My
air conditioner suddenly stopped working. I mentioned this to my new
mechanic whom I liked very much (competent, courteous and
knowledgeable).
I
mentioned to him some components may need resoldering as this was a
common problem according to a forum regarding my make, model and year.
He said he would take a look and let me know.
The
next day he calls and says it will cost $240 to replace two faulty
sensors, parts, labor and freon. I say okay but am suspicious of the
diagnosis. The air has always been great, no leakage of freon or signs
of discharge. Just a sudden stop, no voltage to the compressor.
I
really liked the guy but doubted the diagnosis. I have resoldered
electrical connections on circuit boards in the past so to prove myself
wrong I decided to do this one time “trust but verify” operation.
I
removed the center panel, pulled the thermal control unit, extracted
the circuit board to inspect the components mentioned on the mechanics
forum.
Sure enough
a 5-pin Omron relay had been manually resoldered on the board with flux
dabbed about. All components are factory soldered to the board, all in
the same neat and uniform fashion, so the resolder job stands out
visibly.
Should I confront him?
I think not as he is still a good mechanic, I now know his gig, will be on guard and know what to watch out for.
Saddest
thing is I was looking forward to a friendship as we seemed to have
much in common and had good conversations. What a let down. If he would
have only told the truth. I don't mind paying his prices for competent
work but I dispise being lied to straight faced, totally unnecessary
bull. I'll keep going to him but he's now crap in my book but he'll
never know it.
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