It happens from time to time when you make assumptions... you get your butt handed to you on a very simple diag just to find out it is your own fault for assuming! -Enjoy!
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Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. South Main Auto Repair assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. South Main Auto Repair recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained.
If an SMA Video has helped you out please consider giving using "Patreon" to help support us. The videos take real time to create and pull us away from real work that pays our bills. CLICK HERE: https://www.patreon.com/southmainauto
CHECK OUT OUR "SMA SWAG" STORE! Go on Teespring and get your very own SMA merch!
https://teespring.com/stores/the-sma-store
If you don't like Patreon feel free to use the "PayPal Me" link: https://www.paypal.me/SouthMainAuto
The South Main Auto Amazon Store:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/southmainautorepairavoca
AES Wave Automotive Diagnostic Tools: https://www.aeswave.com/cart.php?m=affiliate_go&affiliateID=2525b91fc8e906e8215984074c9d9e8f&go=https://www.aeswave.com/Miscellaneous-p9347.html
Thank you for all the continuing support!
--Eric & Vanessa O.
Feel like sending some swag to SMA because you love the videos but don't know where to send it?
Just ship it here:
South Main Auto Repair
47 S. Main St
PO Box 471
Avoca, NY 14809
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. South Main Auto Repair assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. South Main Auto Repair recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained.
Eric, you are not alone. About 4 years ago I trusted the diagnosis from a local mechanic that the clutch needed replacing. I deferred someone else's job at very short notice and the owner helped me replace the clutch. It was Christmas time and it cost the person about $700 for the clutch kit – I can't even remember what car it was. We put the car all back together on the hoist. Customer took the car down the road and had the same problem. I did not have the heart to charge the fellow anything – he did not have much money at all. I lost about $800 worth of labour after 1 1/2 days' work. In the end he had a friend (another mechanic) from the other side of Sydney come with a trailer and take car away. In the end it was a replacement engine that fixed the vehicle. If I had driven the car myself, even for 200 metres, I would have correctly assessed that it was not the clutch that was creating the problem. However, I did not learn from that one either. Subsequently I also listened to another mechanic with another vehicle when they "diagnosed" the problem. Wrong again – I know – slow learner. Now I do not accept anyone else's diagnosis. Like Eric I check the basics after testing/driving the vehicle myself. However, I am also aware of the other adage. The only person who does not make a mistake is the person who does nothing. But as a qualified mechanic from Land Down Under, I should know better.
Your videos are just awesome. You restore my faith in mankind. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You seem to be one of the luckiest people, as you have a wonderful supportive spouse, great kids who are learning good values from mr and mrs o, you two are owners of your own successful business, in New York (of all places). From my view you have much to be proud of. Everyone makes mistakes. Your recovery was stellar. I know many who would have been defeated. I spent a career in the auto service biz, working with service managers and technicians and can recall only a handful of people with the talent to effectively diagnose electrical issues. I love watching your videos, as I have always had a passion for fixing things. You are such a talented teacher. This old dog can learn new tricks!
I think it was the sludge.
Eric you did fine! The information you were given was incorrect, Next time Verify first, We all do the same thing &trust The Info given .
I have a Mercedes that has washer fluid pump & leakage issues. My fix leave it along & let it leak……..
The best thing about these is the way you take the viewers through the whole process, red herrings and wrong turns included. Much appreciated man 👍🏻
Well at least it wasn't just that there wasn't any fluid.
By the way, thanks for the entertainment.
Wow! You ate half that humble pie.
Hey Bud , Not an insult its just how i talk . Watched a few of your videos and found them to be fun and frustrating at the same time . Frustrating because i have had some of the same issues with the same problems . I have not worked as a mechanic for over 20 years { retired } and i am nowhere near as good as you are for diagnostics , your technique is great to watch and i find your videos a lot of fun to watch . I just saw your { butt kicked video } Nissan i think and i must agree with you , can't help myself and have to say it that every time i listened to customers '' diagnostics '' ended up wasting my time and giving me a headache for not following my own way of diagnosing the problems . Sorry but i had to vent . Keep up the great work !!
Oh well, you're human. Life is one lesson learned after another. Great video as always.
…WE LIVE AND LEARN-!!!
CHEER UP- YOU KNOW A HECK OF A LOT MORE ABOUT FIXING CAR THAN I DO-!!!
It could had been a 8 minute video
The guy did his best giving you the information he had. I say that was good of him as you say 'if I can do it you can do it'. At least he tried. But he isn't a professional. Like you say possible gunk in the water stopped it and just needed drained. Wonder if he ever came back with same issue? The video isn't a fail as you fixed it. Still a good video Mr O.
That is the epitome of humble that you can admit making mistakes. Been there done that… Have the bruising to prove it…
Make sure you charge him for wasting your time!!! YOU TUBE MECHANICS!!!!!
Have chased the wild goose myself. Thanks for sharing.
I can't believe you didn't hum that old pump across the shop !
Thank you for posting. We often learn significantly more from our mistakes that we do from something that goes perfect from start to finish.
I feel your pain.
Been there more times than I care to admit.
Thank you for your honesty.
I would hire you in a New York minute. LOL
The other part that tells me he is a jerk and no mechanic is the fact when I saw this video first I commented what he did wrong and also called and left a message at his shop saying this and the simple solution. And of course not even a thanks.
