Bad battery or alternator? Please don't say both!
07-03-2013, 06:14 PM
#21
Since I signed up here I keep running across post after post of his that are condescending, insulting, and serve no purpose except to give someone some ****. I'm all for speaking ones mind, but come on, no need to be an *** when someone hasn't asked for. However, if they have asked for it then go to town.
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Im not a lazy tech and would never screw a customer. If I caused a problem I would fix it, and take the time to fix it completely. I've told customers that if they have even the slightest uneasiness about anything to please let me know so I can put them at ease and make 100% sure they leave happy. I pride myself on that because there are too damn many shady morons out there that give us a bad name just to make an extra buck. I see it constantly and it infuriates me to no end.
Enough of my rant. Man today has been a **** day.
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Im not a lazy tech and would never screw a customer. If I caused a problem I would fix it, and take the time to fix it completely. I've told customers that if they have even the slightest uneasiness about anything to please let me know so I can put them at ease and make 100% sure they leave happy. I pride myself on that because there are too damn many shady morons out there that give us a bad name just to make an extra buck. I see it constantly and it infuriates me to no end.
Enough of my rant. Man today has been a **** day.
07-03-2013, 08:37 PM
#22
Senior Member
You shouldn't be doing it in the first place. When he sees an error and he has the knowledge to back it up, he says something. He's not being condescending or an ***, he's trying to correct your error. By your own logic you are acting like one of those shady mechanics. Just do it properly and you don't have to put anyone at ease. What happens if one of these times you fry a harness, alternator, main computer or something else? What if it happens more than once? Are you going to reach into your own pocket to cover parts and labor every time you knowingly take an unnecessary risk and screw something up?
Whoa, wait a minute. Going against the grain to check something isn't being shady. Ripping off or misleading a customer is shady. And YES, if I took a risk and caused something to fail I would definitely cough up the dough to make it good as new or better because that's what the person deserves. If I was using a prybar to check something in the suspension and it slipped and tore up a brake line I would pay for the new line, labor, etc, and not expect the customer to be charged a penny for it. That's the proper thing to do. There are many out there that would happily charge the customer to fix a part they broke, that's shady.
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CliffH (07-05-2013)
07-03-2013, 09:04 PM
#23
There's a huge difference between against the grain and knowingly doing something wrong. Testing the alternator that way IS wrong. Test it right or take it someone to test it right. That little bit of effort completely eliminates the possibility of screwing something up from testing the WRONG way. Like I said before its just my opinion. If you absolutely have to do something as a quick/emergency repair or bypass, by all means do it but accept the risks involved and be prepared to repair more than you would have originally. If you don't have to do it, don't risk it. If you have the time and the means, do it properly.
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CliffH (07-05-2013)
07-03-2013, 09:28 PM
#25
Exactly. Not trying to sound like an a-hole, just stating the facts and sharing my opinion.
07-05-2013, 10:08 PM
#28
RDNK150
just my $.02 in hooking the battery with the car running I do all the time for about 30 seconds of run time just to change the battery on the Hondas so I don't have to look up radio codes. although it is laziness and I don't like doing it it is the best way to check for a bad alternator for certain. I was taught by my grandfather about 15 years ago when I first started wrenching.
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CliffH (07-06-2013)
07-06-2013, 07:09 AM
#30