Meredith Anderson has been a marine diesel mechanic in the Pacific Northwest for 20 years and has seen both the complexity of new engines create a new range of repair issues and the rise of YouTube and AI online repair advice. She is often called in to remedy a DIY engine repair based upon false digital advice. It worries her.
In one incident, recently, Meredith was called by a client whose engine was giving a “low power” diagnostic. The owner said he had consulted the internet and had been advised that the problem was most likely due to a fault in the engine’s turbo charger. He wanted Meredith to replace it.
When she got to the boat to check out the problem, the owner was insistent that all the engine needed was a new turbo. Meredith thought otherwise and asked to do a more thorough inspection of the engine’s systems. The first thing she did was to check the raw water strainer which was full of seaweed. That was the problem. So, she had to ask if the owner still wanted the new turbo at great cost.
