Do Power Recliner mechanical work?

[baileyuph]

The trends, people bigger and lazy, seem to opt for the power recliners more often.

That drives the service request up for them.

Been getting several to check out and there are problems.

Most times, it is parts replacement issue.

But where, for the older ones, out of warranty, are the parts available?  I am thinking that since they are made off shore, it probably is going to difficult finding parts.

Any ideas, so far, found mostly used parts.

Doyle

[sofadoc]

I do repair work for some retail stores that sell them.

I tell the store what part I need.........they say "OK, we'll order it". That's usually where it ends right there.

I could probably scour the interweb, call around to a bunch of places, and have them send me the wrong part at least 3 times before they finally hit on the right one. All that sounds like tons o' fun, but I prefer to place that onus on the owner of the recliner.

If they can produce the right part, I'll be happy to install it. Otherwise, the recliner will sit in my store room for several months until the customer finally loses interest. Then they either pick it up, or it goes to the city landfill.

I stock a few mechs, and release cables. But electrical parts for power recliners, no.

Some customers have good luck ordering parts for a name brand recliner that they bought from a reputable dealer. But the ones that bought theirs from some discount bargain house quickly see the futility in trying to acquire replacement parts.

[kodydog]

Had a guy call last week who needed the mechanism to a recliner replaced. I simply told him if he can find one I can install it. He was kinda surprised I didn't want to supply the part.

I told him each recliner company uses different mechanisms. There are literally thousands of of mechanisms out there. I told him I've been doing this a long time and there have been several times I spent hours searching for a mechanism for a customer only to run into a dead end. Those are unpaid hours. He was surprised there was not a generic mechanism that would fit all recliners.

I spent 15 mins on the phone (more unpaid time) convincing him that I was not going to search for his mechanism. He was pretty determined. I then explained the average recliner only lasts about 6 years. Then you go out and buy a new one.

Speaking of recliners. I rebuilt this classic La-Z-Boy last week. It had a stamp inside dated 1979. The frame and mechanism were still in excellent condition. We replaced all the foam. It'll last another 30 years. Compare that to recliners found in a furniture store.

[sofadoc]

k-dog phrased it better than I did.

You can waste a lot of unpaid time trying to track down the right parts.

What's funny is........every time the local stores get a new manager, they think they're going to change the world. They intend to give each piece their personal attention and locate the correct part. They promise not to drag their feet like the previous manager did.

6 months later, a NEW NEW manager is promising the same thing.

[byhammerandhand]

I'm right there singing the same song as Dennis.

The other problem I have is someone reports their power recliner is not working.  Could be the switch, the wiring, the power unit, or the motor.  And since the manufacturer may not even have the specs, I can't put it on the VOM to tell which part(s) might be wrong.   So I usually ask for the whole kt and start swapping out parts until it works.  In addition, since they change suppliers at a whim, there's no guarantee that the wiring connectors are compatible unless you get the whole kit.

I do repair work for some retail stores that sell them.

I tell the store what part I need.........they say "OK, we'll order it". That's usually where it ends right there.

I could probably scour the interweb, call around to a bunch of places, and have them send me the wrong part at least 3 times before they finally hit on the right one. All that sounds like tons o' fun, but I prefer to place that onus on the owner of the recliner.

If they can produce the right part, I'll be happy to install it. Otherwise, the recliner will sit in my store room for several months until the customer finally loses interest. Then they either pick it up, or it goes to the city landfill.

I stock a few mechs, and release cables. But electrical parts for power recliners, no.

Some customers have good luck ordering parts for a name brand recliner that they bought from a reputable dealer. But the ones that bought theirs from some discount bargain house quickly see the futility in trying to acquire replacement parts.