Charleston Jet - $2800 alternator on Cherokee

Henning said:
It's BS, maybe it was supposed to be 1.7hrs and someone missed a decimal place.
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If the mechanic popped the cowl, ID'd the problem component immediately, and the old belt was in excellent condition, that's possible.

But I bet that ain't what happened.
 
kyleb said:
If the mechanic popped the cowl, ID'd the problem component immediately, and the old belt was in excellent condition, that's possible.

But I bet that ain't what happened.
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He said there was no belt change, alternator takes nothing to diagnose and is the starting point of diagnosing the system after the fuse he changed.
 
At your simplistic level that might be true. If the problem is sufficiently difficult that real aircraft mechanics are required to work on it, a number of problems could be present and require extensive testing and troubleshooting. What are the reasons that an otherwise good alternator might start tripping off-line during normal usage?
Henning said:
He said there was no belt change, alternator takes nothing to diagnose and is the starting point of diagnosing the system after the fuse he changed.
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wabower said:
At your simplistic level that might be true. If the problem is sufficiently difficult that real aircraft mechanics are required to work on it, a number of problems could be present and require extensive testing and troubleshooting. What are the reasons that an otherwise good alternator might start tripping off-line during normal usage?
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Typically alternators fail from a blown diode or failed winding Testing an alternator takes 2 minutes. What makes you think the alternator was good? The most common point of failure is going to be the alternator, since it is also one end of the system, that's where you start diagnostics.
 
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wabower said:
At your simplistic level that might be true. If the problem is sufficiently difficult that real aircraft mechanics are required to work on it, a number of problems could be present and require extensive testing and troubleshooting. What are the reasons that an otherwise good alternator might start tripping off-line during normal usage?
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If you ran a maintenance shop and you ran into a complicated problem on a "simple" problem like this, would you not make it 110% clear with the customer that this is the case?
 
I just called them. The first thing she explained to me was that they are located at a different airport! So they made 3 trips total, one hour each way, one trip had 2 techs I guess so they could run up the plane and test the alternator. So I can easily attribute 8 hours to travel time. Why my partner didn't ask around at KLRO for an A&P is beyond me. After she told me this I lost my train of thought and did not even get into the $235 freight, $250 misc, and $170 fuse. The bill was also reduced to $2200.

The lady I talked to on the phone named Katie was very nice. So this being off site, and far away contributed to half of this bill. So it is still kind of high, but what I would expect from an outfit with the word "Jet" in the name working on my little egg beater.
 
When you have more experience with troubleshooting electrical systems and understand the complexities of alternator-related failures, please check back.

Henning said:
Typically alternators fail from a blown diode or failed winding Testing an alternator takes 2 minutes. What makes you think the alternator was good? The most common point of failure is going to be the alternator, since it is also one end of the system, that's where you start diagnostics.
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yachtjim said:
I just called them. The first thing she explained to me was that they are located at a different airport! So they made 3 trips total, one hour each way, one trip had 2 techs I guess so they could run up the plane and test the alternator. So I can easily attribute 8 hours to travel time. Why my partner didn't ask around at KLRO for an A&P is beyond me. After she told me this I lost my train of thought and did not even get into the $235 freight, $250 misc, and $170 fuse. The bill was also reduced to $2200.
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Ouch. Planes do fly without a working charging system, it is 13nm from LRO to CHS.

I would say this bill is on your partner.
 
weilke said:
Ouch. Planes do fly without a working charging system, it is 13nm from LRO to CHS.

I would say this bill is on your partner.
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We flew the Mooney from southern WV to north GA one fine CAVU morning sans alternaor. A bit slow peg leg, but it flew none the same.
 
yachtjim said:
I just called them. The first thing she explained to me was that they are located at a different airport! So they made 3 trips total, one hour each way, one trip had 2 techs I guess so they could run up the plane and test the alternator. So I can easily attribute 8 hours to travel time. Why my partner didn't ask around at KLRO for an A&P is beyond me. After she told me this I lost my train of thought and did not even get into the $235 freight, $250 misc, and $170 fuse. The bill was also reduced to $2200.

The lady I talked to on the phone named Katie was very nice. So this being off site, and far away contributed to half of this bill. So it is still kind of high, but what I would expect from an outfit with the word "Jet" in the name working on my little egg beater.
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Well, this new info kind of seals it. They had to do a road trip which is always higher. I don't know why they sent two people for a alt job, or why the other charges are way out of line, but I'm thinking this one is on your partner. Bad planning, and bad logistics. Sorry, even if you got it to small claims court like this it prolly will not make a difference, based on this new info.
 
yachtjim said:
I just called them. The first thing she explained to me was that they are located at a different airport! So they made 3 trips total, one hour each way, one trip had 2 techs I guess so they could run up the plane and test the alternator. So I can easily attribute 8 hours to travel time. Why my partner didn't ask around at KLRO for an A&P is beyond me. After she told me this I lost my train of thought and did not even get into the $235 freight, $250 misc, and $170 fuse. The bill was also reduced to $2200.

The lady I talked to on the phone named Katie was very nice. So this being off site, and far away contributed to half of this bill. So it is still kind of high, but what I would expect from an outfit with the word "Jet" in the name working on my little egg beater.
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That explains it.
 
wabower said:
As usual.
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It wasn't as presented, that's why I asked what the accounting of time was. The extra time was driving, and sending 2 people where one could have managed which really isn't a terrible waste.
 
Yeah, that explains your answer. *snort*

Henning said:
It wasn't as presented, that's why I asked what the accounting of time was. The extra time was driving, and sending 2 people where one could have managed which really isn't a terrible waste.
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