Today in the workshop .....

[Robotstar5]

I wonder if he was the one that worked on the 3TA electrics? Whoever did it looks like they got their lists mixed up and followed the "what not to do" one.

I think it's more an age thing, we're "of an age" that take pride in our work, I like to do a job that looks "factory finish" when it's done, the wiring on the 3TA stood out as a bodge, particulary round the generator. That job was get it done so it appears to be working, send it out the door and take the money and run. In todays social media driven world I hope the "auto electrician" will get bad reviews which will impact future work.

 

[MattF]

I think it's more an age thing, we're "of an age" that take pride in our work

It's nowt to do with age/generation. It's an individual person thing.

 

[Cato]

It's nowt to do with age/generation. It's an individual person thing.

Agreed, there have always been short cut merchants who'll badge stuff. But I think where age does come in to it is that as we age we calm down a bit. Experience has taught us that there is absolutely no advantage in rushing around like a lunatic trying to get everything out of the door in the shortest time possible.

I also think that the YouTube experts carry a lot of blame with their videos showing how to do the final task of X, Y, or Z. There seems to be little to no mention of the need to develop basic hand skills, how to measure something properly, where/when to use a particular tool/joint type/connection etc.

All that said, long may the bodgery continue as it's good for paying the bills.

 

[Migmac]

People used to take the mickey at my stance on methodical fault finding . I use the sliding down the Christmas tree method . I even checked the timing and points on every vehicle that came in for repair , no matter what the problem was . That t alone bumped up our reliability status no end .

Much to the surprise of many who called themselves mechanics I usually got things running happily that hadn't run properly for years . A hair line crack in a bent copper vacuum brake pipe covered in many layers of green paint from the inlet manifold leading to the servo had left one 1938 Bedford office truck being towed around Germany for over 20 years . I sussed it in 10 min and had it repaired & running using a new bespoke made pipe in a couple of hours .

When I worked for the private forestry sector we had an old mechanic who did this. Very methodical when finding faults, wouldn’t be rushed into making a call on what’s wrong. Great to watch

 

[Cato]

When I worked for the private forestry sector we had an old mechanic who did this. Very methodical when finding faults, wouldn’t be rushed into making a call on what’s wrong. Great to watch

Sometimes it does take longer because your first 'guess' would have been correct. Mostly though it saves going over the same thing several times after thinking it's cured the first time. The worst is 'parts darts' when someone just starts swapping things until the problem goes away.

 

[Cato]

Talking of standards and doing things 'right', you don't always realise who's noticing how you work. As an example, the Snap-On rep asked if I'd fit a tracker to her Dodge Viper. I explained I don't really work on cars and said that surely she went to garages that'd be able to fit one for her. "Not that I'd trust to work on my car!". So I said I'd do it as I will do that sort of work on cars, vans, campers but only for people I know as a one off sort of thing.

Given the area she covers and the number of workshops in it, if that isn't a sad indictment on the standard of work being done in vehicle workshops I don't know what is.

 

[Dapph2]

I think it's more an age thing, we're "of an age" that take pride in our work, I like to do a job that looks "factory finish" when it's done, the wiring on the 3TA stood out as a bodge, particulary round the generator. That job was get it done so it appears to be working, send it out the door and take the money and run. In todays social media driven world I hope the "auto electrician" will get bad reviews which will impact future work.

Not so sure of that .
Aged 15 yrs old , way back in my apprenticeship days in March 1967 I totally stripped and cleaned my brothers 1958 ex butchers delivery van's A35 van engine , ( hired a bore mic set for £ 35 & £20 deposit from Sycamore's BMW garage which was the only place in the city to have one apparently .

Bores worn but not anywhere near rebore limits , fitted Duoflex ( SP ?) oil scrapers , new rings and had a great time proving to my big bro that I was doing well at the Army Apprentice engineering school .

We gave it a gentle 100 mile run in , then he drove it from Peterborough to Colchester & the reverse journey a week later when he came home on leave for a fortnight . He told me that after an hour or so he kept hearing an annoying squeak after driving for 10 min at thirty miles an hour, it disappeared at 25 or 33 MPH .

I racked my brains as to what it might be but it was always there . So I took it to Marshals of Peterborough where they charged us £18 . 7s 6p , saying a day later they had stripped the front end of the engine down but could not find anything wrong .

Step up a pal of my dad's who was a farmer . he picked up a tomato cane put it on the rocker and said, " Did you clean the rocker shaft out using a pull through and then clean the oil holes in the shaft and the rocker arms and wash it out with paraffin .. Sounds like the oil feed to one of the rocker arms towards the rear of the block is running dry every now & then ".

A quick removal of the rocker shaft , a proper clean of everything replacement and tappet adjustment resolved the problem as if by magic . It was then I realised that most so called mechanics are just part fitters.
The white cotton strips used for my pull through's were absolutely filthy , one in particular had a thick blob of sludge on it , No 4 cylinder rocker arms oil holes were some was thick gunge ..from a poorly cleaned oil pump (?) or more likely the MOG .

 

[Cato]

Back on that 3TA wiring today, and I've answered your question @Robotstar5 Under the split conduit was insulation tape, the adhesive on the tape had dissolved in the hot oil (shocker) and under the tape was this glorious example of a soldered connection. There's too much cable in the case, so the loop has caused some chaffing, so overall it's every bit as bad as suspected.

Basically the lot's coming off and we'll start again with some open barrel crimps & adhesive lined heat shrink. "Buy cheap, buy twice."

I do have some sympathy for the customer as he's a nice old bloke, but it's not my doing and I'm not a charity so it's not going to be a cheap fix.

 

[Cato]

It's quite incredible really. Connectors chopped off and soldered back on, crimps done with a hammer and chisel by the look of them.

 

[Robotstar5]

It's good to photo document it as to the customer the bike will look no different to when they dropped it off because all the work has happened behind covers, inside headlamp etc.

 

[MattF]

That's dire.

 

[Cato]

It's good to photo document it as to the customer the bike will look no different to when they dropped it off because all the work has happened behind covers, inside headlamp etc.

Customers always appreciate pics but it's important with jobs like this as you say. Each wire had three joints between the stator and end connector, there should be none. Unless he buys a new stator kit there will still be one but it'll be done properly so it'll be acceptable. I keep pics like the one below to show what's gone in there (kevlar braid, heat shrink etc).

 

[minimutly]

When I worked for the private forestry sector we had an old mechanic who did this. Very methodical when finding faults, wouldn’t be rushed into making a call on what’s wrong. Great to watch

After my MOD apprenticeship I worked in a local dairy, making butter and milk powder. Most of the day to day stuff was finding and fixing faults. Everything from pneumatics to 3 phase machines to PLC controlled sequence machines, to relay logic bagfillers and palletisers. To say it was educational would be an understatement..
Some time right up front thinking about the symptoms, then thinking about how best to diagnose the fault paid dividends, and learning not to guess...
Then learning how to read sequence machine drawings, this stopped some guys in their tracks and they resorted to staring and guessing.