Why you don't use Halfords.

[Scania]

To be fair to Halfrauds (who I wouldn’t use for anything that involves them touching my car!) I had a similar incident with Scania a few years back, woke up to a failed battery, Scania recovery turn up and time served fitter somehow reverse fitted/wired the new batteries, having realised his mistake he fitted them correctly and the only problem was with the tachograph which was completely dead and my driver card that was in it never worked again, the truck and it’s electrical systems was absolutely fine once the batteries were correctly fitted.

 

[D.Roberts]

I am a mechanic and there is no excuse for any thing like this.
Just check every thing...it might be me but I am crazy hot on double checking EVERY THING this might stem from when I used crank grinders and boring machines ETC ETC and if ya took 0.0005" off more than needed it was to much so I check EVERY THING.

Your messing with expensive things why are some people so damn slap happy and have the attitude

"its ok lets slap this together I think this is right not sure but I think it is(if ya not sure stop and check no harm in asking for advice or checking a damn manual get it right first time)"

 

[Concrete]

I am a mechanic and there is no excuse for any thing like this.
Just check every thing...it might be me but I am crazy hot on double checking EVERY THING this might stem from when I used crank grinders and boring machines ETC ETC and if ya took 0.0005" off more than needed it was to much so I check EVERY THING.

Your messing with expensive things why are some people so damn slap happy and have the attitude

"its ok lets slap this together I think this is right not sure but I think it is(if ya not sure stop and check no harm in asking for advice or checking a damn manual get it right first time)"

I`m a fairly experienced “home mechanic” and everything gets checked twice/thrice when it comes to each step including tolerances (and hilariously the viability of each step in a manual) because you learn from painful experience how easily you can wreck expensive parts or undo hours of work with a single mistake but in my main job in software development its so common to encounter people who just dont think or check before commiting hugely damaging actions.

Idiots everywhere.

 

[D.Roberts]

Yep sad realy.
Just check ya work dont get me wrong I have made mistakes we all have...

I was boring out an engine block all was perfect till I accidently kicked the damn hand wheel as I walked past (its low to the floor for some dumb reason it hit me shin) and moved the machine table over about 0.002" and ummm yep had a step in the bore not much as I stopped the machine but still needed to inform customer and explain we need to go to the next cylinder size up DOH (that or re sleeve the cylinder)

EDIT

Actually this reminds me of another time I was walking past a Halfords and the chap was single handed trying to refit some persons bonnet it was a big old car to and he was trying to fit it on his own.
no wing protectors nothing I giggled and thought poor owner he will have a load of damage to his car when he comes to pick that up

He may have managed to do it with out damaging it but thats the problem here

MAY HAVE

dont take risks check ya work and happy days

 

[Concrete]

Actually this reminds me of another time I was walking past a Halfords and the chap was single handed trying to refit some persons bonnet it was a big old car to and he was trying to fit it on his own.
no wing protectors nothing I giggled and thought poor owner he will have a load of damage to his car when he comes to pick that up

He may have managed to do it with out damaging it but thats the problem here

MAY HAVE

dont take risks check ya work and happy days

For me this falls under “the right tool for the job”, or maybe more accurately “an additional tool for the job”.

 

[Concrete]

Update for you all.

The garage has diagnosed the issues, which are a fried fuse board and alternator. Halfords have said they will pay for the work.

I have to say I find it strange what was damaged. I would never have thought the alternator would be taken out, I WOULD say a dying/dead alternator might have been the cause of the original battery failing though...

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

I had an issue with a Halfords garage recently for an MOT, they called me up to tell me my Mk4 Mondeo had failed its MOT due to the side lights not working, they Quoted £45-50 to replace the bulbs and pass the MOT off.

Side lights, on a car with daylight running leds, I contacted head office and got a refund for the MOT, should have reported them for fraud, I wonder how many people fall for that scam.

 

[bainbridge]

No way I'd let Halfords loose on my car, even changing a bulb takes a bit of knowhow:

My old mk1.5 Focus. To get the little door off of the back of the front nearside light cluster the battery tray got in the way. So it was a case of whipping out the battery, removing 2 bolts to remove the battery tray and then you can access the rear of the cluster. It's a 20 minute job if done carefully.

