My truck had to go back to the transmission doctor the week of Thanksgiving. Got a pretty bad shutter when it shifts.
Transmission man called said I need a battery battery is dead won’t hold a charge. I was in Hilton Head asked someone from the office to go get my truck and run it by and have a battery put in it.
They took it to AutoZone. Installing a new battery they shorted it out. Fried the buzz bar. AutoZone had to go to the dealership for replacement parts.
Picked up my truck the following week pulled out the parking lot not charging. Went to AutoZone and told them they fried my alternator. Was told no all it did was pop the fuse. Reason my battery was going bad I already had a bad alternator. I tell him no the reason the battery went dead it’s a 7 year old battery.
Then he makes a smart ass comment about the problem with people is they think they’re mechanics and don’t know nothing about cars.
This is the manager and he is the one that installed the battery.
My not so nice response was apparently you’re the ignorant MFer they don’t have enough brains to hook up the positive first. This is not just a fuse it was a 10 gauge buzz bar you fried.
Couple phone calls got the number of the regional manager.
They’re sending me a check for the $378 that I paided Napa and $150 labor charge.
I get the check and back to the beach I’m going to go rub it in his face.
It’s nice to know stuff
I don’t know that I know anything. But I watch my gauges and it was charging good.
But apparently my new alternator starting to mess up. On the way to Charleston from Hilton Head to pick up some materials. Alternator not charging.
Stop outside of walterboro and give it a smack. It’s charging again. Check all my connections they seem to be tight.
Sounds like a sticking voltage regulator.
You should be getting at least 13v from the alternator. They make an accurate volt meter you can plug into the lighter power receptacle
I was at AutoZone a month or so back.
Tell the kid at the counter I need an inner axel bearing, for my F 250.
Tell him it’s about the size of a 26 mm, deep well socket.
He comes back with a huge box.
I say nope, that’s the hub assembly, before he got to the counter.
Comes back with another large box.
Nope, that’s the inner bearing seal, before he gets to the counter.
Another try, nope, tell him, that’s the outer seal.
He slams the box on the counter, and screams “I’m not a freaking mechanic”!!
I tell him he’s not much of a parts man either!
Headed over to NAPA, and got what I needed.
You made me laugh harder than Bolbie works
Good one
Did you try the pocket knife blade magnet check when it ain’t showing a gauge charging?
Parts guys and mechanics now will tell you even though it’s a new part doesn’t always mean it works WTH??? Bet they’d accept that from a doctor putting in a stent or pace maker
Hey OTC, do some Googling. Not sure about all the new ones but some of your chevys would actually turn off the alt (remove voltage from Field) and when it got to a certain level turn it back on. It was a fuel saving mode. I replaced two alternators in a row for doing this. You could watch your volt meter and see it drop to 12ish and then jump back to 14ish. At night you could actually see lights vaguely dim. I think on the really new ones they are doing it by increasing / decreasing amperage out put rather than voltage. ?
On the Auto parts guy that installed the battery, one of the first things they are supposed to be told is to check charging system after putting in the battery to cover their butts and also try to sell you a new Alternator if you need one…
Service pretty much everywhere seems to be subpar these days and so many people don’t seem qualified for the jobs they have. This ain’t getting better anytime soon.
Fred what you’re saying makes sense.
There’s 2 different alternators available for that truck.
It had always charged around 14½ to 15 with the old alternator. The new 1 was fine till today.
I would shut the truck off and crank it back up and it would charge at around 14 for 2 or 3 minutes and then drop back down to around 12.
After I got my stuff loaded I cranked it about 3 minutes it dropped back down. I gave it a good smack with the end of a ratchet got back in the truck and it was just below 14. And it stayed that way all the way back to Hilton Head.
And talking about getting competent help. 2 different cracker barrels that we have stopped at had a 20 to 30 minute wait. I don’t wait in line for food. I asked the hostess / waitress/busboy what’s up with the wait ?? I don’t see but 10 or 12 table seated. She said not enough competent help. The Management corporate level. Thinks it would be better to turn away customers or have them wait before they sacrifice the quality of the service or the quality of the food…
Smart decision.
And on the other hand.
My wife used to babysit a kid now is grown up and manages a Popeye outside of Ridgeland. We stopped by to say hello last weekend. Standing there talking to him 1 of the employees come over and told him. Look across the street they’re over there getting gas and there 20 minutes late already. He shrugged his shoulders and said that will be here in a couple minutes . Get your stuff together you can go. He said I got to take what I can get, their warm bodies. I can get them to work if I get them here.
Said he’s got eight full-time employees and one part-timer. Said typically they had 25 to 30 people on the payroll.
The dining rooms closed. They have shortened their store hours by 2 hours a day.
Maybe when all this stimulus money starts drying up people will get hungry for a job. Just too easy right now for them to Job hop. Used to be when looking for an employee you looked at his job history. If it had a trend of two or three different jobs in a year you never hired that person for most positions.