Anyone know the latest repair turnaround times from Sears?

[ralphhood3]

I've avoided taking my compucarve back to Sears for any issues with my machine due to the horror stories I've seen on the forum about it taking a month or two months for them to get machines back to people. As a result I've typically just ordered small replacement parts from LHR or SearsParts and paid for the repairs myself (cover switch, board sensor, etc).

That's fine and dandy for a few bucks here or there, but when I got the Z Axis Stall 309 error just before Christmas and couldn't get it to clear regardless of what I tried, I decided it was finally time to make use of the $300 5yr Warranty I paid Sears for 18 months ago when I bought the machine.

I dropped the machine off at Sears Repair Tuesday along with printouts of pictures of the display showing the error attached to it. I'm curious if anyone else has had repairs done by Sears (Sears just ships it to LHR I presume), and if so what the most recent turnaround times are? They estimated Jan 28th for getting it back, but I think that's either an auto-generated date or one the repair checkin lady pulled out of thin air. I'm curious if I should expect it to take that long, or whether it's likely it'll take even longer.

BTW, I tried unplugging for a few hours, moving the spindle, checked the ribbon cable, and everything else I could think of or that searches for error 309 on the forum suggested. I'm assuming it's a circuit board that needs to be replaced which is why I decided to send it in.

Thanks
Ralph

[Wilbur]

I scent mine off and they said that it would be about two weeks unless they had to order parts.
They called me and said that they did need to order parts . I got it back in less than three weeks.
Don't send a bit with machine . You want get it back,
They did about 400.00 of work on mine and cost me nothing. I lost a bit and filter plus they left a bearing loose on the Z truck.
That was not a problem,I fixed it with no problem.

It has gone back with cut motor not running. Been gone a week now. It has 600 hr run time so I guess it may be about time.

I just bough a new one so I am still carving.

LOVE that warranty. Has more than paid for itself.

[mtylerfl]

Hello Ralph,

Last I knew, Sears sends the CompuCarves to their own Service Center in Garland, Texas. If nothing has changed in the past few months, they have two technicians specifically trained in CompuCarve repairs at that facility. There is also a contact person there. Her name is Diane Coker (not sure if that's the correct spelling of her last name)...the contact phone number is 214-553-6702

If it were me, I would verify with the folks at the place you dropped off your machine, that they send it to the appropriate repair facility in Garland. Some folks have reported in the past that their machines were sent to a "standard" facility where they have no clue what to do with the machine. Perhaps that doesn't happen anymore, but it won't hurt to check.;)

[Digitalwoodshop]

I scent mine off and they said that it would be about two weeks unless they had to order parts.
They called me and said that they did need to order parts . I got it back in less than three weeks.
Don't send a bit with machine . You want get it back,
They did about 400.00 of work on mine and cost me nothing. I lost a bit and filter plus they left a bearing loose on the Z truck.
That was not a problem,I fixed it with no problem.

It has gone back with cut motor not running. Been gone a week now. It has 600 hr run time so I guess it may be about time.

I just bough a new one so I am still carving.

LOVE that warranty. Has more than paid for itself.


Cut Motor not running.....

600 power on hours.... Over 250 Cut Motor hours the cut motor brushes are too short to run the motor.

X Termination Board C1 Cap broken.

Right side cover switch bad or loose.

Right side clear cover screws loose.

Loose push on connector for the Cut Motor or improperly wired....


This is for anyone reading this and asking what would cause the cut motor to not start...

[AskBud]

The Sear's repair center is in Garland Texas. The location number is 8047 (it is the only shop in the U.S).
Yes Diana is the person in charge. The total repair time is 2 to 3 weeks. It takes about 7 days to get the unit to Garland from Ohio, and the same amount of time for the return trip. The machine is usually in the shop several days, unless they need to order parts.

When you take your unit in, Sear's gives you a expected return date, which I calculate is about 4 days too soon. One of the main hang-ups I see, is that the drop off point sometimes neglects to get the unit on the first shipment out of the store.

You may track the progress of your unit by going to this link:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_10153_12605_NB_TrackRepair?adCell=A4
AskBud

[Chief]

Bud,

Using your URL for repair status, I find that the brains at Sears think I sent in a scroll saw and the repair order was cancelled. Unfortunately it doesn't say by who. I guess it's phone time again.

