> The repair guy came out and charged my wife $2,400.00 for a relay contact and capacitor kit.
And you thought mechanics were bad...ouch! I’d contact the BBB, the AG Consumer Protection Diivsion and write a review online about that one...any competent repair tech should’ve known to check the batteries first...
Well, that would be the ones who don't work off of commission. I have discovered that in the residential home services industry that plumbers and HVAC guys are really bad with this practice. A $26.00 relay and a $60.00 capacitor kit (if at all bad) and a half hour labor turns into a $2,400.00 job. A toilet fill valve is a $15.00 part and these types of plumbers will charge you $265.00. I'm all for making a profit and for their dispatchers and fleet vehicles with parts stocks, but they are just predatory.
Another tip folks.............Ants are the cause of most central air conditioner failures. They seek condensate and they crawl into your outdoor compressor parts. they get into the dc to ac relay contacts and their little ant bodies cause pitting and arcing on the points. Keep the area sprayed with ant spray or granules.