Thought I broke a customers car today.

M

MaThGr82

New member
This morning I detailed two Cars for a repeat customer of mine. The first was a 2002 Mitsubishi Galant that was pretty uneventful. The second was a 1992 Range Rover. His dog was sleeping on the tailgate of the Range Rover while I was doing the Galant and then I moved on to the RR. I did the entire job without moving the car. Right as I was finishing up and packing my stuff, I went to start the car and pull it back into the Garage. He had left for the day and just asked that I lock it up inside his Garage and leave through the side gate. Well I could not get the thing to start. It seemed like it wanted to start but it just wouldn't.



The reason I was freaking out at this point is because I had cleaned the engine. Even though I covered most everything and only misted the egine, here I was thinking that I screwed it up somehow. I didn't think it was the battery because the radio still worked and the car seemed like it was trying to turn over. For some reason though I grabbed my jumper cables and jumped his battery and sure enough, that was it. The tailgate to the SUV being open for most of the morning had almost killed his battery because it had turned on his interior lights.



I ended up calling the customer to let them know I had to jump start his car and that I let it run for about 20 minutes to kind of recharge the battery. He told me that will happen from time to time and he was not surprised.





Wow, what a relief that it wasn't me.
 
I have a client who had a similiar problem with his vehicle.. a lot of interior lights that go on and stay on when the doors are open. I detailed his vehicle and had to jump start it to get it going.... a friend of mine has a battery tester, and he did a check on the battery for me. It had two weak cells, so I advised the client that he should think about getting a new battery.



Fast forward one year.. He calls me to have the vehicle detailed again... same problem! I jump started it and advised the cleint that if his battery was on the way out a year ago, it is probably about to crap out for good.



He just called me to set an an appointment. The first question I asked was "did you get a new battery?"



He had no choice... the car died on him in while he was on vacation ( just a week after I detailed it! ;) )!
 
If a battery goes dead from use it's best to recharge it from a battery charger rather then having it recharge itself from the alternator. Today’s alternators are cheap, light weight, it might burn the alternator out if it’s got to recharge an empty battery. A trusted mechanic told me that
 
Super said:
If a battery goes dead from use it's best to recharge it from a battery charger rather then having it recharge itself from the alternator. Today’s alternators are cheap, light weight, it might burn the alternator out if it’s got to recharge an empty battery. A trusted mechanic told me that
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So if you leave your lights on at the mall, you should call a tow truck even if your car starts, so you don't burn out your alternator? Sounds like an old-wive's-tale to be, to me.
 
Thats one of the many things I learned from working with Jimmy Buffit. That was to have a charger on hand for the times you kill a battery because of a light being on to long. I have needed it more then once since I opened.



James
 
I keep one of those "Booster packs" for that purpose specifically. they are very conveniend and you dont have to worry about long cables draping over your newly detailed car! They just sit right on top of the battery while you hop in to start it. Must of them have a light as well in case you have to do anything at night
 
When I told the customer about it, he told me that he had put on a Trickle charger on it so it would be good to go this morning.
 
Before detailing an engine, it's a good idea to notice if any "engine warning lights" on the dash stay on after starting the car. If no lights, precede to the detail taking the necessary precautions. If there IS a warning light i notify the customer beforehand and procede at HIS risk not mine. But usually I won't do an engine if any warning lights stay on after starting the car. That would make me :nervous2:
 
same thing here on a bmw 525. the interiro light didnt go off and it killed the battery. I felt like a jerk, but he loved the job so it made up for it
 
If just a couple of hours with the interior light on kills the battery it wasn't a very strong battery to start with. A good battery should probably handle 10-12 hours at a slow discharge. If they go dead it should be a *heads up* to the owner that he is living (dying) on the edge.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Don't you think that this varies from car to car? They all seem to have different amounts of lights.
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And some interior lights can be turned off while you work on the interior.
 
I only had that happen one time, on a GMC Typhoon I did early on in my business. What really irritated me is I had done the car at his office (dentist) and they tell me after I finish they will mail me a check-something I don't do with new customers at all. Anyway, his secretary calls me the next morning and says they had to jump start his truck that evening and wanted to know if I had been listening to his stereo (he had several subs in the back) and I said I hadn't, no reason since I had a pretty decent system in my own car. I told her his battery must be getting weak if having the interior lights on for a few hours would run down the battery. She said she would let him know I hadn't listened to his stereo and that he should have his battery checked. She then told me he said to have the check to me reduced by $10 for the inconvenience of having to jump start his truck. :eek:



Needless to say, when his office called a few months later for me to wash/wax his Typhoon, I declined and told them they should find someone else. :angry
 
MaThGr82 said:
...Well I could not get the thing to start. It seemed like it wanted to start but it just wouldn't.... He told me that will happen from time to time and he was not surprised. ..
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Ah, the Prince of Darkness strikes again.



It's British, nuff said. :brit





PC.
 
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