Who you gonna call? Tech resources still abound By Traci Matt Associate Editor M ost people from the X or Y gen- erations would consider Amos Weaver an anomaly. Weaver, owner of Weaver’s Starter & Alternator in Owen, Wisc., doesn’t have Internet access at the shop or at home—and has no plans to ever get on the Net. “Our church has decided it’s some- thing we don’t need,” he said. ““There’s just a lot of trash out there.” Weaver said he realizes the disadvan- tage he’s at when he encounters a techni- cal question that could be posted on an online rebuilding forum, and was pleased to learn that the Electrical Rebuilder’s Association (ERA) had developed a tech- nical help phone service. “I had joined (ERA) when I first opened four years ago, but other than the newspaper it didn’t really benefit me before because I didn’t have Internet,’ said Weaver, who read about the ERA Technical Help Line in the Exchange last year. He had let his membership lapse but rejoined to take advantage of the new resource. He now uses the service, which is manned by rebuilder Bob Thomas of B&H Electric in Orange Park, Fla., at least a couple times a month. “It’s a little of this and that,’ said Weaver. “Some things like if the unit doesn’t have a part number, but I can see where I think it goes on. One time I got an engine in with no starter. He dug up the information and gave me a whole list of starters and we figured it out. He’s faxed over wiring diagrams. Bob knows a lot of things.” The service, which is free as a part of ERA membership, is intended to fill the technical gap for rebuilders—still a whopping 25 percent of ERA mem- bers—who do not have Internet access at work. “For them, the telephone is their only method of contact in real time,’ said Thomas, who has been taking calls for nine months, averaging 3.5 calls per day. “We have had several rebuilders join specifically to have access to the help line. The calls run the gamut from simple to complex. On occasion I’ve even talked to the rebuilder’s customer to figure out what was going on. It’s a challenge that I enjoy most of the time. “Sometimes I get lucky and know the answer right off the top of my head,” said Thomas. “Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out what’s going on. Sometimes I don’t know enough about that particular unit or application and I have to do research or seek help from the other ERA technical committee members.” Last month, rebuilder Jason Kiser, owner of JK’s Starter & Alternator Service in Palestine, Texas, had a question regard- ing a RV alternator that Thomas couldn’t answer. “This vehicle had a L-N and a DUVAC charging system,” said Kiser. “I had never worked on one of these and was not famil- iar with how it worked.” When Thomas realized he was going to have to call in reinforcements, they got on the phone with ERA President Jim Thomas and had the question answered in a flash. “T got the customer back on the road in just a couple of hours due to the ability to get the correct info. The customer was very impressed that I was able to fix their RV because they had been told by the RV dealer that they had to have a special alter- nator due to the DUVAC system and they were worried they would have to have it towed to a dealer,” said Kiser. Although Kiser is a frequent visitor to the online ERA forums, he said once in a while even a short delay will hurt busi- ness. “The forum does a good job but some- times it takes a few hours or so to get an answer. With the tech line I can get some- one working on it right away,” he said. Industry veteran and ERA Trainer Joe Davis, owner of JDE, has fielded technical questions from rebuilders for years—and most of them still come over the phone. “About three to four (questions come) a week and 90 percent come by phone at my home office,” said Davis. ““When I am on the road I get my messages every evening from my wife and I return the call the next day.” Davis said he’s frequently asked about specifications, how units come apart, and how to test alternators with specific types of regulators. He said it does get frustrating when a question is covered in an article on the ERA Web site or at one of the semi- nars, but the rebuilder refuses to join the association or attend his classes. Another veteran rebuilder who spends time on the phone answering tough ques- tions—ranging from technical, to finan- cial, and even personal—is Glenn Cheaney. Cheaney offers free consulting to share the knowledge he’s gained while working in the industry for more than 50 years. He says recently his tech inquiries mostly relate to antique generators or starters. One of his most entertaining calls came from a rebuilder asking how to get a 590- type drive to retract. Cheaney was sur- prised to get such a question from a shop owner—even someone new to the busi- ness. “T asked him, ‘No slam intended but why don’t you know this?’ Before he could answer it hit me. “You bought this shop because you looked at the people in this trade and sa