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Trane Reimbursement for Warranty work?

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Does anyone know if it is possible to get Trane to reimburse me for parts that should be covered under their 5 year warranty?

When my 3-year old furnance died last Thu night (11/2), I called my installing dealer and left a message. When he finally returned my call the next morning, he said he couldn't get to me until the next day. This was unacceptable, as it was already very cold and getting colder, so I called a nearby service company, who came by 2 hours later.

(I had called this guy when my previous furnance broke one cold night, and I would have liked to had him install my new one, but he only installs Goodman. I wanted a Trane, based on their rep, so I had to go elsewhere.)

Anyway, I mentioned to the guy when he came over that it was still under warranty, but he still charged me for the part he replaced. The part was the pressure switch, which was $150, but now it looks like that didn't solve the problem. The control module was flashing 3 times, which the book claimed was the pressure switch, as the inducer and venting seemed fine. So now I'm thinking the control module itself may be bad, and I don't think I should be paying for the part just because I want to use a service guy who actually comes out when needed. Is there a way to submit my invoices to Trane and get reimbursed?

Thanks,
Jim
 
#3 ·
Up to the dealer. We warranty almost all brands just charging labor and part handling. Ignitors excluded. Of course a pressure switch may cost more to handle & return than worth it so in that case we may not bother. Other dealers will only cover what they put in. Just their choice in how they do biz. Personally I think way too many pressure switches get replaced because techs don't know how to troubleshoot. Sounds like you need to go back to this dealer, have him find the REAL problem and take off his pressure switch if it proves to not be the culprit.

Which furnace do you have?
 
#4 ·
Trane

Use a Trane dealer that is actually set up with Trane, & he shoild be able to get all needed parts at no cost, if the parts are indeed in warranty. You would pay the labor unless you have an optional parts & labor warranty from Trane.
 
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#7 ·
RoBoTeq said:
Hmmmm, that Goodman is not looking so bad now, eh :D
Click to expand...
Cept that the Goodman guy seems like he may be a parts changer unable to diagnose the real problem. :p

Maybe there is good reason he could get out so quickly while the other guy was to buisy to get out the same day. ;)
 
#12 ·
I dont warranty any other brands then my installs either. I have no clue what the warranty is and why should I stock my truck with parts for you when you never bought from me and now you want me to do a warranty for you ?????????

Its not going to happen and by the time I do all the paperwork and running around being a lot of those units dont have distributors in town ......... it would cost you more for my running around.

Thats something thats your problem to figure out ........I just fix them and collect my money. As far as if I dont have the part on the truck......... you have to wait till I can get it.

I spent years not having a life to keep customers happy. Now I do the best I can and if that isnt good enough .... get someone else. There are plenty of #'s in the phone book.
 
#13 ·
trane said:
beenthere said:
Why do so many techs replace the pressure switch because its doing it job.
Click to expand...
Because the flashing light says pressure switch problem :)
Click to expand...
Good thing they don't treat their fuel guage in their cars that way. LOL.. :)
 
#14 ·
It is highly likely that you do have a venting problem and the pressure switch and control board are boing their job as intended.

This may not be a warranty problem at all.

 
#15 ·
This is a good example of how technicians get themselves into trouble and resort to parts changing.

The technician should have attached a digital manometer to the pressure switch tube and then cycled the unit on. If the switch operated correctly and shut the system down because the pressure was too low then the switch was not the problem. Instead he should look for the real problem.

So, instead he replaces a perfectly good switch, charges you for it and leaves. The problem still exists.

Then you think the control board must be the problem. I would expect the technician would also replace the control board and the problem will still not be fixed.

Find the cause of the problem instead of treating the symptoms.

This is why there are service schools put on by the equipment manufacturers.

And to think that there are do-it-your selfers out there who think they can repair their own equipment when many technicians have enough trouble themselves.


Norm
 
#16 ·
mark beiser said:
RoBoTeq said:
Hmmmm, that Goodman is not looking so bad now, eh :D
Click to expand...
Cept that the Goodman guy seems like he may be a parts changer unable to diagnose the real problem. :p

Maybe there is good reason he could get out so quickly while the other guy was to buisy to get out the same day. ;)
Click to expand...
So, good service is a bad thing? According to the OP;
The control module was flashing 3 times, which the book claimed was the pressure switch, as the inducer and venting seemed fine.
Click to expand...
This appears to state that the inducer and venting "were" tested. Let me ask you Mark; if the diagnostic light indicates a pressure switch problem and the inducer and venting test out as not having a problem, what do you then do?

Since we all now have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, let me rephrase that; "would you be inclined to suspect the pressure switch at this time?" Have you ever replaced a part that, after testing the basics, turned out to not be the problem?

I find it interesting how many here are ready to condemn the contractor who was not going to make the customer wait for service. Are we suggesting to the consumers that come here for information that they should not hire a contractor that can get to them in a timely manner? Is the new criteria for our trade that the longer a contractor makes the customer wait for service, the better that contractor is?
 
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#17 ·
NormChris said:


This is a good example of how technicians get themselves into trouble and resort to parts changing.

The technician should have attached a digital manometer to the pressure switch tube and then cycled the unit on. If the switch operated correctly and shut the system down because the pressure was too low then the switch was not the problem. Instead he should look for the real problem.

So, instead he replaces a perfectly good switch, charges you for it and leaves. The problem still exists.

