Chat with a old timer about governor overspeed tests

I was swapping stories with a retired mechanic named Frank at a supply house in Nashville last month. He told me most guys skip the full load test on governors and just do the mechanical trip. Said he's seen three cars crash because the overspeed switch never got verified under actual load. Made me realize I've been half-assing my own inspections for years without knowing it. Any of you actually pulling the full load setup on every test, or just the quick check?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia38527d ago

oh man, frank is right about that load test. i used to work at a shop where the old lead would just flip the mechanical trip and call it good. then one day i got curious and actually rigged up a full load test on a old cat 3208 governor that kept tripping early. found out the solenoid was losing voltage at high rpm not low. saved us from a rebuild that woulda been a waste. now i always do both steps even if it takes an extra 15 minutes. definitely worth the hassle.

the_richard26d ago

Are you saying that my method of hitting it with a hammer and calling it a day might actually be wrong? I swear, half the problems in this trade would disappear if we just took the extra 15 minutes instead of chasing ghosts later. You found a bad solenoid, but the old guys would have rebuilt the whole damn governor and still been scratching their heads. That's the kind of story that makes the shop know-it-alls real quiet at lunch, good on you for actually checking.