out of date, tell us.
Related: free practice questions · how ASE tests work · ASE A6 study guide
10Practice tests
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ToolboxPrep is an independent study site. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by ASE (the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence). Our questions are original practice questions written to the published ASE test specifications; they are not actual test questions.