Worst thing you did or encountered?

Home / the12volt's Install Bay / Miscellaneous - Off Topic / Worst thing you did or encountered? (

Topic Closed)

Welcome Guest :)

Members

Next Page > < Prev Topic Next Topic >

dwbarger

Member - Posts: 30

Joined: March 26, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: January 06, 2007 at 7:16 PM / IP Logged

I am curious to see what kind of nightmares everyone have encountered or created while installing a r/s or alarm system. Also what did it cost you to fix

I will start off by saying I burnt out a 2000 Explore pats module!!! Can't prove it was anything I did or caused, after the module was replaced I reinstalled everything as was before and it worked great. This was the first and only major thing I have had happen in over 6 years of installing. Cost me $450.00 and a lot of shame eplaining to the customer what happened also a lot of headaches getting the vehicle to the garage.

silverado42000

Copper - Posts: 65

Joined: September 25, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: January 06, 2007 at 9:12 PM / IP Logged

well once i was installing an alarm system on a 07 volvo semi truck, cant remember exact model, well after installing it the computer threw up fault codes for engine, trans, brakes,gauges,LCM,and airbags then it shut off, well i freaked out because this truck cost around $160,000, well i went at it looking and looking couldnt figure it out, then right before the customer was due to come pick it up i figured out that the main computer had fried, i thought i was a dead man, but after talking with my boss he told me that the model truck i was working with already had a service request out for the replacment of the main computers because of this, so after he check everything it came out that i was ok, my install was perfect and the computer just had died, so well spent the next 5 min replacing it as i already had the dash out and all, put the new one it and it worked, now dont ask me why this person wanted an alarm system on such a big truck that he will probably spend most of his time in but he did, and it works great, especally since the alarm used the trucks horns, nice and loud lol, oh and only thing that had to be paid for was about 9 hours of my time, which was paid to me Worst thing you did or encountered? -- posted image.

Worst thing you did or encountered? -- posted image.

Search for other posts by silverado42000

Velocity Motors

Moderator - Posts: 12,488

This member has made a donation to the12volt.com. Click here for more info.

This member has been recognized as an authority in Electrical Theory. Click here for more info.

This member has been recognized as an authority in Fabrication. Click here for more info.

This member has been recognized as an authority in Mobile Audio and Video. Click here for more info.

This member has been recognized as an authority in Mobile Security and Convenience. Click here for more info.

Joined: March 08, 2002

Location: Manitoba, Canada

Posted: January 07, 2007 at 2:12 PM / IP Logged

The only thing that I've ever damaged was a BCM on a 1999 Dodge Stratus that cost me $ 700 Cdn. THe only thing that was damaged on there was the HVAC controls did not work while in the 2,3 or 4 positions but did work in the 1 and HIGH positions. Dodge mechanics got a hold of this and told the customer that it needed a new BCM, I called BS on this but the customer wanted this fixed. You learn from experience and have never done this again.... I accidentally touched a wire that I was stripping to ground and this caused the problem.

Jeff

Velocity Custom Home Theater

Mobile Audio/Video Specialist

Morden, Manitoba CANADA

Search for other posts by Velocity Motors

Hymer

Silver - Posts: 695

Joined: November 20, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: January 09, 2007 at 9:53 AM / IP Logged

I installed a UHF 2way in a new county plow truck. The driver took the truck and 10 min down the road the tranny dumped on it. They towed it to the dealer, and repaced the tranny ??? why I dont know. on the way from the dealer the guy keyed up the radio and the tranny dumped again! The dealership got the truck back and tried to blame us for hooking the 2way up to the wrong ckt. [imposible direct to a battery lug with a relay sending a signal off the accy ckt.] They put another trany and computer in it. I got the truck back and started doing some rf troubleshooting. I found the radio had zero sheilding letting the RF bleed out through the radio rather than the antenna. The truck had a RF operated shifter in it when the radio keyed, it would send the shifter frequency out of whack. I disconnected the battery for a bit and the truck went back to normal shifting. The solution is quite stupid. The county was to cheap to buy another radio so I encased it in aluminum foil - problem solved. Moral of the story, dealerships dont know squat when it comes to anything that is NOT an OEM peice, and they will not investigate into anything. This cost me nothing but time and headaches, but the dealership did 2 trannys and a computer.. wonder what that cost?

Tire Proz Stillwater Mn

High End Restyling and Comlete Repair

haemphyst

Platinum - Posts: 5,054

Joined: January 19, 2003

Location: Michigan, Bouvet Island

Posted: January 09, 2007 at 10:44 AM / IP Logged

I punched a hole in the back-side of a vaccuum brake booster. I know it happened INSTANTLY. I was drilling through the firewall, and the drill punched through, then stopped, very abruptly, within about an inch of punching through. Then I heard it... SSSSSSSSSSSSSS I knew right away what I'd done.

