Old timer called my diagnosis lazy, then he was right

Two weeks ago I had a 2015 Freightliner come in with a rough idle and a code for the fuel pressure sensor. I was about to swap the sensor, told the customer it was a 45 minute job, and this retired guy who hangs around the shop said I was lazy and hadn't checked the wiring harness where it rubs on the frame. I almost blew him off, but I took a look and sure enough, there was a chafed wire with copper showing, right near the transmission mount. He said 'parts don't fail as often as we think, but friction is patient.' I replaced the wire, fixed it for $30 in materials instead of a $220 sensor. So my question is, how many of you actually trace the harness before throwing parts at a code, and how many times has that old-school gut feeling saved you a callback?

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cameron5382mo ago

Three out of my last five jobs this month had something similar. I had a fridge that kept tripping the breaker, and my first thought was compressor. Turned out the cord was chewed where it ran under the baseboard, wore through to bare copper. It's like the older guys see the world in terms of where stuff moves, rubs, bends, not just what the computer says. That gut feeling is just experience talking, and it saves you from eating the cost of a part that wasn't the problem. I still catch myself skipping the visual walk-around because it feels slow, but it's never the time you save that bites you.

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