Fighting Electrical Returns By Larry Carley The Hazards Of Selling Starting, Charging and Ignition Parts One thing all electrical parts have in common is a higher warranty return rate compared to mechanical parts. The rea- son for this is two-fold: electrical parts are more complex, so there’s a greater chance the part may not work correctly when installed. But more often than not, the main reason why a brand new or remanufactured starter, alternator or ignition coil may be defective is due to misdiagnosis or mis-installation. A high percentage of electrical parts that are returned by installers because they were thought to be defective turn out to have nothing wrong with them. The reason the parts didn’t work right or solve the customer’s problem is because the vehicle was improperly diagnosed. Troubleshooting starting, charging and ignition problems isn’t easy and often requires a number of tests to isolate the fault. Sometimes hurried technicians don’t want to take the time to do all of these tests (or they don’t know how!), so they jump to conclusions and replace the part that seems most likely responsible for the problem. Sometimes the techni- cian is right, and sometimes he’s not. Problem One. The engine won’t crank when the driver attempts to start the car. The technician tries jumping the battery, but the engine still won’t crank. He concludes that the starter is bad and replaces it with a new one. However, the engine still won’t crank. Obviously, it’s not the starter. With further diagnosis, the real problem may turn out to be a bad battery cable, starter solenoid, ignition switch, a damaged flywheel or even a seized engine. Problem Two. The battery keeps run- ning down and the charging warning light comes on. The technician assumes that the alternator has failed and replaces it with a remanufactured unit. But the same problem still exists. He returns the reman alternator and demands a free replacement. He installs that unit, and it also fails to work. Now he’s really upset with what he perceives to be cheap reman alternators that he’s been sold. By the time he replaces the alternator for the third time, he may realize he’s misdiag- nosed the problem. In cases like this, the charging problem may be due to a faulty external voltage regulator, a wiring fault, a missing or broken ground strap, bad battery connections or even a faulty PCM (as the PCM regulates voltage). It’s no different with ignition coils. An engine won’t start because it doesn’t have a spark. The technician quickly con- cludes the ignition coil must not be any good. He doesn’t take the time to meas- ure primary or secondary resistance. He doesn’t check to see if voltage is reaching the coil and is switching on and off. He just assumes that because there is no spark, the coil must not be working. He installs a new coil, and guess what? The engine still has no spark. The underlying cause may be anything from a bad igni- tion module or crankshaft position sensor to a faulty ignition circuit. The point here is that no parts should be replaced until the technician has done his diagnostic homework and identified the fault with a reasonable degree of cer- tainty. But that’s not a real world scenario. Technicians are busy people, and they often make assumptions in order to save time. There are also a certain percentage of low-skilled technicians who may be good parts changers but they aren’t very good diagnosticians. These are the guys you have to be especially careful of when selling electrical parts and exchanging defective merchandise. The Problem Customer If you have a customer who is making a lot of electrical returns, it’s probably a red flag that this technician needs help. Maybe he needs to attend a good electrical clinic to upgrade his diagnostic skills. You don’t want to insult the guy by telling him he doesn’t know what he’s doing. The tactful approach might be to tell him about an electrical clinic your store is sponsoring or a course that’s being offered at the local community college. The guy who’s making a lot of returns may also need some better diagnostic tools that would improve his odds of successfully diagnosing — electrical faults. A digital volt-ohm meter is an absolute must for troubleshooting elec- trical problems. A device called a logic probe or noid light is also a useful tool for detecting signals in electronic circuits. There are also some really great handheld battery/charging system testers available today that can quickly and easily identify bad components that need to be replaced. It Begins with the Battery Many so-called electrical problems can often be traced back to the battery. The battery provides current to crank the engine and to supplement the charging system’s output. Low battery voltage can cause hard starting, no starting and all kinds of weird electrical problems that may affect engine performance and vehi- cle operation. Computers, relays, ignition coils, fuel injectors and fuel pumps all requir