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Re: Diagnostic methods.
If you don’t know what’s wrong after 15 minutes, some customers will assume you are incompetent. I have once or twice been told to leave in such cases. I make sure I still get my callout charge though 😉
Re: Diagnostic methods.
I had no computer when I first started, just some engineering qualifications, my copy of The Haynes manual for washing machines, a wing and a prayer! I used to get a few of my spares from Graham Dixon, the author of said Haynes book and I did ask his advice a few times when I was stumped.
In the motor trade it seems to be regarded as accepted practice to just keep fitting new parts until you cure a fault. Perhaps some people try to do the same with domestic appliances but you would soon push the bill up to beyond what the customer is willing to spend on a machine. A stock of secondhand motors, timers and modules is useful to have. Even if the customer only wants new parts you still get a chance to confirm your diagnosis by substitution before spending money on an expensive new part. It also means less machines will be BER. Tomorrow I will be fitting a replacement induction motor in a Servis machine. At £160 odd a time, I’m never likely to fit a brand new motor in one of those.Re: Cowboys
Yes, putting right someones cockup is usually much harder than if you were given the job in the first place. I remember when I worked at Dunlop and we had day shift and night shift sparkies. Invariably, one shift would dismantle something for repair, make no notes of which wire went where, order the required parts and leave it for the other shift to put it back together 😆
Re: Stoves Newhome EC617 ceramic hob – replace?
Is this an insurance job? If so, the insurance company may suggest a repairer.
Re: Hotpoint Tacho
Always worth keeping one or two of these magnets from scrap motors as they do sometimes break up.
Re: Small repairs
I don’t think you could make a living just doing that so it’s best just to include it as part of a larger business. I don’t usually do vacuums or microwaves at customers homes but if they can’t drop them off I offer to collect them next time I have a job nearby. In the case of elderly folk who are mostly at home this usually works fine.
Re: Hotpoint Belt Fitting Tool
I would offer to do it for you Martin but I’m about 600 miles north of you 😆 The job I find most time consuming on these Hotpoints is cleaning off the old gum and backing when renewing the front felt, especially in the bits hidden by the bearing pads. Often when the belt breaks it’s because the rear shaft has worn through and caused other damage/extra resistance to movement.
Re: Hotpoint Belt Fitting Tool
The machines that use the EL1860 belt are not too bad to do without any special tools. The belt seems to only just go round the drum when you first put it on but if you get the drum sitting directly on the motor and not located in the front or back bearings there is enough stretch in the belt to get it over the motor pulley with just your fingers. Now I’ve done a few I find them easier than the old jockey wheel models.
Re: Bosch sealed drum WAA24270
Since I heard about the welded drums I have been recommending Bosch but I won’t know what to do now. There is obviously the ISE but I don’t really want to get into selling new machines and nobody else round here sells them. 😕
Re: More work than i can handle now!!
Work has picked up here the last few weeks. Just as well, I had to pay a £423 gas & electric bill this week 😯
Re: Dealing With “Call Backs”
I went to a whirlpool washer today with a dead module. The new board is £168 + VAT trade (i.e. typical Whirlpool rip-off spares). I didn’t think the customer would want to go ahead but it seems he might 😯 I think I will have to decline the job as I can’t afford to take that big a loss if it blows again within my guarantee period 🙁
Re: Whats the most annoying thing customers do?
Yes, if they supply the parts you can always charge a bit extra on your labour….. If you are lucky they may even get the correct part.
I went back to an Indesit WIDL washer dryer the other day. This job has been ongoing for several months but the house is a holiday home so appliance is not essential for regular use. When I first went I found the main module was badly burned and had also damaged the section of wiring for the dryer motor, NTC and valve. I advised the customer that it would be cheaper to get Merloni to do the job as the machine was covered by the parts warranty. I heard nothing for ages but then got a call from the customer to say she had ordered the new board herself and could I go back to fit it. I was a bit dismayed at this, thinking about Smart Card readers etc etc. I explained that it not only needed the board but also the partial wiring harness, which is only available on special order. It was agreed that I would order the wiring and go to do the job when it eventually arrived. The wiring section took some weeks to come (it ended up being sent to a firm in Inverness for some reason!) but when it arrived I arranged to get a key and go back to the machine. The new board they had ordered was there waiting for me….. not the main module, they had ordered the control panel board
:bang: This panel is less than half the price of the main module so I suppose they probably just thought I had been quoting them a rip-off price for the part.Re: Kenwood CKJ280 fan assisted oven problems.
With power to the cooker off you could try connecting the wires that normally go to the element to the fan and briefly try switching on the oven to see if the fan works. If the fan does not work like that it will probably be the fan motor that has failed. If the fan does work like that it will probably be a faulty oven switch. Remember to put the wires back as they were after experimenting.