Then you think the control board must be the problem. I would expect the technician would also replace the control board and the problem will still not be fixed.

Find the cause of the problem instead of treating the symptoms.

This is why there are service schools put on by the equipment manufacturers.

And to think that there are do-it-your selfers out there who think they can repair their own equipment when many technicians have enough trouble themselves.


Norm
Click to expand...
Again Norm, we do not know that the technician did not test the system. The OP suggests that the technician did test the system;
The control module was flashing 3 times, which the book claimed was the pressure switch, as the inducer and venting seemed fine.
Click to expand...
Again, we are readily condemning this technician with absolutely no reason to do so.
 
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#19 ·
I may be climbing out on a limb a little in questioning the "technicians" competence, but considdering he changed a part that didn't solve the problem, and charged for it, makes this seem to be a rather sturdy limb....

Other than the fact that replacing a part didn't solve the problem, there really isn't enough other information to go off of. "the inducer and venting seemed fine" doesn't indicate much. It could be that he actually used a manometer to check the pressures to verify that there is not an unsafe condition causing the pressure switch to do exactly what it is designed to do.
On the other hand, he could have just seen the motor running and the vent pipe connected and called it good.
We don't know wich one he did.

Not that it isn't possible, virtually anything is possible with electronics, but I don't recall ever finding a failed control board where it was showing a pressure switch fault, unless the board was failing to power up the inducer or send control voltage to the pressure switch.

The bottom line is, the "technician" charged the OP for a part that didn't solve the problem, and left without finding the actual problem. The OP is no better off now than if he had waited until the next day for the installing contractor, but his wallet is $150 lighter.
Of course, there is no guarantee that a tech from the installing contractor would do any better....

Originally posted by RoBoTeq Since we all now have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, let me rephrase that; "would you be inclined to suspect the pressure switch at this time?" Have you ever replaced a part that, after testing the basics, turned out to not be the problem?[/B]
Click to expand...
I may suspect the pressure switch, wich is why I would test it. Thats what manometers and multimeters with min/max continuity testing with response times in milliseconds are for. ;)

I think everyone has replaced a part at one time or another that didn't turn out to be the problem.
In those situations I havn't ever charged the customer for the part, not found the actual problem, and left them with a system that still doesn't work though....

[Edited by mark beiser on 11-11-2006 at 08:45 PM]
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
Thanks for all the responses. Allow me to give you more details, and see if that helps.

Originally, furnace was in a state where it seemed to keep recycling - coming on, but not igniting, then shutting off an repeating. At this point I turn it off and call.

Next morning, when guy comes out, we turn it on. Naturally, it works just fine (just like a car refusing to display a symptom in front of a mechanic). So he does a cursory check (including for loose connections or wires), and notices that the flame sensor needs sanding (which he does). Just as he's about to leave, it dies, with the 3 flashing lights.

The inducer is judged to be fine, as it is spinning freely. He disconnects the vent pipe, checks for blockage, and uses cigarette smoke to test its flow. The non-masonry vent is capped with wire, so he states that there should be nothing blocking it at the exit. This was checked from the ground, but it is above the garage, so fairly close to the ground anyway.

Based on all this, he says that these switches occasionally fail intermittently, and suggests replacing it. He has no such part, so we check with the distributor, which is 20 minutes away in Chantilly VA. No dice, but they have one in New Castle DE and I can have it Monday or Tuesday.

The forecast is for cold weather continuing over the weekend, so he decides to try a similar part from a Goodman furnace as a stop-gap until the part arrives. He drives to the Goodman distributor, and returns with several switches. None match the Trane pressure rating, so trial and error is used to find one that makes it work. Total time from start to finish (including driving) is 5 hours.

I have Fridays off, so I suggest waiting a week to swap the Trane part in after it arrives, assuming the stop-gap holds.

The furnace dies again Sat around noon. But from watching and talking, I had learned that the furnance can get into a lockout mode, and how to clear it. I had noticed that there was a different amount of time after startup when it was really trying to start, meaning that the previous error had been cleared. Using this info, I was able to get it running, simply by turning it off and on enough (and sometimes resorting to using the circuit breaker to attempt to clear the error). It ran for 10 minutes, then died again. I repeated my attempts and was able to get it running again. This time it ran straight through until Wed.

I got it running again Wed evening, which lasted until sometime Thu. At some point I had found that turning it off for 10 or 15 minutes was the most reliable way to get it working again, and I was able to get it working again Thu evening. It was fine when he arrived to replace the part yesterday. (We also replaced the igniter as he claimed a 3 to 5 year lifespan on these. I kept the original, since it still works, just in case.)

It failed again this morning, but with 70+ temps today in DC, it's not currently in use. I have not tried to get it working again, but I feel confident I can do so tomorrow, when the temps fall to the 50s.

About an hour was spent yesterday, but his total labor hours charged for both days total was 2 hours, at 165 per. The per hour seems high (but I have no idea if it is), but the total hours spent was very fair. And the effort to find a workable part was above and beyond in my book.

So, with all this info, any other ideas about the problem? I just can't see how there could be such an intermittent problem with the venting. It worked fine for 4 days straight, just by clearing the error. It does seem to be failing every 24 hours since, with both the Goodman part and the Trane part.

It certainly seems like the switch was not the problem. Could the control board incorrectly sense a problem intermittently like this?

Thanks again,
Jim

 
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