[Abel]

OMG! I can go on and on about diagnostics and it’s true cost. First off, the average Joe doesn’t even know what diagnosis means. The average Joe thinks a diagnosis is hooking up a scan tool and reading the code and whatever the code says, that’s the problem. :blink: I have decided to post signs stating the definition of the word diagnosis and the word troubleshoot all over my shop. Well, at least in two places where customers can see them, if they can even read English. I should probably put some in Spanish too. Any who, it’s typically a one hour charge for a diagnosis. And that seems to be all that you can get away with even if you know by the complaint that it is going to take you half a day diagnosing the problem if you’re lucky. Customers just don’t want to pay more than one hour labor period. I have always said there is no money in diagnosis. And it’s true. Perfect example. Thursday, which was yesterday, my most consistent customer finally comes in after weeks of complaining about his AC not working right. It blows cold most of the time but will shut off for moments at a time only while at freeway speeds. I received the truck around 2 in the afternoon and didn’t go home until 7 that evening. I could not get the AC to act up unless I was on a test drive at 50 mph. Stupid me though. I probably should have hooked up the scanner while test driving because I probably would have seen that the data showed compressor on when in fact the clutch was not engaged. Sadly the data only showed on or off. No pressure or voltage readings from the sensors. So, finally after the second test drive on my way back the AC was hot and stayed hot when I pulled up and put it in park. I lifted the hood and saw the clutch wasn’t engaged. I checked for power and ground at the clutch and sure enough power and ground were good. To take it a step further I powered it up with my power probe and nothing. I even went over to my own vehicle to try the power probe and it engaged my clutch nicely. The next morning before I called my customer I did the same test and the clutch worked fine. Obviously it stops working when it gets hot and starts working when it cools down again. So the diagnosis was a bad clutch coil/solenoid. We opted to replace the complete unit and there’s another AC job for me. But the fact of the matter is it took me 5 hours to find the problem. Not sure if having the scan tool hooked up while test driving would have been valid enough though.I still would have had to verify voltage readings and jump the clutch. In conclusion, I feel that one hour diagnosis is fair to my best customer and the repair that I got out of it was worth it. I am a slow paced shop any way and it’s not like I had any other jobs waiting. That’s the good thing about my shop. I can actually take the time to troubleshoot a problem. But when I get a fresh victim 👿 it’s really hard to get more than one hour of diagnosing out of them even when I know it is going to take a lot of time. Shucks, I spend more time than that trying to explain the process to them.

[Abel]

OMG! I can go on and on about diagnostics and it’s true cost. First off, the average Joe doesn’t even know what diagnosis means. The average Joe thinks a diagnosis is hooking up a scan tool and reading the code and whatever the code says, that’s the problem. :blink: I have decided to post signs stating the definition of the word diagnosis and the word troubleshoot all over my shop. Well, at least in two places where customers can see them, if they can even read English. I should probably put some in Spanish too. Any who, it’s typically a one hour charge for a diagnosis. And that seems to be all that you can get away with even if you know by the complaint that it is going to take you half a day diagnosing the problem if you’re lucky. Customers just don’t want to pay more than one hour labor period. I have always said there is no money in diagnosis. And it’s true. Perfect example. Thursday, which was yesterday, my most consistent customer finally comes in after weeks of complaining about his AC not working right. It blows cold most of the time but will shut off for moments at a time only while at freeway speeds. I received the truck around 2 in the afternoon and didn’t go home until 7 that evening. I could not get the AC to act up unless I was on a test drive at 50 mph. Stupid me though. I probably should have hooked up the scanner while test driving because I probably would have seen that the data showed compressor on when in fact the clutch was not engaged. Sadly the data only showed on or off. No pressure or voltage readings from the sensors. So, finally after the second test drive on my way back the AC was hot and stayed hot when I pulled up and put it in park. I lifted the hood and saw the clutch wasn’t engaged. I checked for power and ground at the clutch and sure enough power and ground were good. To take it a step further I powered it up with my power probe and nothing. I even went over to my own vehicle to try the power probe and it engaged my clutch nicely. The next morning before I called my customer I did the same test and the clutch worked fine. Obviously it stops working when it gets hot and starts working when it cools down again. So the diagnosis was a bad clutch coil/solenoid. We opted to replace the complete unit and there’s another AC job for me. But the fact of the matter is it took me 5 hours to find the problem. Not sure if having the scan tool hooked up while test driving would have been valid enough though.I still would have had to verify voltage readings and jump the clutch. In conclusion, I feel that one hour diagnosis is fair to my best customer and the repair that I got out of it was worth it. I am a slow paced shop any way and it’s not like I had any other jobs waiting. That’s the good thing about my shop. I can actually take the time to troubleshoot a problem. But when I get a fresh victim 👿 it’s really hard to get more than one hour of diagnosing out of them even when I know it is going to take a lot of time. Shucks, I spend more time than that trying to explain the process to them.

[Author]

Replies