Manager Forum

had a beauty brought into my shop from a couple of towns over. 05 superduty check engine light evap code, pressure sensor or valve. found multiple issues. canister cracked, possibly from debris from chipper allowing water to surround canister and freeze. replaced and code changed to a pressure reading code. we were getting erratic readings when testing individual sensors. voltage or ground raedings were scattering. we found the plugs at the pcm were contaminated with water.(located under the cowel) great move ford. at the pcm connectors we noticed the wires had been pierced with a test light and started to swell. all along we kept the customer notified. we have a great selsetion of leads from winzer and delphi and we rewired the plugs. we went to all the sensors and replaced a few other connectors. even though i stayed in contact with the customer i took digital pictures of the wiring damage. the customer told me just to fix the truck and no need to keep calling him. i told him that communication was one of my requirements and since i never met him i would like to see him personally and go over the truck with him. he bvalked at the idea and i pretty much told him i was done working on it untill we met. he came to the shop and i went over the damage and showed the picture and cracked canister to him. i also pointed out where the dump body has never been greased. he explained that it took a lot for him to bring me the truck because he was friends with the other two shop owners. well back to point. i talked to the customer and got a history of the vehicle. it appears that the check engine light was coming on for years. the shop he uses would clear the light and send him on his way. finally the light wouldn't stay off. i explained that we were facing more than one issue so he would have to be patient and understand that the light comes on for over 50 system failures. we located helast issue in the wiring haness goingt the rear of the truck. someone had pierced the harness under the cab and the wires had rotted. we also found the harnsee had worn through where it touched the inner fender under the master cylinder. we replaced the rear harness and rewired the trailer plug and sander connector. when the customer came to pick up the truck we opened the harness and found more than a few swelled wires where the harness had been pierced. we showed the customer how the connectors we use are weather proof. i explained to the customer that these were future faults. he was visibley upset and wants to leave one of his trucks with us at a time to check the harnesses. he thanked me for my communication skills and my thorough examination of his truck. it cost him over 2k to resolve issues caused by improper diagnostic practices by the other shops. i started this post to give a heads up about the water in the pcm plugs and the harness wearing out at the inner fender. it appears i continued about communication and repairing issues caused by other shops. once you venture into a job like this you own it. be thorough and get paid for your time.

Good post Steve! I agree 100%

another super duty here yesterday with no power and multiple codes. cleared codes and road tested, retested and came up with voltage issues at #'s 2,8,3,and 5 injectors. they were balancing cylinders. we found that the elecrical plug at injector driver (module) located behind on top of left valve cover for that injector cluster was corroded inside the plug. we noticed that the plug looked swollen and saw where some idiot had pulled the grommets on the individual wires down to we supposed back probe and never slid some back into place. again, my hat's off to all those idiots that call themselves tech's. i just love issues that have no diagnostic flow.

steve, ya got alot of nerve calling a tech an idiot! jus kiddin. But laying all jokes aside, there are days when i feel more like an idiot than a tech or shop owner.

Ya gotta love all the job security found in these Ford trucks powered by gas or diesel engines. It sure has helped to put steaks on the grill for us in the recent past. Especially after another shop tech has already been there but the owner fails to tell ya the whole story. Jobs like these separate the men from the boys, and the wannabees from the real.

Thanx for sharing events from yer shop. It almost makes my day at times readin som a yer happenings. My hats off to ya!