Jim Warman Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 By now I would hope that we all know of the changes that will be happening with hotline access at the beginning of December. I understand that there is a video tutorial on FMCDealer as we;; as a FAQ or similar... I haven't found any help on inFord (our Canadian counterpart) as yet... but I'm still hoping. Apparently, the French (required in Canada) hotline access will be unaffected. All of our guys are one finger, hunt and peck typists... This is NOT going to be easy.... It looks like there is a general trend towards more online "wizards" for diagnosing concerns.... While I find that "directed diagnostics" are helpful, there are too many things overlooked or left outor inappropriate and we are then led down the "garden path" - and we all know that this will have us replace something very expensive, non-returnable and never to be asked for again..... No matter what we may have experienced with the hotline personnel, I think that basic human interaction is a vital component.... When faced with "multiple choice" type responses, I often find that none of the choices apply well to my circumstance. Speaking with an engineer can often stir my thought process.... perhaps in a direction he might not have intended.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Jim I agree with you on the human factor. Because I rarely get to work on anything straight through without interruptions by my techs. I sometimes end up in a loop of frustration because I unknowingly "skipped" something like an important pinpoint test. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif A voice of reason and a reminder of the basics I just completely forgot about is all I need to get it right. Now, it looks like I will only be going to the HotLine when management wants to cover their butt. Who knows, I guess the new procedure deserves a chance I suppose, so I am not going to pick it apart unless it's way out of line! Besides, we haven't used it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 5, 2006 Author Share Posted December 5, 2006 Well, I had the opportunity to give the all new hotline a try, today.... Posted a "simple" request and handed over my cell phone number... a little less than a half hour later, I got a text message advising my that I had a reply. Pretty neat, actually.... Unfortunately, I was looking for a magic bullet for a 06 Expedition that wont charge when it's cold.... Looks like I'm dragging the heat gun out in the morning to warm up my component of choice (this is a PCM controlled alternator). Not as bad as it sounds.... and here comes a bright idea from the old redhead for TOOLS..... <drum roll, please> Dragging out miles and miles of extension cord to plug in the block heater for a reluctant diesel can be daunting... We had a local tin basher (plumbing and heating company) fab a duct to fit our small construction heater.... one that we could slide under the engine. I had my gen-set at work from when we had a float in the Santa Claus parade so I coupled that with the construction heater and put all that on the back of our yard truck (an '86 F350 with an old Holmes cable sling set and a nice push bumper)... Doesn't matter what corner of the back 40 we are in... Fire up the gen-set, plug in the heater as well as the block heater and a half hour later, even the hardest starting truck turns into a pussycat.... And that brings us to another dandy tool.... a piece of square tubing that slips into the hitch receiver.... A large plate welded and re-inforced attached to one end and a pin so that the push bar is about a foot away from the truck being pushed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I tried the Hot Line today too, asked if they REALLY wanted me to tear down a 6.0L that grenaded leaving a hole in the block and the #7 rod cap laying next to the starter.You know what they told me right? You know the drill. Disassemble and provide a description of the failure and a cost cap analysis. Repair if under $9600. But but but the 7 & 8 pistons hit the heads and... and... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaysonfordtech Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Man that 9600 cap is hard to hit. I have tried. That is a ton of parts and the labor doesn't add up to much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordTechCA Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 i had my first expirance with the new hotline procedure. cant say i like it or dont like it yet. took just as long to get a response as it would of waiting on hold and talking to someone yet i dont think they really looked over the report i filed as i got the no matching concerns but feel free to call us if you still need to reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 Mine had a "canned" response feel to it... telling me to check things I had already checked... still, there were references to things I hadn't yet thought of (or would have I thought of them without a "suggestion"?). Even at the best of times, Hotline is more of a "sounding board" than a solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordTechCA Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 i used it again today but used the need to talk to a person option, filled out the online form, submitted it and got an instant contact ID to call. so now it just ads a few extra minutes to doing it the old way. actually i think my call got answered faster then normal today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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