Warning: The 'helpful' customer with the garden hose

Had a guy roll into the shop in Billings last summer with a 6.7 Powerstroke that was running rough and smoking white. I popped the hood and was checking the EGR cooler lines when the owner, who had been watching me like a hawk, suddenly says 'Hold on, I got this.' He runs to his truck, pulls out a bright green garden hose, and starts spraying down the entire engine bay. I'm standing there frozen for a second before I yell 'What are you doing?!' He just looks at me, totally serious, and says 'Cleaning it. My lawnmower runs better when it's clean.' I had to spend the next three hours with an air hose and electrical contact cleaner trying to dry out every connector and sensor. Has anyone else had a customer try to 'help' in a way that nearly caused a total meltdown?

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3 Comments

the_sam6mo ago

Oh perfect, the old "clean engine" trick. I guess he figured if it works for his push mower, it must be good for a computer on wheels. At least he didn't follow up with a pressure washer to really get in the connectors. Some people just have way too much confidence and a garden hose.

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the_thomas6mo ago

But seriously, how do you even get to that point without a single warning bell going off in your head? Like, you're holding a hose and looking at a car full of electronics. I just can't imagine the thought process.

7

finley_flores285mo ago

@the_sam is right about the confidence being the real problem here. The guy just assumed his small engine logic would work on a modern truck, which is a scary kind of ignorance. That's how you end up with a very expensive lawn ornament.

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