Students that do not listen???

Topic: Students that do not listen??? (Read 951 times) previous topic - next topic

Students that do not listen???

February 17, 2013, 09:40:17 AM

Three weeks ago a young fellow from the automotive tech school came in to the shop looking for a battery. It was for a Ford explorer. So as normal i always charge them my cost. They are good kids wanting to get in to the car business ETC. With that he thanked me and all was good in the world. But 3 days later the chap showed up with battery in hand and said it was NG. So i tested it and sure enough a dead cell. No problem i exchanged it right on the spot. Off the lad went and what do you know he stopped by for a starter. Same car. He explained to me the starter was killing the battery. So i offered to help him trouble shoot the car. He reluctantly refused and said he had everything under control. OK good enough. But in my mind i knew something was not right. So a couple of days passed and i noticed the Big Ford was no where in sight?? Once again the Lad came to me and said another battery was in order as this one was also dead???? With that i tested the battery and it was run down very low. I charged it and told the Chap to bring the truck in and we would work on it together. No dice the kid said he had it under control and wanted an alternator. Ok i said grab one off the shelf and pay my price on it and away he went. That is till the battery went dead again??? With that he came to the shop and asked me for help. I said sure come in and we would work together. Well i immediately knew what was wrong but i wanted the Lad to find the trouble. So i explained to him to hook the load box to the car and started it. The voltage peaked at 12.7 volts and no higher. NOT GOOD. I told the chap to increase the load on the battery with the Variac. As soon as he increased the load to 20 Amps the voltage went down to 12 Volts. Bewildered and amazed he could not figure why??? So with that i told him to shut the car down and grab a torque wrench and a socket for the alternator pulley. Then i told him to see how much torque it would take to spin the alt and if the belt was slipping. Sure enough the belt broke away at 16 FT/LBS from the alt pulley. Not very good. With that the student yelled out the auto tension-er is bad. So i pointed to it and it was brand new. Rats he said now what?? Well happens to be that this particular truck has 2 belt options and the wrong belt was installed. It was slipping for a while and would not handle the load. So it glazed over and was not allowing the alternator to charge properly. With that i ordered the correct belt installed it and instantly the BIG FORD charged at the proper rate. 14.2 volts at idle until the battery finally recovered. The young LAD was so excited ye yelled out WOW THANKS RENZO. Moral to the story is let these kids fix things on there own. That is how they learn. So after the battery recovered and the Lad was happy the Black Explorer is seen cursing around the neighborhood with a smile on the next generation of technicians. Just thoght you would like this story.

Belt that glazed over

Students that do not listen???

Reply #1 – February 17, 2013, 11:51:15 AM

Good story! As much as I like to think I know sometime, my old man will still school me like this pretty regularly.

Students that do not listen???

Reply #2 – February 17, 2013, 12:30:43 PM

Nice story. Nice to see that a kid is still interested in learning (albeit reluctantly at first, but hey, what kid isn't), and also nice to see someone is still willing to teach. Good job, Tom...

Sorry for the derail: I had a similar problem but with a different outcome on Friday. A young girl traded her '05 Civic coupe in at our lot. Battery kept going dead, and after her boyfriend putting a new starter, alternator and battery in the car she got tired of throwing money at it and wanted something more reliable. I brought it into the shop to do the trade-in appraisal, and found the alternator to be putting out 12.7 volts. Also, the belt squealed really bad when the A/C was turned on. Everything in the pulley area was covered in something sticky that any mechanic recognizes as belt dressing. I checked the typical Honda problems (ground straps) and they were OK. Once under the car I found the alternator belt to be very loose and the belt glazed, just like yours. I ordered two new belts, one for the PS and one for the AC. When the new belts arrived I removed the PS one the normal way: Loosen the bottom bolt on the PS pump, loosen the top one that goes through the tensioner, and then backed off the tensioner wingnut until I could slip the belt off over the pulley. The alternator must be done from underneath, so I lifted the car and removed the plastic splash shield to access the alternator bolts. I placed my 12MM socket on the tensioner bolt and was surprised to find it turned by hand, no ratchet needed. A 14MM bolt on the upper alt mount (the pivot) turned just as easily. I was able to loosen the alternator tensioner off and replace the belt without using any tools! Her boyfriend did not tighten anything when he replaced the alternator! I put everything back together with the new belt tensioned properly and everything was spiffy. I told her what the problem was (she was waiting on the appraisal so she could get her trade in value on her new car). She smacked her boyfriend in the side of the head (in an affectionate "you fvcked up" manner) and thanked me. She then told me she still wanted a new car, so she traded it in anyway. She was happy though - a working car is worth more than a broken one, and the sales dept was happy as well - They still got their sale, and had I not fixed the trade in they were just gonna wholesale it at the auction...

The only sad part of the story: She traded it in on a Mitsubishi Lancer. Silly, silly girl...

Students that do not listen???

Reply #3 – February 17, 2013, 01:44:28 PM

Sounds like she should've traded the BOYfriend, lol.

Students that do not listen???

Reply #4 – February 17, 2013, 06:25:37 PM

Thunder that is why i posted this repair. If a good alternator is not spun correctly and is slipping it acts like a bad one. That is why i check everything before condemning a part. I learned this years ago as i have made mistakes my self. Years back Banded fan belts were very good. but somewhere in the mid eighties belt companies did not band automotive belts any more. What a nightmare this was. People were having loads of issues with charging systems related to belt issues. I had to convert many a chevy pulley setup for wider belts to overcome this nightmare. Repair centers were changing out alternators left and right that were actually good. But the slipping belt made them look like they were bad. This is not an ssue today with serpentine belts. But in the case of this Explorer it was. So things really do not change after all. As you also had the same issue as the student with that HONDA. Bottom line always check and double check before condeming a PART. Thank you

Students that do not listen???

Reply #5 – February 17, 2013, 08:12:43 PM

fixed it :D

Quote from: TOM Renzo;409531

So i flipped on the radio and played my angel music then i explained to him to hook the load box to the car and started it.

Students that do not listen???

Reply #6 – February 18, 2013, 12:56:35 AM

Yes ANGEL MUSIC. Love it. Great come back Jay!!