Kx155 Repair

fsuseminole

fsuseminole

Filing Flight Plan
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Glenville, NC
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Fsuseminole
My Comm/nav 2 radio died a few weeks back(Kx155) and I brought it to avionics repair shop at my local airport. They told me that they would bench test it and they thought it might just be the display. Well got the test results back and they said that the power supply failed and took some stuff out with it. They told me it would be $1,250 to repair it plus $150 in labor to put it back in the airplane. If I did not want to proceed then it would cost me $300 for the evaluation. I decided to go ahead and fix it and they gave me a time frame of about 10 days to fix it. Well ten days came and I did not hear from the shop. So I contacted them and get an e-mail back saying that they found some more stuff that needs repair and it would cost $700 more. Before proceeding I asked for list of repairs and parts that need to be replaced and estimated cost and labor for each part before I proceeded. They send an email back saying they do not do that breakdown of the cost in that much detail and that they can only say it is around $1100 in parts and $800 in labor and will take another week or more. I starting to think it would have been more cost effective to just have found a replacement.

All I want to know is exactly what I am paying for and if my best interest is in mind or are they trying to scam more money out of me.

Can I get some help on what I should do next?
Also, is not giving a detailed breakdown of repairs a common practice? (First time experience with an avionics shop)
 
I believe the legal position in which you find yourself is hosee. If they can't tell you what is broken, how do they know how the cost to replace or repair?

Given their attitude, I'd tell them to keep the damn thing and find something better.
 
Good KX155 can be had for the price of the origional quote, and about 5 min. or less to install.
I would think that a reputable shop, would inform you of all the alternatives.

$150 to slide it back in the tray, and snug up the single retaining screw, seems a tad expensive.

I agree with Wayne, yer gettin' hosed.
 
For that kind of money you can buy two used serviceable units.

th
 
It sounds like they are running up the bill ,if they can't give you a list of bad parts how do they know what they need to fix. I would give them the money for the bench test and buy a used yellow tagged unit from a reputable avionics shop.look in front of trade a plane.
 
My company fixes a few thousand computers, laptops, iphones, androids, tablets and LCD monitors a year. I can tell you that 95% of the failures are easily replaceable components such as a power supply or blown capacitors on the motherboard/bus if not replace the whole damned bus. We have considered buying old avionics and fixing it for our own purpose.

Any electrical engineer can tell you that pretty much all electronics are designed to have cheap points of failure to take the electrostatic discharge. Longer term heat effects other things but still should be some what repairable.

However when the damage is beyond one or two components it becomes a total. Like in a car wreck total. not worth fixing.

This shop is either very new and incompetent if they say they had no idea that the original bid would run into what it has, or they are dishonest. In either case you should not do business with them. We know pretty much exactly what the equipment we work on is worth in the used market and refurb markets so we always consult our customers when we can replace it with used or factory refurbished cheaper than fixing it or when we suspect multiple subsystem failures which indicates a catastrophic (not economically viable repair) failure. Even if they fixed all that they find wrong now their is no guarantee that something else doesn't fail tomorrow or next week or next month. AS a matter of fact in a failure like this it is likely something else will fail in an undetermined amount of time.

This sounds like a fishing expedition where they give you a highest price, you bite on it and they wait an exorbitant amount of time to make you really want it then they up the price a bit more and reel you in some more. It could be that they are not quite done with you yet and you may have another shock or two if you continue dealing with these guys.

I guess I am saying this sounds and smells fishy.

BTW-There is absolutely no business reason not to give you a detail parts list (as well as give you the old bad parts when you are done to verify that they were replaced) at this point since they have possession of the radio and you cannot go fix it some where else to screw them out of their pay. Of course if they gave you the equipment list you could call around and get bids to replace those same parts and find that they are taking advantage of you. But with the knowledge you have, no parts list, no one can really give you another quote to compare.
 
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wabower said:
I believe the legal position in which you find yourself is hosee. If they can't tell you what is broken, how do they know how the cost to replace or repair?

Given their attitude, I'd tell them to keep the damn thing and find something better.
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:yeahthat:
 
Thanks for all the advise. I called the shop today and told them I was not going to continue with the repair and I would just pay for the bench test and evaluation. They came back and told me that they do not give out reports with part #'s, because they do not want me to go somewhere else and get a lower quote. Over the phone we went through what needed to be replaced and basically the price was brought back down to the original quote. The extra cost were suggestions I guess and they didn't tell me this at first until I refused the repair. I decided to get it fixed again and if something else comes up they are going to just exchange the radio.

Last time they get my business.
 
fsuseminole said:
Thanks for all the advise. I called the shop today and told them I was not going to continue with the repair and I would just pay for the bench test and evaluation. They came back and told me that they do not give out reports with part #'s, because they do not want me to go somewhere else and get a lower quote. Over the phone we went through what needed to be replaced and basically the price was brought back down to the original quote. The extra cost were suggestions I guess and they didn't tell me this at first until I refused the repair. I decided to get it fixed again and if something else comes up they are going to just exchange the radio.

Last time they get my business.
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yeah, smells kinda funny to me. Especially now that you're back to your original quote when threatening to leave.
 
rbridges said:
yeah, smells kinda funny to me. Especially now that you're back to your original quote when threatening to leave.
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Entire story and outcome sounds similar to the way some of the not-the-most-reputable transmission shops in this area operate.