This jerk erased my comment. This guy is no mechanic. Did not take the easy first steps to diagnose this problem. He is a joke. WHAT THE PROBLEM IS THIS GENIUS DIDN'T CHECK IS THE T LINE SPLITER FOR THE WASHER LINES UNDER THE HOOD INSULATION COVER. Nissan uses a t spliter that has a mesh filter in it that gets clogged. There is also a high pressure sensor to cut the pump off so it don't burn up.
This is one of the best electrical diagnostic videos I've seen! I was able to learn several things to watch out for from a Pro that was humble enough to share his simple mistakes with us. Thanks for sharing this one Eric!
Every one makes mistakes, Thats the way we learn. (78yr old Shade Tree Mechanic)
Man, I chuckled and chucked through the back half of this one. But hey, I'm laughing WITH ya, not AT ya. If you're not screwing something up once in a while, you're not doing anything.
Looks like you got Jenny's number. Love watching your videos
So my best guess is the fluid chunks caused a failure to deliver fluid forward to the windshield. When the Eric O. Had the small grommet out is when the technician sawr the chunks come out. When he finally pulled out the larger grommet he let it chug twice before putting the pump back in. Way better chunk removing flow on big grommet removal and was cause of failure so should have let run longer for no comeback. But good job Eric O. As it probably was clean.
I think you are a great diagnostician. I heard you use the word assume many times in this video. You know that to assume makes an ass of you and me already. As you said every now and then we all need a little reminder that we are human.
I was just about to book my car in, and drive from Vancouver, I have a rear bulb out.
I think I'll get a shady tree mechanic to replace the whole rear end. 😂😂😂
So let me get this straight : the owner seems to have done his best, tested what he could, changed the pump, and decided to go see a professional since at this point it still didn't work.
Then he carefully wrote all of this down hoping it would help you solve the problem.
So, based on his conclusions, you lost time chasing a ghost.
And in the end it was the pump.
I guess good deeds don't go unpunished.
My guess would be that it was blocked with that gunk that was coming out. My Bmw x3 did the same thing
It’s nice to see someone else that is knowledgeable get their butt kicked from time to time. You are not alone my friend, it happens to all of us. Love what you do and keeping it real. Good job as always. Thank you.
Yup been there many times at the shop…we believe the customer …we look for our broken part… cannot find it…then if we forget what the customer said and look on our own for the broken part…we find it in 2 minutes…all that to say… don't trust the customer… because some time the customer have no idea what is talking about .
Tool 😂 love that video it made me laugh. Good job
Hee hee! I've been an industrial electronics tech for over 30 years and I STILL sometimes go down a rabbit hole because I didn't verify that what the previous tech asserted was actually true. Oh yeah…we've all been there!
I comment all the time on your video"s and ran a shop like yours for 35 years. I am glad you just did not hit the delete button as we have all ran into your exact scenario. The only problem I would have at the end is making up the bill. Spent 2.5 hours, missed making money on other vehicles that my customers would have needed me to spend the time that I chased my tail on this one. So care about money cause I need to pay my overhead and care about my customers that have cars sitting outside that I am responsible for. Bottom line I would likely have screwed myself (kind of) and charged this customer 1.5 hours for diagnostic and R&R washer pump.
Good lesson for us as well. Appreciate you posting it
Dang man! I know how those wild goose chases feel…. SQUIRREL! Haha it happens. At least you caught yourself. Most would have charged the cust. And said bad brain box! Haha
Anyone who hasn’t made a mistake has never been on a journey. Been there and done this.
my simplest fix on my own car(2002 peugeot 206) was recent, i bought it second hand and attached a trailer to the tow bar and i only had one indicator(passenger/left hand side) so i thought the bulb was blown, so i went to our local auto store, picked up a new bulb, inserted it and still nothing! So i plugged the trailer into my girlfriends tow hitch socket and it worked, anyway on the weekend i decided to take a look and what turned out was that the previous owner had used a splitter cable from the rear lights to the tow bar and had plugged the main power connector to the rear lights instead of to the splitter plugged it bak in the right way and lo and behold i had a full set of indicators on the trailer
Sucks to be human. I’ll keep watching them anyway
Trust but verify !
I'm not watching this video because I find it totally ridiculous the way this car is set up that is just unbelievable
Who's the genius that thinks this stuff up
I seen it all now using a scan tool to figure out a windshield washer pump, what's the world coming to
weve all been there, 20 years working on shitboxes and still do it at times
This is the best video! I have done this before. Great reminder to not assume and do the tried and true process of diagnoses and not be distracted by external input. Love it!
We’ve all been there and done it mr o made for a great video though and great to see I’m not the only one that makes mistakes 😂😂😂
love the shared learning experience……thanks..
Well here you have it folks. I know many of you think I don't make mistakes so I feel I need to make some videos to prove you wrong. I make many of them and I am 100% sure as long as I am on this side of the sod I will make many more. In this video and diag my biggest mistake was making assumptions and not gathering the easy low hanging fruit first. I had no reason not to believe the test results the customer had provided with me with but as you seen in the end of this video it bit me. Easy 5 min diag took me the long way around and cost noting more than some extra time. No harm no foul at the end of the day.
Happy Testing,
-Eric O.