Replyreach in cooler down. found unit unplugged… plugged in all was well
Professional Member*
I worked with a guy that was beyond incompetent and often diagnosed problems and would attempt to hand off the repair to another tech. This little charade was a cover for "I dont know what I'm doing, please bail me out without me having to ask" because every time he did it, he misdiagnosed or didnt fully diagnose.Originally Posted by BobbyBJr
So one day he come into the shop with a blower assembly and sets it on the bench, where I was the middle of a frustrating tube heater burner rebuild, and with out a single hesitation says can you replace this motor and reinstall it, I have other calls to run. So I change the motor without testing it, but I couldn't find anything outwardly wrong with the motor. Not one to open a can of worms, I get it all preped and head to the jobsite and install the blower into a furnace in the garage. I go to fire it up, nothing. So I pull out the meter, no line voltage, check voltage into disconnect, no line voltage, check breaker, no voltage, check main, no voltage. WTH. Knock on garage door and tell customer that there is no power to the house, and she responds, yeah its been off for 3 days because I forgot to pay the bill. Left the house pissed as all get out and went back to the shop to find the windings and bearings in the old motor just fine. We almost fist fought after that one and 2 weeks later he no longer worked for the company.
Thats not the dumbest one I have ever been to but it was close.
The only true knowledge is the pursuit of knowledge
Professional Member
reach in cooler down. found unit unplugged… plugged in all was well
Professional Member*
Was that an on-call emergency from today?
Professional Member
Our company installed a duel fuel system, A year later Lightning struck condenser. I received service call they had no heat. When I arrived found Compressor shorted and wiring cooked. Went inside to put in emergency heat, Furnace locked out checked gas pressure 0 went out to tank it was missing, copper tube sticking in air. Asked home owner what happened to tank. They had sold it since they had Heatpump and everything else was electric. Took them 2 weeks to obtain propane tank.
Professional Member
Went on a call awhile back at a old folks home, Scotsman flaker ice machine not working. I arrive and see machine disassembled down to gear case is showing grease and water. Maintenance man took it apart to find problem. Ice machine needed float probe!
Professional Member
This evening I was sent on a no heat call. The Tenant left for 12 days turn the heat off. The returned after -0 weather inside temp is in the mid 20's. The water pipes are froze and broken. The fancy digital thermostat will not turn the furnaces on when the power is off. They went home to Wyoming. Not like they not seen this type of weather. Upstairs furnace is operating the lower unit is now water logged. The water is off until next week. The board is non- stock at the supply house.
Just think these bright people are officers in the Military.
Mike
Professional Member
No it wasn't an emergency call. it was a couple months ago
Regular Guest
Many years ago, I had a call for a strange burning smell from a new install (electric furnace). I found the families pet hamster had committed suicide by running down inside the duct-work to jump onto the hot electric element. I removed the element and showed the customer the crispy critter to which, with a straight face they asked , "is this covered under warranty"?
Professional Member
Too many to list. It seems I always get the crazies...
1. No cool in the middle of July. Go out and find a nice old couple in a very hot house. Find the disconnect to the brand new carrier package unit off from previous co-workers checkup. Lady looks at me and asks if the kitten she has that craps on the patio has caused it and if they should get rid of it.... Still trying to figure out if she was having a little pre-senility fun with me, or if she was actually that far gone.
2. On a no-cool at midnight, I find that this nice lady has a restriction in the cap tube of her R22 system. Go out to my truck for some nitrogen and torches; Wife calls to check up on me. Lady starts yelling about how I am always on the phone and how she thought we were friends.... I am just going to get my tools and go. This is way too weird and way too late to deal with. As I grab my tool bag, she drops on all fours and grabs my leg. She wont let go and starts telling me to treat her like my wife. I kick free and run to my truck. She is chasing me.... I leave. Call my boss at 1am and tell him the story. He thinks I am joking. I say to him it's 1am on a Friday night while on call. Why would I do that. He proceeds to ask what customer. I tell him and he proceeds to chuckle. He's been there before. I explain to him that there is a reason we have a no-service list. ADD HER!!!
3. Crazy old lady tells her son I had a blond girl distract her while I robbed her house. Boss calls me in office and explains the complaint. My response.. "Dude, I like red heads"
End of conversation.