Chief

[AskBud]

Bud,

Using your URL for repair status, I find that the brains at Sears think I sent in a scroll saw and the repair order was cancelled. Unfortunately it doesn't say by who. I guess it's phone time again.

Chief

Call, or go to, the store where you dropped off your unit. They are the ones that need to get involved first.
AskBud

[Chief]

Bud,

The only good thing about Sears is that they have 800 numbers. My younger son took the CC to the Repair Facility near his office. That's a good 12 miles. I'd rather work the phone. It's been snowing for over a week now and the roads are a mess.

Chief

[AskBud]

Bud,

The only good thing about Sears is that they have 800 numbers. My younger son took the CC to the Repair Facility near his office. That's a good 12 miles. I'd rather work the phone. It's been snowing for over a week now and the roads are a mess.

Chief

I'll bet they were not told to send the machine to Garland Texas (# 8047), or they ignored the request.
AskBud

[dbfletcher]

Bud,

The only good thing about Sears is that they have 800 numbers. My younger son took the CC to the Repair Facility near his office. That's a good 12 miles. I'd rather work the phone. It's been snowing for over a week now and the roads are a mess.

Chief

Just keep saying to yourself chief... "At least I'm not in Erie"... my sister tell me they almost 3 ft laying now. I have maybe a foot here.. I imagine pittsburgh is similiar right?

Doug Fletcher

[Wilbur]

The Sears warranty has everything to do with the people running your local store.
When I took mine in they packed it that day and shipped it by UPS to Texas .
I am not sure how it was shipped back.

If it had gone by Sears, no telling how long it would have taken, which may be the case this time.

Wilbur

[Hank]

When you bring the compucarve to Sears must it be in the original carton? My box was so banged up coming back from LHR it's practically useless.
Also I have the ROCK chuck installed. Will Sears except it or do I need to reinstall the original holder?

Thanks:
Hank

[dbfletcher]

When you bring the compucarve to Sears must it be in the original carton? My box was so banged up coming back from LHR it's practically useless.
Also I have the ROCK chuck installed. Will Sears except it or do I need to reinstall the original holder?

Thanks:
Hank

There have been conflicting reports on this, but I think you best bet is to reinstall the qc.

I'm not sure I agree with the policy becuase I think it is analigous to auto dealers requiring that any aftermarket parts be removed from the vehicle before bring you car in for service. That would be absurd... right?

Doug Fletcher

[Chief]

Bud,

I used the URL that you posted and got a real surprised. My son dropped it at a Sears repair faciliitgy on 15 Dec and, I guess they received it in Garland because there's an entry for "Appointment" for 23 Dec. Sometime since then, "The repair order has been cancelled." That's news to me. I can't believe that somebody would cancel the repair without notifying me. Possibly they agreed with me that this machine is a lemon.

I'm waiting for the folks at the resolution center to return my call.

Chief

[ralphhood3]

Thanks everyone for the details, it's good to know that the estimated time is about accurate plus or minus a few days which is fine with me. I had no idea Sears had trained techs to work on the Compucarve at this point, so I guess that's not a bad thing.

I didn't give them anything with my CC machine other than the machine and photos of the 309 error. I kept the bits, memory card etc. I guess they got the dust bag, so I suppose there's risk I'll never see that again.

Unfortunately the online repair status isn't working for me, I'm guessing there's something screwy with how they entered my home address with the order of directions (SW vs Southwest) and headings (St vs Street) or something like that. I'll probably give it a week from when I dropped it at the repair place and then call them to check on status.

The only concern I have at this point is that I had to do a temp solder job over the holidays on the left cover switch because it went bad. I express ordered the switch and harness from Sears on 12/17 and even though it was "in stock" I still don't have it as of today. When I called last week, they couldn't tell me why it hadn't been shipped yet. Of course it didn't really matter because 2 days after the switch went bad the Z Stall error popped up and the machines was unusable again. I was kind of hoping if it went to LHR they'd notice that and replace the switch, my guess is that since it's at a Sears repair facility though it may not get fixed. Maybe I can call Diane though and give her my part order number for the switch and convince them to fix it and refund my part order price while they have the machine.

Thanks again for the feedback on what to expect and where my machine will actually get repaired (assuming the local shop ships it to the right place).

Ralph