Heh, did you read my post? I never said changing the lightbulb itself was any trouble, I said it had taken seconds and it usually does, it was the procedure I had to go through to change it, remove the battery... and it was a fairly old car and the screw on the poles were stuck (and covered in acid residue) and then I lost one of them, that is why it took so long... plus I'm not a mechanic, even though I work there, before I got the job I knew next to nothing about cars... [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color="cyan">I did read your post, but I meant even on the trickiest of cars, removing things to get to the headlight is very short etc.

And I disagree to a point about HAVING to take your car in, but I suppose thats because I know what I'm doing. With a decent set of tools, everything can be done.

I very rarely take my car in, and when I do, its because I don't have time to do it. Not because I cant.

The only things I don't do, is internal machining and respraying. Just because I don't have the equipment!

However, there are a few cars out there, that are tricky to do certain bits on.</font>

Not correct, some vehicles are right proper bastards. Some vehicles, particularly high performance Japanese cars leave so little cabling that simply unbolting the battery clamp and moving said battery a few inches is practically impossible. Yes, I work on high performance Japanese cars, Evolutions, FTO's, GTO's, Imprezas and Skylines, the kind of stuff you'll see in Gran Turismo.

Moving the battery a few inches without disconnection, as Lav' says, is always the best policy but often not possible.

In your position Jorath, you have a couple of options.

Firstly...In your current employment you shouldn't remove stuff like batteries or body trims (ie grilles) to change bulbs. If the shit hits the fan, you'll be the bloke the punter is screaming at, after he's stopped it'll be your boss screaming at you, all because you showed initiative and tried to help. Often radio codes will be lost and subsequently the customer will not know the code to re-program it, it's then down to the customer or you to get in touch with the dealer/manafacturer (at a cost) to retrieve the code. It can be complicated and incredibly irritating for all concerned, it will often not be accomplished in the same day. In extreme cases, suspension, seating, SRS and alarm systems can be compromised....then this bulb has cost you a fortune.

Secondly...If the jobs is not immediately obvious (ie changing a bulb without removing the battery or other bodywork) then ask the customer for the handbook. You'll be amazed how often the handbook will come up trumps for things like changing bulbs. Often there will be a screw or a clip or even a method of removal that isn't immediately obvious. There's no shame in asking for the handbook, I promise you, mechanics worldwide have consulted them.

Thirdly...Tell the boss. This isn't the thirty second job you thought it was going to be. Tell him you may have to remove this or that, show him exactly what you mean to do if you have to. Ask him if he wants you to go ahead and that you can take no responsibility if it all goes tits up. There's nothing worse than having a courtesy job (love job) going belly up and costing the company money...you'll be the bloke in the firing line when it does.

Lastly...Tell the customer the same as the above. You're very willing and happy to help...but..."You have a very beautiful and complicated car, these little jobs are not as simple as they may seem". Of course, with the customers consent you can then proceed at his/her liability...after they have witnessed your honesty and aptitude for overcoming the particular problem, a tip may be forthcoming.

Charlie's post is VERY good advice from someone who knows cars, Jorath! I think it's a very good idea to make sure the boss and the customer know what type of 'simple' thing they've asked you to do and how 'unsimple' it may really be!

Remember: "if it has tits or wheels, it's going to give you trouble!"

You had a car/truck carrying 6 X 4 volt industrial batteries? Well I've never ever come across that before in 26 years. I am factory trained and fully qualified in both light vehicle and heavy commercial vehicles, this is a first for me. (It may obviously be a USA thing). Surely 2 X 12 volt batteries connected in series was the original configuration. What vehicle was it? I'm amazed and don't see the sense in it.... sounds bloody messy. Must be difficult finding a 4V battery for it too surely?

Hey, not saying I disbelieve you....just trying to get my head around the pro's and con's of it....I mean why?

Felix's last vehicle was probably military issue... [img]smile.gif[/img]

OK, so military. But why use an obscure battery size? 12V is the standard worldwide pretty much, including the heaviest of vehicles.

So we're in town and a battery goes down....we now have to dump the dead battery and two more good (2 X 4Volt) batteries and wire and secure a single (highly available) 12V battery in the place of the duff battery and the other two we've had to remove....just don't make sense, military or otherwise.

Only Felix can answer that... but how long have 12V batteries been the standard?

Sometimes I love being obfuscatory... and other times, I just like to muddy the waters [img]smile.gif[/img]

No clue... I have however worked on and restored vehicles that pre date the war, peculiarly with 12V batteries, or in the case of some beetles 6V batteries.

So what the ■■■■ are you actually saying?