Service managers: are you asking the right questions?

Too many technicians fail to get all the information they really need when a car comes in with a “poor A/C performance” complaint. Okay, not all motorists are observant, but you can at least try. The following are based on standard questions on a GM list, and if you don’t use one of the forms provided for service writers by MACS and many parts distributors, the following should eliminate most false starts:

1.  How long was the motorist driving the car when he first noticed the problem?
2.  Did he notice the airflow itself going from cold to warm (seems obvious, but you’d be surprised).
3.  Did he check the airflow from all or just a specific vent, and did he notice if there was low flow from any one or some of them, or from
4.  Did he feel any moisture in the air com- ing from the vents? This could be a tip-off to plugged evaporator
5.  If the problem has existed for multiple driving events, was the air cold on any one of them, at least for part of the time. This might lead to identifying a sensor
6.  If the problem has existed for multiple driving events, when did it start? The motorist is unlikely to remember the ambient temperature and humidity for all of them, but he might remember a starting date. If the weather has been changing dramatically over the period,the easiest way to check past days’ weather (temperature at least, and with some searching around, humidity too in many areas) is to go to http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate

If you’re a service professional and not a MACS member yet, you should be! Become a member and receive a technical newsletter with information like what you’ve just read in this blog post visit http://bit.ly/10zvMYg for more information.
You can E-mail us at macsworldwide@macsw.org . To locate a Mobile Air Conditioning Society member repair shop in your area. Click here to find out more about your car’s mobile A/C and engine cooling system.
Mobile A/C professionals should plan to attend 35th annual Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) Worldwide Training Conference and Trade Show, Meet me at MACS Make Connections that Matter, February 5-7, 2015 at the Caribe Royale, Orlando, FL.