My mk 3.5 mx5. Coolant header tank is in the way of the inside part of the cluster, so to change the sidelight bulb you need to remove the bolts securing the header tank and move it aside to access the bulb. A 10 minute job.

I can imagine some poor Halfords employee tasked with changing a bulb stressing components because he/she doesn't know the correct way to do it, and this is just bulbs, let alone them changing the battery. They aren't mechanics.

 

[jpaul]

I have to say I find it strange what was damaged. I would never have thought the alternator would be taken out, I WOULD say a dying/dead alternator might have been the cause of the original battery failing though...

so you think it's a gift horse ? although it sounds like it would be worth getting an expert from dealer to confirm no long term impact elsewhere

 

[Steeps]

Nearly had this with a local garage but I was doing the fitting and spotted the issue before it was too late. They asked me for the car reg, confirmed the model of car and got the battery off their shelf which was listed as compatible with my car, part number matched up. Got it home and the terminals were the wrong way round on the battery compared to what the car/current OEM battery had. Swapped it out for one that matched OEM. If they blindly went with "computer says" then fitting it instead of checking the terminals I can see how that happened.

 

[tom_e]

I am a mechanic and there is no excuse for any thing like this.
Just check every thing...it might be me but I am crazy hot on double checking EVERY THING this might stem from when I used crank grinders and boring machines ETC ETC and if ya took 0.0005" off more than needed it was to much so I check EVERY THING.

Your messing with expensive things why are some people so damn slap happy and have the attitude

"its ok lets slap this together I think this is right not sure but I think it is(if ya not sure stop and check no harm in asking for advice or checking a damn manual get it right first time)"

The problem is this won't have had a mechanic anywhere near it, it'll have had Dave the shop boy who sat through a training course hungover while texting his mrs many moons ago and then signed the paper so everyone was happy there's a paper trail.

 

[Finglonga]

so you think it's a gift horse ? although it sounds like it would be worth getting an expert from dealer to confirm no long term impact elsewhere

There is a diode pack in the alternator that would protect, sorry should protect the amps from going on to cause more damage hopefullyb , but as you say I would still get is checked over thoroughly.

 

[peige]

Try the same thing with the UK power networks. We had a workshop fault on three phase, they had to disconnect power to the site, replace the fuse board and repower.

Only problem was they connected one of the lives to the Neutral line. No way I can prove it, I heard them in hushed tones disconnect and reconnect again and then they told us it was all done and went. Did 4k's worth of damage to Fanuc power boards

 

[adam cool dude]

How did this happen? Negative and positive are different size to prevent this!

 

[bazzabear]

When I got the C63 I took it to the local Halfords service centre for an aircon re-gas. The job was done fine, but the nice feeling of the guy enthusing about my car when I dropped it off was ruined somewhat by the 2 miles extra on the odometer when I picked it up.

 

[SDK^]

Halfords failed to re-fit the engine undertray on my partners car properly and it flew off on the motorway shattering into several pieces.

 

[Hades]

Stories like this are why I would never use Halfords for such thinks. I once bought a bike from there and even that had loose parts which I had to adjust and tighten myself when I got home.

 

[andy_mk3]

I would never have thought the alternator would be taken out

It's usually the first thing to be taken out, it's got a fat cable direct to the battery, it can take a lot of current. The alternator has diodes and a voltage regulator, these are very easily damaged with reverse current.

 

[jpaul]

but per the earlier comment the diodes should be sacrificial, but maybe you have to get a refurb because they're not user separable.

Even with other garages, who hasn't had damage the garage did, that you only discover later, or they deny.?
... one managed to somehow discolate a window from its track which I found out later after an mot ...guess, was, guy leaning out the window for the rolling road or pollution measurement equipment ????

 

[D.Roberts]

The problem is this won't have had a mechanic anywhere near it, it'll have had Dave the shop boy who sat through a training course hungover while texting his mrs many moons ago and then signed the paper so everyone was happy there's a paper trail.

Thats probably true so in that case why ever take your car to Halfords for any work if there not really trained.

Any way at least OP is getting it sorted and hope no one else here takes there car there fro any thing.