Lure you in with a promise to repair for $A, then surprise you with a bigger cost $B once the transmission is out and now in pieces on the work bench. And when you get mad enough to just want to take the car from them, still insist on you paying a middle price $C before they release the car and your transmission still in pieces.
 
You are not dealing with the sharpest tool in the shed. I'm not sure which of his little tricks was dumber. Telling you he couldn't provide the details of the repair quote was dumber than a rock, admitting that he did it so you couldn't compare prices was dumber than a box of them.

I doubt if I would be able to resist conveying his level of stupidity to him, as well as to anybody else on the airport.
 
Power supply failure can fry a lot of parts.
Usually if the repair bill is to be that high, it's considered scrap.
The shop told you and it's best to trade the 300 for the parts value.
Get a replacement radio, don't put that kind of money into it.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 
I've found far more dishonest or stupid avionics shops in the course of owning a plane than dishonest A&P/repair stations. Including one that outright stole a remote gyro and replaced it with a defective/failing one that had been improperly repaired that left me headed 30-degrees off-course when departing 4-Corners. And some of them are at larger GA airports.

Personal recommendations from folks I trust are critical decision input these days.
 
Any post-repair question posed to the owner of a local avionics joint is 'We didn't break it."

wsuffa said:
I've found far more dishonest or stupid avionics shops in the course of owning a plane than dishonest A&P/repair stations. Including one that outright stole a remote gyro and replaced it with a defective/failing one that had been improperly repaired that left me headed 30-degrees off-course when departing 4-Corners. And some of them are at larger GA airports.

Personal recommendations from folks I trust are critical decision input these days.
Click to expand...
 
wabower said:
Any post-repair question posed to the owner of a local avionics joint is 'We didn't break it."
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Ask on the DC pilot's list about a certain avionics shop at one of the largest DC-area reliever airports. I have my own story, but am not posting it here.
 
wsuffa said:
Ask on the DC pilot's list about a certain avionics shop at one of the largest DC-area reliever airports. I have my own story, but am not posting it here.
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We had such a good A&P for a number of years but he found a better gig full time working on the local med evac helos. We tried a new guy last annual, but some things were wrong after (coincidence?) so I don't have a good feel for the guy.

We're really trying to convince our old guy to do the next one.
 
So more bad news for me today. A&P called and said that he tested my grounding and checked for correct voltages before installing the nav/comm again. He said it all checked out good and when he turned the unit on in my plane, he heard something pop and smelled something. The unit fried again. He now suspects that the cdi feeding into the nav/comm is what is causing the problem. He wants to take out the nav/comm and cdi and send it to the factory for bench testing. I have not got a quote back for the evaluation and I assume all the same parts that got fried in the radio last time are fried again. I also am thinking they are going to make me pay for the radio repair again.
So I need some more advice please.

How much is a used kx155 nav/comm with a used cdi?
Where can I get one?
I never took possession of the radio and they broke it. Am I obligated to pay the repair cost for the first fix or since it never was given back to me repaired, are they responsible.

Any other advice would be great.
 
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The wiring between the radio and the CDI could very well be causing the problem. In particular, the power supply lead to the CDI may be shorting to a signal lead or ground - and very possibly the short could be in a connector.
 
What was the final outcome of the radio issue? I have a KX155 that has had the same issue.
 
IIRC a KX155 with indicator (w/GS) can be had for around $2k plus a couple hundred for a pre-made harness.
 
fsuseminole said:
Thanks for all the advise. I called the shop today and told them I was not going to continue with the repair and I would just pay for the bench test and evaluation. They came back and told me that they do not give out reports with part #'s, because they do not want me to go somewhere else and get a lower quote. Over the phone we went through what needed to be replaced and basically the price was brought back down to the original quote. The extra cost were suggestions I guess and they didn't tell me this at first until I refused the repair. I decided to get it fixed again and if something else comes up they are going to just exchange the radio.

Last time they get my business.
Click to expand...

What is the name of this shop? We all what to know where to get this great customer service :rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2:
 
fsuseminole said:
He said it all checked out good and when he turned the unit on in my plane, he heard something pop and smelled something.
Any other advice would be great.
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The odds of it being a wire that has chafed and rubbed against something it shouldn't have are well over 50-50 to being in the radio OR in the nav head.

Jim
 
wsuffa said:
Ask on the DC pilot's list about a certain avionics shop at one of the largest DC-area reliever airports. I have my own story, but am not posting it here.
Click to expand...
Any gripes about Capital Aviation , Manassas VA?
 
fsuseminole said:
My Comm/nav 2 radio died a few weeks back(Kx155) and I brought it to avionics repair shop at my local airport. They told me that they would bench test it and they thought it might just be the display. Well got the test results back and they said that the power supply failed and took some stuff out with it.


snip

(First time experience with an avionics shop)
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How would a lay person argue with that? You best know the avionic shop or be ready for the screwing.
 
I bought a 155A (w/gs) on Ebay from a south Texas avionics shop for $1295 ~ two years ago, so far working well. My AI neighbor had a 196A power supply go bad in his 210 and believes this is an issue with older Kings.

Yes, your radio shop just failed the credibility test, reasonable shops usually explain why they recommend additional work. Good to know before more extensive work is scheduled.

While getting in and out of the airplane takes longer than removing or installing the radio, it was better for them to burn it than you. Of course, the install charge may have included turning the radio on and checking functions.
 
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