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So you can learn from my dumb mistakes

Sturgill

Active Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Messages
35
Location
Kentucky
Occupation
Owner/operator
I have a D5K, needed a bigger dozer for a job I had. Rented a D6T. (1st time in one). Had trouble starting after using it for 3 days. Turn the key everything lighted up but nothin to the starter. Frustrated, I called CAT and they sent a service guy. Gets in machine and try to start, nothing. Looks a parking brake, engages it and machine starts... Needless to say I felt like an idiot. Oh well, I can laugh about it now.
 

wornout wrench

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
740
Location
canada
Don't feel bad Sturgill.
I spent way too many years as a field mechanic. I lost count of how many times I was sent out to start a piece of equipment and found it to be something as simple as putting it in park, applying brake, turning the isolation switch on.
Definitely not an exclusive club.
 

seville009

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Messages
220
Location
CNY
Used to be the “computer guy” many years ago for a local company with many branches. Learned to ask people that called with problem “is it turned on”, “is it plugged in”.....many times the answer was “no”.
 

kshansen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,129
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Used to be the “computer guy” many years ago for a local company with many branches. Learned to ask people that called with problem “is it turned on”, “is it plugged in”.....many times the answer was “no”.
My first wife spent several years as an AV Tech at a High School near here. This was back in the dark ages when the class rooms still used 16mm film projectors. More times than she could count a teacher would call down to her office complaining about a projector not working so she would always ask if it was plugged in and most of the tiime that was the solution.

Then this one time when she asked that standard question she go a rather indigent reply "YES IT IS! I WANT THIS FIXED RIGHT NOW!!" So Ellen made a beeline for the classroom. She walks in the room and takes a look at the projector on the roll cart. Sure enough the projector was plugged into the power strip on the cart but the cord from the power strip was neatly rolled up on the bottom of the cart! She reached down and grabed the cord and plugged it into the wall socket fliped the switch on projector and turned and started out the room and the students simultaneously gave her a round of applause!
 

Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,228
Location
Australia
E stops have been the cause of some anxious times for me in the past.
Working a newly bought machine, on the lookout for anything abnormal and it suddenly dies, frantically check fuses, circuit breakers, batteries, wondering how much it’s going to cost to get someone out to spend hours diagnosing some obscure electrical fault.
Go for a walk around the machine and discover that a branch has swatted the e stop.:rolleyes:
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,432
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Long time OLD Story, Utility crew working a substation installation job calls dozer quit moving cannot spread rock, need service call. They send ME. Old IH Drott, never seen one this SMALL, get on board, fired right up, feel it drop into range(Powershift), release parking dog on foot brake and off to spreading rock. Foreman comes running out of station shack with operator(lineman) asks what I fixed, stated NADT, explained as I got off and re-engaged foot brake dog, operator looks at me and goes "What's That"? I look machine over all is good, even oil not cooked YET, even has been run with brake partially engaged until got hot enough to bind up, brake wasn't even out of adjust yet.

I go back to shop, boss is furious AT ME, sends another grunt up with 28 gallons of Hystat Oil and does a filter/oil change as was "Burnt", I saw the oil come back, looked better than what was sent up.
 

check

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
800
Location
in the mail
In the age of electronic gadgetry, it seems everything has "special procedures" that must be followed. Often these procedures defy logic. Not knowing them is not indicative of stupidity, but perhaps designing equipment logic that defies logic is pretty stupid, as are all the "international symbols" they force down our throats when plain English would be so much better.
 

DARO

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
178
Location
Duluth MN USA
Occupation
Mechanic
Iv hurt a few feelings with my over the phone no start diagnose check list. Me " is the park brake set" operator " YA" me ok release it and reset it right now while im on the phone................... operator " ahh it just started"
 

kith

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
Messages
96
Location
iowa
When going on service calls for machines that won't start people get ticked when you ask if it has fuel in it, but have seen them out of fuel quite often.
 
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