Red Ring Tupperware Party, Autumnal Equinoctal Edition (24)

Greg_C wrote in post #17440210
Almost hitting 100mm rain today at 4:30 pm.

Hope you've got your water wings handy.

Greg_C wrote in post #17440210
Almost hitting 100mm rain today at 4:30 pm.

Ouch. That's a lot of water!

We had a remote starter put in our mini van yesterday by a place that does pretty much nothing but starters. The owner was talking to me as my install was taking longer then it should had and they had already closed over an hour earlier. He's pointing at the tech working on my car saying these young guys are worthless and have no idea what they are doing. Gave me a real warm fuzzy about the product they had installed. Especially when the job was done and the kids was taking the 17 seconds to show me how the thing worked so they could get out of there, the battery was dead. When you are working on a vehicle with power sliding doors, daytime running lights and full interior light, it's usually a good idea to keep a charger on the battery.

When you are working on any part of a vehicles electrical system, especially something like the starter/ignition systems its usually standard practice to totally disconnect the battery during the install/maintenance. This insures that you do not shock/electrocute yourself, or do any damage to the other electrical components of the car.

Chet wrote in post #17440537
We had a remote starter put in our mini van yesterday by a place that does pretty much nothing but starters. The owner was talking to me as my install was taking longer then it should had and they had already closed over an hour earlier. He's pointing at the tech working on my car saying these young guys are worthless and have no idea what they are doing. Gave me a real warm fuzzy about the product they had installed. Especially when the job was done and the kids was taking the 17 seconds to show me how the thing worked so they could get out of there, the battery was dead. When you are working on a vehicle with power sliding doors, daytime running lights and full interior light, it's usually a good idea to keep a charger on the battery.

That is horrible that he talks about his employees that way.

solepatch wrote in post #17440554
When you are working on any part of a vehicles electrical system, especially something like the starter/ignition systems its usually standard practice to totally disconnect the battery during the install/maintenance. This insures that you do not shock/electrocute yourself, or do any damage to the other electrical components of the car.

It really depends on what system you are working on and what you are doing.

Traci_Ann wrote in post #17440617
It really depends on what system you are working on and what you are doing.

Not saying that everyone, or even myself, follows that advice all the time but its not a bad habit to get into. My rule of thumb has always been that if you will be splicing wires at any point in the process the battery gets disconnected.

solepatch wrote in post #17440649
Not saying that everyone, or even myself, follows that advice all the time but its not a bad habit to get into. My rule of thumb has always been that if you will be splicing wires at any point in the process the battery gets disconnected.

You're right, it's a great habit to develop. It's just not feasible for many of the systems in a vehicle today, you can lose all the consumer settings, module fuzzy logic adaptations, many systems have an extensive relearn procedure (readiness codes on VW/Audi can take up to an hour to reset). Ideally you shouldn't disconnect the battery unless it's necessary (airbag and a few other things) and most of the time it's advised to install alternative low voltage power source to save all consumer settings and module adaptations, we use a 9v battery in the power port.

Traci_Ann wrote in post #17440616
That is horrible that he talks about his employees that way.

Sounds like he has a high rate of turn around on employees. But the company has been in business for 40 years. He was very entertaining and likable, I tend to agree that not all people are suited to be mechanics. He didn't have much confidence in his recent batch, and said a past worker will be returning on the weekend that he truly valued.

Working for people like that is not fun at all. There are some truly incompetent people, and I have definitely worked with them, but you've gotta give them a chance. One young guy I worked with had a hard time remembering how to do things the way we showed him. Would tell him over and over and over again what the correct procedure was, and the next time he'd mess it up again. But he had a great attitude and would do anything you requested. Eventually he got the hang of everything and was a great employee, but then went out west to work.
Working next to him was a kid that had the mechanical ability, but wouldn't listen to anyone. Truly frustrating to work with.

As for the battery, definitely should have had it on a charger. Not only is it irritating for the customer, but it's bad for the battery.

Chet wrote in post #17440720
Sounds like he has a high rate of turn around on employees. But the company has been in business for 40 years. He was very entertaining and likable, I tend to agree that not all people are suited to be mechanics. He didn't have much confidence in his recent batch, and said a past worker will be returning on the weekend that he truly valued.

It is hard to find employees that want to work, with good work ethics, good attitude, and an aptitude for the job. I know, I've been trying to hire another tech for almost 3 years now, I've pretty much given up on it.

Traci_Ann wrote in post #17440686
You're right, it's a great habit to develop. It's just not feasible for many of the systems in a vehicle today, you can lose all the consumer settings, module fuzzy logic adaptations, many systems have an extensive relearn procedure (readiness codes on VW/Audi can take up to an hour to reset). Ideally you shouldn't disconnect the battery unless it's necessary (airbag and a few other things) and most of the time it's advised to install alternative low voltage power source to save all consumer settings and module adaptations, we use a 9v battery in the power port.

Trying to explain to a customer why their vehicle doesn't "feel the same" after the battery has been disconnected/dead can be frustrating. Some people can easily understand what adaptive learning is, but some are downright confused by it. I've had some customers that were pretty shocked to realize that their vehicle "learns" their driving habits, and that I can tell what kind of driver they are just by going on a test drive.

But whatever you do, do not lose the memory seat settings! People get really touchy over that one.

Traci_Ann wrote in post #17440779
It is hard to find employees that want to work, with good work ethics, good attitude, and an aptitude for the job. I know, I've been trying to hire another tech for almost 3 years now, I've pretty much given up on it.

And here I can't find a job. There aren't even any listings.

Until I write my exam and get my license, I can't work outside of Ontario. And then with my license it's only good in Canada. I would probably have to write the exam again in the US to be able to work there.

And if I ever wanted to work in Quebec, I'd have to write the exam in French.

Jill-of-all-Trades wrote in post #17440782
But whatever you do, do not lose the memory seat settings! People get really touchy over that one.

I had one customer go on a 20 minute triad on how incompetent we were because we lost his radio settings. He didn't understand that we had to completely remove the radio to get the stuck CD out. lol

I think I know that guy! Same person who's about 4 foot nothing and freaks out if the 6'5" tech moves the seat.