Crazy things shop owners say, tech's topic.

[maxrox]

Ok, I tried this in Open Discussion but they wanted to talk about Pep Boys instead.
Please, I need ONLY Mercedes Tech's who make their living or have made their living turning wrenches.( MB Doc please chime in).
Please give you opinion on each item.

1. Bad guide rod bushings warp rotors.
2. a rear dome lamp without a bulb, if turned on will run the battery down.
3. On a car with a/c, if the a/c does not work the car will run hot because the aux fan will not run.
4.A/c system is weak, maybe the expansion valve is "flooding".
And 5. Customer service is a mentality that people buy into.

As a Mercedes Master in the industry for 30+ years I have heard a lot of crazy things, but when you hear it from shop owners......jeeeeeezzzzz

[duxthe1]

Number 3 is true when the a/c is low on refrigerant. If the compressor runs but doesn't make enough pressure to turn the aux fan on, it will run hot / overheat. The rest sound like B/S to me.

[97 SL320]

Originally Posted by maxrox

Ok, I tried this in Open Discussion but they wanted to talk about Pep Boys instead.
Please, I need ONLY Mercedes Tech's who make their living or have made their living turning wrenches.( MB Doc please chime in).
Please give you opinion on each item.

Sorry, non MB specific experience here. ( I've got 35 years in and around the auto repair industry.)

Do any of these have a specific car in mind?

Originally Posted by maxrox

1. Bad guide rod bushings warp rotors.

Suspension guide rods? Worn suspension / steering can make slightly warped rotors feel worse than they would with tight parts.

Originally Posted by maxrox

2. a rear dome lamp without a bulb, if turned on will run the battery down.

Depends on the car, one with a simple switch and only one bulb in the circuit won't drain a battery. However, if the rear dome is triggered through a relay ( or CAN module without a auto off program ) or the trunk light / curb lights in the doors also come on the battery can run down.

To extend this, if all parking light and instrument cluster / dash type bulbs are removed then light switch moved to parking lights on, will the battery be drained? I have a very specific car in mind where this will happen.

Originally Posted by maxrox

3. On a car with a/c, if the a/c does not work the car will run hot because the aux fan will not run.

Depends on why the AC isn't working. If the AC isn't working due to an electrical issue it may affect the aux fan keeping the fan from running at high coolant temps.

Originally Posted by maxrox

4.A/c system is weak, maybe the expansion valve is "flooding".

It could an generic reply to a TXV that is stuck open.

Flooding is addressed here.
www.imcool.com/articles/aircondition/VOV3.htm

" The advantage of “flooding” an evaporator coil is increased capacity because “hot spots” (areas of reduced heat transfer) are reduced. Hot spots are caused by poor refrigerant distribution in the coil and/or superheated gases. Note however, that too much floodback can reduce system performance as it reduces compressor pumping capacity. "

Originally Posted by maxrox

And 5. Customer service is a mentality that people buy into.

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make but, customer service is often a loosing situation as one never knows what the customer wants. In an automotive environment customers are usually unhappy that they have to spend money on their car and are primed to take it out on the AAA dispatcher / tow truck driver / shop.

There was a post on this site where the customer made a vigorously complaint that a shop explained what was going on in too simple of terms. However, there are customers that would want this type of explanation and would complain if the explanation was more technical.

Another example is a customer in a retail store that wants a sales person to ask them if they need help and becomes irate when someone isn't on the spot. This customer is followed by one that gets miffed when a sales person asks if they need help preferring to find things themselves, it's a loose loose situation.

Originally Posted by maxrox

As a Mercedes Master in the industry for 30+ years I have heard a lot of crazy things, but when you hear it from shop owners......jeeeeeezzzzz