Professional Member
I used to work for a 55+ complex. Let's just say some people that are living on their own, probably shouldn't. Found a leak in a 410 unit, as I am explaining what happened to her and why it's not cooling, this lady proceeded to pick her nose right in front of me in her nightgown. I'm not talking like a nonchalant scratch, but a full on, knuckle deep, brain tickle and looking at me dead in the eye as she is doing it. I think I mentioned something about a filter drier as I turned away to go laugh in the street.
Professional Member*
Years ago, before credit cards were so popular I had a deal with a finance company. I could provide immediate financing for larger purchases. I got my money from the finance company and the customer paid them back... all I had to do was agree to repo the equipment (with Pay) if the home owner failed to pay... So one day I get a call to repo a condensing unit for failure to pay. The finance company faxed the info and I called the local police to let them know what I was doing and went to work... It was July in Texas... unit was running so I closed the liquid valve at the unit and let it run until it had pumped itself down, pulled the disconnect and disconnected the line set and wiring. Pulled the unit back onto my hand truck... put the light slab on the top of the unit and had it loaded in my service truck in a total of about 6 minutes.... 25 minutes later my phone rings in the shop with the customer complaining of no A/C.... I told him that I already knew what was wrong with his unit.... he said What? I told him it was sitting in the back of my truck and had been repoed.... The phone went silent for a minute while he absorbed the situation. He made a couple of calls and found out his wife wasn't paying all the bills.... So in a bit the finance company called back and I reinstalled the unit later that afternoon... The phone call was priceless...
Professional Member
Programmable T-stat off on hour of day, so it was running "leave and sleep" set points during the day. I came on a no heat call for this today. Service fee and non-technical man power charge.
Professional Member
Genman, who paid to have it reinstalled ?
Professional Member
Got a no heat call a few years back for a furnace. Is call is 45 minutes from anywhere. Customer had just one day prior replaced the air filter. That was easy enough to confirm, as the filter was still in its plastic wrapper. Unit cycling on primary limit, she turns to me and asks if we can not charge her.
It's great to be alive and pumping oxygen!
Regular Guest
I had a call once for no heat, when i got there i asked the home owner where the t-stat was located and what he had it set on, he said he had it on but nothing was working. When i got to t-stat it was in the off position, i turned it on and everything worked properly, i felt bad telling him that he just had the stat in the off position
Professional Member*
I got paid to repo it from the finance company and reinstall by the homeowner...
Professional Member*
Had a no heat call this week that the customer thought he was turning the water off. Actually turned off the gas. Gave me an extra 20 to never speak of it again
New Guest
No cooling call. I check the thermostat wiring and there's no y and g wires connected. I hook up y and g and ask where the outdoor unit is located. She says, I don't know,somewhere out back. I walk around the house and there is no a.c. I go inside and inform the woman that she has no central air but she now can use fan on to circulate her air.
Professional Member*
Go to a no heat call for a unit installed the previous day with the very cold nights we have been having. Have told the installer several times on these new Trane units you have to hook the aux heat from the stat to the white, pink, and brown at the air handler, not just white any more. Of course he had just white to white, took a little while to find the pink (he had it bundled in with the oranges) and the brown was capped off. Then find at the t-stat the W wire in E with no jumper to AUX. Guy has been installing for 20 years. While I am waiting for the unit to restart and make sure everything is working now, the customer is sitting in his bed watching tv, chatting with me the whole time, and he starts scratching his junk. He realizes what he is doing and stops, but a minute later he has his hand down his pants and is really giving it a go. Stat finally called for aux heat, i measured the temp rise and got out.
"If you've eliminated all other possibilities whatever remains must be the truth."
Professional Member*
Last summer, in about June, I go to a call for a customer that we do alot of rentals for. When I arrive at the rental apartment, the renter doesn't answer the door after 3 rings. Since the location was kind far, I hopped on the roof and jumped the system out and put my gauges on. After about 20mins checking the SH/SC amps, voltage, fuses, and airflow, the system is fine. I go back down, knock on the door and the renter finally answers. He lets me in, and I tell him the system is in great working order. I then asked what his original complaint was.............. he tells me the system never reaches the Tstats set point....... 65 degrees. I chuckled in my head, and wanted to tell him how does he expect any AC unit to reach 65 degrees when the outside temp is over 110 degrees. Instead I told him nicely that the load of the apartment is too large, and the system will never reach 65 degrees. I felt bad for charging the trip charge to the rental owner, but oh well.
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