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Customer told me my diagnostic was wrong and then proved it with YouTube

Had a guy come in last Tuesday with a 2014 Ford Focus that was stalling at lights. I ran codes, checked the TCM, and told him it needed a whole new transmission module. He looked at me, pulled out his phone, and showed me a 6 minute video about cleaning the ground strap near the battery tray. I laughed inside but figured whatever, let him try. He came back two days later saying it fixed everything, and my foreman even checked the job and confirmed he was right. Made me feel like a rookie even though I been doing this for 8 years. Anyone else had a customer school you on a fix they found online?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jordan1mo ago

Not really about the online finding part but... those ground straps on the Focus are a known weak spot, been an issue for years. The TCM throws codes for low voltage or communication faults, and a dirty ground strap will do exactly that. Sounds like the first tech that looked at it just went straight to the module without checking the simple stuff first, which happens a lot. Good on the customer for being persistent though, even if the way he did it was a little showy.

emery_taylor1mo ago

Yeah, that's a tough spot to be in for sure... I feel for anyone stuck between a bad diagnosis and a dealer that won't budge. @the_jordan nailed it though, those ground straps are such a simple thing to check it's wild they get skipped so often.