Pop goes the fuse

[MarkInMd]

Well, the Pro has come and gone and the heat is back on. It turns out that the problem was simply two wires in the outdoor unit that were chafing and had rubbed through the insulation and shorted. I could have fixed that in 15 minutes and saved $XXX if I had known what to look for. Bummer, but at least I learned a little more about HVAC systems.

[beshvac]

Well, the Pro has come and gone and the heat is back on. It turns out that the problem was simply two wires in the outdoor unit that were chafing and had rubbed through the insulation and shorted. I could have fixed that in 15 minutes and saved $XXX if I had known what to look for. Bummer, but at least I learned a little more about HVAC systems.

After tracing down many LV shorts....hind-sight is 20/20, it might have taken much longer than that, I am glad he found it for you. It could have been in a wall

[garyed]

Well, the Pro has come and gone and the heat is back on. It turns out that the problem was simply two wires in the outdoor unit that were chafing and had rubbed through the insulation and shorted. I could have fixed that in 15 minutes and saved $XXX if I had known what to look for. Bummer, but at least I learned a little more about HVAC systems.

Would you have felt better if it was something more involved & cost ten times as much to fix? Be happy that the tech did a good job at diagnosing & fixing the problem so fast. A different tech may not have found it so easy & that same problem could have cost you a lot more. Instead of thinking what you could have saved you would be better off thinking how much you saved by having a simple problem that got diagnosed correctly.
The glass is half full.

[wahoo]

At least you didn't go back to the auto supply house and get some larger fuses (most folks would have). And oh boy would it have been more expensive then. You did the right thing. Finding a shorted low voltage wire can really be a lot of fun, even for a pro. Good Job.

[Mr Bill]

Well, the Pro has come and gone and the heat is back on. It turns out that the problem was simply two wires in the outdoor unit that were chafing and had rubbed through the insulation and shorted. I could have fixed that in 15 minutes and saved $XXX if I had known what to look for. Bummer, but at least I learned a little more about HVAC systems.

Well the heart surgeon has come and gone, took him 15 minutes to install the stint at $4,500.00, Bummer, if I would have know were it went, I could have done it myself and saved a ton of cash. Well I did learn a little more about heart surgery, that you have to open up the chest area.

[Shophound]

You didn't just pay for the tech to find the problem and repair it. You paid for both his expertise and experience, and you traded additional time you would have spent trying to track it down vs. his time to hone in and nail it.

I'm capable of doing many things, but I've come to ask myself for some of them is my time worth being spent on this project, or is doing something else and paying someone to do the project more cost effective? If my expertise and experience in a certain area is weak, even if I feel confident - given enough time - I could handle it, sometimes it's just better to call in the calvary.

[motoguy128]

Well, the Pro has come and gone and the heat is back on. It turns out that the problem was simply two wires in the outdoor unit that were chafing and had rubbed through the insulation and shorted. I could have fixed that in 15 minutes and saved $XXX if I had known what to look for. Bummer, but at least I learned a little more about HVAC systems.

IF you had tried to troubleshoot it yourself, there's also the possibility it would have taken you a lot longer (you time is worth someting isn't it? I know mine is) and you might have fried a component and the repair would have cost you $XXX + $XXX to install it.

[jpsmith1cm]

mossyoaks,

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