What the cat drug in.

[7394]

Get money in advance with NO GUARANTEES, or have customer load it back up. Even then I would be telling him at least 1 month out at the earliest, unless he puts big money down. Those are off season projects.

 

[Ron_AU]

Unless you can source a wiring diagram for the electrics and source the missing bits I'd give this one a miss as a hopeless case.

Owner might want to hear why you don't want to tackle it, or if he insists, how much it is going to cost to rewire everything. And fix whatever else you find wrong.

 

[StarTech]

I wouldn't even attempt to repair this without the wiring diagram which means getting a service manual. From what I gather here is the harness has been hacked and probably needs a complete replacement. The owner is probably unwilling the spend the money to repair this unit as it can be costly due to the induced damage.

Currently it is a basket case.

 

[PTmowerMech]

I wouldn't even attempt to repair this without the wiring diagram which means getting a service manual. From what I gather here is the harness has been hacked and probably needs a complete replacement. The owner is probably unwilling the spend the money to repair this unit as it can be costly due to the induced damage.

Currently it is a basket case.

Exactly. And as soon as the customer answers his phone, after like 10 calls so far, I'll find out what he wants to do about this. As neglected as this is, one can bet that there's a lot more neglected as well. Belts, idlers, etc etc

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Roll it outside and leave him a message to come get it. Trust me.

 

[tom3]

Is that my brother-in-law's mower? Looks like some of his repair work. I cut him off years ago, not touching anything of his. I'd suggest the same here.

 

[PTmowerMech]

I'm not touching it until I can get a hold of him. I've been trying since Saturday, and his phone is always off. He's not a poor man (not rich either). I think he's one of those who doesn't turn their phone on, unless he's using it. He's like 65 or 70. Old farmer type guy. A preacher/farmer/local truck driver.
I believe him to be a honest, respectful man.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Be afraid, be very very afraid.
Did he do this mess to the mower?
Did he get it cheap because some bozo did it? Either way will he want to put many hundreds of dollars in it? Probably not. Does he want it fixed right or some redneck hack job? Oh wait, he already has that. Have you priced out just the shroud let alone any other parts.

 

[PTmowerMech]

He finally stopped by, I quoted him $300, and that I needed that upfront. I said it'll may not be 8 hours. But could be more. He about had a heart attack. He said "I just need to find out why it keep blowing coils out. It runs fines when it's got a new coil on it."
Then something about "If I put a lot of money in it and it still blows out the coils, it'll just be wasted money."
I told him that the reason its so much is because it would be fixed right. Probably with a new wiring harness, a blower housing, air filter cover and a real air filter. (He's using an old T shirt wadded up). But when it leaves here, it'll be right."

The $300 at was more than he wanted to put into it. So that was that. He said he'd be back this weekend to pick it up. I sure hated the way things went. He's a good guy. Has lots of trucker friends. Plus he's a preacher in the next town over. I could've gotten a lot of business from him.

 

[Rivets]

You never lose business when you do the right thing. Any GOOD customer will appreciate your honesty.