Request for info

[Lxnxjxhx]

When you encountered some electrical problem that "couldn't possibly be happening", something that defied all logic and yet it really was happening,
after it was solved what did it eventually turn out to be?

For me the cause of these situations was my assuming something that wasn't true, and it turns out to be very difficult to get at all the assumptions we make in everyday life.
E.g., a bad solder joint that gave different voltage readings depending on how much pressure you put on the test probe.

 

[mdshunk]

When things don't add up, it's normally because I believed that what the customer reported was true. I have learned to start every service call with the assumption that every customer is stupid or a liar.

 

[brian john]

I try to find out what is actually happening. I listen to everyone and believe no one. I do not rely on others to tell me what they think the issue is (or how they would solve it), I always do what I do whether or not others tried that.

Many times customers tell me "the last guy tried that", I still look into it.

To my knowledge I have never not resolved an issue*, now that does not mean by myself, I have associates that I have hired from time to time to assist. By assisit I mean solve.


* and if there is an unresolved issue out there I'd claim I had nothing to do with it to keep my perfect record alive in my mind

 

[quogueelectric]

Poor assumptions are usually a good one. One time the bosses pet got called on a call to the bosses house. The pool pump didnt work. He tested for voltage at the pump then tested for continuity neutral to ground it read open circuit. Know I know a few wheels are turning out there. Because he didnt read N-ground he assumed the wire was broken in the pipe under the patio. He spent all day saturday with 2 apprentices chopping the patio up to the house and digging the pipe up. When one of the apprentices looked at the panel in the basement he yelled up it looks like a gfi breaker tripped he pushed the reset and everyone heard the pump come on and start gurgling away. He never lived that one down.

 

[mivey]

When things don't add up, it's normally because I believed that what the customer reported was true. I have learned to start every service call with the assumption that every customer is stupid or a liar.

This is my #1 vote. Never, ever, ever, never, believe the story. Always verify what you have been told or be prepared to waste a good portion of your life chasing ghosts.

 

[Lxnxjxhx]

customers

customers

Yes, people are very good at observing symptoms; drawing correct conclusions from those observations is much more difficult.

By retracing the steps of the people who came before you, I think you are doublechecking whatever assumptions they were making and whatever test equipment and procedures they were using, and that can't be bad.

Maybe the best outcome is when you can solve the problem and account for what everyone, or almost everyone, saw. That way they all save face and you are a hero (but then they tell the neighbors that you could not have solved the problem without their help).

Back when there were carburetors, this lady I knew had carburetor problems and she'd heard that there is such a thing as a "float" so she told me that she is convinced that the float is the problem while at the same time admitting that she doesn't know anything about carburetors.
This disconnect didn't seem to trouble her, either.
I said, "Let's wait and see."

I guess if anyone is entitled to anything, it is their opinion.

 

[kspifldorf]

Troubleshooting is an art. For one thing, an operator can be your best tool. A good one can lead you right to the problem, a bad one will too, if you already know he's an idiot. As for residential, you really have to start from scratch. I'm thinking about starting a private investigation firm. Hehehe.