All I could say was "doodie." (:::EDIT::: Only I didn't say "doodie"; but the12volt servers decided to clean up my act for me... (someone needs to, I guess) My real expletive is MUCH funnier -haemphyst) It was not a terribly expensive fix, the truck WAS a 1979 POS, I think it cost me $50 (I was getting paid $47.50 for the job, so I installed the alarm for free, and paid the guy $2.50...)for the booster, and I installed it myself, right there in the bay. I laugh about it today.

It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

DeathsJester12V

Silver - Posts: 352

Joined: July 22, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: January 11, 2007 at 4:34 PM / IP Logged

Hmmm...Well let's see, in a hurry installing an MDT (mobile data terminal), we were a little behind schedule, I never checked where I was drilling and went through the fuel line while I was drilling for the floor mount...yeah, SBC was not happy. Learned a valuable lesson..always triple and quadruple check, and don't rush. Seen a guy, almost deploy an airbag..seems he didn't realize that there is a reason why chevy puts those little wires in that yellow harness. his excuse, but the wires matched up to the wiring codes I got on Wire Magic. *shakes head* I replied "yeah and some TS's look like real women but aren't. Lesson, don't let newbies, who are way too c**ky for their own good, alone in the shop. Thankfully, our policy was simple, unhook the battery before doing anyhting! only god knows what would have happened.

Oh, and I locked keys in a car..it was for a dealership to, yeah that was $60 outta my pocket to get a duplicate from the dealer.

Than there's that BCM I fried in my car...Don't Drink and Install!!

Not bad for installing on and off for 12 years. and those all happened within the first two years, see I learned....

I can be taught..WOOHOO!!

Đễẳ†ђş 12\/ Ĵęśŧē®™

Search for other posts by DeathsJester12V

xtremej

Gold - Posts: 1,440

Joined: February 24, 2006

Location: United States

Posted: January 12, 2007 at 4:06 PM / IP Logged

Well I haven't caused any damage it may happen someday. I do have a installer helping during the busy season. We are installing compustar pro remote starts. He was installing on a pontiac vibe and hooked up the large gauge (12v output) wire to the negative trigger lights, well as soon as the autolights tried to turn on it fried the drl module. The stealership has managed to put it to me at $80 an hour labor my total bill for his error is a little shy of $300.

I almost forgot about 6 years ago I was installing an amp is a pos s-10 blazer, while putting the sill trim back on I nipped the power wire. it didn't pop the fuse right away but after a day or so it did. The customer claimed it caused a vehicle fire, funny when I installed it I put a 15 amp fuse in the holder, when it came in so we could see the burnt carpet and trim piece it had a 50a fuse??? We gave hime his money back ran new powercable and bought a new trim piece inwhich easily covered the small singe mark on the carpet. Well about 2 weeks later we got served that we were being sued for over $13,000 dollars. Holy crap batman what the he11. Kind of lucky we took a ton of pics of the small singe mark because it mysterously grew into a full fire and wiped out the carpet and part of the seat, the jackass had taken a torch and burned his junky ass car trying to get rich quick. The judge was hilariuos when he through the case out......

Hymer

Silver - Posts: 695

Joined: November 20, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: January 12, 2007 at 4:25 PM / IP Logged

We had a guy pull the same thing at the last place I worked at, tried doing an insurance scam.. He broke his own window , cut his seats and ripped the dash up bad. The idiot salesman [his buddy] had written up recipts from the shopfor products that he never purchased and we didn't even sell.. To make a long story shortall the "new stuff had been installed [leather seats a/v stuff plus some] and when It came time to pay up, he thought the salesman would deal it through the insurance directly [why I don't know] well the sales guy didn't and then the production manager got wind as of what was going down, He made the guy call his insurance agent and had him come out to the shop.. BUSTED... the insurance guy found several flaws in the story and wouldn't give the guy a dime.. I pulled everything out and sent the idiot on his way with no seat covers, a hole in his headliner, no headrests, no deck and missing tones of trim peices that had been dipped in green snakeskin.. Ha the guy was as mad as I had ever seen anyone in my life.. oh yeah, the sales guy, got fired and charged by the cops for aiding insurance fraud... another person from the shallow end of the gene pool...

Tire Proz Stillwater Mn

High End Restyling and Comlete Repair

rboutin2

Copper - Posts: 90

Joined: September 18, 2003

Location: Nebraska, United States

Posted: February 04, 2007 at 7:39 PM / IP Logged

While installing the cd player and amplifier wires in my 1986 buick century, I was drilling through the firewall and accidently hit my steel fuel line with the drill bit, tearing it open. luckily for em it was the return line so it didn't siphon the gas out of the tank. Got a splice kit for it and fixed it.

Disturbin' Tha Peace

firelizard

Copper - Posts: 54

Joined: January 02, 2006

Location: Canada

Posted: February 09, 2007 at 2:44 AM / IP Logged

Used paperclips as connectors.

Glad I grew out of that!

Next Page >

Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Search the12volt.com

Follow the12volt.com

Disclaimer: *All information on this site ( the12volt.com ) is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular use. Any user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and use of this information. Please verify all wire colors and diagrams before applying any information.